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President Donald Trump's administration is now reportedly coming down hard on federal inmates for speaking out against the DOJ's apparent soft treatment of convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. That's according to CNN, which reported Friday that Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) — the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee — is now demanding answers from the warden at Maxwell's minimum security prison about what he alleges is "VIP treatment" for deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's chief accomplice. CNN host Jim Sciutto said Raskin is also questioning Maxwell getting "m ysterious visitors, meal delivery and other special perks" and that the DOJ has " retaliated against inmates who dared to speak out about her fawning preferential treatment." Elie Honig, a legal analyst for the network, told Scuitto that while he's less concerned with meal deliveries and meetings with visitors, the major red flag in Raskin's l...

The upcoming gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, along with next week's mayoral election in New York City, could be viewed as a reliable bellwether for how next year's midterm elections will go, according to CNN data analyst Harry Enten. In a Friday segment on CNN's "OutFront," Enten told guest host Erica Hill that "Donald Trump can't be too happy" with the latest polling in those three races. Even though New Jersey's gubernatorial race is the closest of the three, Trump-endorsed Republican Jack Ciattarelli is still anywhere from six to eight points behind Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill. Republicans have an even smaller chance of keeping control of the governor's mansion in Virginia, as Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears is trailing Democrat Abigail Spanberger by 14 points according to a recent YouGov poll. And Democrat Zohran Mamdani is poised for a clear victory over former New York Governor Andr...

Officials in President Donald Trump's administration reportedly didn't expect the ongoing government shutdown to last longer than 10 days. But as the shutdown approaches day 32, their boss is now pushing hard for it to end by any means necessary. That's according to a Friday article by Politico's Myah Ward, Alex Gangitano and Dasha Burns , who reported that several unnamed sources in the Trump White House are confiding that Trump is "increasingly frustrated" with the shutdown and is now leaning on Senate Republicans to take extreme measures to quickly end it. Trump has recently been advocating for Senate Republicans to get rid of the filibuster (known as the "nuclear option") and pass the House of Representatives' continuing resolution to keep federal agencies funded with a simple majority vote. "Trump, he’s had it with these people, because he knows they’re playing politics," one White House source said. "Nobody thought it was...

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) was recently accused of "unacceptable behavior" by Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and law enforcement agents at the Charleston International Airport, after she reportedly berated police and TSA staff escorting the congresswoman to her flight. WIRED reported Friday that it obtained a full incident report of Mace's eruption via a South Carolina Freedom of Information Act request. The Republican lawmaker had told the Charleston County Aviation Authority Police Department she would be arriving at approximately 6:30 AM to the ticketing area in a white BMW, so officers could escort her to her gate. At roughly 6:35 AM, Mace's handlers told officers she was running behind schedule, but by 7:00 AM, the car in question never showed. Police then received a call from Mace's team saying the congresswoman was at the Known Crewmember (KCM) entrance, which has a shorter checkpoint and is typically exclusively used by the flight crew. When Mace...

Interactive casino-type online games like roulette are illegal — and players run the risk of having any winnings confiscated. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/UsVSduZ via sinceretalk

More than nine months into President Donald Trump's second term, he's continuing to make headlines for constant scandals, including recent scandals like his call for a personal $230 million payout from U.S. taxpayers, his entertaining of an unconstitutional third term in office and his sudden demolition of the entire East Wing of the White House. But one expert says one moment from early on in his second term stands apart. In a Thursday essay , the New Yorker's Susan Glasser remarked on the fast pace of the Trump administration since his second inauguration on January 20. She observed that with Trump remarking after being given a replica crown by South Korean leaders that he'd "like to wear it right now" (less than two weeks after the nationwide "No Kings" protests ), his latest strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and him promising to resume nuclear weapons testing, it was easy to forget about older scandals. "Remember when Trump impos...

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem is ignoring a request from one state official to give trick-or-treating families a break on Halloween. The Daily Beast reported Thursday that during a Fox News interview, the DHS secretary ignored a plea from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) for the DHS to pause aggressive immigration enforcement actions in Chicago on Friday, when kids in the Windy City will be walking neighborhood streets in celebration of Halloween. "Illinois families deserve to spend Halloween weekend without fear," Pritzker wrote in a Wednesday letter to Noem. "No child should be forced to inhale tear gas or other chemical agents while trick or treating in their own neighborhood." However, Noem told Fox News' Sandra Smith that despite Halloween festivities, ICE would still be "out on the streets in full force, and increase activities to make sure kids are safe." "We will be out there to make sure that they can b...

