Thursday, May 7, 2026

DAREDEVIL: REBORN

DAREDEVIL: REBORN wrapped season two yesterday.  There were eight episodes.  Jessica Jones was only in the last three.  They could have used more of her.  They were luck to have Lili Taylor playing the governor.  She wasn't given much to do -- especially in the last episode -- but Lili brought enough gravitas to the role that you might not have noticed.  It was weird to see her and Vincent D'Onofrio going head to head.  Hadn't seen them together since Nancy Savoca's HOUSEHOLD SAINTS.  And before that, they were a couple in MYSTIC PIZZA.  

I don't know how they do season three -- don't know how after the way season two ended (not doing any spoilers here) -- but I'm assuming that there will be a season three. 

Picking up on "Ted Turner" from last night, Marina Watts (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY) notes:
 

Jane Fonda admired Ted Turner 25 years after splitting, and happened to mention it days before his death.

On Thursday, April 30 at the opening night of the TCM Classic Film Festival, the actress spoke about her ex-husband, CNN founder Ted Turner, to whom she was married from 1991 to 2001. Turner died the following Wednesday, May 6, at the age of 87.

In a pre-screening conversation with TCM's Ben Mankiewicz, Fonda mentioned that she had been married to Turner, her "favorite ex-husband," who launched the channel dedicated to film in 1994. She also said that TCM was very important to Turner.

"On our very first date, he talked to me all about Turner Classic Movies," Fonda recalled. "I do think it's one of the great things that he did."


"He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I’ve never been the same," Fonda wrote. "He needed me. No one had ever let me know they needed me, and this wasn’t your average human being that needed me, this was the creator of CNN, and Turner Classic Movies, who had won the America’s Cup as the world’s greatest sailor. He had a big life, a brilliant mind and a soaring sense of humor."
In their prime, the couple attended Turner-owned Atlanta Braves baseball games together, held hands on the 62nd annual Academy Awards red carpet, and brought their star power to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Fonda, who gave up her acting career at Turner's insistence, admitted her role on the world stage was often a supporting one.
Sometimes the tables were turned, such as during a 1990 Kremlin meeting with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. Fonda wrote in her 2006 memoir "My Life So Far" that Gorbachev spent most of the three-hour meeting speaking directly to her.
If Turner was annoyed by losing the spotlight in front of the world leader, he turned the event into an engaging story, regaling listeners with how "he had spent 28 minutes staring at Gorbachev's back."


Going out with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Thursday, May 7, 2026.  Saudi Arabia and Kuwait tell Chump "NO!" forcing him to shut down Project Freedom, his war of choice continues to destroy the US economy, James Comer makes nice with liar Howard Lutnick, Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer respond to Chump, Time Square sees a new billboard of Chump and Epstein with the tagline  “What are these two hiding?" and much more. 


Yesterday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee issued the following:

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., Ranking Member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rep. Angie Craig, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture, Rep. Jared Huffman, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Rep. Don Beyer Jr., Senior House Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, sent a letter to President Trump demanding answers on how his illegal war with Iran is driving up the cost of living for everyday Americans. Consumer prices have reached their fastest growth in almost two years as a spike in oil costs feeds into our economy, and the war has already cost taxpayers approximately $2 billion per day during the initial phase of attacks.

In the letter to President Trump, the Members wrote, “As your illegal war with Iran continues into its third month with on and off again negotiations and naval blockade, you have unleashed chaos, undermined our national security, and escalated the conflict by threatening war crimes including wiping out an entire civilization and destroying civilian infrastructure. It is clear that you chose to start your war without coherent or realistic strategic objectives, and with no plan to prevent Iran from expanding its strategic control over the Strait of Hormuz. The impacts of your war will be felt for years, and the consequences of your reckless decision to drag America into war are increasingly falling on the American public.”

 
###


Can't argue with that.  Kenneth Rapoza (MARKET WATCH) notes:

America is not starving. There’s plenty of beef, wheat and eggs. At the moment, food inflation is lower than core inflation, but Americans are still living with higher prices, up around 20% since 2022.

President Donald Trump is right when he says the U.S. doesn’t rely on the Strait of Hormuz for its agriculture needs. But Europe and Asia do — and so they will outbid American farmers for fuel and fertilizer, forcing food prices higher for everyone, including Americans.
Anyone who knows a farmer has heard stories of the “worst year ever” — but now American farmers are facing their most serious crisis since the 1980s.

Production costs were already rising before the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Many farmers are still waiting on loans, unable to lock in fertilizer prices before they spiked.

A newly released Farm Bureau survey of 5,700 U.S. farmers said 70% of farmers won’t be able to afford all the fertilizer they need this year. Many are reducing planted acres. This potentially means less food moving through the supply chain — and higher prices for what does make it to market.


While U.S. consumers are already navigating the household budget impacts of the Iran war at the gas pumps, they could also be facing a year or more of steadily increasing grocery costs if the Middle East conflict drags on.

That was among the findings of a Purdue University analysis that predicts the broad energy shock precipitated by a sustained war could add three to six percentage points to grocery inflation over the coming 12-18 months.


Cathy Bussewitz (INDEPENDENT) notes, "The price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed 31 cents in the past week, spiking to an average of $4.54 per gallon Wednesday, a price 52% higher than before the war with Iran began, according to AAA data. The main reason drivers are paying more at the pump is because the war has stranded oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil normally passes."  And Leroy Marion (AUTOBLOG) explains, "The Iran conflict is now hitting the auto industry far beyond fuel prices. According to a report from Nikkei Asia, aluminum prices in Japan have jumped more than 20 percent since late February amid major disruptions to supply chains across the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz remains heavily affected, making exports difficult, while some regional smelters have reportedly suffered damage during attacks."

The gas situation?  Joe Perticone (THE BULWARK) has noticed a curious situation wherein rising gas prcies are causing smaller responses from certain politicians:

Rising gas prices often provide a convenient index for dissatisfaction with the current president, even if the increases have little to do with the administration’s policies.1 When a war breaks out in major oil- and gas-producing regions, prices go up. When gas prices rise, so do the anxieties of political candidates who belong to the party in power. And this year, that includes many Republicans whose campaigns are crucial to maintaining a GOP Senate majority.
At the onset of the Trump administration’s unilateral military action (war) against Iran, gas prices in the United States skyrocketed, which immediately spooked Republicans concerned with holding on to their Senate majority. In the two months since the opening of hostilities, prices have fluctuated in some states while continuing to climb in others, with those around the Great Lakes seeing particularly challenging increases.

