SINCERETALK

President Donald Trump is now aiming to purge the FBI of hundreds of agents who helped investigate him and participants in the January 6, 2021 insurrection. But the man Trump temporarily put in charge of the FBI reportedly isn't going along with his plan. The Washington Post reported Friday that Trump's proposed mass firings ran into a roadblock in the form of Brian Driscoll, who "refused to endorse the effort," according to the Post's sources. The initiative to identify and fire the agents in question is reportedly being headed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the White House, though Trump is apparently distancing himself from the effort. When asked during a recent Oval Office press gaggle if he ordered the firings, Trump said: "No, but we have some very bad people there... I wasn’t involved in that. But if they want to fire some people, it is fine with me." READ MORE: Trump FBI nominee has a full 'enemies list' — Here's who...

The White House on Friday afternoon announced that President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs will go into effect almost immediately, starting at 12:01 AM Saturday. The tariffs — 25% on all goods from Canada and Mexico, and 10% on all goods from China — are being described as “draconian” and unnecessary. They sparked an immediate market selloff and are expected to cause prices to spike on common and essential items such as gas, groceries, beer, and even sneakers. “If enacted,” writes Steven Greenhouse at The Guardian , “tariffs will increase inflation, slow economic growth, and result in US consumers footing the bill.” Columbia University economics professor Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel prize winner in economic sciences, told The Guardian: “Virtually all economists think that the impact of the tariffs will be very bad for America and for the world.” “They will almost surely be inflationary,” he added. Gas prices are expected to jump as much as 70 cents per gallon, according to ABC ...

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump's administration offered millions of federal workers seven months of pay in advance if they quit their jobs . Days later, a mid-air collision between a regional jet and a military helicopter killed dozens outside the Washington D.C. National Airport. One senator thinks the two events may be related. Politico reported Thursday evening that the deadly Wednesday night crash above the Potomac River that killed 60 American Airlines passengers and four crew members along with three U.S. Army pilots in a Black Hawk helicopter has lawmakers and aviation officials demanding answers. During a Thursday press conference, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board promised to fully investigate the crash to determine what caused the fatal error, though they cautioned it could take a year or more before their investigation is complete. The New York Times reported earlier Thursday that the air traffic controller who was on duty at the ti...

Before all the bodies of the 67 people killed in a mid-air collision Wednesday night have even been recovered, President Donald Trump made a quip about the tragedy. One comment Trump recently made from the Oval Office resulted in anger and outrage on social media. On Thursday evening, while taking questions from reporters from the Resolute Desk, Trump demurred from answering questions about whether he would meet with victims' families. But in one exchange, he suggested to a reporter that he didn't plan to visit the site of the crash, which happened above the Potomac River, because he didn't want to "go swimming." "I have a plan to visit — not the site, because, you tell me, what's the site? The water? You want me to go swimming?" Trump said. "I don't have a plan to do that, but I will be meeting with some people that were very badly hurt — with their family member, obviously." READ MORE: DC air traffic controller was 'working...

A man who received a pardon from President Donald Trump over his participation in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol now wants a separate federal conviction overturned for an even more heinous crime. Knoxville, Tennessee-based ABC affiliate WATE recently reported that 35 year-old Edward Kelley is now arguing that Trump's pardon should mean that a different felony conviction should also be thrown out. Kelley was convicted in November on charges of conspiracy to murder federal employees, solicitation to commit a crime of violence and influencing a federal official by threat. His conviction was secured after his accomplice — 26 year-old Austin Carter — testified against him at trial, after he pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2023. Carter said on the stand that he and Kelley plotted to attack the Knoxville FBI office using car bombs and “incendiary devices appended to drones.” Kelley and Carter had also assembled a "kill list" that included both F...

