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Congressional Democrats are calling out the Trump administration for what they claim is insider trading after his abrupt walkback of global tariffs. On Wednesday morning (April 9), President Donald Trump posted to his Truth Social media network shortly after the stock market opened in the United States: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT.” Hours later, he announced that he was pausing his wide-sweeping tariffs on other countries except China – he held firm on keeping tariffs on imports from that country at 125%. The markets rose after the news, after having fallen dramatically since his “Liberation Day” declaration of the global tariffs on April 2, with the S&P 500 up 9.5% at closing.
What raised red flags with Democrats was Trump’s signoff on Truth Social with his initials. It’s not a normal practice of his to do so, and the initials also stand for the Trump Media & Technology Group on the stock market ticker. The group’s stock value rose 22%. California Representative Adam Schiff highlighted the issue in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “So the question is between that tweet and Donald Trump’s announcement that he was reducing the tariffs on most other nations apart from China, the question is who knew what the President was gonna do and did people around the president trade stock knowing the incredible gyration the market was about to go through?”
Other Democratic lawmakers echoed Schiff’s outrage. Representative Steven Horsford challenged U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during a hearing when Greer claimed he had no idea of Trump’s motives. “This is amateur hour, and it needs to stop. What does this even mean for your negotiating strategy? How are you in charge of negotiation if the president is tweeting about this from wherever the hell he is?” he asked. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also voiced her concerns in a post on X, writing: “I’ve been hearing some interesting chatter on the floor. Disclosure deadline is May 15th. We’re about to learn a few things. It’s time to ban insider trading in Congress.”When questioned by reporters about when he decided to make the pause, Trump replied, “For a period of a time. I would say this morning. Over the last few days, I’ve been thinking about it.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s decision, sarcastically telling reporters that it was his “art of the deal” at play.
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On Monday evening (April 7), the Supreme Court sided with President Donald Trump, granting an emergency request by the administration and overturning a lower court ruling, which had stopped deportation flights conducted under the Alien Enemies Act. The ruling came after a 5-4 decision, which saw Justice Amy Comey Barrett side with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Elena Kagan in dissent.
In the decision, the Court wrote that the lawyers representing migrants who were deported to El Salvador should’ve filed their lawsuit in Texas, rather than Washington, D.C. The Trump administration used the Alien Enemies Act, first enacted in 1798, to deport over 100 Venezuelans it claimed were members of Tren de Aragua, a notorious street gang in that country. They argued that the powers of the act, which allows the president to detain or deport citizens of enemy nations, was applicable in this case. Federal Judge James E. Boasberg directed the administration to stop the deportation flights, particularly as the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia came to light. Garcia, a Maryland man and legal resident since 2019, was among those deported on March 15.The Supreme Court’s opinion also called for all future potential cases for deportation go through due process in court: “AEA detainees must receive notice after the date of this order that they are subject to removal under the Act. The notice must be afforded within a reasonable time and in such a manner as will allow them to actually seek habeas relief in the proper venue before such removal occurs.”Trump crowed about the decision on his Truth Social media platform, writing: “The Supreme Court has upheld the Rule of Law in our Nation by allowing a President, whoever that may be, to be able to secure our Borders, and protect our families and our Country, itself. A GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA!” His glee was in contrast to the grave concern expressed by Justice Sotomayor, who wrote that “The Government’s conduct in this litigation poses an extraordinary threat to the rule of law. We, as a Nation and a court of law, should be better than this.” Justice Brown Jackson compared the case to the infamous Korematsu v. United States decision, which allowed for Japanese-Americans to be herded into internment camps during World War II. “But make no mistake: We are just as wrong now as we have been in the past, with similarly devastating consequences,” she wrote in the dissent.
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A new report by two witnesses sheds more light on an incident in late March where Israeli soldiers reportedly attacked rescue workers in Gaza. Saeed al-Bardawil, a doctor, and Red Crescent volunteer paramedic Munther Abed were detained by the Israeli Defense Forces earlier. Abed said that he was captured while surviving an assault on his ambulance, which killed the other members of his crew, and al-Bardawil was captured while venturing out to go fishing with his son.