“We’re gonna be fine, we got plenty of oil,” Mike Rogers, a Republican candidate for Senate in Michigan, said in March. “You’ll get your oil, because we’re going to pump our oil right here in America, and we got plenty.”

Six weeks later, though, GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan reported gas prices leaping upward in several middle-American states. In Rogers’s Michigan, they went up 88 cents. In Ohio, they climbed 94 cents. In Wisconsin, 33 cents. And in Indiana, prices grew by a calamitous dollar and nine cents.2

On Thursday, Rogers addressed the issue once again. When Newsmax host Ed Henry asked the candidate, “Are you nervous . . . about these stubbornly high gas prices?” Rogers finally acknowledged the reality of higher costs at the pump:

Listen, high prices of anything hurt people in Michigan. . . . Iran is about stopping their nuclear program, stopping their ballistic missile program so they can’t hurt others. I think most Americans are there. We all want this to come to a quick end—I think including the president of the United States. The president’s also taking really direct actions to try to bring those prices down and I support those actions to bring those prices down. I’ll tell you this, Ed. I get around and talk to voters all around this state. The main thing about affordability is they do not trust Democrats.

Well, Rogers sure doesn’t trust Democrats on affordability, at least. That might be why he framed the situation so differently when gas prices surged to four dollars per gallon during the Joe Biden administration.

“I’m not sure we can survive $3.99 a gallon going forward,” Rogers said in a 2024 video campaigning against Democrat Elissa Slotkin. “Listen, the [Democratic] agenda moving forward on gas prices is only gonna make that worse. We must get America back on track.”




Along with rising prices, another thing Americans are agreeing on with regards to Chump's war of choice is rhetoric.  Conor Murray (FORBES) notes:

Most Americans disapprove of an image President Donald Trump posted that appeared to depict himself as Jesus, while many more had a favorable view of Pope Leo XIV’s calls for peace amid the Iran war, a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found, as Washington and the Vatican continue to fracture over the conflict.
The poll found 87% of Americans disapproved of the post Trump made on Truth Social last month that appeared to depict himself as Jesus, which sparked criticism and allegations of blasphemy, even from some on the right, though Trump said he thought the picture depicted him as a doctor.
Eighty percent of Trump 2024 voters and 79% of Republicans surveyed had a negative reaction to Trump’s Jesus post, the poll found.

Sixty-nine percent of Americans disapproved of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praying for U.S. troops to inflict “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”

But Pope Leo’s call for Americans to contact their representatives and urge them to find a peaceful solution to the war in Iran earned a more positive reception, with 66% of poll respondents having a positive reaction.



87% disproved?  Yeah and that number may climb higher.  I said when the post was in the news that this was one of those things that people think about and in a week or two get angry about.  You're just not used to seeing that kind of blasphemy and certainly from a president of the United States. 

Yet Chump has not learned from this and continues to antagonize Pope Leo.  Rhian Lubin (INDEPENDENT) recaps the latest:

In the latest saga between the president and the pontiff, Trump baselessly accused Leo of “endangering Catholics” by supporting Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

“I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess, if it’s up to the Pope,” Trump said Sunday. “He thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”​

The Pope hit back at the claim Wednesday without directly referencing the president. “The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace,” he said. “If someone wants to criticise me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully. For years, the Church has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt on that point.”


Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that people are free to criticise him but the flak should be based on the truth after President Donald Trump launched a new attack on him, saying his opposition to the United States and Israel's war against Iran was putting Catholics in danger. Trump, who last month said the pope "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy" following his criticism of the war, said at the weekend that Leo was "endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people" because "he thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon". The American pontiff, on the other hand, said the Catholic Church has been opposed to nuclear weapons under his leadership and long before. "The mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel, to preach peace," Leo said outside the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo. "If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully.


On the topic of Chump's ongoing war,  Simon Walters (INDEPENDENT) observes:


Not for nothing is Donald Trump known as the “TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) President”. He announces major decisions and issues dire threats on impulse or whim – and occasionally out of pure spite – and then scraps them.

But even by this own shameless standards Trump’s abandonment of his so-called Project Freedom to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is the granddaddy of all TACO somersaults.


The official White House version is that Project Freedom is being “paused” for “a short period of time” to see if a peace deal with Iran can be reached. “Great progress” has been made towards that end, claimed Trump, without a shred of evidence.

The president has performed so many U-turns and flip-flops he makes Sir Keir Starmer, criticised for more than a dozen policy climb downs, look like a model of constancy and resolution by comparison.

A more likely explanation is that he was told that Project Freedom never had a hope of working and was almost guaranteed to make the war much worse not end it. Experts were near unanimous in warning that it was likely to end the fragile ceasefire between the US and America and renew the ‘hot war’ between them.



Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) explained this morning that Kuwait and Saudi Arabia responded to Chump's Project Freedom by announcing that the US could no longer use their airspace or airbases. 





Daniel R. DePetris (MS NOW) explains why Chump's   Project Freedom was doomed from the start:

Unfortunately for Trump, it’s easier for the Iranians to keep the choke point closed than it is for the Americans to force it open. This is not because the Iranian navy is stronger or more capable than what the U.S. can field, or that Tehran’s coastal defenses are indefatigable, but rather because corporations tend to be risk-averse creatures that are sensitive to the threat environment. Most shipping companies are not going to risk their reputations, their very expensive wares and the lives of their employees if there is a decent possibility of getting hit by a missile or stopped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The numbers bear this out — weekly passages through the strait reportedly dropped 11% over the past week, and only two U.S. merchant ships transited the area in the 24 hours Project Freedom was in effect. 


In other news, 



Every week brings fresh disaster for the Tr*mp administration, but this week is already off to a galloping start in that area. We dealt with Pentagon Pete’s fury at being next on the chopping block, unless fellow screw-up Kash Patel beats him to the punch, and that’s to say nothing of RFK Jr.’s imminent departure from Tr*mpland, along with his MAHA base.
But that’s nothing compared to what just happened in Tr*mp’s home turf, where a massive billboard was just erected to once again draw attention to Tr*mp’s Epstein ties. The people haven’t forgotten, and Tr*mp’s Epstein problem is not going away despite his constant distractions, from Greenland to Venezuela to Iran.

The billboard features images of Tr*mp and Epstein appearing to look at each other with shifty eyes, accompanied by the text “What are these two hiding? Eyes on Epstein.”
But the real kicker?

The ad is placed smack in the middle of Times Square.

