In July, the White House said the new ballroom would cost $200 million. Privately funded. Not a dollar from taxpayers.

October: $300 million. December: $400 million.

This Monday, Senate Republicans tucked $1 billion in taxpayer money for the ballroom into a $72 billion ICE and CBP reconciliation bill.

#WhiteHouse #budget

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MERZ, LICK EGGS

#Trump #Merz

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Liberal podcaster Anthony Davis has a bizarre theory that President Donald Trump is building his much-contested ballroom not for events, but to create a secret underground bunker that will allow him to “lock himself in” and never leave the White House.

He has stated that he will “never forget” Trump’s words from his 2024 victory speech, when Trump proclaimed that he should not have left the White House. Davis then warned that Trump's new ballroom was actually a secret way for him to pursue his authoritarian ambitions after the next election.

#Trump #Conspiracy

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President Donald Trump's new nominee for the position of surgeon general exposes a rift in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, a health care coalition promoted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"The new candidate for the position of Chief Sanitary Officer, Dr. Nicole Safier, may have an excellent reputation as a life-saver, but she gets a failing grade on all MAHA-related issues," said Alex Clark, host of the health and wellness podcast on Turning Point USA. This view is shared by other MAHA activists, such as Kelly Ryerson, a pesticide activist also known online as Glyphosate Girl.

"DOGE is the Chief Sanitary Officer!!! We want medical freedom!!!! If it's not Casey, we won't accept anyone!" added Vani Hari, also known online as Feed Babe and a prominent figure in the MAHA movement. She recently told The Atlantic that denying Mins's application would "destroy the soul of MAHA."

#Trump #Health

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"It's a privilege to choose your own time for saying goodbye." A mysterious suicide note has emerged in the Jeffrey Epstein case

Years after the death of the notorious financier Jeffrey Epstein, a New York court has released a handwritten note found in his cell. The document contains a phrase that has been interpreted as an announcement of suicide: "It is a treat to be able to choose one’s time to say goodbye". The note concludes with the emphasized phrases "NO FUN" and "NOT WORTH IT!"

The note was discovered by Epstein's former cellmate, former police officer Nicholas Tartaglione. According to Tartaglione, he found the note inside a comic book immediately after Epstein was taken from his cell following his first suicide attempt.

Tartaglione provided the document to his lawyers in order to prove his innocence in the financier's death, but the original document was not made available to the court until May 2021.

The New York Times, which obtained the document, notes that it cannot guarantee the authenticity of the handwriting. Nevertheless, the text uses phrases that are characteristic of Epstein, which were previously found in his emails and other writings.

According to the official version, Epstein committed suicide in prison on August 10, 2019, while awaiting trial for sexually exploiting minors.

#Epstein

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President Donald Trump’s constant belittling of Iranian leaders is alarming some Arab and U.S. officials familiar with the Middle East who worry that such insults could prove a major obstacle to truly ending a war that has strained the world economy.

At the core of their concern is whether Trump is willing to show Tehran’s Islamist leaders enough respect to let them claim some level of victory, even if they agree to U.S. demands that leave them militarily weaker.


But Trump’s history of nursing grudges, ridiculing opponents and insisting he wins everything doesn’t bode well for those hoping diplomacy can bring the war to a close, according to interviews with 10 current and former U.S. and Arab officials.

“He badly wants this to end,”

a senior Gulf Arab official familiar with the peace talks said of Trump.

“But the Iranians are so far refusing to give him what he needs to save face and leave. And he does not seem to understand that they need to save face, too.”

#Trump #War

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Senate Democrats are salivating at the chance to force every Republican to vote on $1 billion for security upgrades tied to President Trump's new White House ballroom. 🍽💰

A billion-dollar, Trump-branded gilded ballroom — which the president insisted would be privately funded — is the kind of affordability contrast Democrats have dreamed about for the 2026 midterms.

