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Hegseth defends $1.5 trillion budget to Congress as Iran war cost climbs

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told House lawmakers Tuesday that the ceasefire with Iran remains in effect despite recent exchanges of fire as he faces another round of bipartisan questioning over the costs and endgame of the war. He just finished testifying before the Senate, where one Democrat said he's worried “you’ve achieved a series of tactical successes but are on the verge of a strategic loss.” Hegseth has so far softened his tone from previous congressional hearings as he defended the ...

BumRushDaShow

South Carolina Republicans block plan to eliminate Clyburn's House seat

May 12, 2026 at 5:03 p.m. EDT Republicans in South Carolina's legislature on Tuesday rejected a plan aimed at flipping the state's lone Democratic-held House seat, which has long been occupied by one of the country's most senior and influential Black leaders. The decision was a victory -- at least for now -- for Rep. James E. Clyburn, the Democrat whose seat was at risk, and a setback for President Donald Trump. The president has persuaded Republicans in other states to redraw their congressi ...

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Exclusive: FBI questions CIA officers over Russia assessment in Brennan probe, sources say

May 12, 2026 6:01 AM EDT Updated 2 hours ago NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - The FBI has begun interviewing current and former CIA employees as part of the Department of Justice’s investigation into ex-CIA director John Brennan over his role in an intelligence finding that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. election to help Donald Trump, ‌according to five sources familiar with the matter. Employees were questioned last week by agents out of the Miami field office at CIA headquarter ...

riversedge

The economic chilling effect of Trump's immigration crackdown

May 12, 20266:30 AM ET Greg Rosalsky ................ Well, we now have data from last year's immigration crackdown. East and a co-author, Elizabeth Cox, recently released a new working paper, "Labor Market Impacts of ICE Activity in Trump 2.0," which analyzes how Trump's beefed up immigration enforcement affected employment, both for immigrants and workers born in the United States. So, did the immigration crackdown help the job prospects of U.S.-born workers? East says no. &quo ...

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Trump's AG Warns Reporters to Expect Subpoenas in Criminal Leak Investigations

May 12th, 2026, 10:42 am Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche warned reporters to expect subpoenas on Tuesday, one day after The Wall Street Journal reported that it had been subpoenaed in connection with criminal investigations launched by the Department of Justice. “President [Donald] Trump privately complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about media leaks in the wake of the Iran war last month, according to administration officials familiar with the matter, prompting an aggres ...

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Survivors of Jeffrey Epstein will testify publicly on Tuesday

(Scripps) Democrats on the House Oversight Committee will be in Florida Tuesday to hold a hearing with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It's what's known as a shadow hearing, one organized by the minority party, and it's the first time we will hear from survivors testifying publicly under oath about what happened to them.

B.See

Epstein pal who 'had a great time with the girls' welcomed as VIP at Trump event

(Raw Story) A friend of Jeffrey Epstein was a VIP guest at the unveiling of a towering golden statue of President Donald Trump at his golf course in Doral, Florida. Photos shared on social media over the weekend showed American cryptocurrency entrepreneur, Brock Pierce, cutting the ribbon at the statue's unveiling. In a 2012 email published by the Justice Department, Pierce told Epstein that he had broken up with his girlfriend so something "would not be a problem." The next day, Pierce wrote again to Epstein: "I had a great time with the girls. Hope they had fun too. Thanks."

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Alabama attorney general announces civil probe of Southern Poverty Law Center

(AP) Alabama’s attorney general announced a civil investigation Monday into the Southern Poverty Law Center’s fundraising practices in the wake of a federal indictment against the organization. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said he has sent a subpoena to the center seeking information about its donations and payments to informants. He said he is seeking to determine if the organization violated state laws related to charitable organizations or deceptive trade practices.

In It to Win It

45,000 Votes Will Be Discarded In Louisiana. Gov Says It's 'Not A Big Deal.'

(Huff Post) In the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on gerrymandering, Louisiana’s governor suspended the state’s primary elections, even though tens of thousands of votes had already been cast. Now he intends to toss those votes. During a “60 Minutes” interview Sunday, Gov. Jeff Landry (R) was pressed about what would happen to the roughly 45,000 ballots that were cast prior to the high court’s decision.

BumRushDaShow

US Releases Another Wave of Emergency Oil as Gas Prices Bite

(Bloomberg) The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve awarded 53.3 million barrels to companies including oil trader Trafigura Group and US refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp, adding to a wave of oil released to help tame surging prices stemming from the Iran war. Trafigura is taking the largest haul of nearly 13 million barrels, followed by Marathon and Exxon Mobil Corp, the US Energy Department said Monday. Near-record volumes of government oil are flowing to market in a bid to rein in prices at the pump ahead of the busy summer driving season.

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Plan for $1.5bn Trump Tower on Gold Coast scrapped because brand 'toxic to Australians'

6 min ago - The Surfers Paradise development has been abandoned with Altus Property Group and the Trump Organization blaming each other The little-known property developer and the US president’s son were all smiles when they shook hands on Valentine’s ... (The Guardian)

'Merry band of looters' at Trump DOJ accused of paying millions to 'disgraced' FBI agents

11 min ago - May 12, 2026 6:55PM ET The top-ranking Democrat in the House Judiciary Committee published a letter on Tuesday accusing Trump's Department of Justice of forcing the FBI to pay a "merry band of looters" and disgraced agents, including white nationalis ... (Raw Story)

Donald Gibb, Actor in 'Revenge of the Nerds,' 'Bloodsport,' Dies at 71

32 min ago - Donald Gibb, the towering character actor whose massive physique and gravelly presence made him an unforgettable part of 1980s comedies like Revenge of the Nerds and martial arts films like Bloodsport, has died. He was 71. Gibb’s son Travis conf ... (The Hollywood Reporter)