For all to see.  Just like the friendship between Donald Chump and the late Jeffrey Epstein was out there for all to see for decades and decades.  Going back to the 80s, the two were roll dogs, partners in crime, thick as thieves.  And then they had a falling out.  For years, Jeffrey Epstein abused and assaulted and trafficked people of age and underage.  And it is people.  Girls, women, boys, men.  New Mexico findings in the last months have made that clear.  Though some of the names of Epstein Island visitors made that clear before hand and there were at least four adult males who had stated that they were survivors.  One of those, of course, has stated Chump assaulting him when he was a child. 


Yesterday, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick appeared before the House Oversight Committee.  How well Lutnick knew Epstein has been in dispute because of the cute and self-serving narrative Lutnick told Miranda Devine last fall was contradicted by the release of some documents in The Epstein Files.  Joe Sommerlad (INDEPENDENT) explains:

The secretary told Pod Force One presenter Miranda Devine in October last year that he had been a neighbor of Epstein’s in New York and once visited his Upper East Side brownstone in 2005 but was appalled when his host made a creepy comment about receiving “the right kind of massages” during a tour of the property.

“In the six to eight steps it takes to get from his house to my house, my wife and I decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again,” Lutnick said.

However, the release of the Epstein files by the Department of Justice in late December and January revealed that the men had remained in contact and appeared to have been in communication until at least 2018. Inclusion in the files is not an indication of wrongdoing.

Lutnick subsequently told the Senate Appropriations Committee on February 10 that he and his family had had lunch with the billionaire on Little St James, his private Caribbean island, in December 2012.

 They were also revealed to have been in business together.  Alison Durkee (FORBES) notes:

The government’s January release of the Epstein files intensified scrutiny on Lutnick and led to some calls for him to resign, as documents showed communications and business deals between the two continuing as late as 2018—long after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution in 2008, and one year before his indictment and subsequent death in prison.

Those documents contradicted previous claims Lutnick had made, as the Commerce secretary said in October 2025 that after touring Epstein’s penthouse in 2005, he “decided that I will never be in the room with that disgusting person ever again.”

Lutnick's response when discovered was to lie.  January 30th, Mike Baker and Michael Rothfeld (NEW YORK TIMES) reported:

Prominent people who were close to Mr. Epstein have been scrutinized in recent years for their visits to Little St. James, but Mr. Lutnick’s planned visit had not been previously disclosed. Reached by phone on Friday, Mr. Lutnick said he could not comment about the island visit because he had not seen the latest Epstein documents.

“I spent zero time with him,” Mr. Lutnick said. He then hung up.

The documents suggest the visit did occur. 


On February 10th, Lutnick would admit before the Senate Appropriations Committee that he had stayed on the island with Epstein. 

Despite that history of lying, he was treated like a Queen by the Committee Chair James Comer.  For example, Stephen Groves (INDEPENDENT) reveals, "The interview was not being recorded on video, as the committee has done with depositions for others, including former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, a former secretary of state. Comer said the decision not to video the interview, for which Lutnick volunteered, was keeping with the committee's practice."  Per David Edwards (RAW STORY), it's worse:

House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) was peppered with questions about why he let a member of President Donald Trump's cabinet give a deposition on Jeffrey Epstein without video recording it, while refusing the same opportunity to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.


Comer Pyle refused to allow Bill and Hillary to appear without being recorded.  Edwards report continues:


"Why just a transcript?" Pergram demanded to know.

"Do you have any concerns about the secretary's conflicting statements and why not do this as a videotape?" a second reporter pressed.

"Well, this is, you know, with this transcript, he's coming in voluntarily, first of all," Comer said in defense of the process. "So we didn't video, we don't video people that come in to volunteer."


In addition, he was not under oath and he was not deposed, he was interviewed. 


According to two people familiar with his testimony, Mr. Lutnick said in his opening statement that he had met Mr. Epstein only three times: once for coffee and a tour of Mr. Epstein’s home in New York after they became neighbors, once when Mr. Lutnick and his family were invited to Mr. Epstein’s island and once to discuss a construction project on Epstein’s home in New York that might have had an impact on Mr. Lutnick’s residence.

After hours of questioning, Democrats told reporters that Mr. Lutnick did not admit to misleading Americans about his ties to Mr. Epstein, including when he said on a podcast last year that he was never in the room with Mr. Epstein again after their first meeting.

Speaking with reporters in the hallway outside the closed session, Representative Yassamin Ansari, Democrat of Arizona, said that Mr. Lutnick repeatedly characterized their interactions as “meaningless and inconsequential.” But, she added, she was not satisfied with his explanation as to why he visited Mr. Epstein’s island, particularly years after their first interaction, which Mr. Lutnick said made him and his wife uncomfortable.
[. . .]

The documents released by the Justice Department suggest Mr. Lutnick had another encounter with Mr. Epstein at his house in 2011, years after Mr. Lutnick claimed to have cut ties with him. The records also indicated that the men invested in the same privately held company together and dealt with each other on neighborhood and philanthropic issues.










Following closed-door testimony from Howard Lutnick before the House oversight committee on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Democrats called the commerce secretary’s performance “embarrassing”.

“If Donald Trump had seen the video transcript, he would have fired Howard Lutnick,” said congressman Ro Khanna, a progressive Democrat from California.

[. . .]

According to Suhas Subramanyam, a Democratic representative of Virginia, the commerce secretary said “he could remember nothing about the visit to the island. Couldn’t remember why he was there. Couldn’t remember anything he saw.”

Oversight Democrats also said that Lutnick did not answer their questions about whether he spoke with Donald Trump ahead of giving testimony before the panel today.

“I feel very comfortable saying that Howard Lutnick is a pathological liar who is enabling the most egregious cover-up in American history,” congresswoman Yassamin Ansari told reporters, while noting that the commerce secretary told lawmakers it was “inexplicable” that he visited Epstein’s private island. Lutnick described his encounters with Epstein as “meaningless and inconsequential,” Ansari added.



May 29th, Pam da Bimbo Bondi is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight Committee after blowing them off in April.  Monday, Democrats on the Committee issued the following statement: 


Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, wrote to Chairman James Comer after Oversight Republicans finally announced that Pam Bondi would testify in a transcribed interview before the Oversight Committee, just minutes after Oversight Democrats took action to hold Bondi in contempt. The letter raises concerns to Comer that Bondi’s testimony must be filmed and made available to the American people in the interest of transparency, that Oversight Republicans must enforce the Committee’s subpoena if Bondi refuses to fully cooperate, and raises concerns about the participation of Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon as Bondi’s attorney. In March, the Oversight Committee secured a bipartisan subpoena forcing Bondi to sit for a deposition, which she skipped on April 14, 2026.

