Republicans' tax cuts shaved billions off Amazon's tax bill, new government filings show. The company says it ran a $1.2 billion tax bill last year, down from $9 billion the previous year, and even as its profits jumped by 45 percent to nearly $90 billion.
Governors' offices learned Friday that a White House meeting around the upcoming National Governors Association weekend will only include Republicans -- a break from its bipartisan past. read more
Recording artist Bad Bunny will command one of America's biggest stages this Sunday when he is poised to make history as the first Super Bowl halftime headliner to sing primarily in Spanish. In less than a decade, he has become one of the world's most popular artists while embracing traits that have historically been seen as barriers to the widest success: he sings almost entirely in Spanish, champions his Puerto Rican identity, and doesn't shy away from speaking his mind on politics.
From disaster response to bungled leadership at the nation's cybersecurity agency, some Republicans are finding a lot more to critique than DHS' immigration response. read more
Bad Bunny joked that fans didn't need to learn Spanish to enjoy his set -- but they should be prepared to dance. read more
Minnesota has about 100,000 undocumented immigrants.
Texas has about 2 million undocumented immigrants. Then there's Florida.
Why is Pres Trump focusing on Minnesota is his quest to meet quotas?
Mapped: Unauthorized Immigrants by State
www.visualcapitalist.com
...
Unauthorized Immigrants
California 1.9M
Texas 1.6M
Florida 900K
New York 600K
New Jersey 450K
...
Minnesota 90K
...
Trump condemns Truth Social video of Obamas as primates
www.newsnationnow.com
... President Trump has spoken out after receiving condemnation from both sides of the aisle for a video was posted on TruthSocial that included an animation of the Obamas as primates.
After initially defending the post and denying any racial connotations, a senior White House official told NewsNation's Libbey Dean it had been posted by a staffer in error, not by President Donald Trump. It has since been removed. ...
Melania's Movie Shows Signs of Bulk Buying to Boost Box Office: Guru
www.yahoo.com
... Melania did better at the box office than some prognosticators expected. Now, one industry expert is claiming ticket sales have been intentionally bolstered through possibly nefarious means.
Amazon MGM's $75 million documentary about the first lady made $7 million on its opening weekend, eliciting both gloating headlines and skepticism. Many have already touted Melania, which traces the first lady's activities in the days leading up to her husband's 2025 inauguration, as a success.
But according to box-office expert and former IndieWire Editor Tom Brueggemann, there are signs of "fake ticket sales" in order to inflate the earnings associated with the documentary. He raised the possibility that tickets were bought in bulk and handed out to audiences -- or not handed out at all. ...
Judge orders Trump administration to resume funding Hudson Tunnel Project
courthousenews.com
... A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to restore more than$200 million in federal funding for a new rail tunnel under the Hudson River, on the very day the project ran out of cash and was winding down construction.
U.S. District Judge Jeannette Vargas, a Joe Biden appointee in the Southern District of New York, granted a temporary restraining order just hours after presiding over an emergency hearing on the project's fate.
In an 11-page ruling, Vargas found that "the public interest would be harmed by a delay in a critical infrastructure project." ...
Related ...
US surveillance, election cybersecurity -- and why Tulsi Gabbard's name just keeps on cropping up
cybernews.com
... Earlier this week, a US senator publicly warned about the expanding use of personal data by federal authorities while separately sending a brief, private letter to the director of the CIA.
In a video posted on Instagram, and intended to reach a wide audience, Ross Wyden pointed to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) practice of using surveillance technologies and data sources in enforcement activity.
"ICE is using apps to collect biometric data on protesters," he warned. "That means that they can track your location, where you go, what you do, and especially who you talk to."
Wyden also said the agency is purchasing location information from commercial data brokers and using motor-vehicle records obtained from state governments.
"My investigators have found that ICE is using government data they collect from state Departments of Motor Vehicles," Wyden said. "They are refusing to answer any questions of ours about how this data is being used." ...
Wyden claims that ICE is collecting vehicle data from government sources ...
Often referred to as "Trump's spy chief," Gabbard's role officially centers on national security and foreign intelligence.
However, her recent actions have heavily involved domestic, politically charged investigations.
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that a team working for Gabbard last year investigated electronic voting machines in Puerto Rico with assistance from the FBI.
The probe examined possible cyber vulnerabilities and claims of foreign interference but did not find clear evidence that Venezuela or other actors had hacked the system.
Gabbard's office said the seizure of machines and data was part of standard forensic analysis and warned of cybersecurity risks to election infrastructure. ...
Epstein Cellmate Claims Trump Administration Wanted Pervert Powerbroker Dead'
www.yahoo.com
... Jeffrey Epstein's prison cellmate claims to have evidence that the Trump administration wanted the disgraced financier dead and left him unprotected "on purpose," according to a document obtained by the Daily Beast.
Nicholas Tartaglione, a quadruple murderer and former police officer, filed a pardon/commutation petition last summer in which he claimed that Epstein was deliberately exposed to violence in the hope that he would not survive long enough to stand trial.
Prior to Epstein's death on Aug. 10, 2019, which officials ruled a suicide, jail bosses decided that America's most high-profile prisoner should share a cell with an accused mass murderer for reasons that have never been explained.
Tartaglione had a reputation for extreme violence and a self-confessed hatred of child sex offenders. Tartaglione"who Epstein told prison guards had tried to kill him three weeks before he was found dead"claims "it is no coincidence" that he was "deliberately" moved into the same jail as Epstein and "placed in the same cell" as the convicted child sex offender. ...
@#4 ... Your Oligarch-Owned Government in Action! ...
Yup.
Billionaires are gonna want tax cuts for billionaires.
Regardless of the cost to Americans.