A group of South African scientists trapped in a remote research station in Antarctica have sent a desperate email pleading to be rescued before it is too late, saying one member of the team had sexually assaulted another member and threatened to kill another.

“The 10-person team is trapped at the remote Sanae IV base, which is on a cliff edge about 105 miles inland from the ice shelf, by encroaching ice and weather as the southern hemisphere winter sets,” The Telegraph noted.

Frightened scientists are begging to come home from Antarctica. pic.twitter.com/GFrbOymJe6

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 17, 2025

The Sunday Times out of South Africa reported that a member of the team sent the email to South African officials stating that the behavior of the dangerous member of the team had become “increasingly egregious,” and that they were “experiencing significant difficulty in feeling secure in his presence.”

“It is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure my safety and the safety of all employees,” the email continued. “Regrettably, [his] behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. Specifically, he physically assaulted [name withheld], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms. Furthermore, he threatened to kill [name withheld], creating an environment of fear and intimidation. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.”

“There was a verbal altercation between the team leader and this person,” South African Environment Minister Dion George confirmed. “Then it escalated and then that person did physically assault the leader. You can imagine what it’s like, it is close quarters and people do get cabin fever. It can be very disorientating.”

The Sunday Times reported that the only escape would be to a German base roughly 190 miles away.

One source told the Times, “They were informed of the situation [at Sanae IV] well in advance – way before the season closed … Now there’s nothing they can do as there are no planes or ships going to or leaving Antarctica. … They had all the time to remedy the situation but they simply buried their heads in the sand hoping that it’ll go away. They were informed about the problem as early as December.”

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A group of South African scientists trapped in a remote research station in Antarctica have sent a desperate email pleading to be rescued before it is too late, saying one member of the team had sexually assaulted another member and threatened to kill another.

“The 10-person team is trapped at the remote Sanae IV base, which is on a cliff edge about 105 miles inland from the ice shelf, by encroaching ice and weather as the southern hemisphere winter sets,” The Telegraph noted.

Frightened scientists are begging to come home from Antarctica. pic.twitter.com/GFrbOymJe6

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 17, 2025

The Sunday Times out of South Africa reported that a member of the team sent the email to South African officials stating that the behavior of the dangerous member of the team had become “increasingly egregious,” and that they were “experiencing significant difficulty in feeling secure in his presence.”

“It is imperative that immediate action is taken to ensure my safety and the safety of all employees,” the email continued. “Regrettably, [his] behaviour has escalated to a point that is deeply disturbing. Specifically, he physically assaulted [name withheld], which is a grave violation of personal safety and workplace norms. Furthermore, he threatened to kill [name withheld], creating an environment of fear and intimidation. I remain deeply concerned about my own safety, constantly wondering if I might become the next victim.”

“There was a verbal altercation between the team leader and this person,” South African Environment Minister Dion George confirmed. “Then it escalated and then that person did physically assault the leader. You can imagine what it’s like, it is close quarters and people do get cabin fever. It can be very disorientating.”

The Sunday Times reported that the only escape would be to a German base roughly 190 miles away.

One source told the Times, “They were informed of the situation [at Sanae IV] well in advance – way before the season closed … Now there’s nothing they can do as there are no planes or ships going to or leaving Antarctica. … They had all the time to remedy the situation but they simply buried their heads in the sand hoping that it’ll go away. They were informed about the problem as early as December.”

“}]] 

The post Horror Film Come To Life: Scientists Trapped In Antarctic Send Desperate Email About Violent Member appeared first on Spin Politico.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller schooled CNN anchor Kasie Hunt about whether President Donald Trump had the right to deport hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which a judge had tried to block.

On Saturday, United States District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to return any flights carrying the suspected gang members. But the Trump administration declared that the flights were already over international waters, and thus, Boasberg’s order was not applicable. On Monday, Boasberg ordered the Trump administration’s Department of Justice to provide a sworn declaration providing additional justifications for the deportation flights.

Prior to his confrontation with Hunt, Miller had already stated that Boasberg’s initial order was “patently unlawful. Beyond unlawful, it was an outrageous assault on the Constitution, an outrageous assault on the sovereignty of the nation and on democracy itself.”

“You called the judge’s order just earlier today, quote, ‘patently unlawful,’ and said that it was an assault on democracy itself. Does that mean that the administration is ignoring this order? And might you ignore future court orders that meet the criteria you laid out?” Hunt asked.

“The president of the United States and his administration reserve all rights under the Constitution to conduct national security operations in defense of the United States,” Miller replied. “The Alien Enemies Act, which was passed into law by the founding generation of this country, men like John Adams, was written explicitly to give the president the authority to repel an alien invasion of the United States. That is not something that a district court judge has any authority whatsoever to interfere with, to enjoin, to restrict, or to restrain in any way. You can read the law yourself. There’s not one clause in that law that makes it subject to judicial review, let alone district court review.”

“At what point does it become, in your view, legal for the justice system to be looking at this and making a judgment? And I fail to see how there’s any other way but to start with where we’re starting here before you get to eventually the Supreme Court,” Hunt posited.

Miller then explained how the law works, answering, “There’s a term in law, justiciable. This is not justiciable. In other words, this is not subject to judicial remedy. When the president is exercising his Article II powers to defend the country against an invasion or to repel a foreign terrorist that is unlawfully in the country, he’s exercising his core Article II powers as commander-in-chief.”

“Is Venezuela invading the U.S.?” Hunt asked.

“This is a very important point. This is a Title 50 authority. It’s a commander-in-chief authority. So, just to ask you a simple question. You talk about how the system works. Does a district court judge have the right to direct or enjoin troop movements overseas? Yes or no?” Miller asked bluntly.

“Is Venezuela — is Venezuela invading our country in a way that would apply in a way?” Hunt pressed.

“I’ll answer yours and you’ll answer mine,” Miller said, then stated, “Under the terms of the statute, Tren de Aragua is an alien enemy force that has come here as detailed at length in the proclamation at the direction of the Venezuelan government. The statute says that a president has the ability to repel an invasion or predatory incursion that is directed —”

“By a state or a government, right? Are they a state or a government?” Hunt interjected.

“Yes, it is documented,” Miller fired back. “The TDA was sent by the Venezuelan government in the proclamation. And here’s an even more important point. Under the Constitution, who makes that determination? A district court judge elected by no one or the commander in chief of the Army and Navy? The president and the president alone makes a decision of what triggers that determination.

“So, do you think we are actually at war with Venezuela, the nation-state of Venezuela?” Hunt patronized.

“You’re not hearing me and you’re not understanding me,” Miller answered. “Read the statute. Alien Enemies Act 1798. It says if a predatory incursion is perpetrated by a foreign government. So it lists the three qualifying actions, it could be an act of war.”

Hunt tried debating, “It does say in the very beginning there has to be a declared war against a nation or a state. That’s what it says.”

Miller crushed the response: “No. Wrong. Look up the statute. It’s on my account on social media … it says or a predatory incursion, or an invasion. The statute delineates three criteria for triggering the Alien Enemies Act. One is an act of war, which, by the way, an invasion is an act of war. But put that aside. One is an invasion, which this is. One is a predatory incursion, which this is. So it actually meets all three statutory criteria. But with respect to this particular statute, it’s the proclamation is utilizing the incursion and invasion language in the statute.”