“Oversight Democrats kept the pressure on Oversight Republicans, and now we finally have a date for Pam Bondi to testify in front of the Committee. Republicans must make sure Bondi’s testimony is transparent and videotaped with a timely public release of the video, and we must enforce the subpoena if Bondi does not fully cooperate. Oversight Democrats refuse to let Bondi off the hook,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

In the letter to Chairman James Comer, Ranking Member Garcia wrote, “We understand that you have agreed to hold this as a transcribed interview, rather than a deposition. While we believe a deposition is the best available forum, as Chairman, this is your decision. However, if you choose to move forward with a transcribed interview, I am concerned with three aspects:

1. The videotaping of Ms. Bondi’s testimony. Ms. Bondi’s testimony must be filmed and made available to the American people.

2. Ms. Bondi’s willingness to provide substantive and complete testimony. If Ms. Bondi refuses to answer questions, we must compel her testimony. Ms. Bondi has been subpoenaed, and all questions posed by Members must be answered.

3. Harmeet Dhillon’s participation as Ms. Bondi’s attorney. Ms. Dhillon is a current DOJ employee, and her representation raises serious ethical concerns and conflicts of interest.”

On April 29, 2026, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and all Democratic Members of the Committee filed a resolution to hold former Attorney General Pam Bondi in civil contempt of Congress after she failed to appear for her legally-binding, bipartisan subpoena to be deposed on the Epstein investigation and the White House’s cover-up of the Epstein files. The resolution instructs the chairman of the Oversight Committee to file a lawsuit to compel Bondi’s testimony.

In March, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform secured a bipartisan subpoena for then-Attorney General Pam Bondi following a motion by Congresswoman Nancy Mace supported by all Committee Democrats, joined by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Rep. Michael Cloud, Rep. Scott Perry, and Rep. Tim Burchett. The bipartisan subpoena passed the House Oversight Committee 24 to 19. On April 14, 2026, Pam Bondi refused to appear for her deposition before the Oversight Committee, despite the lawful bipartisan subpoena the Committee issued. The subpoena remains legally binding, even after Bondi was fired. The subpoena followed the Department of Justice’s botched release of the Epstein files and the continued White House cover-up.

 
###



In other news of Epstein, Mike Vulpo (US WEEKLY) reports:



Senator Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries have responded to another AI image shared by President Donald Trump's White House.

On Tuesday, May 5, the official White House X account shared an AI photo featuring Schumer, 75, and Jeffries, 55, wearing sombreros and drinking margaritas near the United States–Mexico border. As part of the AI image, fake Schumer and Jeffries were seen smiling in front of a faux sign that said, "I love illegal immigrants."
"Happy Cinco de Mayo to all who celebrate!" the White House wrote via X on Tuesday.

Schumer responded with his own image of Trump, 79, posing next to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. While the OG image is real, it was doctored to show both men wearing sombreros.
"Happy Cinco de Mayo, @WhiteHouse!" Schumer captioned the X post. House Minority Leader Jeffreies seemingly approved of the message when he shared his colleague's photo on his own profile.


Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:

Questions come as Trump sons’ drone company Powerus receives new Air Force contract

Questions for Secretary Hegseth (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — In new Questions for the Record following last week’s Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth about President Trump’s sons’ ties to defense contractors and how the DoD is handling these financial conflicts of interest. The questions come as a follow-up to last week’s hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and days after reports indicated that Powerus, a drone company backed by the Trump sons, had recently obtained a new Air Force contract.

Shortly after President Trump was elected to his second term, his son, Donald Trump Jr., announced he was joining venture capital firm 1789 Capital. After Trump Jr. joined the firm, the firm’s portfolio companies reportedly won more than $70 million worth of contracts from the Trump Administration, including:

  • $45 million awarded to Cerebras Systems in April 2025 to improve artificial intelligence chip connections;
  • $10.8 million awarded to PsiQuantum in April 2025 for quantum chips;
  • $4.9 million awarded to Firehawk Aerospace in August 2025 to develop rocket engines; and
  • $10 million to Vulcan Elements for magnets in 2025.

Several of the Trump Jr.-connected companies had never received such large DoD contracts prior to 2025. In early March, reports revealed that the Trump brothers are also investing in drone company Powerus, which is “vying to meet fresh demand from the Pentagon and fill a hole left by the administration’s ban on new Chinese drones in the U.S.”

In March, Senators Warren and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released answers from the Defense Department revealing that the Department seems to have no effective process in place to prevent conflicts of interest and corruption involving President Trump’s family and the Pentagon’s awarding of defense contracts. To date, Hegseth has not detailed any plan to protect the military’s contracting process against conflicts of interest.

These instances highlight Secretary Hegseth’s unwillingness to protect the military’s budget and contracting process from potential corruption. Senator Warren’s new Questions for the Record will require Secretary Hegseth to address these failures in writing.

Senator Warren’s questions for Secretary Hegseth include:

  • Justifications for loans and contracts offered to several companies in which the Trump family is financially invested;
  • Whether Donald Trump Jr. has held any role in vetting candidates for top Pentagon positions; and
  • Details of any conversations Secretary Hegseth had with the Trump family or their representatives regarding military contracts leading up to his confirmation.

Senator Warren has led the fight to root out corruption at the Defense Department:

  • In April 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) pressed Secretary Hegseth on allegations that Trump administration officials are engaging in possible insider trading by placing bets on the Iran War through prediction markets.
  • In April 2026, Senator Warren questioned Deputy Secretary of Defense Stephen Feinberg on his conflicts of interest, which may be enabling him, his immediate family, and his network of associates to benefit from secretive DoD contracting decisions related to its Golden Dome missile defense program. Senator Warren urged Feinberg to take immediate action to mitigate the conflicts.
  • In March 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) released a new response from DoD indicating that there are no effective processes in place to prevent possible conflicts of interest and corruption involving President Donald Trump’s family and the Department’s awarding of defense contracts. In a new letter, Senators Warren and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) pressed Secretary Hegseth on this failure and pushed for answers regarding Trump’s sons’ latest investment in Powerus, a drone company.
  • In January 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Andy Kim (D-N.J.), pressed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on potential conflicts of interest surrounding the awarding of multiple lucrative Department of Defense (DoD) contracts and loans to companies associated with President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.
  • In July 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), wrote to former Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin seeking an explanation and further information on his recent decision to start a strategic advisory firm. Austin had publicly promised Senator Warren during his 2021 confirmation process that he would not become a lobbyist after his government service ended.
  • In July 2023, Senator Warren (D-Mass) wrote to then-Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Heidi Shyu, following reporting that DoD’s new Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) is relying on consultants who will continue to work for private defense consultants and defense investment companies. Senator Warren raised concerns that DoD lacked the necessary safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest in the OSC.
  • In June 2023, Senator Warren and then-representative Andy Kim (D-N.J.) reintroduced the Department of Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act to limit the influence of contractors on the military and increase transparency over contractors and their interaction with DoD.
  • In December 2020, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) reintroduced the Anti-Corruption & Public Integrity Act, to strengthen ethics laws and crack down on government officials’ conflicts of interest across the government.