The two men alleged that the soldiers attacked another ambulance and fire truck in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, claiming the workers were members of the Hamas organization. The vehicles and crew were sent out to investigate what happened to Abed’s ambulance, which had their headlights and emergency signals on when attacked. “I wasn’t blindfolded — I saw everything clearly,” Dr. al-Bardawil said to the New York Times. “The medics got out to inspect the damaged ambulance. That’s when the soldiers opened heavy fire.”The United Nations would find a mass grave containing 15 rescue workers – eight from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, one from the United Nations, and from Gaza’s Civil Defense – along with their half-crushed vehicles in a separate grave, leading them to accuse the Israeli Defense Forces of targeting the workers “one by one.” The IDF would deny the claims until a seven-minute video retrieved from the phone of one of the victims showed the moments leading up to soldiers confronting the medics and opening fire. An official would then backtrack in a statement, saying: “What we understand currently is the person who gives the initial account is mistaken. We’re trying to understand why.”Abed described the attack on his ambulance, and how he was confronted by Israeli soldiers who told him to strip naked and kneel. “You’re a terrorist — why are you here?” he recalled a soldier shouting at him. He then detailed how when he asked about his colleagues, another soldier told him in Arabic that “those terrorists” had been taken to hell by God. He and Dr. al-Bardawil would be released after telling others to evacuate.
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President Donald Trump’s administration is reportedly set to strike a deal with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to the tune of $400 million. President Trump is putting a fleet of armored Tesla Cybertrucks on order, prompting many online to call out the hypocrisy of DOGE and the White House.
As spotted on Drop Site, it appears that the State Department, now headed by Marco Rubio, was in line to receive the fleet of armored Tesla Cybertrucks with a value of $400 million and is slated to take place in the fourth quarter of the year for a period of five years. The outlet notes that the forecasted purchase was modified on Dec. 13 of last year, ahead of when Trump was officially sworn in last month.
Drop Site added that the plan was set in motion by President Joe Biden’s administration, with the aim of transforming the Bureau of Diplomatic Security’s fleet of over 3,000 armored vehicles into all-electric, zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
After reports of the deal went wide, including outlets such as MSBNC and NPR, speculation pointed to the Cybertruck as the vehicle of choice after the word “Tesla” was seen in the State Department document. However, that word was removed Wednesday evening, prompting some to think that there is trickery afoot.
Elon Musk is currently spearheading the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, which has aimed efforts to cut government overspending. Critics of Musk and DOGE have aimed their concerns about the raging conflict of interest should Musk’s company retain the contract despite his pledge to cut the country’s deficit by trillions.
Cybertruck owners have recently been the target of vandalism and ridicule after Musk’s public alignment with Trump. Some owners are saying they’re being targeted while viral clips online show the vehicle marked with insults and taking surface damage.
On X, the reaction to the reports that Tesla could potentially earn $400 in government contracts for a fleet of decked-out Cybertrucks has garnered some passionate responses. We’ve got those listed below.
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Officials in Georgia and Arizona extended Election Day hours at Black and Indigenous polling places due to multiple hoax bomb threats called in, with some linked to Russian interference.
The presidential election race between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump on Tuesday (November 5) became more serious as several polling sites in Georgia, Arizona, and other states were beset by bomb threats, causing them to temporarily shut down. Federal and local officials have stated that they have credible information that the threats were part of election interference operations from Russia to create voter suppression. “The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains,” the agency said in a statement released to the press. “None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.” Other states reporting similar bomb threats include Pennsylvania,
Three polling locations in major blue areas of Fulton, Cobb, and Gwinnett counties are going to stay open later because of bomb threats originating from Russia.
MAGA clowns were celebrating the disruption until they found out folks will now be able to vote even later. #gapol pic.twitter.com/T2QHFPC8iP
— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) November 5, 2024
“We identified the source, and it was from Russia,” said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “They’re up to mischief, it seems, and they don’t want us to have a smooth, fair, and accurate election. Anything that can get us to fight amongst ourselves – they can count that as a victory.” There were more than one dozen threats to polling sites alone in Georgia, predominately in majority-Black and Democratic-leaning areas in the greater Atlanta area. In DeKalb County, seven locations received threats in one hour including churches.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes also blamed Russia for several bomb threats that were called in at polling stations in Navajo Nation communities. “We also have reason to believe, although I won’t get into specifics, that this comes from one of our foreign enemies, namely Russia,” he said to reporters in a news conference. Fontes also claimed that the threats came from a “.ru” email address, but whether or not it was a spoof is yet to be determined. He did say that federal and state officials are continuing to investigate.
Georgia extended their polling hours to close at 7:45 P.M., and Arizona stated the issue wouldn’t affect their polling. Federal officials have noted that it makes sense for Russia to inflict chaos during this time and warn it could increase over the next two months. “If chaos is the point, the most opportune window to create mischief is the post-November 5th pre-certification period,” said former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Chris Krebs.