“A district court judge can no more enjoin the expulsion of foreign terrorists to foreign soil, that he can direct the movement of Air Force One, that he can direct the movement of an aircraft carrier, that he can direct Marco Rubio to engage,” Miller pointed out. “How are you going to expel illegal alien invaders from our country who are raping little girls, who are murdering little girls, if each and every deportation has to be adjudicated in a district court judge? And that means you have no country. It means you have no sovereignty. It means you have no future. It is fundamentally incompatible to have a country and have individual expulsions adjudicated by a single district court judge.”

“By the way,” Miller said later, “These same district court judges didn’t do a damn thing to stop Joe Biden from flooding this nation with millions of illegal aliens. Did these district court judges issue any injunctions to save the lives of Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley, or anyone else?”

“I asked you a question, you never answered it,” Miller stated. “Can a judge enjoin troop movements overseas? Can a district court judge enjoin troop movements overseas? Yes or no? … Just say no and then you’ll know that I’m right.”

“I am outraged that you have Democrats defending Tren de Aragua instead of celebrating President Trump expelling these terrorists from our midst. And I’m glad for the opportunity to explain how the separation of powers does work,” he concluded.

WATCH IN FULL: White House Deputy Chief of Staff @StephenM schools Fake News CNN’s @kasie on the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/2TMnKyBLwk

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 17, 2025

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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller schooled CNN anchor Kasie Hunt about whether President Donald Trump had the right to deport hundreds of suspected Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, which a judge had tried to block.

On Saturday, United States District Judge James Boasberg ordered the Trump administration to return any flights carrying the suspected gang members. But the Trump administration declared that the flights were already over international waters, and thus, Boasberg’s order was not applicable. On Monday, Boasberg ordered the Trump administration’s Department of Justice to provide a sworn declaration providing additional justifications for the deportation flights.

Prior to his confrontation with Hunt, Miller had already stated that Boasberg’s initial order was “patently unlawful. Beyond unlawful, it was an outrageous assault on the Constitution, an outrageous assault on the sovereignty of the nation and on democracy itself.”

“You called the judge’s order just earlier today, quote, ‘patently unlawful,’ and said that it was an assault on democracy itself. Does that mean that the administration is ignoring this order? And might you ignore future court orders that meet the criteria you laid out?” Hunt asked.

“The president of the United States and his administration reserve all rights under the Constitution to conduct national security operations in defense of the United States,” Miller replied. “The Alien Enemies Act, which was passed into law by the founding generation of this country, men like John Adams, was written explicitly to give the president the authority to repel an alien invasion of the United States. That is not something that a district court judge has any authority whatsoever to interfere with, to enjoin, to restrict, or to restrain in any way. You can read the law yourself. There’s not one clause in that law that makes it subject to judicial review, let alone district court review.”

“At what point does it become, in your view, legal for the justice system to be looking at this and making a judgment? And I fail to see how there’s any other way but to start with where we’re starting here before you get to eventually the Supreme Court,” Hunt posited.

Miller then explained how the law works, answering, “There’s a term in law, justiciable. This is not justiciable. In other words, this is not subject to judicial remedy. When the president is exercising his Article II powers to defend the country against an invasion or to repel a foreign terrorist that is unlawfully in the country, he’s exercising his core Article II powers as commander-in-chief.”

“Is Venezuela invading the U.S.?” Hunt asked.

“This is a very important point. This is a Title 50 authority. It’s a commander-in-chief authority. So, just to ask you a simple question. You talk about how the system works. Does a district court judge have the right to direct or enjoin troop movements overseas? Yes or no?” Miller asked bluntly.

“Is Venezuela — is Venezuela invading our country in a way that would apply in a way?” Hunt pressed.

“I’ll answer yours and you’ll answer mine,” Miller said, then stated, “Under the terms of the statute, Tren de Aragua is an alien enemy force that has come here as detailed at length in the proclamation at the direction of the Venezuelan government. The statute says that a president has the ability to repel an invasion or predatory incursion that is directed —”

“By a state or a government, right? Are they a state or a government?” Hunt interjected.

“Yes, it is documented,” Miller fired back. “The TDA was sent by the Venezuelan government in the proclamation. And here’s an even more important point. Under the Constitution, who makes that determination? A district court judge elected by no one or the commander in chief of the Army and Navy? The president and the president alone makes a decision of what triggers that determination.

“So, do you think we are actually at war with Venezuela, the nation-state of Venezuela?” Hunt patronized.

“You’re not hearing me and you’re not understanding me,” Miller answered. “Read the statute. Alien Enemies Act 1798. It says if a predatory incursion is perpetrated by a foreign government. So it lists the three qualifying actions, it could be an act of war.”

Hunt tried debating, “It does say in the very beginning there has to be a declared war against a nation or a state. That’s what it says.”

Miller crushed the response: “No. Wrong. Look up the statute. It’s on my account on social media … it says or a predatory incursion, or an invasion. The statute delineates three criteria for triggering the Alien Enemies Act. One is an act of war, which, by the way, an invasion is an act of war. But put that aside. One is an invasion, which this is. One is a predatory incursion, which this is. So it actually meets all three statutory criteria. But with respect to this particular statute, it’s the proclamation is utilizing the incursion and invasion language in the statute.”

“A district court judge can no more enjoin the expulsion of foreign terrorists to foreign soil, that he can direct the movement of Air Force One, that he can direct the movement of an aircraft carrier, that he can direct Marco Rubio to engage,” Miller pointed out. “How are you going to expel illegal alien invaders from our country who are raping little girls, who are murdering little girls, if each and every deportation has to be adjudicated in a district court judge? And that means you have no country. It means you have no sovereignty. It means you have no future. It is fundamentally incompatible to have a country and have individual expulsions adjudicated by a single district court judge.”

“By the way,” Miller said later, “These same district court judges didn’t do a damn thing to stop Joe Biden from flooding this nation with millions of illegal aliens. Did these district court judges issue any injunctions to save the lives of Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley, or anyone else?”

“I asked you a question, you never answered it,” Miller stated. “Can a judge enjoin troop movements overseas? Can a district court judge enjoin troop movements overseas? Yes or no? … Just say no and then you’ll know that I’m right.”

“I am outraged that you have Democrats defending Tren de Aragua instead of celebrating President Trump expelling these terrorists from our midst. And I’m glad for the opportunity to explain how the separation of powers does work,” he concluded.

WATCH IN FULL: White House Deputy Chief of Staff @StephenM schools Fake News CNN’s @kasie on the Constitution, the separation of powers, and the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/2TMnKyBLwk

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 17, 2025

“}]] 

The post ‘No. Wrong’: Stephen Miller Crushes CNN’s Kasie Hunt, Schools Her On Deportations appeared first on Spin Politico.

WASHINGTON—Congressman Brandon Gill has filed articles of impeachment against James Boasberg, the judge blocking President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport violent criminal illegal migrants, The Daily Wire has learned

On Tuesday, the Texas Republican alleged that Boasberg usurped the executive branch’s constitutional authority and acted out of political malice when he ordered flights to turn around midair and bring the illegal migrants back to American soil.