###






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Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Ted Turner

Let me start with a passing.  Emily Burack (TOWN & COUNTRY) reports:


Ted Tuner, the founder of CNN and other cable channels, died Wednesday at his home near Tallahassee, Florida, at age 87. No cause of death was shared, but ahead of his 80th birthday, he revealed he had Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), “a degenerative disease that causes dementia and muscle failure,” per NPR.
[. . .]
Four years later, in June 1980, he launched CNN, “the first 24-hour all-news channel, basing it in Atlanta, pointedly far from the traditional news capitals of New York and Washington. Less than two years later, he began broadcasting CNN Headline News, with updates every half-hour,” per the Times. Eason Jordan, a former CNN chief news executive, told NPR, “To him it was just the most logical thing in the world and he couldn't understand why nobody else was doing it. So he was going to do it…He was a visionary, a trailblazer, a rabble-rouser, a do-gooder — and he thought there would be a market for it.”
In 1996, he sold CNN and Turner Broadcasting System to Time Warner for $7.34 billion, a decision he later regretted. “I lost my fortune, most of it, got a billion or two left. You can get by on that if you economize,” he said in 2012. “You carry on. And I found other things to do.” Those “other things” included the Nuclear Threat Initiative; donating to the U.N. to aid refugees and children; philanthropy focused on conservation and anti-global warning; signing the “Giving Pledge”; maintaining over a million acres of ranch land and a herd of buffalo; and founding Ted’s Montana Grill, a restaurant chain.

“There’s a lot of people who are awash in money they don’t know what to do with,” Turner said in the late 90s. “It doesn’t do you any good if you don’t know what to do with it. I have learned the more good that I did, the more money comes in. You have to learn to give. You’re not born as a giver. You’re born selfish.”

Turner was married three times; his last marriage was to Jane Fonda in 1991, they divorced in 2001. He is survived by his five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.


That's so sad but in a way maybe good.  I can't imagine him wanting to witness CNN be turned into garbage which is what Bari Weiss and PARAMOUNT will most likely try to do.  We've seen what they've done to CBS, for example.  Stephen Colbert's show ends May 21st.  Caroline Gaspich (IRISH STAR) reports:

David Letterman did not mince words as he tore into the CBS Network over their decision to axe Stephen Colbert's hit late-night talk show after 11 seasons.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will officially come to a close this month on Thursday, May 21. CBS first announced the cancellation back in July 2025, citing financial reasons, and said it would replace the 11:35 p.m. slot with the talk show Comics Unleashed, hosted by Byron Allen.
Many here are distraught, including Letterman, over this news, as Colbert's series has become a staple of late-night television and a symbol of freedom of speech over the years. This comes as Stephen recently took aim at Trump after the politician issued his threatening warning to destroy Iran's civilization.

And as fans bid goodbye to Stephen and his hilarious political commentary, Letterman has taken aim at the network, claiming that financial reasons are not the root cause of the cancellation.

During an interview with The New York Times, Letterman said, "All of television seems to have been nicked by digital communication and streaming platforms and on and on. TV may not be the money machine it once was. On the other hand, what about the humanity for Stephen and the humanity of people who love him, and the humanity for people who still enjoyed that 11:30 respite?"



Barry Diller is weighing in on CNN and is open to buying the news organization before it’s too late to salvage.

During an appearance at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival, Diller made the bold claim about the news network.

“Absolutely, I would do it tonight and tomorrow night," he said, according to TWSJ. "Before they ruin it any further. Hopefully, before it's extinct, which, I mean, it's not gonna be.”


That would be great if Diller or someone could buy it and save it.

Ted also created TCM which is one of the channels I watch regularly.  It stands for TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES.  He led an exciting life.  



Going out with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Wednesday, May 6, 2026.  Democrats in Congress lead the fight for mifepristone, Donald Chump lies and encourages those under him to lie, so Hegseth lies, JD Vance lies, Homeland Security lies to the court, and much more. 



Let's start with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:


More than 250 House and Senate Democrats filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court urging them to overturn a Fifth Circuit decision that would upend the FDA approval process and restrict access to life-saving mifepristone.

ICYMI: Senator Murray Statement on Fifth Circuit Ruling to Harshly Limit Access to Medication Abortion Nationwide 

Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, more than 250 Senate and House Democrats—led by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA); Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Ron Wyden (D-OR); House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY); and Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA), Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)—filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court urging them to overturn a Fifth Circuit decision that would upend the FDA approval process and restrict access to mifepristone. This brief follows emergency appeals from the manufacturers of mifepristone; the Supreme Court issuing a temporary stay of the decision Monday morning until next Monday, May 11; and the announcement that the Court has ordered briefing on the stay by this Thursday, May 7.

The lawmakers argued that mifepristone already undergoes a rigorous FDA approval process, and the medication has repeatedly been found to be safe and effective. For a court to overturn this decision not only limits who is able to receive this vital and life-saving medication, putting lives at risk, but it also undermines the longstanding, congressionally mandated, and evidence-based decision-making process at the FDA.

“For more than a quarter century, FDA has repeatedly and consistently affirmed that mifepristone is safe.  Over seven million patients in the U.S. have safely used mifepristone. And as with other drugs, FDA continues to monitor the post-marketing safety data on mifepristone—data confirming that mifepristone is safe without regard to how it is dispensed,” the members wrote.

The lawmakers also argued that the Fifth Circuit ruling was clearly not based on the merits of the distribution method of mifepristone, or the scientific backing of the medication, but rather a desire to limit the ability of individuals to receive abortion medication. The emergency stay is necessary to ensure that Louisiana is not able to deny medically appropriate care to patients far beyond the state’s borders.