BREAKING – Over 40 different fake bomb threats have now been called into Democratic-leaning polling places
And they’re coming from RUSSIA
This should literally be THE story right now — it is blatant and brazen election interference to steal the election for Trump
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) November 6, 2024
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A CNN discussion fell into chaos as guest panelist Mehdi Hasan was labeled a terrorist by another guest, and social media was incensed.
On Monday night (October 28), CNN host Abby Phillip was moderating a panel discussion that devolved into chaos as one guest panelist inferred that Medhi Hasan, another panelist, was a terrorist. The discussion was centered on the controversial Donald Trump campaign rally held the day before in Madison Square Garden, including Hasan and conservative Ryan Girdusky. Hasan opined that if right-wing supporters of Trump didn’t want to be labeled as “Nazis”, they shouldn’t make anti-Semitic statements. “You’re called an anti-Semite more than anyone at this table,” Girdusky replied, to which Hasan retorted, “Yeah, by you.” As Hasan stated that his support of the Palestinian people made him susceptible to those attacks, Girdusky then said, “Well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off,” referring to the Israeli military operation targeting Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon weeks ago by setting off their pagers which contained hidden explosives.
Here’s the video of Ryan Gidursky saying to Mehdi Hasan, “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.” https://t.co/Zn1B7SCI8i pic.twitter.com/5MX93GOeAe
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) October 29, 2024
Girdusky tried to continue speaking but the former MSNBC host cut him off. “Did you just say I should die? Did you just say I should be killed live on CNN?”, he asked. Girdusky then claimed he thought Hasan supported the Hamas terror organization, which Hasan denied, leading Girdusky to say, “Then, I apologize.” The other panelists were stunned as Phillip said, “Ryan, that is completely out of pocket.” The program went to commercial, and Hasan and Girdusky weren’t present. Phillip would issue an apology to Hasan and the viewers on-air.
Phillip: I want to apologize to Mehdi Hasan for what was said at this table. It was completely unacceptable when we get this discussion started, you’ll see that Ryan is not at the table… I want to apologize to the viewers at home pic.twitter.com/wyPaStHUex
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 29, 2024
CNN would issue a statement on X, formerly Twitter, banning Girdusky from appearing on the network. Girdusky attacked CNN afterward, writing in another post on X: “You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi and have taken money from Qatar-funded media. Apparently you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke. I’m glad America gets to see what CNN stands for.” The situation was met with outrage by many on social media who viewed the clip. Lawyer Qasim Rashid questioned the network’s decision to have Girdusky on in the first place: “He calls it a “joke” but his racist comment isn’t isolated. He’s a Project 2025 advisor, runs a racist PAC, & previously wrote for a Nazi—yet CNN invited him on anyway. Why?”
MAGA pundit Ryan Girdusky spewed to Hasan “I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.”
He calls it a “joke” but his racist comment isn’t isolated.
He’s a Project 2025 advisor, runs a racist PAC, & previously wrote for a Nazi—yet CNN invited him on anyway. Why?🤔https://t.co/dKvLG9W7ie
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) October 29, 2024
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The civil war taking place in Sudan has been raging for over a year – we set out to examine it, and its causes.
Last April, the country of Sudan fell into a civil war during the Islamic holy period of Ramadan as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a coalition bolstered by the Janjaweed Arab nomad militia. The resulting conflict has led to intense fighting in and around the capital city of Khartoum and in the western Darfur region, where international observers have noted shocking instances of ethnic cleansing and other crimes not seen since the previous conflict in 2003. This is actually the third civil conflict in the nation – the last took place from 1983 to 2005 resulting in the creation of South Sudan as an independent nation in 2011.
The internal conflict between the SAF and the RAF began when Sudan’s strongman Omar al-Bashir (who created the RSF in 2013) was ousted in 2019 by the army, with the help of the RSF. Both factions would rule in a junta despite mediation from the African Union & international pressure, but as the SAF under Ahmed Fattah Al Burhan sought to transfer power to a democratic government, the RSF led by Mohamed “Hemedti” Hamdan Dagalo balked perceiving a Khartoum-centered administration. The RSF would attack government structures in Khartoum, and carry out attacks in Darfur which the Human Rights Watch said have been against the Massalit people and non-Arab communities specifically. The United Nations estimates that 20,000 have been killed and 33,000 injured including foreign nationals since the war began, with 7.7 million people displaced and 2.1 million who’ve fled the country as refugees.