“We will not stand by as radical activist Judge James Boasberg tramples on the Constitution out of political spite for the President,” Gill told The Daily Wire on Tuesday morning. “The American people gave us a mandate to get criminal illegal aliens out of our country, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

“Judge Boasberg has gravely overstepped his authority, usurping the constitutional power of the Commander in Chief,” Gill added. “President Trump is securing America’s neighborhoods, restoring safety for men, women, and children who call this nation home. We will not tolerate radical, politically motivated judges illegally and unconstitutionally stopping the President from carrying out his mandate.”

James Boasberg (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Gill announced his resolution to introduce articles of impeachment against the judge on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, Trump officially said that he believed Boasberg “should be impeached” for blocking the will of the American people.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President – He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING,” the president posted.

Trump reminded the public that one of the top reasons Americans elected him was to handle the border crisis.

“I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” he said. “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do.”

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ [sic] I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump continued. “WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

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WASHINGTON—Congressman Brandon Gill has filed articles of impeachment against James Boasberg, the judge blocking President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to deport violent criminal illegal migrants, The Daily Wire has learned

On Tuesday, the Texas Republican alleged that Boasberg usurped the executive branch’s constitutional authority and acted out of political malice when he ordered flights to turn around midair and bring the illegal migrants back to American soil.

“We will not stand by as radical activist Judge James Boasberg tramples on the Constitution out of political spite for the President,” Gill told The Daily Wire on Tuesday morning. “The American people gave us a mandate to get criminal illegal aliens out of our country, and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

“Judge Boasberg has gravely overstepped his authority, usurping the constitutional power of the Commander in Chief,” Gill added. “President Trump is securing America’s neighborhoods, restoring safety for men, women, and children who call this nation home. We will not tolerate radical, politically motivated judges illegally and unconstitutionally stopping the President from carrying out his mandate.”

James Boasberg (Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Gill announced his resolution to introduce articles of impeachment against the judge on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, Trump officially said that he believed Boasberg “should be impeached” for blocking the will of the American people.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President – He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING,” the president posted.

Trump reminded the public that one of the top reasons Americans elected him was to handle the border crisis.

“I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” he said. “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do.”

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ [sic] I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump continued. “WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

“}]] 

The post Congressman Introduces Articles Of Impeachment Against Judge Blocking Trump Deportations appeared first on Spin Politico.

A board member for the media company that owns POLITICO derided an article the outlet published from the Associated Press as “one-sided Hamas support.”

Martin Varsavsky, a board member of Berlin-based media company Axel Springer, took to X on Tuesday to criticize the AP piece published by POLITICO that cited Hamas’ death toll numbers even though they have lied about the count repeatedly.

“I am on the board of Axel Springer that owns Político. I consider this article one sided Hamas support,” Varsavsky said. “It fails to mention that the airstrikes were aimed at eliminating top Hamas military and thar Israel was successful at doing so. It also quotes casualty figures given by Hamas that are not believed to be accurate.”

I am on the board of Axel Springer that owns Político. I consider this article one sided Hamas support. It fails to mention that the airstrikes were aimed at eliminating top Hamas military and thar Israel was successful at doing so. It also quotes casualty figures given by Hamas… https://t.co/TDWcfCaHYQ

— Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) March 18, 2025

The AP article posted on POLITICO’s website cited Gaza Health Ministry officials claiming Israeli airstrikes killed at least 200 people and included a photo of a man holding a child with blood coming out of her nose.

The Gaza Health Ministry is notorious for lying about the number of casualties, The Daily Wire previously reported. The false statistics designed to inflate the number of casualties caused by Israel have been known for at least a decade, with a U.S. News & World Report opinion piece highlighting the issue back in 2014.

“Hamas lies systematically, instructing civilians to misinform the foreign press. It lies habitually, with a formidable record of mendacity from previous conflicts. And it lies guiltlessly, convinced that the objectives of ‘resistance’ supersede quaint notions of truth-telling,” Oren Kessler wrote at the time.

In August 2024, about 80 media outlets had to issue a correction to an AP story that falsely claimed that more than 40,000 civilians had been killed in the Israel-Hamas war that started after Hamas terrorists committed a massacre against Israelis on October 7, 2023. The Gaza Health Ministry claims more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, but it never said all 40,000 were civilians.

Israel estimates that more than 17,000 of those killed in the war were Hamas terrorists.

Even though the Gaza Health Ministry is known to inflate the number of casualties, media outlets continue to cite them to frame Israel as unnecessarily aggressive. The AP story criticized by Varsavksy noted in the 11^th paragraph that Israel “was striking Hamas’ military, leaders and infrastructure” in the attacks, citing an Israeli official. Prior to that, the outlet described wounded Palestinians, including a crying little girl. It also provided Hamas’ perspective on the attacks while minimizing Israel’s.

The AP also reported that the “White House sought to blame Hamas for the renewed fighting” in the 9^th paragraph. As National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told the outlet, Hamas “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.” Several paragraphs earlier, the AP let Hamas blame Israel for ending the ceasefire.

The Associated Press once shared an office building with Hamas in Gaza, The Daily Wire previously reported. That building was destroyed in 2021.

The AP noted at the time that all of its employees and freelancers were able to evacuate the building safely, thanks to the Israeli military calling ahead to warn them of the strike, as it does when targeting civilian buildings. The reason Israel targets those civilian structures is because Hamas and Palestinian authorities hide intelligence operations, weapons, and other important assets in these buildings, claiming victimhood after they’re destroyed.

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​[[{“value”:”

A board member for the media company that owns POLITICO derided an article the outlet published from the Associated Press as “one-sided Hamas support.”

Martin Varsavsky, a board member of Berlin-based media company Axel Springer, took to X on Tuesday to criticize the AP piece published by POLITICO that cited Hamas’ death toll numbers even though they have lied about the count repeatedly.

“I am on the board of Axel Springer that owns Político. I consider this article one sided Hamas support,” Varsavsky said. “It fails to mention that the airstrikes were aimed at eliminating top Hamas military and thar Israel was successful at doing so. It also quotes casualty figures given by Hamas that are not believed to be accurate.”

I am on the board of Axel Springer that owns Político. I consider this article one sided Hamas support. It fails to mention that the airstrikes were aimed at eliminating top Hamas military and thar Israel was successful at doing so. It also quotes casualty figures given by Hamas… https://t.co/TDWcfCaHYQ

— Martin Varsavsky (@martinvars) March 18, 2025

The AP article posted on POLITICO’s website cited Gaza Health Ministry officials claiming Israeli airstrikes killed at least 200 people and included a photo of a man holding a child with blood coming out of her nose.

The Gaza Health Ministry is notorious for lying about the number of casualties, The Daily Wire previously reported. The false statistics designed to inflate the number of casualties caused by Israel have been known for at least a decade, with a U.S. News & World Report opinion piece highlighting the issue back in 2014.

“Hamas lies systematically, instructing civilians to misinform the foreign press. It lies habitually, with a formidable record of mendacity from previous conflicts. And it lies guiltlessly, convinced that the objectives of ‘resistance’ supersede quaint notions of truth-telling,” Oren Kessler wrote at the time.

