Tulsi Gabbard rips surveillance on her: 'POLITICALLY MOTIVATED'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Tuz-Bpaxw
New intelligence suggests Israel is preparing possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities, US officials say
U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel is preparing for a possible strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The assessment suggests that Israel may act soon, despite concerns about escalating tensions in the region.
The report comes as Iran and the U.S. continue indirect nuclear negotiations, with Washington warning that military action could destabilize the Middle East. Israeli officials have previously vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and recent intelligence suggests they may be moving toward direct action.
The situation remains fluid, with diplomatic efforts ongoing alongside military preparations.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/20/politics/intelligence-israel-possible-strike-iran-nuclear-facilities
Republicans close in on ‘big, beautiful’ deal
Republican leaders are increasingly confident they will be able to notch a final deal with key GOP megabill holdouts and move toward a final vote in the coming days after several whirlwind hours of closely held negotiations.
The upbeat turn in the frequently tumultuous talks was described by six senior Republicans who are participating in them. It came after President Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to personally urge the warring factions to drop their demands and come to an agreement on the sprawling domestic-policy bill centered on a multi-trillion-dollar suite of tax cuts.
Some of those holdouts emerged from the morning meeting proclaiming ongoing opposition to the current proposal. Behind the scenes, however, many of those obstinate members have been looking for off-ramps — eager to find a way to “yes” while also proclaiming victory on their particular interests, said the six Republicans, who were granted anonymity to describe the private talks.
A bitter war waged by blue-state Republicans over the state-and-local-tax deduction, or SALT, is nearing a final resolution, according to people involved in the talks, after GOP leaders offered to slightly sweeten their offer. The group huddled Tuesday evening with Speaker Mike Johnson in hopes of wrapping things up.
And to win over hard-line conservatives pushing for more spending cuts, Johnson’s team is working to accelerate the phase-out of clean-energy tax credits enacted under former President Joe Biden. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters Tuesday night that the bill would “limit dramatically any new projects from starting” using Inflation Reduction Act incentives.
“I think everybody on both sides have been looking for ‘outs,’ and I think they’re getting them today,” said one senior GOP aide.
House leaders are rushing to notch a deal with the various factions ahead of a scheduled 1 a.m. Rules Committee meeting, where the bill will be readied for floor consideration. Johnson has imposed a Memorial Day deadline for a final House vote and is holding out hope that things could be wrapped up as soon as Wednesday.
“We’ve been talking to other sides of the conference,” Scalise said. “Because, of course, with each of these pieces, for every person that wants to make a change over here, there are people that don’t want to make the change over there.”
“We’re gonna be up late,” he added.
The progress, however, has been palpable. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland — chair of the hard-right Freedom Caucus — emerged from the morning Trump meeting insisting that he was far from a “yes” and demanding further cuts to Medicaid. By the evening, he declared things were “moving in the right direction” and was no longer insisting a vote this week was impossible.
Harris said some major work remains on ironing out the parameters around axing the clean-energy tax credits, but he and other conservatives have all but dropped their push for the steepest cuts to Medicaid following Trump’s insistence Tuesday morning that they leave the program alone.
GOP leaders have worked to split the opposition, peeling away members who are less dug in on policy principles and are otherwise uncomfortable breaking with the president and the bulk of the party.
They include Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), who has taken a less confrontational stance than fellow fiscal hawks Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) or Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — and, according to the Republicans involved in the talks, has looked for ways to get on board after helping tank a key Budget Committee vote last Friday, enraging Trump.
Johnson huddled with Brecheen alone on the House floor Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after, he told reporters he was “hopeful” on a deal.
Meanwhile, vulnerable centrists are relieved that Trump told conservatives to back off further cuts to safety-net programs, and the SALT Republicans are heading toward a resolution after a Trump tongue-lashing. Leaders are proposing to extend the length of a new $40,000 cap to a full 10 years after previous offers would have sunset after shorter windows.
“We weren’t even in the same universe a couple of days ago,” said Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) after walking out of Johnson’s office Tuesday night. “We’re in the same ball field now.”
GOP leaders aren’t necessarily determined to get every last holdout on board before sending a bill to the Rules Committee. Two key hard-liners who sit on the panel — Norman and Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia — said Tuesday they were inclined to advance the bill to the floor.
