The Trump administration is expected to spend at least $900 million on White House construction projects that will be fueled in part by taxpayer dollars without the approval of Congress, according to a new report from The Washington Post. In addition to the demolition of the East Wing and subsequent White House ballroom construction, President Trump ordered the space to include an underground security complex, helipad and redesign of the West Wing space, where the Oval Office sits.
The depositions ordered unsealed on Tuesday pursuant to the Epstein Files Transparency Act formed the basis for two since-dismissed perjury counts of a superseding indictment brought against Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend and longtime sex trafficking partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. read more
President Donald Trump isn't dismissing the possibility that he could declare a national security emergency in an attempt to establish new voting restrictions that have stalled in the Senate, telling an interviewer that "stranger things have happened." read more
Americans' credit card debt reached $1.26 trillion, increasing by $21 billion in the second quarter of this year, according to new data Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. read more
Jeanine Pirro has taken the highly unusual step of convening a special grand jury in Washington, D.C., less than two weeks after angering President Donald Trump by abandoning a vandalism prosecution he publicly demanded. read more
Trump Administration Halted Voting Security Contract After Researchers Found No Evidence of Election Fraud
mezha.net
... The Donald Trump administration terminated a contract with cybersecurity firm Mojave Research, which had been testing voting equipment in Puerto Rico. Company executives link the decision to the fact that the researchers found no evidence supporting false claims of election fraud. ...
@#1 ... The results come as Trump Media seeks to generate new revenue from Truth API, a licensed data feed that will give banks and trading firms "the fastest" access to posts from influential Truth Social accounts, such as President Donald Trump's, whose posts often move global markets. ...
Trump sued over paid early access to Truth Social posts
www.politico.com
...The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the left-leaning nonprofit newsroom The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation, alleges the practice "is extraordinary, corrupt, and unconstitutional."
The plaintiffs also say the controversial $100,000-a-month program violates their First Amendment rights to access presidential statements "on equal terms with other members of the press and public."
In announcing plans to introduce the program, Truth Social -- whose parent company Trump founded in 2021 after being kicked off social media platforms and owns a plurality stake in -- described the initiative as valuable for "organizations that place a premium on immediate, verified access to information."
But critics allege it amounts to insider trading on advanced access to the president's market-moving words.
The service gives traders and other entities high-speed access to the president's Truth Social account in addition to the nine other most-popular accounts on the platform, including Vice President JD Vance, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ...
@#1 ... "Let me put an idea in your head, OK?" Root said ...
That idea is likely already there ...
Trump Reportedly Mulling Plan to Declare National Emergency' Paving Way for Major Power Grab (February 2026)
www.newsbreak.com
... The Washington Post reported that activists are working with the White House on an executive order to declare a "national emergency" over America's elections and pave the way for a power grab.
"Pro-Trump activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that claims China interfered in the 2020 election as a basis to declare a national emergency that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting," reported the Posts Isaac Arnsdorf. "President Donald Trump has repeatedly previewed a plan to mandate voter ID and ban mail ballots in November's midterm elections, and the activists expect their draft will figure into Trump's promised executive order on the issue."
Peter Ticktin, a MAGA activist in favor of the executive order, told the Post that "we have a situation where the president is aware that there are foreign interests that are interfering in our election processes," and that "the president has to be able to deal with it," including by banning mail-in ballots and certain voting machines. ...
Related ...
Less than 2.5% of Taylor Farms' recalled lettuce went to Taco Bells
arstechnica.com
... Although shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants has been a prime suspect in an explosive outbreak of the diarrheal parasite Cyclospora, a new report from the Food and Drug Administration finally reveals where all the contaminated lettuce was sold -- and only a sliver of it went to Taco Bell locations. ...
The FDA's Enforcement Report finally provides some answers: Taylor Farms recalled 236,192 cases of lettuce due to potential Cyclospora contamination. Of those, only 5,900 -- just shy of 2.5 percent -- were sold to Yum, the parent company of Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and KFC.
The other 97.5 percent of the lettuce that potentially sickened Americans was distributed elsewhere.
Walmart -- under its brand Marketside -- received the lion's share, 109,476 cases, a little over 46 percent. The second-largest lot went to Taylor Farms' own brand, which received 68,897 cases, a little over 29 percent.
The remaining 25 percent went to various food service entities and two restaurants. Cross Valley Farms, a brand from US Foods with the tagline "Fresh Produce Sourced and Selected With Strict Standards," received 19,016 cases (8 percent). Sysco received 11,519 cases (4.9 percent), Markon got 7,459 cases (3.15 percent), and Peak Fresh Produce (Performance Foodservice) got 720 cases (0.3 percent).
The restaurant chains besides Taco Bell were Subway, which received 8,075 cases (3.4 percent), and Jack in the Box, which received 5,130 cases (about 2.2 percent). ...
ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks
apnews.com
... Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals.
ICE plans to spend up to $20 million to purchase thousands of "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices" for officers and agents by March, according to a notice published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The devices are known as the G.L.O.V.E., which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. They have been used in recent years by some jails and police departments.
DHS said Tuesday that it was working on a response to an Associated Press inquiry and offered no immediate comment. Jeff Niklaus, the founder and CEO of Compliant Technologies, wrote in an email, "Unfortunately, we are unable to speak on this subject."
The notice said the solicitation for a no-bid contract could be published as early as Friday. ...
House Democrats probe DOJ's botched Reflecting Pool case against former Olympian
courthousenews.com
... A top House lawmaker on Tuesday opened an investigation into the Justice Department's ill-fated prosecution of a former Olympic canoeist it accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, days after the agency dropped the case and admitted it lacked evidence.
A federal judge last week dismissed the suit against David Hearn after the Justice Department acknowledged that the new liner in the Reflecting Pool had failed because of a "botched installation" rather than intentional destruction.
Now, Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, has demanded the Trump administration explain whether it knew shoddy workmanship was to blame before it accused Hearn of tearing up the pool liner.
"Did the United States Attorney's Office for D.C. in fact maliciously prosecute an American citizen it knew to be innocent with a felony charge carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison?" the lawmaker wrote in a letter sent Tuesday to D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. "Did the U.S. Department of the Interior ... deliberately mislead prosecutors to cover up a botched' renovation by a company awarded a dubious $15 million insider no-bid contract?" ...
@#2 ... Behold pedo 47's golden age. ...
Back on topic ...
Well. the economy may be the Golden Age for Pres Trump's wealthy supporters and his billionaire-loaded Cabinet.
But for the working American, it seems to be difficult to put food on the table.