There has also been a ramping up of sexual violence in the Darfur region to rival what took place there 21 years ago. “Men in RSF uniform and armed men affiliated with the RSF were reported to be responsible for 81% of the documented incidents,” said U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights Volker Türk in March. But the attention from world powers – outside of allegations of military involvement from Russia and the United Arab Emirates – has been sorely lacking. “Why are people not paying attention to what is happening?” U.N. envoy Alice Nderitu said in an interview. “If we do not break the cycle of impunity, then we will not be able to address the root causes of the violence and re-establish solid foundations for the future.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris defended President Joe Biden’s performance in the CNN-hosted debate, insisting he had a “strong finish”.
The first presidential debate between President Joe Biden and Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump took place in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday night (June 27). Biden’s near-listless performance became a hot topic after it ended, and the main subject for Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper afterward which got contentious as he pressed her about Biden’s performance at the debate hosted by his network.
“Yes, it was a slow start, but it was a strong finish,” Harris said, adding that “what became very clear through the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance. Joe Biden is extraordinarily strong.” As Cooper returned to query about Biden’s showing citing the concern from some Democrats and pundits, the vice president pushed back against it. “Listen, people can debate on style points,” Harris replied. “But ultimately, this election and who is the president of the United States has to be about substance, and the contrast is clear.”
Cooper noted Harris’ own debate performance against Biden in 2019, noting “he was a very different person on stage” before asking: “Can you say that you are not concerned at all having watched the president’s performance tonight?” Harris responded firmly: “It was a slow start. That’s obvious to everyone. I’m not going to debate that point. I’m talking about the choice in November. I’m talking about one of the most important elections in our lifetime.” She stressed that point to Cooper, pivoting to talk about Biden’s “three and a half years of performance,” and pointing to what would be at stake in the November elections.
The vice president also defended Biden in another interview on MSNBC, acknowledging the slow start but insisting that his messaging was “clear” and hammering Trump on the litany of false claims he made – which were disproven in a fact-checking segment by CNN after the debate ended, which stated that Trump issued at least 30 false claims while on stage.
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A new advertisement campaign by President Joe Biden for the month of June is focusing on Donald Trump in contrast as a “convicted criminal”.
According to reports, the election campaign for President Joe Biden has made a major purchase for advertising time on television for June, to the tune of $50 million. The new commercial, entitled “Character Matters,” is set to run in advance of the anticipated first debate between the president and former President Donald Trump who is referred to as a “convicted criminal” by the narrator. The commercial will reference Trump’s recent conviction in the election interference “hush money” case last month along with the civil fraud case loss in New York City in February that saw him and the Trump Organization liable for close to $450 million.
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“In the courtroom, we see Donald Trump for who he is,” the narration in the ad begins, showing a montage of Trump in the courtroom. ”He’s been convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for sexual assault, and he committed financial fraud. Meanwhile, Joe Biden’s been working, lowering health care costs, and making big corporations pay their fair share. This election is between a convicted criminal who is only out for himself, and a president who is fighting for your families.” The commercial will run on general market television and other services in key battleground states such as Michigan, as well as national cable. The Biden campaign also announced ad buys in Black and Latino media along with those “critical channels across television, radio, print, and online” serving the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Trump has been vocal about calling the verdicts and the cases still pending against him politically motivated, with his legal team appealing. His election campaign team has also moved to make buys for commercial time, reportedly snapping up $39,000 worth of time on stations in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, and Nebraska. Other funding, estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars, that would normally be on hand has been going towards paying for his legal defense fees. The first debate between President Biden and Trump is set to air on June 27.
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Luxury stores are still a big target for the criminal underworld. Thieves crashed a car into the Chanel store in Paris for a heist.
As reported by Raw Story one of the brand’s most popular brick and mortar locations got hit last week. In the early hours of Monday, June 10 a team ram-raided a truck into the doors of the Chanel store located at 52 Av. des Champs-Élysées. Once the automobile had caused the structure to weaken the thieves proceed to enter the establishment and helped themselves to the goods on the sales floor. Prior to leaving the scene they set the car on fire and escaped on motorbikes.
Police and firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after and put out the blaze. “The individuals used a first vehicle to enter the establishment, smashing the window, before fleeing in a second vehicle, taking some of the shop’s merchandise with them” a police source said. Another source close the investigation says they believe the crew consisted of four individuals. Back in May a Harry Winston store suffered a similar robbery where a team of thieves stuck the place up with long weapons and left on motorbikes. Police estimate Harry Winston lost anywhere from $6.5 million and $10.8 million in jewelry.
Chanel has yet to formally comment on the matter.