In August 2024, about 80 media outlets had to issue a correction to an AP story that falsely claimed that more than 40,000 civilians had been killed in the Israel-Hamas war that started after Hamas terrorists committed a massacre against Israelis on October 7, 2023. The Gaza Health Ministry claims more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, but it never said all 40,000 were civilians.

Israel estimates that more than 17,000 of those killed in the war were Hamas terrorists.

Even though the Gaza Health Ministry is known to inflate the number of casualties, media outlets continue to cite them to frame Israel as unnecessarily aggressive. The AP story criticized by Varsavksy noted in the 11^th paragraph that Israel “was striking Hamas’ military, leaders and infrastructure” in the attacks, citing an Israeli official. Prior to that, the outlet described wounded Palestinians, including a crying little girl. It also provided Hamas’ perspective on the attacks while minimizing Israel’s.

The AP also reported that the “White House sought to blame Hamas for the renewed fighting” in the 9^th paragraph. As National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes told the outlet, Hamas “could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.” Several paragraphs earlier, the AP let Hamas blame Israel for ending the ceasefire.

The Associated Press once shared an office building with Hamas in Gaza, The Daily Wire previously reported. That building was destroyed in 2021.

The AP noted at the time that all of its employees and freelancers were able to evacuate the building safely, thanks to the Israeli military calling ahead to warn them of the strike, as it does when targeting civilian buildings. The reason Israel targets those civilian structures is because Hamas and Palestinian authorities hide intelligence operations, weapons, and other important assets in these buildings, claiming victimhood after they’re destroyed.

“}]] 

The post Board Member Of POLITICO Ownership Group Deems Article ‘One-Sided Hamas Support’ appeared first on Spin Politico.

The Associated Press retracted an article on Monday after it falsely claimed that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “very good friends.”

“The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saying President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends.’ Gabbard was talking about Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The AP will publish a corrected version of the story,” the AP posted in a correction after retracting the article.

The article covered comments Gabbard made during a trip to India as the U.S. intelligence chief. It was initially headlined, according to one post online, “Gabbard Says Trump And Putin Are ‘Very Good Friends’ Focused On Strengthening Ties.”

The @AP is total trash. DNI @TulsiGabbard was referring to PM Modi & President Trump and this is the headline they publish.

This is why no one trusts the maliciously incompetent and purposefully bias media. If this isn’t a clear example of pushing a solely political narrative,… pic.twitter.com/1chFZQqTEd

— Alexa Henning (@alexahenning) March 18, 2025

Gabbard made the comments in an interview with India’s NDTV. The AP’s corrected article focused on comments Gabbard made about Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia.

“Under the previous administration, during which this war began, there was no effort, there was no effort at all towards peace. There was no effort to have direct dialogue with Putin and with Russia to try to bring about an end to this war. So already in a very short period of time, President Trump has made much more progress towards peace than any effort that has occurred by anyone, previously,” Gabbard said, according to the AP’s updated article. “I’m sure that President Trump will have a very productive conversation with Putin, once again, rooted in his unwavering commitment to peace.”

The error will likely deepen the gulf in the relationship between the Trump administration and the AP. The White House barred AP reporters and photographers from the press pool that covers the president. The AP is also banned from attending certain events. The White House blocked the outlet after it refused to update its stylebook to reference the “Gulf of America,” recently renamed from the “Gulf of Mexico” by a Trump executive order.

“It is a privilege to cover this White House. It’s a privilege to be the White House Press Secretary. And nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month after being questioned on the White House’s actions against the AP.

“I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” she added. “It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.”

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The Associated Press retracted an article on Monday after it falsely claimed that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin “very good friends.”

“The Associated Press has withdrawn its story about U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard saying President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘are very good friends.’ Gabbard was talking about Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The AP will publish a corrected version of the story,” the AP posted in a correction after retracting the article.

The article covered comments Gabbard made during a trip to India as the U.S. intelligence chief. It was initially headlined, according to one post online, “Gabbard Says Trump And Putin Are ‘Very Good Friends’ Focused On Strengthening Ties.”

The @AP is total trash. DNI @TulsiGabbard was referring to PM Modi & President Trump and this is the headline they publish.

This is why no one trusts the maliciously incompetent and purposefully bias media. If this isn’t a clear example of pushing a solely political narrative,… pic.twitter.com/1chFZQqTEd

— Alexa Henning (@alexahenning) March 18, 2025

Gabbard made the comments in an interview with India’s NDTV. The AP’s corrected article focused on comments Gabbard made about Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia.

“Under the previous administration, during which this war began, there was no effort, there was no effort at all towards peace. There was no effort to have direct dialogue with Putin and with Russia to try to bring about an end to this war. So already in a very short period of time, President Trump has made much more progress towards peace than any effort that has occurred by anyone, previously,” Gabbard said, according to the AP’s updated article. “I’m sure that President Trump will have a very productive conversation with Putin, once again, rooted in his unwavering commitment to peace.”

The error will likely deepen the gulf in the relationship between the Trump administration and the AP. The White House barred AP reporters and photographers from the press pool that covers the president. The AP is also banned from attending certain events. The White House blocked the outlet after it refused to update its stylebook to reference the “Gulf of America,” recently renamed from the “Gulf of Mexico” by a Trump executive order.

“It is a privilege to cover this White House. It’s a privilege to be the White House Press Secretary. And nobody has the right to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said last month after being questioned on the White House’s actions against the AP.

“I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel that there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable,” she added. “It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America, and I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is.”

“}]] 

The post AP Retracts Article That Claimed Trump ‘Very Good Friends’ With Putin appeared first on Spin Politico.

Comedian Tracy Morgan got sick on Monday night while sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden during the second half of a New York Knicks game, vomiting on the hardwood.

Multiple videos captured the aftermath showing the 56-year-old being removed from the area in a wheelchair, noting that he could “barely stand up” and was “bleeding” from his nose.

The Knicks game against the Miami Heat was delayed in the third quarter for about 10 minutes due to the incident, per People. When the game resumed, the Knicks went on to win 116-95.

“We hope Tracy feels better soon and look forward to seeing him back courtside,” a representative from Madison Square Garden told the outlet. 

The comedian has diabetes and had a kidney transplant in 2010. He was also involved in a serious auto accident in 2014 when a Walmart truck rammed into his limo while driving on the New Jersey Turnpike. Morgan broke his leg and was in a coma for two weeks after the accident, per Entertainment Weekly. He also had to use a wheelchair for five months and undergo intense physical therapy. The accident killed his mentor, James McNair, “Uncle Jimmy Mac,” who was also a comedian. 

“I suffered some terrible injuries — traumatic brain injury,” he said in 2017. “I broke every bone in my face, my ribs. I pulverized my femur. I’m from the ghetto, and after I came out the coma I was blind for a week, and where I come from you don’t want to be blind for a second. All kinds of s*** started coming up missing in my hospital room.”

Morgan forgave the truck driver on the tenth anniversary of the tragedy.

“Today is 10 years since our fateful accident, and I want to say to everyone who was in the van with me that night I Love you, and we miss you, Uncle Jimmy Mac and God bless your family,” he said in a statement in June 2024.

“To the driver that night and his family, me and my comrades forgive you.”