"It's an outrageous betrayal of hardworking families who want lower costs, not a golden ballroom," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"Republicans are ignoring middle-class needs and funneling money into Trump's ballroom while throwing billions at two lawless agencies," said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the top Democrat on the Budget Committee. 🚫

Driving the news: Republicans tucked $1 billion for the Secret Service to fund "above-ground and below-ground security features" in the East Wing into their $72 billion reconciliation bill, part of a broader package aimed at funding ICE and Border Patrol through fiscal 2029. 🛡

The provision explicitly bars spending on "non-security elements."
Trump had insisted that "no government funds" would be used in the ballroom's construction. 🏗

#Trump #WhiteHouse #Democrats

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Megyn Kelly has a blunt suggestion for President Donald Trump regarding his war in Iran: Cut a deal with the Iranians, because the “bullying” has failed. 🤝🚫

Kelly made the recommendation on Monday’s episode of “Piers Morgan Uncensored” after Morgan asked her if she thought there could be an “upside” in the war “being strung out through the summer” after it kicked off in February. 🗓

“No. This has been a disaster for the Trump administration and for our country and for the world,” she said. “So my best advice to the president would be give the Iranians the deal they want. They seem to be willing to deal on the Strait of Hormuz, which, of course, is an absurd place to be.” 🌊⚠️

The political commentator argued that “if we had just left [the Iranians] alone, we would never have this problem.”

“Give them a deal to get that thing back open because it does need to open back up. And let them give you a fig leaf on nuclear ambitions. Because look, we already devastated their ability to develop a nuclear weapon back in June with the strike on the plants,” Kelly continued. 💥

#Trump #Kelly

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Actor Mark Hamill, who played the role of the legendary Luke Skywalker, posted an AI-generated image of US President Donald Trump in a grave.

The image is accompanied by the caption: "If only." Hamill also wrote that Trump should live long enough to see his defeat in the midterm elections and be held accountable for his "unprecedented corruption" and "countless crimes."

#Hamill #Skywalker #Trump

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American business leaders are frustrated over what they describe as mixed signals from the White House about the role CEOs will play in President Donald Trump’s upcoming trip to Beijing 🇺🇸🇨🇳.

The White House has begun sending out invitations to business executives to join events surrounding Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next week after deliberating for weeks on the size of the delegation — part of a long-running debate within the administration over how much to encourage private sector engagement with its biggest economic rival 💼.

According to two people briefed by the White House, administration officials in recent weeks circulated a draft list of executives from roughly two dozen companies to potentially participate. However, some officials, including U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, pushed for a group closer to half that size. While the number could still change, the current guest list is tracking closer to that smaller figure, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss private planning discussions 🔒. The administration is expected to finalize attendance by the end of this week.

The last-minute decision-making is frustrating some business leaders 😤.

“The president is ‘wheels up’ in about a week ✈️. And a week out from the visit … there are still CEOs waiting to find out if they will be part of the president’s trip,” said Sean Stein, the president at the US-China Business Council, which represents more than 270 companies. “We have multiple CEOs who’ve been told, ‘well maybe you’re going to be invited.’”

#Trump #China

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The Vatican did Secretary of State Marco Rubio no favors with its response to his meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Thursday amid deep tensions between the Catholic leader and his boss, President Donald Trump.

It offered a terse statement, describing the summit as an “exchange of views” about countries caught up in war and the pursuit of peace.

After the summit on Thursday morning, it was also revealed that the pope was not subtle in his choice of gift for Rubio.

The secretary of state gifted Pope Leo, who is from Chicago, a crystal football bearing the State Department seal, while the pontiff gave Rubio a pen made from olive wood. He noted that an olive branch is the symbol of peace.

Rubio flew to Rome for meetings at the Vatican and with other Italian leaders, as the president has repeatedly gone after the pontiff for criticizing his war in Iran.

The Vatican put out a statement describing the talks as “cordial” and insisted the “shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations between the Holy See and the United States of America was reaffirmed.” But the niceties stopped there.

“There followed an exchange of views regarding the regional and international situation, with particular attention to countries marked by war, political tensions, and difficult humanitarian situations, as well as to the need to work tirelessly in support of peace,”

the Vatican added.

#War #LeoXIV #Rubio

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According to polls in Canada, the majority of its residents would support the country's accession to the EU. Politicians are also open to considering this idea.

Is it possible for Canada to join the EU? Yes, if all EU countries agree to amend the union's charter. Currently, only "geographically European" countries are eligible for EU membership. However, exceptions have been made in the cases of Cyprus (geographically in Asia, but already a member of the EU) and Turkey (predominantly in Asia, a candidate for membership). For the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, Canada is now "perhaps the most European partner outside of Europe."