A forensic report containing a detailed analysis of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla's social media activity before and during the 2021 July riots contains evidence provided to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for possible inclusion in its case against her. from News24 news24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/IM8qKY1 via sinceretalk

One participant in the deadly January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was still unable to avoid jail time despite getting a pardon from President Donald Trump. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday that Franklin County Judge Ryan Helfrich sentenced Emily Hernandez — who was one of the roughly 1,500 January 6 defendants Trump pardoned — to 17 years behind bars for a fatal drunk driving incident roughly a year after the Capitol siege. Hernandez had a blood alcohol content of 0.20% after she crashed into a Buick SUV while driving the wrong way on Interstate 44 on January 5, 2022. The fatal crash happened just days before Hernandez was scheduled to plead guilty to federal charges relating to her participation in the insurrection. That's nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08%. Hernandez killed 32 year-old Victoria N. Wilson in the crash, and severely injured 36 year-old Ryan E. Wilson, who now walks with a cane. Judge Helfrich handed down a 10-year sentence f...

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is now in a standoff with President Donald Trump, and it could be due to pressure from Trump's new friends in the tech sector. Punchbowl News recently reported that Trump is working behind the scenes to prevent Cruz — who is now the chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation — from having expanded subpoena powers. Cruz is seeking to have the ability to unilaterally issue subpoenas as chairman, rather than to have to rely on consent from the committee's ranking member, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) or a full committee vote. The committee was scheduled to vote on the proposal during a markup session this week, though that meeting was delayed due to attendance issues, as Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) was sick. But now the White House is reportedly urging Republicans to vote against giving Cruz unilateral subpoena powers, which it believes he will use to bring tech executives before the committee who helped Trump win ...

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), who President Donald Trump's pick to lead the United States' 18 intelligence agencies, may not make it past the first hurdle in her confirmation process,, according to the top Senate Republican. On Wednesday, Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio tweeted that Gabbard — whose confirmation hearing in the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday — may not even get to have her nomination considered by the full Senate given her slim chances of making it out of the Intelligence Committee. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told Desiderio that Gabbard might not currently have the votes to get a "favorable recommendation" from the committee. The South Dakota Republican added she might not even make it out with a neutral "no recommendation." “I can’t see them doing that if they vote her down," Thune said. READ MORE: 'She lied to us': Ex-Gabbard staffers speak out about 'insane' meeting with...

After it was announced Tuesday that President Donald Trump's administration is offering nearly 2 million federal workers "the chance to take a 'deferred resignation,' according to NBC News — allowing workers be paid through September — one reporter noted that the message to employees looked familiar. ABC News White House policy reporter Cheyenne Haslett reported via X : "NEW: The memo sent to government employees this evening offering them buyouts very closely mirrors an email Musk sent to Twitter employees in 2022 — down to the same subject line 'A Fork in the Road.'" She added, "The 2022 email tells Twitter employees, 'Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.'" READ MORE: 'There’s no clarity': Reporter confronts Trump’s press secretary over federal funding freeze Furthermore, Haslett wrote, "Compare that to memo: 'The federal workforce should be comprised of the best America has to offe...

President Donald Trump’s White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller, is attributing the American public’s confusion — including among state and federal lawmakers — about a memo from the Office of Management and Budget, which ordered a freeze on potentially trillions of dollars in federal funding , with limited specifics, to what he claims is false reporting from “left-wing media outlets.” Many have suggested the freeze itself is unlawful, citing the U.S. Constitution vesting the power of the purse with Congress, not the president, a 1974 federal law, and a 1975 U.S. Supremer Court case. Late Tuesday afternoon a federal judge issued a short, temporary block on a portion of the freeze, CNN reported. But the language in the memo is confusing, many say. In fact, some attribute what appears to be a nationwide shutdown of Medicaid portals across the country to the memo’s vagueness. “I can’t help it if left-wing media outlets published a fake news story that caused co...

President Donald Trump's slew of executive orders has left the US Army in disarray in the MAGA leader's eight days since taking office once again, according to a Tuesday Politico report. Per the report, the 47th president's moves to begin the administration's mass deportation efforts and end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives — to name only a few — are "sparking so much confusion that top officials directed a halt on new contracts and then walked it back." For example, Politico reports, "Top officials misinterpreted Trump’s order on diversity, equity and inclusion and set an Army freeze on deals for new weapons," then, "The Pentagon clarified on Tuesday that it wasn’t going to issue a pause," upending the entire defense industry. READ MORE: 'Trump’s not a king': Internet erupts after Biden-appointed judge halts federal funding freeze Additionally, Politico r eports : Some service members also are concerned that Tru...