Morgan sued Walmart for negligence a month after the accident, alleging that the company had forced the driver to make an 11-hour commute before his regular shift. Morgan said that meant the driver had been awake for more than 24 hours at the time of the crash. His claim was denied, and attorneys from Walmart countered that Morgan and the other passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

Ultimately, the matter was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2015. 

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

Comedian Tracy Morgan got sick on Monday night while sitting courtside at Madison Square Garden during the second half of a New York Knicks game, vomiting on the hardwood.

Multiple videos captured the aftermath showing the 56-year-old being removed from the area in a wheelchair, noting that he could “barely stand up” and was “bleeding” from his nose.

The Knicks game against the Miami Heat was delayed in the third quarter for about 10 minutes due to the incident, per People. When the game resumed, the Knicks went on to win 116-95.

“We hope Tracy feels better soon and look forward to seeing him back courtside,” a representative from Madison Square Garden told the outlet. 

The comedian has diabetes and had a kidney transplant in 2010. He was also involved in a serious auto accident in 2014 when a Walmart truck rammed into his limo while driving on the New Jersey Turnpike. Morgan broke his leg and was in a coma for two weeks after the accident, per Entertainment Weekly. He also had to use a wheelchair for five months and undergo intense physical therapy. The accident killed his mentor, James McNair, “Uncle Jimmy Mac,” who was also a comedian. 

“I suffered some terrible injuries — traumatic brain injury,” he said in 2017. “I broke every bone in my face, my ribs. I pulverized my femur. I’m from the ghetto, and after I came out the coma I was blind for a week, and where I come from you don’t want to be blind for a second. All kinds of s*** started coming up missing in my hospital room.”

Morgan forgave the truck driver on the tenth anniversary of the tragedy.

“Today is 10 years since our fateful accident, and I want to say to everyone who was in the van with me that night I Love you, and we miss you, Uncle Jimmy Mac and God bless your family,” he said in a statement in June 2024.

“To the driver that night and his family, me and my comrades forgive you.”

Morgan sued Walmart for negligence a month after the accident, alleging that the company had forced the driver to make an 11-hour commute before his regular shift. Morgan said that meant the driver had been awake for more than 24 hours at the time of the crash. His claim was denied, and attorneys from Walmart countered that Morgan and the other passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

Ultimately, the matter was settled for an undisclosed amount in 2015. 

“}]] 

The post Tracy Morgan Vomits On Court During Knicks Game, Causes Delay appeared first on Spin Politico.

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said Tuesday morning that the judge blocking his deportations of violent illegal immigrants “should be impeached” for blocking the will of the American people.

Trump was apparently referring to U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who on Saturday issued an order blocking Trump’s deportation of more than 250 illegal alien gang members to El Salvador. Those prisoners included 21 MS-13 gang members and more than 230 Tren de Aragua members, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared on Monday.

The Trump administration ignored this order, and has since said that the flights were already in the air when the order was issued. The White House is also arguing that the judge did not have any “lawful basis” for such an order.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, Trump argued that the judge was standing in the way of the American people.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President – He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING,” the president posted.

Trump reminded the public that one of the top reasons Americans elected him was to handle the border crisis.

“I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” he said. “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do.”

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ [sic] I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump continued. “WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill announced on Monday evening that he would be filing articles of impeachment against Boasberg.

The Daily Wire’s Spencer Lindquist reported Monday that Boasberg, an Obama appointee, has a history of stonewalling Trump’s immigration policies, noting that the judge spared one of the FBI officials behind the Russiagate hoax from prison.

Lindquist’s report notes that the judge’s wife, Elizabeth Manson, founded an abortion clinic in northern Virginia and donated over $11,000 to Democratic candidates, including the Hillary Victory Fund and Hillary for America.

“Be prepared to get weepy. It’s an amazing feeling,” Manson wrote on Facebook ahead of Clinton’s defeat. And after the election: “I needed a smile on my [Facebook] page after this ghastly week.”

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump said Tuesday morning that the judge blocking his deportations of violent illegal immigrants “should be impeached” for blocking the will of the American people.

Trump was apparently referring to U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, who on Saturday issued an order blocking Trump’s deportation of more than 250 illegal alien gang members to El Salvador. Those prisoners included 21 MS-13 gang members and more than 230 Tren de Aragua members, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared on Monday.

The Trump administration ignored this order, and has since said that the flights were already in the air when the order was issued. The White House is also arguing that the judge did not have any “lawful basis” for such an order.

In a Truth Social post on Tuesday morning, Trump argued that the judge was standing in the way of the American people.

“This Radical Left Lunatic of a Judge, a troublemaker and agitator who was sadly appointed by Barack Hussein Obama, was not elected President – He didn’t WIN the popular VOTE (by a lot!), he didn’t WIN ALL SEVEN SWING STATES, he didn’t WIN 2,750 to 525 Counties, HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING,” the president posted.

Trump reminded the public that one of the top reasons Americans elected him was to handle the border crisis.

“I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY,” he said. “I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do.”

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ [sic] I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” Trump continued. “WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Republican Texas Rep. Brandon Gill announced on Monday evening that he would be filing articles of impeachment against Boasberg.

The Daily Wire’s Spencer Lindquist reported Monday that Boasberg, an Obama appointee, has a history of stonewalling Trump’s immigration policies, noting that the judge spared one of the FBI officials behind the Russiagate hoax from prison.

Lindquist’s report notes that the judge’s wife, Elizabeth Manson, founded an abortion clinic in northern Virginia and donated over $11,000 to Democratic candidates, including the Hillary Victory Fund and Hillary for America.

“Be prepared to get weepy. It’s an amazing feeling,” Manson wrote on Facebook ahead of Clinton’s defeat. And after the election: “I needed a smile on my [Facebook] page after this ghastly week.”

“}]] 

The post President Trump Says Judge Blocking Deportations ‘Should Be IMPEACHED’ appeared first on Spin Politico.

A federal judge attempting to block the Trump administration’s deportation efforts under the Alien Enemies Act ordered the Justice Department on Monday to give him more detailed information on the deportation flights of suspected gang members to El Salvador over the weekend. 

United States District Judge James Boasberg ordered the DOJ to provide a sworn declaration by noon ET on Tuesday.

The move comes after the Trump administration did not turn around flights carrying around 250 illegal immigrants believed to be associated with violent gangs like Tren de Aragua after a Saturday order from Boasberg. 

After the DOJ said it could not answer several of Boasberg’s demands because of national security concerns, the liberal judge gave the Trump administration the deadline to file additional justifications. 

“If the government takes the position that it will not provide that information to the Court under any circumstances, it must support such position, including with classified authorities if necessary,” the judge said. 

That directive came after a lawyer for the DOJ said that the judge was asking about “operational issues” that the defense was not authorized to provide further information on.

During the hearing, Boasberg and the DOJ clashed over the Trump administration’s decision to finish the deportation flights to El Salvador despite his order. 

“You’re saying that you felt that you could disregard it because it wasn’t a written order,” Boasberg said. 

The Trump administration has argued that the order didn’t apply because the flights were already over international waters and that the judge had no authority to intervene because of national security concerns. 

