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‘I’m not scared of you’: Neil Young joins Bruce Springsteen’s feud with Donald Trump



Rockstar Neil Young joined the list of celebrities attacking President Donald Trump publicly.

The Hollywood Reporter wrote Tuesday that the singer-songwriter came to the defense of Bruce Springsteen, who bashed Trump at two concerts in the UK over the past week.

“Bruce and thousands of musicians think you are ruining America," Young said in a message to Trump on his website late Monday. "You worry about that instead of the dyin’ kids in Gaza? That’s your problem. I am not scared of you. Neither are the rest of us. You shut down FEMA when we needed it most. That’s your problem Trump? STOP THINKING ABOUT WHAT ROCKERS ARE SAYING. Think about saving America from the mess you made."

Springsteen attacked the Trump administration last Friday, saying that the United States is "currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, and treasonous administration."

ALSO READ: ‘I'm a no’: Rebel House Republicans unswayed by Trump coercion

In response, Trump took to Truth Social, calling "The Boss" a “dried out prune of a rocker." He then told Springsteen that he “ought to KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT until he gets back into the Country, that’s just ‘standard fare’. Then we’ll all see how it goes for him!”

"Remember what the White House is? 86/47???" Young asked, a reference to former FBI Director James Comey, who posted a photo of shells on the beach spelling out 86 47 — considered by many Trump allies to be a threat.

"That’s what you think about. You are forgetting your real job. You work for us. Wake up Republicans!" Young continued, according to the report. "This guy is out of control. We need a real president!”

Springsteen isn't the only musician Trump attacked, however. In another Truth Social post, Trump commented that Taylor Swift was no longer "HOT."

Young continued, “Taylor Swift is right. So is Bruce. You know how I feel. You are more worried about yourself than AMERICA. Wake up Trump!! Remember what the White House is?”

The report said that Young also posted a different comment, thanking Springsteen and sharing the video.

“As a Canadian-American dual citizen, I stand with the great majority, thanking you for speaking so eloquently and truthfully on behalf of the American people,” Young said. “We are with you my old friend. Your great songs of America ring true as you sing them to Europe and the world!”

Read the report here.

Kash Patel closes watchdog that oversees surveillance of his own department: report



FBI director Kash Patel has closed an internal watchdog office tasked with ensuring compliance with surveillance rules.

Patel helped spur the creation of the Office of Internal Auditing he's now closing when he attacked the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, applications seeking court permission to wiretap a former Donald Trump campaign adviser during he Russia investigation, and his latest move comes as Congress considers whether to reauthorize a high-profile warrantless wiretapping law, reported the New York Times.

"The move is significant because it could give skeptics of the program new ammunition to argue that Congress should sharply curtail the law or even let it expire given that a guardrail has been discarded," the Times reported. "It also poses a crucial test for Mr. Patel, who rose in pro-Trump circles by attacking the F.B.I. over its abuses of the surveillance law but said during his confirmation hearing that he saw the program as a vital tool for gathering foreign intelligence and protecting national security."

Many of the claims Patel made as a congressional staffer in 2018 about FISA proved to be false or misleading, but an inspector general found different problems in the FBI's application process during the Russia probe in a follow-up audit in 2019, and the following year then-attorney general William Barr and then-FBI director Christopher Wray established the stand-alone Office of Internal Auditing.

"The F.B.I. did not comment," the Times reported. "But the closure was part of a larger reorganization, according to people familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. The functions of the office, along with another, the Office of Integrity and Compliance, which helps ensure that employees comply with laws, regulations and policies in general, have been absorbed by the inspection division."

FISA was enacted in 1978 and requires the FBI to obtain warrants from a special court to conduct surveillance against suspected spies or terrorists on U.S. soil, and Congress added the Section 702 exception in 2008 allowing the government to collect communications of foreigners abroad without court orders, even when those targets are communicating with Americans.

Patel harshly criticized the bureau's use of the 702 exception during Wray's tenure, although the Times noted that some of his evidence was inaccurate, but he expressed general support for Section 702 during his confirmation hearings in January and said he would go further to ensure public trust as director.

“702 is a critical tool, and I’m proud of the reforms that have been implemented and I’m proud to work with Congress moving forward to implement more reforms,” he said at the time.

‘That’s my question!’ CNN host frustrated as guest rattles off GOP soundbites



CNN anchor Brianna Keilar pressed Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) over the issue of a proposed a Medicaid work requirement as Republican lawmakers consider making cuts to pay for President Donald Trump's mega spending bill.

Trump met with Republicans on Capitol Hill Tuesday to motivate them to iron out their differences over the bill since he can only afford to lose three GOP votes in order to pass it.

Keilar noted that almost 140,000 of Patronis's constituents received Medicaid, which worked out to "roughly one out of every six people."

She asked if any of them would "lose Medicaid coverage" if the new work requirement for "able-bodied" people went into effect before 2029, as the congressman preferred. And she asked for clarification on who constituted an "able-bodied" person.

"For example, should a young adult male in your district who is in the throes of addiction be expected to meet those requirements while in rehab?" Keilar asked.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade

"Right now, a young adult male in the state of Florida is not eligible for Medicaid unless he's disabled or has some other type of disability that's given that pathway," Patronis answered.

