Featured Stories:
Trump’s ‘revenge’ meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner: report
President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."
This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.
After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."
The president sued WSJ over that reporting, alleging that the birthday letter was not authentic. This month, a federal judge tossed out that suit.
‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.
Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.
Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.
"A lot of people do," Comer said.
"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."
"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.
"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."
"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."
‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.
"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"
Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.
Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.
"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."
She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.
"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."
Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.
"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."
‘Stephen, let’s calm down’: Yelling Trump aide berates host as he loses cool live on CNN
White House aide Stephen Miller launched into a barrage of shouting aimed at CNN's Brianna Keilar Tuesday as she grilled him on cuts being made by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency and the sensitive information the billionaire's team might be accessing.
An animated Miller proclaimed, "You may assert there is no waste in the Pentagon. You may assert there is no waste in Treasury. You may assert there's no wasted in HHS."
Keilar tried to interrupt, "Stephen. Stephen, I don't think anyone — "
"Then why are you not celebrating these cuts?" Miller exploded, raising his voice to shouting level. "If you agree there is waste, if you agree there is abuse, if you agree there is corruption, why are you not celebrating the cuts, the reforms that are being instituted. Every day that no action is taken, the entire salaries of American workers that are taxed disappear forever!"
ALSO READ: 'Gotta be kidding': Jim Jordan scrambles as he's confronted over Musk 'double standard'
"Stephen, let's calm down," Keilar admonished. "We're not having a debate —"
"Well, you're clearly trying to debate me, and I will be as excited as I want to be about the fact that we are saving Americans billions of dollars, that we are ending the theft and waste and grift and corruption, that we are stopping American taxpayer dollars from subsidizing a rogue federal bureaucracy that has been relentlessly weaponized against the American people."
Keilar and Miller continued to argue over one another until Keilar finally said, "Stephen, I'm just asking — I wanted to get your position on some things. We're not taking a position here, we wanted to get some answers."
Miller shot back, "It doesn't sound to me like you are indifferent or unbiased on these questions, but thank you."
His response left Keilar visibly shocked. She responded by saying goodbye.
‘Upside down’ on the runway: CNN anchor stunned by images of Delta incident
Emergency crews raced to a Delta Airlines airplane at Toronto Pearson International Airport, and the images stunned CNN anchors who remarked the plane appeared to be "upside down on the runway."
The crash happened Monday afternoon, with CNN anchor Boriz Sanchez telling viewers crews were responding to a "landing incident." The plane originated from Minneapolis, Minnesota, according to the report.
"Yeah. I mean we're calling it a landing incident but this is really serious," remarked fellow anchor Brianna Keilar.
ALSO READ: 'Gotta be kidding': Jim Jordan scrambles as he's confronted over Musk 'double standard'
She later added, "Ther appears to be — from afar — but we can see wheels that look — its upside down."
"Yeah it looks to me to be some kind of landing gear issue on the way down," replied safety analyst David Soucie. The plane may have slid off the runway.
CNN later reported all souls were accounted for. The number of injuries wasn't immediately known.
The most recent incident follows multiple plane crashes in the United States, with 67 people killed in a collision between an American Airlines regional jet and a military Blackhawk helicopter in Washington, D.C.
‘It’s gone’: Elon Musk suggests without evidence that gold was ‘stolen’ from Fort Knox
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Department of Government Efficiency Chair Elon Musk demanded access to the gold stored at Fort Knox.
Writing on Musk's social media platform X, Lee said he was repeatedly denied access to the facility after Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) encouraged an audit of the nation's gold stores.
"As a U.S. senator, I've tried repeatedly to get into Fort Knox," Lee wrote on Monday.
"You can't come to Fort Knox," the senator claimed he was told.
Musk responded by suggesting the gold was "stolen."
"Who is confirming that gold wasn't stolen from Fort Knox?" he asked. "Maybe it's there, maybe it's not. That gold is owned by the American public! We want to know if it's still there."
ALSO READ: 'Gotta be kidding': Jim Jordan scrambles as he's confronted over Musk 'double standard'
Musk shared a meme in a follow-up message: "Looking for the gold at Fort Knox... ANNND IT'S GONE."
The billionaire has said that he wanted to do a "live video walkthrough of Fort Knox."
‘Baseless’: ‘Border czar’s’ prosecution threat at AOC too much even for MAGA attorney
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) received a surprising defense from a Trump-supporting attorney after "border czar" Tom Homan threatened to investigate her for allegedly impeding law enforcement.
Homan repeated Sunday that he asked the Department of Justice to look into Ocasio-Cortez's recent live webinar called "Know Your Rights With ICE," where migrants were advised on what to do if confronted by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
"I asked the Department of Justice, where is that line on impediment, right? It's a broad statute," Homan told CNN's Dana Bash. "Because you can call it 'Know Your Rights' all you want. We all know what the bottom line is. The bottom line is, how do they evade law enforcement?"