“It wasn’t until this flight was already in international waters heading down to El Salvador that the judge made some comment about returning the flights,” border czar Tom Homan said on Monday. “We’re already in international waters. We’re outside the borders of the United States.”

On Monday, the DOJ asked a federal appeals court to intervene and take Boasberg off the case, saying he was undermining national security. 

“The Government cannot—and will not—be forced to answer sensitive questions of national security and foreign relations in a rushed posture without orderly briefing and a showing that these questions are somehow material to a live issue. Answering them, especially on the proposed timetable, is flagrantly improper and presents grave risks to the conduct of the Government in areas wholly unsuited to micromanagement supervision by a district court judge,” the DOJ said.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

A federal judge attempting to block the Trump administration’s deportation efforts under the Alien Enemies Act ordered the Justice Department on Monday to give him more detailed information on the deportation flights of suspected gang members to El Salvador over the weekend. 

United States District Judge James Boasberg ordered the DOJ to provide a sworn declaration by noon ET on Tuesday.

The move comes after the Trump administration did not turn around flights carrying around 250 illegal immigrants believed to be associated with violent gangs like Tren de Aragua after a Saturday order from Boasberg. 

After the DOJ said it could not answer several of Boasberg’s demands because of national security concerns, the liberal judge gave the Trump administration the deadline to file additional justifications. 

“If the government takes the position that it will not provide that information to the Court under any circumstances, it must support such position, including with classified authorities if necessary,” the judge said. 

That directive came after a lawyer for the DOJ said that the judge was asking about “operational issues” that the defense was not authorized to provide further information on.

During the hearing, Boasberg and the DOJ clashed over the Trump administration’s decision to finish the deportation flights to El Salvador despite his order. 

“You’re saying that you felt that you could disregard it because it wasn’t a written order,” Boasberg said. 

The Trump administration has argued that the order didn’t apply because the flights were already over international waters and that the judge had no authority to intervene because of national security concerns. 

“It wasn’t until this flight was already in international waters heading down to El Salvador that the judge made some comment about returning the flights,” border czar Tom Homan said on Monday. “We’re already in international waters. We’re outside the borders of the United States.”

On Monday, the DOJ asked a federal appeals court to intervene and take Boasberg off the case, saying he was undermining national security. 

“The Government cannot—and will not—be forced to answer sensitive questions of national security and foreign relations in a rushed posture without orderly briefing and a showing that these questions are somehow material to a live issue. Answering them, especially on the proposed timetable, is flagrantly improper and presents grave risks to the conduct of the Government in areas wholly unsuited to micromanagement supervision by a district court judge,” the DOJ said.

“}]] 

The post Judge Gives Trump Admin Deadline To Provide Sworn Declaration On Gang Member Deportations appeared first on Spin Politico.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set today to discuss peace and “dividing up assets” with Ukraine. Trump pushes ahead with deporting violent gang members, despite legal efforts to bring them back to the United States. And new reports show both British and German intelligence believed COVID-19 was created in a lab, but chose to suppress those findings.

It’s Tuesday, March 18, and this is news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:

 Putin/Trump Face-off

(Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Topline: President Donald Trump is set to hold a potentially pivotal phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin today as the two sides move closer to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Last week, the Trump administration proposed a 30-day pause in the fighting to allow for formal peace negotiations to kick off. The Ukrainians accepted that deal, prompting the United States to renew weapons shipments to Kyiv, but the Russians were more hesitant to agree on a ceasefire. At the moment, it seems that Putin will only agree to the deal if he has assurances that the United States would pause new weapons shipments to Ukraine and that Ukraine would not be allowed to mobilize new forces during the 30 days.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that “the Russians say ‘We support a ceasefire, but …’ And then after the ‘but,’ they start coming with various details to delay the process.” He says Putin is well aware that Western support for Ukraine is starting to dwindle and wants to drag out the ceasefire process to allow his forces to gain as much territory as possible ahead of negotiations, so he’ll have more leverage.

To that point, Moscow has recently launched a counteroffensive in the Kursk region — a territory in Russia that had fallen into Ukrainian hands last summer after a surprise incursion. Putin claims thousands of Ukrainian troops there are currently surrounded — he called on them to “lay down their arms and surrender” in exchange for their lives. The longer a ceasefire is delayed, the more time Putin will have to close in on those troops. For that reason, among others, Zelensky is calling on Trump to exert pressure on Moscow to accept the ceasefire. Over the weekend, he issued a plea for “maximum additional sanctions” on Russia if they continue to stall — for his part, Trump said “we can” do that, but “I hope it’s not necessary.”

The Terms: Putin has shown a clear willingness to continually throw Russians into the frontlines and is unlikely to end the war if it means coming back empty-handed. Specifically, he wants to formally retain control of Crimea and the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine. Zelensky has insisted that he’ll never cede land to Putin, but at this stage, it’s all but guaranteed he’ll have to agree to some land being lost in order to end the war.

The potential deployment of peacekeeping forces to Ukraine will likely be another point of contention in negotiations. Putin has made clear from day one that he will never agree to a deal that includes NATO membership for Ukraine — Europe and the United States seem to have conceded that point. As an alternative, Ukraine has pushed for European peacekeepers within its borders after the war. European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have already agreed to provide boots on the ground, although it remains unclear if Putin will accept a European-backed security guarantee.

Trump Deports Illegal Gang Members

El Salvador Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Topline: A showdown over a planeload of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members has pitted immigrant activists against Trump. The administration is moving forward with the deportation of more than 250 individuals despite legal moves from the ACLU.

On Friday night, President Trump signed an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allowed suspected gang members in the country illegally to be deported without a judicial hearing. The signing wasn’t promoted, but the media caught wind of it on Saturday morning. The ACLU quickly filed a lawsuit trying to stop the deportations — a court order issued by federal Judge James Boasberg temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting illegals under the 18th-century statute. By Saturday afternoon, however, the planes were already in the air, having departed from Texas to El Salvador, where the deported were to be housed in a prison for gang members. The Trump administration claims that by the time Judge James Boasberg’s order was issued, the flight was already outside United States airspace.

Border czar Tom Homan dismissed Judge Boasberg’s order, saying he and Trump will not stop until America is safe. “Every day, the men and women of ICE are going to be out there arresting criminal illegal aliens,” Homan said. “I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the Left thinks. We’re coming.”

The Trump DOJ filed a response to Boasberg’s order contesting the authority of a single judge to halt national policy efforts. “Plaintiffs cannot use these proceedings to interfere with the President’s national-security and foreign-affairs authority.” One senior official told Axios that there were discussions in the administration about whether the planes needed to turn back, but after meeting with legal counsel, they decided they could proceed with the deportations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that “if the Democrats want to argue in favor of turning a plane full of rapists, murderers, and gangsters back to the United States, that’s a fight we are more than happy to take.” Trump and his team are testing the limits of executive power and likely expect this to be settled by the Supreme Court.

Judge Boasberg told the DOJ to provide details on the flights in a sworn declaration by noon ET today.

The Numbers: In the first 50 days of the Trump administration, ICE made more than 32,000 enforcement arrests, just a hair shy of the total number of arrests made in all of fiscal year 2024. Nearly half of those arrested were convicted criminals and about a third had pending criminal charges, meaning 75% of those arrested were accused or convicted criminals. Illegal border crossings also fell by 94% in February compared to the previous year, and illegal encounters at the Del Rio Sector declined by 99% since 2023.