"Well, I'm asking if he should be eligible, facing a medical issue like that," Keilar said.

"So, that individual does not have access to expanded guaranteed Medicaid health benefits if he's an able-bodied male, because it's not part of Florida's acceptance into that program," Patronis answered.

Keilar then asked about the nation as a whole, not just Florida.

Patronis said, "When you've got able-bodied males that have the ability to go out and seek employment in order to maybe secure health insurance to the private sector, that frees up dollars for disabled, for elderly, for women. So again —"

Keilar interrupted, "Is that person abled-bodied, though? Sir, that's my question! But, congressman, that's my question. Is that an able-bodied person, someone who is in rehab dealing with addiction?"

After a lengthy debate, Patronis concluded, "I definitely want to make sure that the elderly or seniors are women or children — that they always have a robust safety net that always takes care of them. That is the purpose of Medicaid."

Watch the clip below via CNN.

‘Null and void’: Judge demands DOGE action reversed in major slap for Trump



A judge ruled against President Donald Trump's administration in a decision Monday over the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), Politico legal reporter Kyle Cheney posted on X.

The USIP's goals are to promote conflict resolution and peacebuilding globally through a congressionally funded, independent, non-profit organization, its website says. Judge Beryl Howell said that having the executive branch take it over is not legal and "should be treated as null and void," said Cheney.

Trump established DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, through an executive order upon entering office on Jan. 20. The goal was to make significant budget cuts to reach $2 trillion in savings by eliminating "waste, fraud and abuse," as tech billionaire Elon Musk described in a March Fox News interview.

ALSO READ: 'I would not be happy': GOP senator wants DOGE to back off as agencies heads confirmed

Among those cuts was the USIP — which is actually under the purview of Congress, not the president.

Judge Howell's ruling reads: "As an independent entity exercising inconsequential government power and de minimis, if any, executive power, Congress’s ability to restrict the President’s removal power is even greater than that outlined in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602 (1935), Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 591 U.S. 197 (2020), and the Supreme Court’s other seminal presidential removal power cases. Applying those cases, Congress’s restrictions on the President’s removal power of USIP Board members are squarely constitutional, and the President and his Administration’s acts to the contrary are unlawful and ultra vires."

"The actions that have occurred since then—at the direction of the President to reduce USIP to its 'statutory minimums'—including the removal of USIP’s president, his replacement by officials affiliated with DOGE, the termination of nearly all of USIP’s staff, and the transfer of USIP property to the General Services Administration ('GSA'), were thus effectuated by illegitimately-installed leaders who lacked legal authority to take these actions, which must therefore be declared null and void.

Read the full court ruling here.

Trump official rakes in $150M tax-free with ‘ethics agreement’: report



President Donald Trump's commerce secretary Howard Lutnick is emulating his boss by transferring away "his ownership interests in multiple affiliated companies" to trusts that will benefit his adult children, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Lutnick, a billionaire, served as chairman and chief executive of financial-services firm Cantor Fitzgerald until he was appointed to Trump's cabinet in February.

In keeping with "a government ethics agreement," Lutnick created the trusts to benefit sons Brandon Lutnick and Kyle Lutnick, "as well as Lutnick’s other adult children."

In addition, former Cantor Fitzgerald affiliates "agreed to buy back more than 16.4 million shares of its stock from Lutnick," leaving him $151.5 million richer.

Add to that $127 million from real-estate adviser Newmark Group, which agreed to buy back 11 million shares from Lutnick, the company's former executive chairman.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade

"Lutnick won’t have to pay capital gains taxes on the sales as long as he puts the proceeds into Treasuries or a broadly based mutual fund — assets that don’t pose a conflict of interest," Bloomberg reported.

Brandon Lutnick, who serves as chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald said in a statement, “Kyle and I are honored to continue building on our father’s legacy, leading Cantor Fitzgerald alongside the exceptional executive team we have in place today."

Donald Trump has come under fire for remaining in charge of his businesses despite transferring his assets to "a trust managed by his children while he is working overtime to lead the country to economic prosperity," according to a White House spokesperson.

The New York Times reported this month that sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have raked in billions of dollars in recent deals that "directly benefit the president."

The deals include a luxury hotel in Dubai, a residential tower in Saudi Arabia, two cryptocurrency ventures, a new golf course complex in Qatar, and a new private club in Washington that "will personally benefit not only Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., but also President Trump himself," the Times reported.

Read The Wall Street Journal story here.


‘Confused libs’: Don Jr. flips out at backlash over his Biden cancer joke



Donald Trump Jr. accused Democrats of not being able to take a joke about former President Joe Biden's stage four prostate cancer.

In a post on X, Trump wondered how former First Lady Jill Biden, a doctor of philosophy, could have missed her husband's cancer and called it a "coverup."

"What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup?" he asked.

The president's son faced backlash online for failing to understand the difference between a PhD and a medical doctor.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump accused of new grift that puts Qatari plane in shade

"I sometimes forget that part of the mental disorder of leftism is an inability to understand sarcasm," Trump wrote Monday in his defense. "So for the confused libs out there, I'm well aware that Jill Biden is a fake doctor, not a real one...Unlike the Dems who were calling for her to be Surgeon General in 2020."

Trump ended his missive with a clown face emoji.

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