Senator challenges Kash Patel to take test for problem drinking at fiery hearing on Capitol Hill

46 min ago - Tuesday 12 May 2026 17:38 EDT A Democratic senator challenged Kash Patel to take a test designed to identify problem drinking behavior on Tuesday amid angry exchanges at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The FBI director’s visit ... (The Independent)

Trump's 'Golden Dome' will cost $1.2tn and might not stop all-out missile attack

1 hr ago - US President Donald Trump's futuristic "Golden Dome" missile defence system will cost about $1.2 tn (£882bn) to develop, deploy and operate over two decades, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates. That figure is significa ... (BBC)

Trump changes story on reflecting pool contractor

1 hr ago - 05/12/26 5:25 PM ET President Trump said Tuesday he does not know the contractor that is renovating the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after previously saying he spoke to a man he knew about it. Restoration of the basin has drawn criticism for the ... (The Hill)

Trump says 'I don't think about Americans' financial situation' in Iran negotiations

1 hr ago - May 12, 2026, 6:15 PM President Donald Trump said Americans' financial situation was "not even a little bit" of a motivating factor for him reaching a deal to end the war in Iran, despite a new report that inflation rose for a second consecutive mont ... (ABC News)

Group behind Epstein, Trump statues back with satire video game on Iran

1 hr ago - May 12, 2026, 4:52 p.m. ET Arcade games mocking President Donald Trump and the war in Iran have been temporarily installed at the D.C. War Memorial. "Operation Epic Furious: Strait To Hell" is an installation by anonymous art protest group The Secret ... (USA Today)

DOJ Launches Criminal Probe Into Blue State Hospital

2 hrs ago - May 12, 2026, 04:25 PM EDT | Updated 10 hours ago New York University’s Langone Health received a federal grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice seeking information about minor patients who received gender-affirming care, according t ... (Huff Post)

Republican Jen Kiggans faces calls to resign for agreeing with racist 'cotton-picking' remark

2 hrs ago - Tue 12 May 2026 16.00 EDT First published on Tue 12 May 2026 09.24 EDT Jen Kiggans, a Republican congresswoman, is facing calls from Democrats to resign for agreeing with a radio host after he said the top US House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, should g ... (The Guardian)

No judge on court half-appointed by Trump was interested in giving his frivolous RICO lawsuit against Hillary Clinton

3 hrs ago - May 12th, 2026, 3:00 pm In a resounding denial, not one judge on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals saw fit to call for a vote on the prospect of giving President Donald Trump a full rehearing in his "frivolous" RICO lawsuit against Hillary Clint ... (Law & Crime)

Democratic primary for Nebraska's 'blue dot' US House seat is too early to call

5 hrs ago - By MARGERY A. BECK and STEVE PEOPLES Updated 11:51 PM CDT, May 12, 2026 OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Democratic primary for a key U.S. House seat in Nebraska was too early to call late Tuesday, as two candidates were separated by a narrow margin in a ... (AP)

Missouri Supreme Court upholds Kansas City's gerrymandered map in win for Trump

6 hrs ago - "Our voters and our voices will not disappear in 2026 and the years that follow," Lucas said in a statement. "Sadly, statewide leadership has abandoned tradition, respect, and fairness in order to pander to Washington special interests. We'll meet ag ... (Kansas City Star)

FEMA's acting administrator is out, for the third time under Trump

6 hrs ago - FEMA’s acting administrator is out, for the third time under Trump Karen Evans, who had led the agency since December, is the latest official to be removed from FEMA. https://static.politico.com/c7/19/db212f15480f9e8c517cf9fb1d0d/https-delivery- ... (Politico)

Florida plans to close Alligator Alcatraz, vendors are reportedly told.

8 hrs ago - Florida intends to shut down a high-profile immigration detention center that it opened last summer in the Everglades, according to a federal official and three people familiar with the facility’s operations. Officials at the center, known as Al ... (Sun Sentinel)

Jason Collins, First Active N.B.A. Player to Come Out as Gay, Dies at 47

8 hrs ago - Jason Collins, a 7-foot center and N.B.A. journeyman who in 2013 became the first openly gay player in any of the four traditional major American men’s sports leagues, has died. He was 47. Adam Silver, the N.B.A. commissioner, announced the deat ... (NY Times)

Group suing to stop Trump takeover alerts judge to even more proof that a 'massive' golf course overhaul is in the works

9 hrs ago - May 12th, 2026, 10:35 am One week after a federal judge warned the DOJ there would be "serious consequences" if the Trump administration uses routine maintenance as cover for bulldozing East Potomac Park Golf Course, the group that sued to stop the ... (Law & Crime)

Most TN House Democrats stripped of their committee assignments

9 hrs ago - Most TN House Democrats stripped of their committee assignments “Speaker of the TN House Cameron Sexton just removed me and every Democrat — and therefore every Black elected official in the state legislature from any committee we served on ... (wsmv.com)

PayPal Settles With Trump's Justice Department for $30 Million Over Allegedly 'Unlawful DEI' Initiative

10 hrs ago - May 12th, 2026, 11:38 am President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that PayPal had agreed to a $30 million settlement over an “unlawful DEI” initiative at the company which discriminated based on race. “ ... (MEDIAite)

Mother slams NC Rep. Virginia Foxx for response to 10-year-old son's essay

10 hrs ago - by: Justin Lundy Updated: May 12, 2026 / 06:23 PM EDT GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A Greensboro mother is upset at a North Carolina congresswoman who responded to a letter from her 10-year-old son. Christian Mango says he received a letter from ... (cbs17)