Covid Lab Leak Proof

(Photo by Kobus Louw via Getty Images)

Topline: We learned this week that the former head of the U.K.’s foreign intelligence agency told the British prime minister in early 2020 that COVID-19 escaped from the infamous Wuhan lab. The revelation follows reports out of Germany showing that its government allegedly had similar information, as did the United States and China.

This week, a memo sent by the former head of MI6 to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that as early as 2020, British intelligence believed that COVID was leaked from a Chinese lab and that the Chinese government was conducting an international disinformation campaign to avoid taking responsibility for an outbreak that would go on to kill millions of people.

The memo says, beyond a reasonable doubt, “the Wuhan Institute of Virology retro-engineered a bat virus in January 2020. We surmise that this was done to align with COVID-19 to sustain the natural causation narrative.”

The German Connection: A few days before the British announcement, two major newspapers in Germany revealed that the German foreign intelligence service, their version of the CIA, had also believed that there was an 80 to 90 percent chance that the coronavirus had leaked from a Chinese lab.

“The implications of this conspiracy — I think it’s the correct word in this case — are pretty significant,” independent journalist Michael Shellenberger told Morning Wire. “It would suggest that the U.S., U.K., Chinese, and German governments all knew that the virus escaped from the lab, arguably as early as January, and we had reported that the U.S. intelligence community had known, in fact, the names of the first three people to be infected by the Covid virus, and that didn’t come out.”

Congressional investigations found that the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where COVID-19 is thought to have originated, received funding for gain-of-function research on coronaviruses from the American National Institute of Health.

Shellenberger told Morning Wire that the memo “obviously implicates a number of senior American officials, including Anthony Fauci, but it may have meant that our response to the virus may have been different had we known that it had come from a lab.” Fauci was issued a preemptive pardon by former President Joe Biden shortly before President Trump took office. Trump has argued that Fauci’s blanket pardon is “void” because it was signed with an autopen.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set today to discuss peace and “dividing up assets” with Ukraine. Trump pushes ahead with deporting violent gang members, despite legal efforts to bring them back to the United States. And new reports show both British and German intelligence believed COVID-19 was created in a lab, but chose to suppress those findings.

It’s Tuesday, March 18, and this is news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:

 Putin/Trump Face-off

(Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

Topline: President Donald Trump is set to hold a potentially pivotal phone call with Russia’s Vladimir Putin today as the two sides move closer to a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Last week, the Trump administration proposed a 30-day pause in the fighting to allow for formal peace negotiations to kick off. The Ukrainians accepted that deal, prompting the United States to renew weapons shipments to Kyiv, but the Russians were more hesitant to agree on a ceasefire. At the moment, it seems that Putin will only agree to the deal if he has assurances that the United States would pause new weapons shipments to Ukraine and that Ukraine would not be allowed to mobilize new forces during the 30 days.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters that “the Russians say ‘We support a ceasefire, but …’ And then after the ‘but,’ they start coming with various details to delay the process.” He says Putin is well aware that Western support for Ukraine is starting to dwindle and wants to drag out the ceasefire process to allow his forces to gain as much territory as possible ahead of negotiations, so he’ll have more leverage.

To that point, Moscow has recently launched a counteroffensive in the Kursk region — a territory in Russia that had fallen into Ukrainian hands last summer after a surprise incursion. Putin claims thousands of Ukrainian troops there are currently surrounded — he called on them to “lay down their arms and surrender” in exchange for their lives. The longer a ceasefire is delayed, the more time Putin will have to close in on those troops. For that reason, among others, Zelensky is calling on Trump to exert pressure on Moscow to accept the ceasefire. Over the weekend, he issued a plea for “maximum additional sanctions” on Russia if they continue to stall — for his part, Trump said “we can” do that, but “I hope it’s not necessary.”

The Terms: Putin has shown a clear willingness to continually throw Russians into the frontlines and is unlikely to end the war if it means coming back empty-handed. Specifically, he wants to formally retain control of Crimea and the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine. Zelensky has insisted that he’ll never cede land to Putin, but at this stage, it’s all but guaranteed he’ll have to agree to some land being lost in order to end the war.

The potential deployment of peacekeeping forces to Ukraine will likely be another point of contention in negotiations. Putin has made clear from day one that he will never agree to a deal that includes NATO membership for Ukraine — Europe and the United States seem to have conceded that point. As an alternative, Ukraine has pushed for European peacekeepers within its borders after the war. European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have already agreed to provide boots on the ground, although it remains unclear if Putin will accept a European-backed security guarantee.

Trump Deports Illegal Gang Members

El Salvador Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

Topline: A showdown over a planeload of suspected Tren de Aragua gang members has pitted immigrant activists against Trump. The administration is moving forward with the deportation of more than 250 individuals despite legal moves from the ACLU.

On Friday night, President Trump signed an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which allowed suspected gang members in the country illegally to be deported without a judicial hearing. The signing wasn’t promoted, but the media caught wind of it on Saturday morning. The ACLU quickly filed a lawsuit trying to stop the deportations — a court order issued by federal Judge James Boasberg temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting illegals under the 18th-century statute. By Saturday afternoon, however, the planes were already in the air, having departed from Texas to El Salvador, where the deported were to be housed in a prison for gang members. The Trump administration claims that by the time Judge James Boasberg’s order was issued, the flight was already outside United States airspace.

Border czar Tom Homan dismissed Judge Boasberg’s order, saying he and Trump will not stop until America is safe. “Every day, the men and women of ICE are going to be out there arresting criminal illegal aliens,” Homan said. “I don’t care what the judges think. I don’t care what the Left thinks. We’re coming.”

The Trump DOJ filed a response to Boasberg’s order contesting the authority of a single judge to halt national policy efforts. “Plaintiffs cannot use these proceedings to interfere with the President’s national-security and foreign-affairs authority.” One senior official told Axios that there were discussions in the administration about whether the planes needed to turn back, but after meeting with legal counsel, they decided they could proceed with the deportations.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday that “if the Democrats want to argue in favor of turning a plane full of rapists, murderers, and gangsters back to the United States, that’s a fight we are more than happy to take.” Trump and his team are testing the limits of executive power and likely expect this to be settled by the Supreme Court.

Judge Boasberg told the DOJ to provide details on the flights in a sworn declaration by noon ET today.

The Numbers: In the first 50 days of the Trump administration, ICE made more than 32,000 enforcement arrests, just a hair shy of the total number of arrests made in all of fiscal year 2024. Nearly half of those arrested were convicted criminals and about a third had pending criminal charges, meaning 75% of those arrested were accused or convicted criminals. Illegal border crossings also fell by 94% in February compared to the previous year, and illegal encounters at the Del Rio Sector declined by 99% since 2023.

Covid Lab Leak Proof

(Photo by Kobus Louw via Getty Images)

Topline: We learned this week that the former head of the U.K.’s foreign intelligence agency told the British prime minister in early 2020 that COVID-19 escaped from the infamous Wuhan lab. The revelation follows reports out of Germany showing that its government allegedly had similar information, as did the United States and China.