“Decades after FDA’s initial approval of mifepristone and years after the in-person dispensing requirement was eliminated, the Fifth Circuit on an ‘emergency’ basis ordered FDA to re-impose this onerous nationwide restriction on all Americans.  Allowing that decision to remain in place undermines the science-based statutory framework Congress commands and threatens patient access to reproductive health care,” the members continued. “As has been well publicized, many U.S. residents in states where abortion is legal live far from any reproductive health care provider. Reinstating an in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone exacerbates an already significant reproductive health crisis by limiting access to the most common method of early abortion.”

The members argued that this is a clear case of judicial overreach by a lower court.

“Preserving evidence-based access to mifepristone, including when dispensed by mail or retail pharmacy, is necessary to mitigate the imminent harm facing members of the public.  Women deserve access to mifepristone for reproductive health care, and all Americans deserve integrity in the congressionally mandated, evidence-based process for FDA’s drug regulatory decisions,” the members concluded.

In the Senate, the amicus brief was signed by all 47 Democratic U.S. Senators.

In the House, the brief was signed by 212 Democratic U.S. Representatives.

The lawmakers’ amicus brief to the Supreme Court can be read in full HERE.

###



And now let's turn to the administration. 


They lie to the American people.  Every day.  The administration lies about everything.  Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been lying to the American people about the 'success' in slowing Iran from getting a nuclear bomb.  Tom Latchem (DAILY BEAST) reported yesterday afternoon:

Pete Hegseth squirmed at the Pentagon over a damning intel leak showing Donald Trump’s war on Iran has barely slowed the regime’s race to a nuclear bomb.

The defense secretary, 45, was confronted by reporters on Tuesday after Reuters reported that the timeline for Iran to assemble a nuclear weapon—currently estimated at up to a year—has not budged since the U.S. first bombed the regime’s facilities last June, despite the fresh blitz the president launched in late February.
Pressed on how the timeline could be unchanged “after so much bombing,” Hegseth refused to engage with the substance of the question, telling the briefing room: “We don’t discuss the specifics about intel, and anybody that does shouldn’t be, and I can’t confirm or deny whether that is, indeed, correct.”



Donald Trump’s own military intel says he’s failing to make any progress on the key goal he says his war in the Middle East is designed to achieve.

Assessments by U.S. intelligence suggest Iran would currently need exactly the same period of time to build a nuclear bomb as it would have needed in the aftermath of Trump’s attacks on facilities in the country last June, Reuters reports.

The president claimed after those initial assaults that he had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program. His officials instead suggested the attacks had pushed any prospective timeline on building a bomb back by a year.


Yesterday on MS NOW, US House Rep Seth Moulton took on the notion of "the cease-fire is holding" and noted that Hegseth is lying and wondered how truthful Hegseth was being with Chump?




US House Rep Seth Moulton:  They obviously have no strategy to win this war, to end this war.  And that's dangerous for us and our allies and our troops.  


Meanwhile the editorial board of THE INDEPENDENT notes the reality of what Chump's done with his war of choice:


Every discussion about the war in the Persian Gulf should include a reminder that the Strait of Hormuz was open and entirely unblockaded before Israel and the United States attacked Iran. Had Donald Trump not decided to join Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign, we would not now be contemplating a global energy crisis, shortages of food and medicines, and widespread economic recession.
Two months in, and the world is poorer and less safe as a result of that decision. Notwithstanding Iran’s unlawful seizure of the channel, some accountability is needed.

Framed in that context, Project Freedom – Mr Trump’s audacious new plan to escort “innocent bystander” ships through the blockaded shipping lane – is an elaborate and costly exercise to solve a problem that didn’t exist only a few weeks ago.


Chump really screwed the pooch this time.  He didn't have to join Netanyahu in the war.  He didn't have to ignore the advice he was given not to go to war on Iran -- Tulsi Gabbard made her feelings known and he ignored them.  He just knew it was going to be a few days and then done.  But it hasn't turned out to be a few days.  It's not over two months and counting.  Oil prices have soared.  Inflation has increased.  The American people are suffering.  And he still can't figure out a way to end the war.  So it continues.  






And Chump who has spent the past 16 months making it clear that the US doesn't need its traditional allies anymore, is now considering seeking a UN Security Council resolution per Secretary of State and White House press spokesperson Marco Rubio.  Edith M. Lederer (AP) notes, "A proposed U.N. resolution threatens Iran with sanctions or other measures if it doesn’t halt attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, stop imposing 'illegal tolls,' and disclose the placement of all mines to allow freedom of navigation."  The draft also calls for Iran to help implement a humanitarian corridor through the strait. 

 

The war drags on despite federal law.  Alexander Bolton (THE HILL) reports:


Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is leading a push within the Senate Republican Conference for a vote on a resolution to authorize the use of military force against Iran beyond the 60-day window set by the 1973 War Powers Act. But Senate Republican Leader John Thune (S.D.) doesn’t appear eager to schedule a vote that would give Republican lawmakers ownership of the controversial war.
Senate Republican sources say Murkowski likely won’t get a vote on her measure because it’s not privileged. Additionally, she would need Thune to agree to put it on the busy Senate calendar.

But if Republican senators don’t have an opportunity to vote on a measure to authorize military operations against Iran, that could open the door for more Republicans to vote for a Democratic-sponsored resolution ordering President Trump to withdraw U.S. troops deployed against Iran.

Democrats plan to vote against any resolution authorizing the use of force against Iran because every Democratic senator opposes the conflict except for Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.).


This morning, Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) notes that Chump's Project Freedom which began on Monday has already been set aside. 





When the cease-fire in the war with Iran went into effect a month ago, President Trump was pretty direct that if the Iranians failed to end their nuclear program, or to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the bombers would be back in the air. “If there’s no deal, fighting resumes,” he said, making it very clear this was just a pause.

But it turns out, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, that the war actually ended at some point after the cease-fire took hold, or so he told reporters at a news conference at the White House on Tuesday. “The Operation Epic Fury is concluded,” he said. “We achieved the objective of that operation.” The effort to reopen the strait, Mr. Rubio said, is entirely a defensive and humanitarian operation that would result in direct military exchanges with the Iranians only if U.S. ships came under fire.

Later on Tuesday, Mr. Trump announced that he was pausing even that effort — which was only one day old, and had succeeded in getting just a few ships freed — “for a short period of time,” citing what he said was “great progress” toward an agreement with Iran. But he kept the American blockade in place, part of a strategy of maximum economic pressure.

