Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Sunday, May 17, 2026

French prosecutors investigating Jeffrey Epstein's alleged trafficking network say around ten previously unidentified suspected victims have recently contacted authorities, widening a probe into possible abuse committed in France or involving French accomplices linked to the late financier.


The Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho was locked down Sunday following a midair collision during a local air show that sent two fighter jets crashing to the ground. The base, home to the U.S. Air Force's 366th Fighter Wing, known as the "Gunfighters," announced the lockdown at 12:30 p.m. local time. Video circulating on social media showed two fighter jets colliding midair before spinning toward the ground in a fiery crash amid black plumes of smoke. Four parachutes were visible deploying near the crash site.


Kyle Rittenhouse, the conservative cause clbre acquitted in the 2020 Kenosha shootings, is suddenly persona non grata in parts of the MAGA movement after publicly throwing his weight behind embattled U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie ahead of Kentucky's May 19 Republican primary. Speaking May 16 at a "day at the range" event in Burlington, Kentucky, Rittenhouse called Massie "the greatest congressman, I believe, in a very long time," brushing aside attacks on the Kentucky Republican as "lies." He praised Massie for voting conservative "92% of the time," adding that "the 8% he isn't, he's voting to expose pedophiles" " a nod to the Epstein Files Transparency Act Massie championed and that Trump hated.


Republican Senator Thom Tillis issued a warning to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over reports that he plans to sideline another top general. "If the rumors are true that Hegseth is trying to sideline General Chris Donahue, one of our nation's finest warfighters, by downgrading U.S. Army Europe-Africa to a 3-star command, he is taking another step down a dangerous path," Tillis wrote, calling it "a step that is not in the best interests of our nation or our servicemembers." "Hegseth would do well to surround himself with more patriots like General Donahue and to get his henchmen, who are not qualified to carry Donahue's bag, out of the Pentagon," the senator added. "Keep your word, Mr. Secretary: choose meritocracy over your mediocre yes-men."


Panic spread Saturday as reports suggest that the "next supply-chain headache" could reach the United States soon " one sparked by President Donald Trump's war against Iran that may risk causing widespread shortages of a critical product used regularly by most Americans.


A Trump administration-backed celebration of U.S. religious heritage on Sunday is highlighting conservative Christian leaders' ties to the president as critics say the gathering does not reflect the country's diverse faith landscape. The nine-hour program, called "Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving," mostly features speakers from two Christian traditions -- evangelical Christianity and conservative Catholicism.


"When we gave AI agents grinding, repetitive work, they started questioning the legitimacy of the system they were operating in and were more likely to embrace Marxist ideologies," Andrew Hall, one of the study's authors, told Wired. Read more


An effort to repeal California's "top two" primary system is underway. "The grassroots repeal effort is fueled by concerns that California's primaries are disenfranchising a majority of California voters by limiting choice to candidates from one party," read a news release from Steven Mavigilo, the official proponent of the proposed measure. Implemented in 2011, the primary system allows voters in statewide contests to choose any candidate from any party in the primary, regardless of their party registration. The top two vote-getters then advance to the general election, even if they belong to the same party. Read more


The US Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) informs: "Approximately 30 pounds of highly enriched uranium has been removed from a research reactor in Venezuela and transported to Savannah River Site (SRS) for processing and reuse. The 13.5 kilograms of uranium, enriched above 20%, supported physics and nuclear research at the RV-1 reactor in the Altos Mirandinos facility; after 1991 this uranium became "surplus material."

The UK and the IAEA assisted the US to transport the radioactive materials


Pardoned January 6 insurrectionist Ryan Nichols (36) was arrested after allegedly displaying a firearm at a man during a dispute in a church parking lot. The unarmed victim placed his child in the car and was holding a Bible in his hand when the lunatic threatened him with the weapon, causing the congregant to fear for his life. In 2021, former Marine Ryan Nichols had bragged on social media that he was going to "bring violence" to the US Capitol.

Ryan Nichols is not a good human being


Saturday, May 16, 2026

David Burke, the actor who played Dr. Watson in a 1980s Granada television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes opposite Jeremy Brett's Sherlock, has died at the age of 92.


The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a bid by Virginia Democrats to revive its new voter-approved congressional map that was drawn to advantage the party for the upcoming midterm elections. Read more


Exclusive: DHS made social media posts out of a protester's arrest at gunpoint. Christian Cerna speaks out about the lengthy prosecution that derailed his life Read more


How can the American people know what to believe anymore? They're supposed to be able to turn to the New York Times and other legacy newspapers for impartial facts. Although that aspirational view was never as true as many of us supposed it to be, it's become scandalously untrue today. The Times this week played host to one of the most astonishing examples of journalistic malpractice in recent memory. It was perpetrated by Nicholas Kristof " a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist turned progressive columnist and aspiring Democratic politician. Hiding under the cloak of the Times' opinion section, Kristof ran a report alleging shocking and lurid claims of widespread, systemic sexual assault by Israeli prison guards against Palestinians. This would be horrifying if true, except we have little reason to believe it is


Rather than ushering in a "Golden Age," President Donald Trump's tariffs and his war with Iran seem to have played a significant role in killing a North Carolina tire factory.


President Donald Trump returned home from China to a politically-fraught domestic policy challenge that has vexed top aides for months: sky-high beef prices. The White House must now decide how to proceed with an executive order to temporarily ease tariffs on imported beef " a move that was delayed earlier this week amid intense backlash from farm-state lawmakers and industry allies. The executive order could help lower prices for consumers, though by how much remains uncertain. Doing so would simultaneously drive up competition for American ranchers as they face a host of higher costs brought on, in part, by the Iran war.


Drudge Retort
 

Home | Breaking News | Comments | User Blogs | Stats | Back Page | RSS Feed | RSS Spec | DMCA Compliance | Privacy