This week, a memo sent by the former head of MI6 to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed that as early as 2020, British intelligence believed that COVID was leaked from a Chinese lab and that the Chinese government was conducting an international disinformation campaign to avoid taking responsibility for an outbreak that would go on to kill millions of people.

The memo says, beyond a reasonable doubt, “the Wuhan Institute of Virology retro-engineered a bat virus in January 2020. We surmise that this was done to align with COVID-19 to sustain the natural causation narrative.”

The German Connection: A few days before the British announcement, two major newspapers in Germany revealed that the German foreign intelligence service, their version of the CIA, had also believed that there was an 80 to 90 percent chance that the coronavirus had leaked from a Chinese lab.

“The implications of this conspiracy — I think it’s the correct word in this case — are pretty significant,” independent journalist Michael Shellenberger told Morning Wire. “It would suggest that the U.S., U.K., Chinese, and German governments all knew that the virus escaped from the lab, arguably as early as January, and we had reported that the U.S. intelligence community had known, in fact, the names of the first three people to be infected by the Covid virus, and that didn’t come out.”

Congressional investigations found that the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where COVID-19 is thought to have originated, received funding for gain-of-function research on coronaviruses from the American National Institute of Health.

Shellenberger told Morning Wire that the memo “obviously implicates a number of senior American officials, including Anthony Fauci, but it may have meant that our response to the virus may have been different had we known that it had come from a lab.” Fauci was issued a preemptive pardon by former President Joe Biden shortly before President Trump took office. Trump has argued that Fauci’s blanket pardon is “void” because it was signed with an autopen.

“}]] 

The post Morning Brief: Trump And Putin Talk Terms, Deportations Continue, And The Lab Leak Gets More Proof appeared first on Spin Politico.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A Tennessee library board voted Monday evening to remove all books promoting transgenderism to children from its system, facing down protesters who called them “Nazis” for taking the stand. 

The Rutherford County Library board voted 5-3 in favor of a resolution to take books encouraging children to adopt radical gender ideology off their shelves. The vote came after a tense 2-hour meeting attended by over 100 community members who showed up at the Historic Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro, about 34 miles from Nashville, to hear debate on the resolution.

The resolution directed the library to “remove material that promotes, encourages, advocates for or normalizes transgenderism or ‘gender confusion’ in minors.”

After the vote was taken, a group of supporters of the resolution, who showed up wearing white shirts, erupted with cheers and clapping. Opponents, who heckled the board throughout the meeting, shouted things like “Nazis!” at the library board. During debate on the resolution, audience members would break out in cheers after a board member spoke in favor of their position.

Cody York, who introduced the measure, said that he did so because the board had an obligation to protect children.

“The library board is expending money to keep books on the shelf. By just keeping a book we are making a decision to expend funds, taxpayer dollars, to keep those books there,” York said. “Books that promote transgender ideology are harmful to children.”

York referenced detransitioners across the country who have sued their doctors for performing transgender medical procedures on them.

“The state and federal government have determined that these are harmful practices,” York said, pointing to President Donald Trump’s executive order that the federal government would not promote transgender procedures on kids. “The fact that some children in our community struggle with gender confusion means that we should be equipping them to successfully deal with the dangers of, and root cause of, that danger.”

Before the votes, 10 community members were given 3 minutes each to speak.

“If we cause children to go down this road, they can make decisions they will regret for the rest of their lives. When we expose them to things that they don’t have a level to understand, it’s really sexualizing them,” a woman named Michelle said, urging the board to take away books promoting transgender ideology. “Children, they don’t have a capacity for this. If we say we love them, if we say that ‘you are loved,’ ‘we loved you,’ we should want to tell that person the truth. Love is truth.”

Under the new policy, staff at libraries across the county would have to flag books promoting transgender ideology to kids and turn them over to the board for evaluation.

Board members who voted in favor included York, Marzee Woodard, Dina Piazza, Susan Quesenberry, and Shaun Wright. Those who voted against included Benjamin Groce, Kory Wells, and Rollie Holden.

Previously, in the meeting the board voted to remove a book called “Me & My Dysphoria Monster,” a children’s illustrated book that tells the story of a boy who believes that he is a girl who meets a “trans man” who teaches him about gender dysphoria.

That vote was 5-2 along almost the same lines as the other vote, except with an abstention from Holden.

Tennessee state lawmakers have already moved to get sexually explicit books out of school libraries, and this new Rutherford County resolution would enact a similar policy at the county level for transgender ideology.

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​[[{“value”:”

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — A Tennessee library board voted Monday evening to remove all books promoting transgenderism to children from its system, facing down protesters who called them “Nazis” for taking the stand. 

The Rutherford County Library board voted 5-3 in favor of a resolution to take books encouraging children to adopt radical gender ideology off their shelves. The vote came after a tense 2-hour meeting attended by over 100 community members who showed up at the Historic Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro, about 34 miles from Nashville, to hear debate on the resolution.

The resolution directed the library to “remove material that promotes, encourages, advocates for or normalizes transgenderism or ‘gender confusion’ in minors.”

After the vote was taken, a group of supporters of the resolution, who showed up wearing white shirts, erupted with cheers and clapping. Opponents, who heckled the board throughout the meeting, shouted things like “Nazis!” at the library board. During debate on the resolution, audience members would break out in cheers after a board member spoke in favor of their position.

Cody York, who introduced the measure, said that he did so because the board had an obligation to protect children.

“The library board is expending money to keep books on the shelf. By just keeping a book we are making a decision to expend funds, taxpayer dollars, to keep those books there,” York said. “Books that promote transgender ideology are harmful to children.”

York referenced detransitioners across the country who have sued their doctors for performing transgender medical procedures on them.

“The state and federal government have determined that these are harmful practices,” York said, pointing to President Donald Trump’s executive order that the federal government would not promote transgender procedures on kids. “The fact that some children in our community struggle with gender confusion means that we should be equipping them to successfully deal with the dangers of, and root cause of, that danger.”

Before the votes, 10 community members were given 3 minutes each to speak.

“If we cause children to go down this road, they can make decisions they will regret for the rest of their lives. When we expose them to things that they don’t have a level to understand, it’s really sexualizing them,” a woman named Michelle said, urging the board to take away books promoting transgender ideology. “Children, they don’t have a capacity for this. If we say we love them, if we say that ‘you are loved,’ ‘we loved you,’ we should want to tell that person the truth. Love is truth.”

Under the new policy, staff at libraries across the county would have to flag books promoting transgender ideology to kids and turn them over to the board for evaluation.

Board members who voted in favor included York, Marzee Woodard, Dina Piazza, Susan Quesenberry, and Shaun Wright. Those who voted against included Benjamin Groce, Kory Wells, and Rollie Holden.

Previously, in the meeting the board voted to remove a book called “Me & My Dysphoria Monster,” a children’s illustrated book that tells the story of a boy who believes that he is a girl who meets a “trans man” who teaches him about gender dysphoria.

That vote was 5-2 along almost the same lines as the other vote, except with an abstention from Holden.

Tennessee state lawmakers have already moved to get sexually explicit books out of school libraries, and this new Rutherford County resolution would enact a similar policy at the county level for transgender ideology.

“}]] 

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