A recent decision from President Donald Trump's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that caused mass hysteria among federal agencies and those who depend on them has now been put on pause by a federal judge. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan — who former President Joe Biden appointed to the bench in 2023 — announced that she was pausing the Trump administration's freeze on federal grants and loans until at least Monday, February 3. Khan's administrative stay doesn't permanently strike down the Trump OMB's decision, but rather allows for pending litigation challenging the freeze to be heard in the federal judiciary. Judge AliKhan announced the temporary stay minutes before the freeze was due to go into effect, and Politico legal correspondent Kyle Cheney wrote that it came roughly 45 minutes after she convened a hearing between litigants and the Trump administration. This is the second time in less a week that a judge has halted one of the preside...

President Donald Trump on Monday urged the House of Representatives to renew his tax cuts. This comes as the GOP-controlled Congress attempts "to overcome internal differences on how to pay for" the presidents "sweeping tax cuts, with hardline conservatives determined to reduce an annual federal deficit approaching $2 trillion," according to Reuters. However, Trump couldn't care less about the divide. READ MORE: Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts made income inequality worse and especially hurt Black Americans: study Aisha's Hanse, a senior national correspondent for Fox News, reported via social media : "TRUMP calls on Congress to renew his tax cuts — 'We got to get that done. And we don't want to get hung up on the budget process. We just want, whether it's one bill, two bills, I don't care.'" Michael R. Strain, director of economic policy studies & senior fellow for American Enterprise Institute, wrote : President Tr...

I’ve been trying to understand why seven Democrats in the US Senate decided it was a good idea to vote to confirm South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as the next US secretary of homeland security. They could not have doubted her confirmation, as the Republican majority of the upper chamber guaranteed it. So why did US Senators John Fetterman, Tim Kaine, Andy Kim, Gary Peters, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan and Elissa Slotkin choose to vote in her favor? This is, after all, Kristi “ The Puppy Killer ” Noem. You would think that these seven Democrats could have found a reason – any reason, not just canicide – to oppose her, especially given that she’s going to be leading the president’s push to deport millions of “illegal” immigrants. The effort is already ensnaring citizens, even indigenous Americans. Indeed, the reason need not have had anything to do with Kristi Noem herself. The reason could have been merely the fact that the Democratic position on the last presidential election...

President Donald Trump left the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board — an independent civil liberties watchdog — "paralyzed" on Monday after firing three of its members who were selected by Democrats, according to The New York Times. This comes after the new MAGA administration earlier today fired "more than a dozen" prosecutors on Special Counsel Jack Smith's team. Per the Times, Sharon Bradford Franklin, Edward W. Felten and Travis LeBlanc were all ordered to leave their posts following Trump's inauguration last week, and notified that refusal to do so would result in their dismissals by the president. READ MORE: Trump DOJ fires 'more than a dozen' prosecutors from Jack Smith’s team However, because the members had not received further word on the matter, according to the report, the trio remained in their positions as of Friday, January 24, "when the board released a long-in-the-works study of terrorism watchlists, which keep pe...

The U.S. Department of Justice under President Donald Trump’s Acting Attorney General, James McHenry, on Monday reportedly fired career prosecutors who worked for Special Counsel Jack Smith and were involved in the criminal prosecution of Donald Trump. The number of attorneys fired was “more than a dozen,” according to The Washington Examiner . “Given your significant role in prosecuting the President, I do not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully,” McHenry wrote to the lawyers, the Examiner also reported. Special Counsel Jack Smith prosecuted Donald Trump for allegedly unlawfully removing, retaining, and refusing to return classified documents including the nation’s nuclear secrets, largely under the Espionage Act. He also prosecuted Trump for his actions to subvert the 2020 election, including those surrounding the attack on the U.S. Capitol and the insurrection. READ MORE: Trump Team Pushing ‘Utt...

Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality's financial mismanagement under Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni's leadership - including R87 million in unauthorised expenditure - initiated the Hawks' now-finalised fraud and corruption investigation into a R2.5 million tender. from News24 news24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/6kjcqhm via sinceretalk

Pete Hegseth was confirmed last week. The TV news personality will become the next US secretary of defense. Hegseth will oversee the biggest bureaucracy in the world with a budget of nearly a trillion dollars. All this while being the unworthiest man for the job. How unworthy? It’s hard to express in words. Perhaps the best way is merely stating that he’s so unqualified that even Mitch McConnell voted against him (along with all the Democrats and two Republicans, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins). Indeed, the former Senate majority leader who broke every norm you can think of, and who is perhaps most responsible for Donald Trump’s second coming, said no dice. Unqualified, but also degenerate. Other than his serious problems with alcohol, there’s the fact that Hegseth paid a woman to keep quiet after she accused him of rape in 2017. That’s in addition to his reprehensible behavior toward women generally. As Lindsay Beyerstein wrote : QUOTE Hegseth’s former sister-in-law, Daniell...

The Safa NEC first met on Friday to conclude the adjourned ordinary meeting held in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, on 12 October 2024, a month before Jordaan’s arrest. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/dOYqZ3P via sinceretalk

Despite Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's narrow confirmation in the U.S. Senate , MAGA could still harbor a grudge against the three Senate Republicans who voted down President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon. According to Sen. Tammy Duckworth (R-Ill.) , both her fellow colleagues and Hegseth's ex-wife have been the target of Trump supporters' rage. Duckworth — an Iraq War combat veteran — told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that Hegseth's opponents have come under a "torrent" and a "deluge" of attacks by the far right. While Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who is also a military veteran, signaled she may vote against Hegseth, she ultimately voted in favor of his confirmation. "Joni Ernst received so many threats and attacks outright, you know, threatening her, saying that they would primary her all the way through to threats against her own security," Duckworth said. READ MORE: 'Acted like the rules didn't apply': He...

For years, Mexico has allowed the United States' deportation flights to cross over its airspace when flying undocumented immigrants back to their home countries without incident. But that's apparently no longer the case, according to a new report. On Friday, NBC News found that Mexico refused a U.S. military plane access to its airspace when flying migrants to Guatemala. And as American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick noted, another Central American country appears to have also not allowed the United States to fly over its airspace, given the flight's unusually circuitous route . "This deportation flight had to go all the way around the Yucatan first, and then it went through Costa Rica, suggesting Honduras may also have denied permission," Reichlin-Melnick posted to Bluesky. He observed that countries declining to accommodate the U.S. by granting it access to its airspace could be a result of them perceiving his use of military C-130...

The Trump administration’s long-promised “ largest mass deportation operation ” in U.S. history, which was announced to begin “on day one,” has so far resulted in what some experts and immigration advocates suggest are an average number to mild increase in arrests and deportations. Activists, experts, and journalists are working to provide context to the White House’s claims of its own effectiveness. “The White House said immigration agents have arrested 538 undocumented immigrants with criminal records and deported ‘hundreds’ more,” The Washington Post reported Friday. “Those numbers, if accurate, would be relatively modest for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement surge operations — a possible indication that the Trump administration’s show of force has so far outpaced the government’s capacity to deliver on the president’s lofty goals.” Ahead of his inauguration on Monday, the media was awash with reports that President Trump’s mass deportation of undocumented immigrants wou...

One scientist who studies disease outbreaks is warning that President Donald Trump's campaign of retribution against his political enemies is stifling important research. In a Friday interview with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding blasted Trump's recent decision to halt communications, travel and hiring for the National Institutes of Health, which oversees more than $47 billion dedicated to funding scientific research and experiments across the country. Science magazine reported this week that the announcement from the Trump White House was causing "uncertainty, fear and panic" among the scientific community. Dr. Feigl-Ding said the explanation that the announcement was just a "temporary pause" until February doesn't change the fact that the abrupt cancellation of grant review panels, hiring and trips to present new research will be debilitating to important ongoing projects. He lamented that that this week marked the first time in d...