ALSO READ: 'Gotta be kidding': Jim Jordan scrambles as he's confronted over Musk 'double standard'
Attorney Jonathan Turley posted to social media Monday, "Border Czar Tom Homan doubled down last night that Rep.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) might be prosecuted for hosting a forum on ‘Know Your Rights’ for accused illegal aliens. Such a prosecution would be an assault on free speech rights."
But Turley couldn't help but take a swipe at the ultra-liberal AOC in a second post, accusing her of being no friend to the First Amendment.
"While AOC has never been a defender of free speech, principle demands something more from the rest of us who value the First Amendment. Just as VP Vance offered a powerful defense of free speech in Europe, this baseless threat undermines the high ground achieved in Munich," Turley wrote.
The "high ground" Turley referred to was a stunning speech given by Vice President J.D. Vance at the Munich Security Council. He slammed Germany over censorship and encouraged the government to listen to the country's far-right political parties. Vance was criticized at home and abroad, with Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) slamming Vance as "embracing a group that flirts with Nazism."
In response to Homan's repeated threats, Ocasio-Cortez posted, "Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start."
Trump begins firing air traffic control staff amid 7 plane crashes
President Donald Trump's administration, guided by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), reportedly began firing staff responsible for air traffic control amid more than a half dozen recent airplane crashes.
The Associated Press reported that probationary employees at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began receiving emails on Friday night saying they would be terminated.
"The impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing, and navigational aid maintenance," the AP reported after talking to one anonymous air traffic controller.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association was "analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system, and our members," the group said in a statement.
ALSO READ: 'Gotta be kidding': Jim Jordan scrambles as he's confronted over Musk 'double standard'
The firings come just days after a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter collided with an American Airlines passenger jet in Washington, D.C., killing over 60. Since then, at least six other plane crashes and wrecks have reportedly occurred.
Israel PM says ‘committed’ to Trump’s Gaza plan
by Delphine Matthieussent with Leon Bruneau in Riyadh
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he was "committed" to a U.S. proposal to take over Gaza and displace its Palestinian residents, as Washington's top diplomat was in Saudi Arabia to push the plan opposed by Arab states.
As U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a visit to Saudi Arabia, a Saudi source told AFP Riyadh would host a regional summit later this week "to discuss Arab alternatives" to President Donald Trump's widely criticized plan for the Gaza Strip.
Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait will be represented at the Friday summit, the source said.
Rubio travelled to Riyadh from Israel, where he kicked off his first Middle East trip as Trump's secretary of state.
Following his meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, Rubio said Hamas "must be eliminated", while the Israeli premier touted a "common strategy" between the two allies.
In a statement Monday, Netanyahu said he was "committed to US President Trump's plan for the creation of a different Gaza", also promising the after the war, "there will be neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority" ruling the territory.
The United States, Israel's top ally and weapons supplier, says it is open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but Rubio has said for now, "the only plan is the Trump plan".
The United States has been pushing for a historic deal in which Saudi Arabia would recognise Israel, for which Riyadh has demanded the establishment of a Palestinian state -- long opposed by Israeli leaders and potentially in contradiction with Trump's Gaza plan.
Since it came into effect nearly a month ago, Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the Gaza truce, which has been further strained by Trump's proposal to take control of rubble-strewn Gaza and move its more than two million residents.
Negotiations on a second phase of the truce, aimed at securing a more lasting end to the war, could begin this week in Doha, a Hamas official and another source familiar with the talks have said.
Netanyahu's office said he would convene a meeting of his security cabinet on Monday to discuss phase two.
It said negotiators dispatched to Cairo would "receive further directives for negotiations on Phase II" after the cabinet meeting.
- 'Restarting the war' -
Earlier Netanyahu said he spoke with Rubio about "Trump's bold vision for Gaza's future" -- which experts have warned would violate international law -- and about way to "ensure that vision becomes a reality".
Hamas and Israel are implementing the first, 42-day phase of the ceasefire, which appeared close to collapse last week.
"At any moment the fighting could resume. We hope that the calm will continue and that Egypt will pressure Israel to prevent them from restarting the war and displacing people," said Nasser al-Astal, 62, a retired teacher in southern Gaza's Khan Yunis.
Since the truce took effect on January 19, a total of 19 Israeli hostages have been released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
Out of 251 people seized in Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war, 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
The families of the hostages still in Gaza on Monday marked 500 days of their captivity, holding pictures of their loved ones and banners reading "Home Now" as dozens marched towards Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem.
"My eyes burn from the tears I have shed for the past 500 days," said Einav Tzangauker, whose son Matan is among those held in Gaza.
Addressing lawmakers, she pleaded with them to "do everything possible to bring my son Matan and the other hostages home alive".
In a statement, Rubio called for the immediate release of all remaining captives.
- 'Finish the job' -
The Gaza war has rippled across the Middle East, triggering violence in Yemen and Lebanon, where Iran backs militant groups.
Israel fought a related war with Hamas's Lebanese ally Hezbollah, severely weakening it before a ceasefire took effect on November 27.