Still, Mr. Trump’s suspension of the effort to guide ships out of the strait seemed to contradict the administration’s stated position that it was intolerable for Iran to block an international waterway, and that only the United States had the ability to force it open again.

For the White House, the insistence that the war was over was the latest rhetorical leap in an effort to put a war that has created the greatest political crisis of Mr. Trump’s presidency in the rearview mirror. But the mere proclamation does not make it true. Missiles were still flying. Both sides insist they control traffic in the waterway.

And despite Mr. Rubio’s declaration that the objectives of the war have been accomplished, they clearly have not.


It's nothing but another con job from our convicted felon Donald Chump. 

It's not a war, JD Vance wants you to know, it's "a blip."  Tom Boggioni (RAW STORY) notes:

The vice president spoke at a manufacturing facility during a rally to boost the candidacy of Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R) and, while downplaying the economic devastation being visited on US consumers by the war, he awkwardly admitted, "We also know that a lot of our farmers are struggling with high fertilizer prices. I'm aware of that. As the president of the United States has said, we got a little blip in the Middle East. We gotta take care of some business on the foreign policy side."

The panel on “Morning Joe” was quick to pounce on Vance’s dismissive comments.

Co-host Willie Gest, speaking with conservative columnist David French, prompted his guest with, “We had two days ago the president of the United States calling this a ‘mini war. ‘Yesterday you had Vice President Vance calling this a blip. I think everyone who's lost a family member in this war, or who's now paying $4.50 a gallon on national average, or much more in many states, would consider it much more than a blip. They're trying to sort of minimize and diminish the war and in many ways, wish it away.”

“You know, it's very clear at this point that it looks like Trump was essentially sold a bill of goods that he thought, and he keeps using the Venezuela comparison, we've heard it that he thought what he was getting was going to be a short and glorious and victorious military operation and he hadn't thought this through," French noted.

Co-host Joe Scarborough turned the conversation back to Vance’s remark.

“Over 100 school children being killed the first day of the war is a blip, up to maybe 10,000, 15,000 Iranians being killed, JD Vance is calling a blip,” he recited. “You have JD Vance calling a blip entire communities in Lebanon being wiped off the face of the earth. I mean, how would JD Vance feel if his community that he grew up in didn't have a building left standing? That's what's happening in Lebanon, all across Lebanon, because of this, quote, ‘blip.’”

“That's what's happening in Iran because of this blip,” he added. “And as you say, people across the world are paying for this day in and day out with an economy that's getting worse. And of course, I guess only people like me worry about spending money and the national debt, but this war has already cost us $250 billion at minimum.”


Moving over to the issue of the administration lying to the courts, Corbin Bolies (THE WRAP) notes:


MS NOW host Rachel Maddow appeared stumped after a Justice Department lawyer apologized to a federal judge for withholding information about an arrest warrant that led to a "patently false" Department of Homeland Security press release about said judge, leading the judge to consider contempt charges against the department.
"Lying to a federal judge, lying about a federal judge is a really big deal if you're a lawyer or a government official," Maddow said on Monday.

The "Rachel Maddow Show" host then broke down the case in Rhode Island involving the state's U.S. Attorney's office and U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Bolan apologized to DuBose on Monday after a Homeland Security press release on Thursday -- titled "Activist Biden Judge Releases Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Wanted for Murder" -- accused her of knowingly releasing an ICE detainee who had been accused of murder in the Dominican Republic.

Bolan acknowledged on Monday that the press release "simply was not true" and said he didn't inform DuBose about the warrant because he believed authorities in the Dominican Republic hadn't signed off, according to Politico. DuBose said the "completely erroneous and dangerous" press release put "judicial security at risk" and was "setting up a false narrative," saying she would consider contempt charges for both federal departments.

Homeland Security caught lying to the courts yet again and lying about the courts.




This is how Chump's administration rolls.  They lie repeatedly.  They've done that since January of last year and it's past time that they are held accountable. 



U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee based in Rhode Island, said Monday the "patently false” April 30 DHS press release headlined "Activist Biden Judge Releases Violent Criminal Illegal Alien Wanted for Murder" put her personal safety at risk and was still on the government's website as of Monday's hearing. DHS has yet to acknowledge the error.
“The April 30th, completely erroneous and dangerous press release is still on their website,” the judge complained, according to Politico. “It puts people at risk. It’s a threat to judicial security.”

“I’m not trying to make this political,” DuBose, a Biden appointee, added. “It’s also very important that the public has the facts. As long as this particular post is out there, it’s setting up a false narrative.”


Judge Dubose also said “there was a decision made not to be truthful to the court,” and that “there certainly was a massive breach of this court’s trust in this case.”

Gomez attorney Melanie Shapiro said she was blindsided by the murder charge as well. She wrote in a statement: “I was completely shocked by the information about the warrant and deeply disturbed by the extremely inflammatory rhetoric against Judge DeBose. If I knew about an outstanding warrant from the Dominican Republic for murder, I would never have filed the petition.”



That was Monday.   Mattathias Schwartz (NEW YORK TIMES) reports on Tuesday:


A federal judge said Tuesday that she was referring a Trump administration lawyer to face an investigation into potential misconduct for withholding key information from her about a case.

The lawyer, Kevin M. Bolan, leads the civil division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island. In court filings and during a hearing on Monday, Mr. Bolan acknowledged that he had failed to disclose important information to the judge about an immigrant who had been arrested and had petitioned for release. Mr. Bolan has apologized, but Judge Melissa R. DuBose said that the court still needed to get to the bottom of the omission.

“It’s the candor and the lack of candor to this court that has to be addressed,” she said. “And it has to be fully investigated, so we don’t have anything like this happen again.”

The judge said the referral would be made under the court’s local rules that govern disciplinary proceedings against attorneys. Cases can be heard by a single judge or all active judges, with punishments ranging from private reprimands or fines to disbarment. At an earlier hearing on Monday, Judge DuBose also discussed the possibility of sanctioning Mr. Bolan’s client, the Department of Homeland Security.


Other lies include that Chump's ballroom wouldn't cost the taxpayers a single cent.  That lie appears to have imploded.  





Chump's winding down before our eyes.  Nick Hilden reports that risk analyst Brett Erickson is attempting to determine what Chump's legacy will be.  It isn't pretty: 

As Erickson points out, Trump’s 2024 campaign boiled down to several key points, among which were the release of the Epstein files, no new wars and the general Make America Great Again ethos. But over the first 18 months of his term, Trump has not only failed to deliver on these promises but has fumbled them so badly that they will define his presidency.