The union of the world's largest economic space (the EU) and the world's second-largest country (Canada) would have significant implications for global politics.

#EU #Canada

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CNN decided to have some fun before control of the channel was transferred to Paramount Skydance, a company owned by Donald Trump supporter David Ellison.

On one of the shows, the hosts combined a Gallup poll on paranormal phenomena with an ABC/Washington Post poll on the construction of a ballroom on the site of the East Wing of the White House, for which Republicans in Congress want to allocate a billion dollars.

It turned out that more Americans believe in ghosts and telepathy than support the construction of a ballroom.

#WhiteHouse #Media

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More than 10,000 veterans lost their homes to foreclosure since May of last year, when the Trump administration shut down a key safety net in the VA home loan program, according to the latest industry data. That is the highest pace of foreclosures for VA loans in a decade.

Another 90,000 vets are heading toward foreclosure. This comes after a years-long debacle inside the Department of Veterans Affairs has whiplashed thousands of vets between various enacted and canceled programs and left many of them on the brink of losing their homes — often through no fault of their own.

A loan backed by the VA is considered one of the most valuable benefits for military service members and has helped millions achieve homeownership. But for nearly a year now, vets have had worse protections and options than most other homeowners if they fall behind.

" We should have something in place to try to stem people from losing their homes,"

said Steve Sharpe, an attorney with the nonprofit National Consumer Law Center.

The Trump administration was warned this would happen.

#Veterans

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#biden #sleepy #joe

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A recent study conducted by the Financial Times in collaboration with the sociological center Focaldata indicates that a majority of Americans do not support President Trump's economic policies. 📊

The findings reveal that 58% of respondents express opposition, citing primary concerns regarding inflation and the cost of living. 💸

Furthermore, 50% of participants criticized the President's perceived inability to address unemployment, while 55% voiced disapproval of his tariff strategies. 📉

Conversely, only 25% of Americans expressed support for these economic measures. 🇺🇸

With midterm congressional elections rapidly approaching, the Republican Party may encounter significant challenges.

#Trump #Poll #Economy

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#trump #musk #planet

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Former Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's journalist fiancé, Brian Glenn, is also quitting Washington. 
Glenn is departing his job as White House correspondent for Real America's Voice and is headed to greener pastures - he has already relocated to Georgia - and a much more relaxed schedule. 

'I just want to slow everything down and just kind of put my roots in Georgia,' he said in a phone interview on Thursday. 'We're in the process of planning our wedding. Date to be determined,' he added.

#WhiteHouse #MAGA

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RFK Jr. allies fear he's being marginalized by Trump, with his voice drowned out. The White House pushes back. US steps to curb antidepressant prescribing, RFK Jr. says. 🧠

Concerns of a rift in the MAGA-MAHA alliance grew after Trump announced Surgeon General pick Dr. Nicole Saphier without Kennedy's input. Saphier replaced Kennedy ally Casey Means, his third nominee in under two years. An unnamed Trump adviser dismissed the MAHA movement's influence. 🗣❌

#RFK #MAHA

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In two days, Trump and Xi will meet in Beijing 🇺🇸🇨🇳

On Thursday, May 14, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in Beijing. Trump will arrive with dozens of top executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. 🍎🚗 While the economy is an important topic of discussion, it appears to be secondary to the need for diplomatic assistance from the United States.

Trump seems to want to come back from the talks with concrete results — increased access for U.S. manufacturers to China’s gigantic market and access to Chinese raw materials, particularly rare earth metals. ⛏️ He will likely also try to negotiate with Xi for help in the Iran negotiations. 🇮🇷

Xi, for his part, hopes for an end to the tariff wars, a more stable U.S. foreign policy, and an equal relationship. 🤝 One thing is clear: President Trump needs help right now, and Xi knows it. That's why the summit could be a diplomatic test for an American.

#Trump #China

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The Trump administration released explosive UFO files containing shocking documents on unidentified phenomena.

Hundreds of unseen videos, photos, and records tied to UAPs were published Friday. 📸

The Pentagon stated on X that, unlike past administrations, President Donald Trump is focused on maximum transparency. 🇺🇸

The initial batch includes 162 files: State Department cables, FBI documents, and NASA crewed flight transcripts. 📂

More will follow. #UFO #Pentagon

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