President Donald Trump isn't showing any signs of letting up in his goal of having his administration hound his political opponents, and just named 10 new potential defendants. In a Wednesday post to his Truth Social account , the president accused former FBI special agent Walter Giardina of being a "DIRTY COP" and demanded he be "investigated, immediately." He additionally called for investigations into former DOJ Special Counsel Jack Smith and his counselor Jay Bratt, along with prosecutor Thomas Windom, who worked on Smith's team. Trump went on to demand investigations into former Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco (who served in former President Joe Biden's DOJ), former assistant U.S. attorney Andrew Weissmann, former U.S. ambassador Norm Eisen, former FBI Director Christopher Wray, former Attorney General Merrick Garland. Trump also called for an investigation into the anti-corruption group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (...

President Donald Trump's losses both in Washington and in court are stacking up, and one former federal prosecutor says one of those setbacks is particularly devastating for the president. In a video posted Tuesday , Glenn Kirschner — a former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia — pointed out that Trump has gotten a wave of bad news over just the past 24 hours. He took note of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granting a full en banc review of his attempt to send the National Guard to Portland, Oregon; five Republican senators joining all Democrats to revoke Trump's tariffs on Brazil and acting U.S. attorney Bill Essayli being disqualified from holding his post by judges in the Southern District of California. Kirschner argued that the 9th Circuit's decision is likely to overrule a previous 2-1 ruling by a 9th Circuit panel allowing Trump to send the military to Portland. That ruling — in which two Trump-appointed judges were in the majority — overtu...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published a report earlier this year that disproved one of President Donald Trump's viral claims about disaster relief. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem decided to order another investigation in order to provide the result her boss wanted. That's according to a Wednesday article in the Daily Beast , which reported that Noem called for a new investigation that would claim that FEMA, under former President Joe Biden's administration, selectively denied aid to Trump supporters. Trump initially claimed last year, after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, that affected residents that displayed pro-Trump signs at their homes were stiff-armed by FEMA agents on the ground. However, a report by FEMA's Office of Professional Responsibility stated in April that "found no evidence that this was a systemic problem, nor that it was directed by agency or field leadership," per Politico . But last week,...

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) is calling attention to one consequence of the weeks-long government shutdown that's about to impact the finances of millions of President Donald Trump's supporters: Rising health insurance premiums. During a Tuesday interview with The Bulwark's Sam Stein , Kelly pointed out that as the open enrollment period starts on Saturday, Americans will likely be in for significant sticker shock when shopping for new health insurance plans. He particularly heaped blame on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for sending the House out on a "six-week paid vacation" rather than keeping the House in session to negotiate an end to the shutdown. "They haven't been back here in six weeks. They have abdicated their responsibilities under the Constitution," Kelly said. "They're not doing their jobs ... There are 23 million Americans who, on November 1, are gonna get punched in the face with a skyrocketing healthcare bill." ...

A retired conservative federal judge is urging Americans that President Donald Trump's talk of seeking a third term seriously. During a Tuesday segment on MSNBC , former U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig said that Trump entertaining a third term shouldn't be dismissed outright given how institutions have largely failed to keep him in check. He also said that despite the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's ban on presidents being elected to more than two terms, it was unlikely that Congress and the Supreme Court would stop Trump. "In the the ten months that he's been president, this time, he has ... seized essentially an absolute and unchecked power in the United S tates of America that is unchecked by the two coordinate branches of government," Luttig said. "In America, though the Constitution provides for a system of checks and balances on the powers of the three coordinate branches in ten months, Donald T...

Author and speaker Jen Hatmaker said the evangelical system she once thrived in “robbed" her of her "autonomy,” marking a decisive shift away from the life script she followed for decades. Hatmaker, who married at 19 and for 26 years lived what seemed an enviable evangelical life, complete with a pastor-husband, five children, a home-renovation TV show and a national platform as a women’s ministry leader — says she now sees that path as deeply scripted by evangelical culture. In an interview with Religion News Service published Monday, she described growing up steeped in what she calls purity culture, complimentarian gender roles and ministry zeal, all of which she believes constrained identity and agency. Discussing her new memoir, Hatmaker reflected that everything she ever learned about being a woman — wife, mother, minister — came from her religious environment, and that there was “no separating the two.” The result, she says, was the erosion of her own agency, say...

Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its website with an expanded message blaming Democrats’ support for “illegal aliens” and gender-affirming care for transgender people as reasons “mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us” will be denied “critical nutrition assistance.” Benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are expected to be shut off on November 1 due to the federal government shutdown, although some say there are funds available that legally can be used to continue benefits. On Saturday, visitors to USDA.gov were confronted with this message : “Due to the Radical Left Democrat shutdown, this government website will not be updated during the funding lapse. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.” Some experts have said similar messages may violate the Hatch Act. READ MORE: ‘Refrain From Any Action’: Congressional Vets W...

While successful claimants wait for the government to secure funding to complete the long-awaited redevelopment of District Six, more than 700 further claimants might not live to see their rights restored. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/ieaT2lE via sinceretalk

South Africa’s successful exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list demonstrates something we often forget in South Africa: when we combine political will, technical competence and sustained focus, we can deliver world-class results, argues Busisiwe Mavuso. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/LvOrDzu via sinceretalk

New York mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani was boosted by prominent US leftists at a get-out-the-vote rally, as the Democratic socialist and Donald Trump foe closed in on the city’s top job. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/AtYwjJT via sinceretalk

An investigation is under way after a light aircraft crashed into the tuckshop of Hoërskool Alberton in Ekurhuleni on Sunday. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/WPTkzvZ via sinceretalk

The innovation aims to reduce single-use plastic packaging waste while making trusted brands more accessible to low-income families. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/WyF4k59 via sinceretalk

US President Donald Trump arrived in Malaysia on the first leg of an Asian tour that will include high-stakes trade talks with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/5fn1yDc via sinceretalk

An Australian dog toy maker unintentionally became a viral sensation in South Africa after a missing apostrophe turned her dog Poe’s name, into “Po*s” – a well-known and very impolite Afrikaans slang word. from News24 News24/TopStories/rss https://ift.tt/KAkbO7w via sinceretalk

Legal commentator Mark Joseph Stern said Friday President Donald Trump is attempting to use a broad and rarely effective provision of federal law – the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) – as a mechanism to extract nearly $230 million from the Department of Justice, (DOJ) essentially paying himself through the taxpayer-funded coffers of the U.S. government. During a podcast on Slate , Stern noted that Trump is filing a claim under the FTCA, arguing that investigations conducted by the DOJ violated his rights under Florida tort law – specifically rights against “intrusion upon seclusion” and “malicious prosecution." Under Trump's theory, the government (via the DOJ) must compensate him for those alleged violations. Stern called the move “astonishingly audacious,” and warned that it seeks to turn the FTCA’s intent on its head. The FTCA was designed to allow victims of certain tortious misconduct by federal employees to recover damages from the government when the government wo...

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Former Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith recently said he'd be willing to answer House Republicans' call to testify before the Judiciary Committee – but only if it were viewable by the public. One former prosecutor is now arguing why Smith is "smart" to insist on public testimony. During a Thursday segment with MSNBC host Jen Psaki, Andrew Wiessmann – who was a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York – recounted his recent interview with Smith, in which the former special counsel elaborated on his reasoning for insisting on a public testimony. And he remarked that the American public has yet to see Smith speak in a high-profile public forum. "If you r emember when he w as the s pecial counsel, he followed t he s ort of traditional De partment of Justice model, which was only speaking when he announced an i ndictment. And otherwise, t he speaking was in court through filings," Weissmann said. " And tha...

Military historian Edward Lengel said Thursday the Trump administration was "smacking" the Founding Fathers "in the face" by demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make way for President Donald Trump's ballroom. During a podcast with former CNN host Jim Acosta released Thursday, Lengel said, "I've written a bunch of books about George Washington, including for the 1790s when he and [Thomas] Jefferson were working together and conceptualized the White House with James Hoban. So, they had an idea of what they wanted." " And it's really on that point, I think that they're just like smacking the founders in the face. And that really bothers me," he said of the Trump administration. He continued: "Washington and Jefferson worked together on the concept of what the P resident's house, the executive mansion, was intended to represent. Washington understood the symbolis...

President Donald Trump recently denied reports that he deployed B1 bombers to Venezuela amid escalating tensions with the South American country. But journalists are now proving him wrong in real time. During a Thursday press gaggle, Trump was asked directly about the deployment of two B-1 Lancer jets, which the Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day flew from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas toward the Venezuelan coast (though they remained in international airspace). The Journal cited both an unnamed U.S. official and flight tracking data to confirm the deployment. "No, it's not accurate," Trump told CBS reporter Kathryn Watson when asked about the jets. However, CNN reporter Natasha Bertrand fact-checked Trump's denial , writing: "They were easily viewable on flight radar and have been tracked by open source analysts for most of the day. At its closest point a B1 bomber was a little more than 50 miles from the Venezuelan mainland." Bertrand...