That’s where Johnson’s leadership circle believes they can lean on the final holdouts until they break — possibly with help from Trump.
The thinking, several of the Republicans said, is that some members will keep asking for more time until leaders finally call the question: Are you with Trump and your Republican colleagues, or aren’t you?
And if they insist on voting the bill down, the belief is they would eventually crumble under fierce public pressure from constituents and MAGA loyalists furious about the failure of Trump’s signature bill.
“Things don’t get better when you hold it out there,” as one senior Republican said.
Another was more blunt: “It’s easier to break up with someone from a basement over email. Harder to do it in person, face-to-face.”
https://archive.is/q564k#selection-1037.0-1201.131
Republicans close in on ‘big, beautiful’ deal
Republican leaders are increasingly confident they will be able to notch a final deal with key GOP megabill holdouts and move toward a final vote in the coming days after several whirlwind hours of closely held negotiations.
The upbeat turn in the frequently tumultuous talks was described by six senior Republicans who are participating in them. It came after President Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to personally urge the warring factions to drop their demands and come to an agreement on the sprawling domestic-policy bill centered on a multi-trillion-dollar suite of tax cuts.
Some of those holdouts emerged from the morning meeting proclaiming ongoing opposition to the current proposal. Behind the scenes, however, many of those obstinate members have been looking for off-ramps — eager to find a way to “yes” while also proclaiming victory on their particular interests, said the six Republicans, who were granted anonymity to describe the private talks.
A bitter war waged by blue-state Republicans over the state-and-local-tax deduction, or SALT, is nearing a final resolution, according to people involved in the talks, after GOP leaders offered to slightly sweeten their offer. The group huddled Tuesday evening with Speaker Mike Johnson in hopes of wrapping things up.
And to win over hard-line conservatives pushing for more spending cuts, Johnson’s team is working to accelerate the phase-out of clean-energy tax credits enacted under former President Joe Biden. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters Tuesday night that the bill would “limit dramatically any new projects from starting” using Inflation Reduction Act incentives.
“I think everybody on both sides have been looking for ‘outs,’ and I think they’re getting them today,” said one senior GOP aide.
House leaders are rushing to notch a deal with the various factions ahead of a scheduled 1 a.m. Rules Committee meeting, where the bill will be readied for floor consideration. Johnson has imposed a Memorial Day deadline for a final House vote and is holding out hope that things could be wrapped up as soon as Wednesday.
“We’ve been talking to other sides of the conference,” Scalise said. “Because, of course, with each of these pieces, for every person that wants to make a change over here, there are people that don’t want to make the change over there.”
“We’re gonna be up late,” he added.
The progress, however, has been palpable. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland — chair of the hard-right Freedom Caucus — emerged from the morning Trump meeting insisting that he was far from a “yes” and demanding further cuts to Medicaid. By the evening, he declared things were “moving in the right direction” and was no longer insisting a vote this week was impossible.
Harris said some major work remains on ironing out the parameters around axing the clean-energy tax credits, but he and other conservatives have all but dropped their push for the steepest cuts to Medicaid following Trump’s insistence Tuesday morning that they leave the program alone.
GOP leaders have worked to split the opposition, peeling away members who are less dug in on policy principles and are otherwise uncomfortable breaking with the president and the bulk of the party.
They include Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), who has taken a less confrontational stance than fellow fiscal hawks Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) or Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — and, according to the Republicans involved in the talks, has looked for ways to get on board after helping tank a key Budget Committee vote last Friday, enraging Trump.
Johnson huddled with Brecheen alone on the House floor Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after, he told reporters he was “hopeful” on a deal.
Meanwhile, vulnerable centrists are relieved that Trump told conservatives to back off further cuts to safety-net programs, and the SALT Republicans are heading toward a resolution after a Trump tongue-lashing. Leaders are proposing to extend the length of a new $40,000 cap to a full 10 years after previous offers would have sunset after shorter windows.
“We weren’t even in the same universe a couple of days ago,” said Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) after walking out of Johnson’s office Tuesday night. “We’re in the same ball field now.”
GOP leaders aren’t necessarily determined to get every last holdout on board before sending a bill to the Rules Committee. Two key hard-liners who sit on the panel — Norman and Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia — said Tuesday they were inclined to advance the bill to the floor.