Israeli troops were meant to withdraw over a 60-day period but this was later extended to February 18.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Sunday "Israel must fully withdraw" on the Tuesday deadline.
A Lebanese security source said an Israeli strike in the southern city of Sidon on Monday killed Mohammed Shahine, a military unit commander from Hamas. The Israeli military claimed the strike, accusing Shahine of planning attacks.
There have also been limited direct strikes by Iran and Israel against each other.
Netanyahu said that with the support of the Trump administration, "I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job" against Iran.
Iran on Monday condemned Netanyahu's remarks, calling them "a gross violation of international law".
Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,271 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
© Agence France-Presse
Popular articles
Trump’s ‘revenge’ meltdown plans leak for White House Correspondents’ Dinner: report
President Donald Trump is preparing to throw a scripted tantrum at the White House Correspondents' Dinner this year, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.
"Donald Trump will launch a 'revenge' attack on the White House media when he confronts them in person at a Washington dinner on Saturday night — then flee before there can be revenge," said the report. "He is expected to target publications that he has accused of writing negatively about his administration and his war with Iran, in particular, according to sources."
This would track with his recent rants on Truth Social, where he has accused of the media of rigging reports about the Iran war to make it look like it's going worse than it actually is.
After he is done with his speech, said the report, he is skipping on the rest of the ceremony — in large part because he doesn't want to stick around for an award being given to a story that revealed his closeness to deceased financier and accused child trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
"Trump will leave the White House Correspondents’ Association event after making his speech, so he will miss the presentation of press awards — one of which would be certain to embarrass him," said the report. "He has told aides he has no intention of still being in the International Ballroom at the Washington Hilton when the Wall Street Journal is honored with the Katherine Graham award for its scoop about a bawdy letter Trump allegedly wrote for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday card."
The president sued WSJ over that reporting, alleging that the birthday letter was not authentic. This month, a federal judge tossed out that suit.
‘Massive cover up’ fears raised as House panel splits on clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell
Ghislaine Maxwell's condition to testify under oath — but only under the condition of clemency — has split House Oversight and Government Reform Committee members over whether President Donald Trump should grant her that pardon, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) told Politico on Wednesday.
Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, was deposed by the committee and invoked her Fifth Amendment right to decline to answer the group's questions. Trump is the only one with the power to pardon her, something he has not yet ruled out.
Comer told Politico that he did not favor a pardon for Maxwell, a former confidant to the late financier and convicted child sex offender. When asked whether striking a deal with Maxwell could provide useful testimony, Comer did not share who on the panel supported granting her clemency.
"A lot of people do," Comer said.
"My committee’s split on that," Comer said. "I don’t speak for my committee."
"I think it looks bad," he added. "Honestly, other than Epstein, the worst person in this whole investigation is Maxwell."
Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) said that Democrats on the committee collectively oppose a pardon for Maxwell.
"That would be a huge step backwards, and, quite frankly, so disrespectful to the survivors," he said in an interview. "She is a known abuser. She is a known liar."
"If the DOJ or Oversight Republicans are out there trying to negotiate some sort of pardon that is... not only a huge slap in the face to this investigation, to anyone, to the American public," Garcia said. "It’s a part of a massive cover up."
‘Wah, wah, wah:’ AOC scoffs at GOP whining over gerrymandering
WASHINGTON — Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, had strong words for Republicans complaining about the gerrymandering in Virginia that voters approved on Tuesday, with strong support from her party.
"Wah, wah, wah," Ocasio-Cortez told Raw Story on Wednesday, mimicking a whining baby and laughing in response to a question from reporter Matt Laslo. "Democrats have attempted and asked Republicans for 10 years to ban partisan gerrymandering, and for 10 years, Republicans have said, 'no.'"
Laslo was asking Ocasio-Cortez to respond to complaints from the GOP that it would be unconstitutional for Democrats to have a 10-1 congressional majority in Virginia, which the gerrymandering ballot measure would make possible. A Virginia circuit court judge blocked the vote-approved redistricting on Wednesday, however.
Still, Ocasio-Cortez saw no problem with Democrats supporting gerrymandering after years of opposing it when done on the Republican side. For AOC, the GOP "wanted to start this," and the Democrats are just fighting back.
"What they're mad at is they're accustomed to a Democrat Party that rolls over, doesn't fight and takes everything sitting down," Ocasio-Cortez said. "What they're mad at right now is that we are here in a new day."
She mentioned Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina and Texas, where Democrats lost seats. Trump's call for Texas Republicans to gerrymander arguably kicked off what's now seen as a redistricting arms race.
"We have been asking the Democratic Party to stand up and fight, and now they did," AOC continued. "Now the Republican Party doesn't like the fact that they are fighting against someone who actually will stand up for the American people."
Ocasio-Cortez said she would "welcome" working with the Republicans to pass a ban on partisan gerrymandering.
"We have the bill right here to end this all today," she said, smiling. "But they don't want to because they like pursuing and continuing to enact an unfair electoral landscape."