In an article for The New York Times published Thursday, conservative political commentator David Brooks argued that the Republican Party has surrendered its independence and moral authority by bending entirely to President Donald Trump. Brooks writes that after decades of ceding power within Congress and to the executive branch, many Republican lawmakers have now effectively given up their own agency, becoming “Trump bobbleheads” more focused on appearing loyal than representing their constituents. "Today if you are a Republican you have basically given away all your power to Trump. You are a duly elected representative of your constituents, yet you’ve turned yourself into a Trump bobblehead figure who gets to go on Fox News from time to time," Brooks wrote. He argued that this submission to Trump reflects a broader cultural decay in American democracy: one in which the idea of persuasion has been replaced by the glorification of “fighting.” Once a rhetorical flourish...

The Rev. Tony Suárez, an evangelical pastor who once advised President Donald Trump and publicly backed his 2016 campaign, said Wednesday he no longer plans to endorse political candidates, citing frustration with divisive politics and the Trump administration’s hardline immigration stance. Speaking at the Religion News Service symposium “God, Government and the Algorithm” in New York City, Suárez, vice president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said he now hopes to focus on “policy, not personality.” “I don’t know that I’ll endorse any more candidates after this go-round,” Suárez said, per a Religion News Service report. “I’d like to talk more about concepts and ideas and policy more than, ‘How dare you vote for that man?’ or ‘How dare you vote for that woman?’” Suárez, who has voted for Trump three times, said he once believed the president supported immigration reform. But he now blames White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller for policies that...

Former CIA Director John Brennan had a pithy response to House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) in response to him recommending to the Department of Justice (DOJ) that Brennan be prosecuted. Earlier this week, Jordan called on the DOJ to indict Brennan for allegedly lying to Congress. Jordan told Attorney General Pam Bondi that Brennan "knowingly made false statements during his transcribed interview" in May of 2023 with the House panel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election. Jordan specifically accused Brennan of lying about the CIA not being involved in the compiling of the "Steele dossier," which is a series of memos written by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele about President Donald Trump's alleged dealings with Russia. In a Wednesday segment with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace , Brennan likened Jordan's criminal referral to the Ohio Republican simply wanting to "get into the action of Trump...

As President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to indict the president's political opponents, some of Trump's loudest critics fear they may soon find themselves in court. NBC News reported Tuesday that former members of Trump's first administration who have criticized him are now wondering if they'll be next in line for criminal prosecutions — particularly after the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday made a criminal referral to the DOJ to charge former CIA Director John Brennan. One of those Trump critics is Miles Taylor, who was a high-ranking Department of Homeland Security official in the first Trump administration. He recalled finding his wife "in tears and shaking" after receiving a death threat calling for her husband to face a firing squad just days after Trump issued a memo calling Taylor an "egregious leaker and disseminator of falsehoods." "You don't know if that person is down the street who wants y...

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Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia chosen by President Donald Trump, directly messaged legal journalist Anna Bower on the Signal messaging app about an ongoing federal prosecution she’s overseeing – behavior legal experts say breaks long‑standing norms for how prosecutors communicate with the press. Bower reported in an article published by Lawfare Monday that on Saturday, Oct. 11, she received a text: “Anna, Lindsey Halligan here.” Bower verified Halligan's identity by getting a correct answer on where they first met and who they were with, and by finding her cell phone number via public records and seeing that Signal immediately associated the number with the "Lindsey Halligan" who messaged her. Over the next 33 hours, Halligan messaged her repeatedly about the case against New York Attorney General Letitia James . According to Bower, Halligan criticized her reporting (and her summaries of the New York Times' report...

Fox News host Sandra Smith repeatedly talked over a guest after he mentioned a sophomoric AI-generated video President Donald Trump posted to social media on the day of massive protests against his administration. The Daily Beast reported Monday that former Biden administration official Dan Koh, who is running as a Democrat for a U.S. House district in Massachusetts, was abruptly interrupted the moment he brought up the video, which shows the 47th president of the United States flying a jet with "King Trump" written on it, dumping feces on a crowd of protesters. The video featured the song "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, though the musician later demanded that his song be removed from the video. The video with the song is still live as of this writing. A separate video Trump posted showed Trump donning a crown, putting on a royal cloak, and holding up a sword, interspersed with footage of Democrats kneeling during 2020 racial justice protests. The song ...