“At this point,” writes Erickson, “it is clear that there will forever be a massive stain on the Trump legacy as a result of the Epstein cover-up. I don’t think anyone, Democrat or Republican would disagree with that.” The fallout from the mishandling of the Epstein files was so severe that it angered and alienated some of his strongest supporters, such as former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, podcaster Joe Rogan and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

But Erickson devoted most of his criticism to Trump’s assertion there would be “no new wars,” saying, “this is where we see this conflict REALLY begin to rupture the foundation of his presidential legacy. It’s not JUST that he campaigned on ‘No New Wars’ and then decided to conduct regime change in Venezuela, launch a massive war against Iran and repeatedly say ‘Cuba is next’, it’s that he’s LOSING in Iran.”


Chump is losing it -- as his behavior around children makes clear.



Let's wind down with this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:


Response from ED (PDF) | Response from Treasury (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, released new responses from the Department of Education (ED) and the Treasury Department (Treasury) demonstrating that the agencies cannot articulate a clear purpose or plan for implementing their illegal interagency agreement (IAA) transferring the administration of federal student loans to Treasury.

The responses were in reply to Senator Warren’s April 2nd letter with Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), pressing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to rescind the IAA.

In new responses to the senators, the agencies failed to provide basic details about the implementation of the agreement, including timing, cost, and Treasury’s plans for forced collections, or concretely explain how the agreement will help borrowers and families.

Treasury also confirmed that while ED is transferring staff to Treasury to execute the IAA, Treasury is also transferring staff to ED, raising further concerns that the arrangement is wasting staff and resources.

Previous IAAs have cost ED over $1 million in extra program costs and resulted in weeks-long delays in grant disbursements that students and schools rely upon.

While ED and Treasury again insisted in the new responses that their IAA is legal, Secretary McMahon admitted to Senator Warren last year that she understands she has no authority to move the statutory responsibilities of the Department of Education to other agencies without Congress passing legislation first.

“The Trump administration has no explanation for how this latest attempt to dismantle the Education Department is helping anyone — because it isn’t,” said Senator Warren. “The truth is that Trump is jacking up costs for borrowers and wasting resources. This illegal agreement is bad for students and families, and I'll do everything I can to fight back."

Senator Warren has led the fight to make our higher education system more affordable, cancel student loan debt, and hold student loan servicers accountable for incompetence and malfeasance. She launched the Save Our Schools campaign in a coordinated effort to fight back against President Trump’s attempts to abolish the Department of Education.

  • On April 28, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) pressed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new Student Loan Ombudsman, Geoffrey Gradler, on his plan to protect student loan borrowers, especially given his past censorship of a key student loan report at the CFPB and his background as a lobbyist for lenders. The senators also asked him to recuse himself from past clients’ matters that might come before his office at the CFPB.
  • On April 2, 2026, Senators Warren, Sanders, Wyden, Murray, and Baldwin—all top Democrats on influential education committees—pressed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to rescind their plans to move the administration of federal student loans to the Treasury Department, the latest move in the Trump administration’s attempts to dismantle the Department of Education.
  • On February 23, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, along with Representative Ayanna Pressley, released a response from the Department of Education to their November letter regarding a potential sale of the federal student debt portfolio. In the response, ED confirms for the first time publicly that they are weighing a sale of the federal student loan portfolio.
  • On February 19, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) pushed Education Secretary Linda McMahon on concerns that the U.S. Department of Education is apparently obstructing Congressional efforts to hold federal student loan servicers accountable for underperformance.
  • On February 2, 2026, Senator Warren released a new report revealing the findings of their investigation into how private student loan lenders will reap the benefits from cuts to federal student loan access enacted in Republicans’ Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBBA). The report is the first Congressional analysis of the impacts of the OBBBA’s student loan restrictions on the private lending market.
  • On January 22, 2026, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) led their Senate colleagues in demanding answers from Trump Education Secretary Linda McMahon about the Trump Administration’s proposal to eliminate affordable student loan repayment options for millions of Americans.
  • On December 8, 2025, Senator Warren led her colleagues in writing to the federal student loan servicers to ensure they are providing borrowers with the customer service they deserve in the wake of the Trump administration’s student loan policy whiplash. The senators sent letters to MOHELA, Nelnet, EdFinancial, Maximus, and CRI.
  • On December 1, 2025, Senator Warren published an op-ed in USA Today calling for Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to resign following the recent news that President Trump and Secretary McMahon plan to further dismantle the Department of Education (ED).
  • On November 17, 2025, Senator Warren led over 40 of her colleagues in a letter urging Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent to immediately end any plans to sell or transfer the federal student loan portfolio to the private market.
  • On November 10, 2025, Senator Warren led her colleagues in a letter urging the Trump administration to use the IRS’s existing legal authorities to stop the looming “tax bomb” facing borrowers who obtain income-driven repayment (IDR) discharges of their student loan debt.
  • On October 15, 2025, Senator Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) led 70 members of Congress in a letter calling on the Trump administration to address the ongoing and unprecedented wave of student loan delinquencies and defaults, which threatens the financial stability of millions of people and could have disastrous effects on the American economy.
  • On September 19, 2025, following a push by Senator Warren and nine other senators, the Acting Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education agreed to open an investigation into DOGE’s infiltration of internal systems, including the scope of its access to sensitive student loan borrower information and its impact on borrowers’ rights and privacy.
  • On August 26, 2025, Senator Warren led colleagues in sending a follow-up letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon condemning the Department of Education for deliberately hiding the “Submit a Complaint” button on the Office of Federal Student Aid’s website, firing employees responsible for providing customer service to borrowers and families and misleading Congress about the scope of these firings.
  • On August 4, 2025, Senator Warren led eight Senators in pressing major private student loan lenders on their plans to serve the incoming surge of borrowers who will be pushed to the industry because of Republicans’ recently passed “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
  • On July 17, 2025, Senator Warren released a new 23-page report, “Education At Risk: Frontline Impacts of Trump’s War on Students,” highlighting warnings from 11 major national education and civil rights organizations on the impact of the Trump Administration’s dismantling of the Department of Education (ED), slashing support to millions of American students, primary and secondary school teachers, administrators, parents, and student loan borrowers.
  • On July 15, 2025, Senators Warren and Sanders, along with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, urging her to reverse the interest hike on student loan borrowers in the SAVE forbearance.

###



The following sites -- plus Rebecca's "justice dept defends todd blanche lying" and Mike's "Liars Chump and Hegseth" -- updated:




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