That’s where Johnson’s leadership circle believes they can lean on the final holdouts until they break — possibly with help from Trump.
The thinking, several of the Republicans said, is that some members will keep asking for more time until leaders finally call the question: Are you with Trump and your Republican colleagues, or aren’t you?
And if they insist on voting the bill down, the belief is they would eventually crumble under fierce public pressure from constituents and MAGA loyalists furious about the failure of Trump’s signature bill.
“Things don’t get better when you hold it out there,” as one senior Republican said.
Another was more blunt: “It’s easier to break up with someone from a basement over email. Harder to do it in person, face-to-face.”
https://archive.is/q564k#selection-1037.0-1201.131
Republicans close in on ‘big, beautiful’ deal
Republican leaders are increasingly confident they will be able to notch a final deal with key GOP megabill holdouts and move toward a final vote in the coming days after several whirlwind hours of closely held negotiations.
The upbeat turn in the frequently tumultuous talks was described by six senior Republicans who are participating in them. It came after President Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to personally urge the warring factions to drop their demands and come to an agreement on the sprawling domestic-policy bill centered on a multi-trillion-dollar suite of tax cuts.
Some of those holdouts emerged from the morning meeting proclaiming ongoing opposition to the current proposal. Behind the scenes, however, many of those obstinate members have been looking for off-ramps — eager to find a way to “yes” while also proclaiming victory on their particular interests, said the six Republicans, who were granted anonymity to describe the private talks.
A bitter war waged by blue-state Republicans over the state-and-local-tax deduction, or SALT, is nearing a final resolution, according to people involved in the talks, after GOP leaders offered to slightly sweeten their offer. The group huddled Tuesday evening with Speaker Mike Johnson in hopes of wrapping things up.
And to win over hard-line conservatives pushing for more spending cuts, Johnson’s team is working to accelerate the phase-out of clean-energy tax credits enacted under former President Joe Biden. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters Tuesday night that the bill would “limit dramatically any new projects from starting” using Inflation Reduction Act incentives.
“I think everybody on both sides have been looking for ‘outs,’ and I think they’re getting them today,” said one senior GOP aide.
House leaders are rushing to notch a deal with the various factions ahead of a scheduled 1 a.m. Rules Committee meeting, where the bill will be readied for floor consideration. Johnson has imposed a Memorial Day deadline for a final House vote and is holding out hope that things could be wrapped up as soon as Wednesday.
“We’ve been talking to other sides of the conference,” Scalise said. “Because, of course, with each of these pieces, for every person that wants to make a change over here, there are people that don’t want to make the change over there.”
“We’re gonna be up late,” he added.
The progress, however, has been palpable. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland — chair of the hard-right Freedom Caucus — emerged from the morning Trump meeting insisting that he was far from a “yes” and demanding further cuts to Medicaid. By the evening, he declared things were “moving in the right direction” and was no longer insisting a vote this week was impossible.
Harris said some major work remains on ironing out the parameters around axing the clean-energy tax credits, but he and other conservatives have all but dropped their push for the steepest cuts to Medicaid following Trump’s insistence Tuesday morning that they leave the program alone.
GOP leaders have worked to split the opposition, peeling away members who are less dug in on policy principles and are otherwise uncomfortable breaking with the president and the bulk of the party.
They include Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), who has taken a less confrontational stance than fellow fiscal hawks Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) or Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — and, according to the Republicans involved in the talks, has looked for ways to get on board after helping tank a key Budget Committee vote last Friday, enraging Trump.
Johnson huddled with Brecheen alone on the House floor Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after, he told reporters he was “hopeful” on a deal.
Meanwhile, vulnerable centrists are relieved that Trump told conservatives to back off further cuts to safety-net programs, and the SALT Republicans are heading toward a resolution after a Trump tongue-lashing. Leaders are proposing to extend the length of a new $40,000 cap to a full 10 years after previous offers would have sunset after shorter windows.
“We weren’t even in the same universe a couple of days ago,” said Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) after walking out of Johnson’s office Tuesday night. “We’re in the same ball field now.”
GOP leaders aren’t necessarily determined to get every last holdout on board before sending a bill to the Rules Committee. Two key hard-liners who sit on the panel — Norman and Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia — said Tuesday they were inclined to advance the bill to the floor.
That’s where Johnson’s leadership circle believes they can lean on the final holdouts until they break — possibly with help from Trump.
The thinking, several of the Republicans said, is that some members will keep asking for more time until leaders finally call the question: Are you with Trump and your Republican colleagues, or aren’t you?
And if they insist on voting the bill down, the belief is they would eventually crumble under fierce public pressure from constituents and MAGA loyalists furious about the failure of Trump’s signature bill.
“Things don’t get better when you hold it out there,” as one senior Republican said.
Another was more blunt: “It’s easier to break up with someone from a basement over email. Harder to do it in person, face-to-face.”
https://archive.is/q564k#selection-1037.0-1201.131
In Surgical First, Doctors Successfully Transplant Human Bladder At UCLA Medical Center
Surgeons at UCLA and USC have successfully performed the world’s first human bladder transplant, marking a major breakthrough in organ transplantation.
The patient, who had lost both kidneys and most of his bladder due to cancer, had been on dialysis for seven years. In an eight-hour surgery, doctors transplanted both a new kidney and bladder, restoring natural urinary function.
This procedure could offer a more natural alternative to current reconstructive surgeries, but is currently limited to patients who already require immunosuppression due to transplant-related risks.
https://studyfinds.org/doctors-successfully-transplant-human-bladder/
DHS starts fining illegal aliens $1000 per day for ignoring deportation orders
The Trump administration has issued fines to 4,500 migrants, with penalties ranging up to $1.8 million per person. The fines target individuals who failed to leave the U.S. after receiving final deportation orders.
The policy is part of an effort to encourage self-deportation, with fines calculated at $998 per day for those who overstayed their removal orders. Immigration lawyers have expressed confusion over the enforcement process, and it remains unclear how the government will collect payments or seize property from those unable to pay.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/4500-migrants-told-pay-fines-ranging-18-million-rcna207958
Air Force pilot explains what happened when Bill Clinton lost the nuclear codes
BILL CLINTON & THE NUCLEAR CODES
I’ve been posting a lot about Hillary Clinton. Let’s spend some time with Bill, shall we?
As the Air Force Military Aide and carrier of the “nuclear football,” the other aides and I lived and worked in the White House.
One morning, I was the first person on President Clinton’s calendar. I was scheduled to brief the president on the nuclear process and answer any questions he might have. I arrived at 7:00AM before the rest of the Oval Office was at work. It also happened to be the same morning that the Monica Lewinsky affair hit the national press.
As I walked by his secretary’s desk in the outer area of the Oval, I noticed the headlines of the Washington Post. I knew he’d been caught. I walked into the Oval and found the president with his head in his hands, bloodshot eyes. He knew he’d been caught, too. I said “Sir, if this is a bad time, I can comeback later for the briefing.” He agreed. I said, “Just one more thing. Could I just authenticate that you have the nuclear codes?” We called the codes “the biscuit” because the president would tear it open.
The president carries the codes, the aide carries the “football.” He told me that no, he didn’t have them. He didn’t know where they were. I asked him how long they’d been misplaced. He couldn’t remember. I was floored. It’d never happened before.
Instead of concern for the missing top secret document, he simply said, “Please don’t let this get out.” His only concern was his impending impeachment, Monica, and his poll numbers.
I gave the Pentagon a heads up and they were incredulous. We conducted an extensive search of the White House and the residence. Never found them. The Pentagon hopped to and created a new set that was quickly disseminated across the US nuclear arsenal. No easy task. They brought a new set the next morning.
Bill Clinton LOST the nuclear codes! For an undetermined period of time, our commander in chief didn’t have the ability to launch nuclear weapons. He never informed us, he had Monica on his mind. Dereliction of duty!
https://x.com/BuzzPatterson/status/1924550117648171363
Inauguration ceremony of Rotherham's new mayor, Rukhsana Ismail
https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1924686888427749537
Jake Tapper suggests Biden ran for reelection because he "spent most of 2023 convinced that Donald Trump was going to jail"
https://x.com/JasonJournoDC/status/1925005421544124865
So the new Superman is Mexican. It actually makes sense… his planet (Mexico) was destroyed so he had to illegally come to America.
Russian Grocery Store After 16th PACKAGE of SANCTIONS!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is3cwCzlkKE