Trump, Hegseth seethe at ‘fake news’ media for doubting US strikes obliterated Iranian nuclear sites
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegeth railed against the “fake news” media during a NATO summit press conference for casting doubt that the U.S. strikes on Iran obliterated the country’s nuclear program.
“A statement came in from the Atomic Energy Commission of Israel,” Trump said during a Wednesday press conference from The Hague as he wrapped up his NATO summit trip in the Netherlands. “They’re very serious people, as you know.”
“‘The devastating U.S. strike on Fordow destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility totally inoperable,'” Trump read from the letter. “‘It was devastated. We assessed that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons for many years to come. This achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.'”
Trump took aim at U.S. media outlets for initially casting doubt that the strikes he ordered on Iran Saturday evening were not as devastating as the administration initially reported, calling outlets such as CNN “fake news” and slamming them for “maligning” the U.S. military by doubting the ferocity of the strikes.
TRUMP THRASHES CNN AS ‘GUTLESS LOSERS’ FOR COVERAGE OF US STRIKES ON IRAN
“I just want to thank our pilots,” Trump said. “You know, they were maligned and treated very bad, demeaned by fake news CNN, which is back there, believe it or not, wasting time, wasting time. Nobody’s watching them. So they just wasted a lot of time. wasting my time. And the New York Times, they put out a story that, ‘well, maybe they were hit, but it wasn’t so bad that they ended the war.'”
The president added that he received a call that the pilots who deployed from Missouri to Iran for the strikes were “devastated” due to certain media outlets attempting to downplay the success of the mission.
“Do you know, I got a call from Missouri? Great state that I won three times by a lot. And I got a call that the pilots and people on the plane were devastated because (the media) were trying to minimize the attack. And they all said it was hit, ’but oh, but we don’t think it was really maybe hit that badly.’ And they were devastated,” he said.
“They put their lives on the line and then they have, and I’m not referring to you, but real scum. Real scum come out and write reports that are as negative as they could possibly be,” Trump continued.
TRUMP ADDRESSES NATION ON ‘SPECTACULAR MILITARY SUCCESS’ OF US STRIKES ON IRANIAN NUCLEAR FACILITIES
Hegseth, who joined Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the summit, also slammed CNN and the New York Times during the press conference. Hegseth argued that such media outlets work “to find a way to spin” the news.
“There’s a reason the president calls out fake news for what it is. These pilots, these refuelers, these fighters, these air defenders. The skill and the courage it took to go into enemy territory flying 36 hours on behalf of the American people and the world to take out a nuclear program is beyond what anyone in this audience can fathom,” Hegseth said.
“And then the instinct, the instinct of CNN, the instinct of the New York Times, is to try to find a way to spin it for their own political reasons, to try to hurt President Trump or our country. They don’t care what the troops think. They don’t care what the world thinks. They want to spin it to try to make him look bad based on a leak. Of course, we’ve all seen plenty of leakers and what a leakers do? They have agendas. And what do they do? Do they share the whole information or just the part that they want to introduce?”
Trump announced Saturday evening in a surprise Truth Social post that the U.S. military had successfully executed strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, saying in an address to the nation later that night that the facilities were “completely and totally obliterated.”
“For 40 years, Iran has been saying, ‘Death to America. Death to Israel.’ They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs,” Trump said in his address Saturday with the trio standing behind him. “That was their specialty. We lost over a thousand people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate, in particular.”
MISDIRECTION AND ‘DECEPTION’ LIKELY KEY IN TRUMP ADMIN’S SURPRISE IRAN STRIKE
“Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated,” Trump said. “And Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier.”
A handful of legacy and liberal media outlets attempted to cast doubt that the strikes truly devastated the Iranian facilities, including CNN publishing an exclusive Tuesday claiming “US strikes on Iran did not destroy nuclear sites,” while the New York Times reported the Fordow nuclear facility was “severely damaged” but not “destroyed.”
White House officials, including Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, have slammed such reports as “fake news.”
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“This alleged ‘assessment’ is flat-out wrong and was classified as “top secret” but was still leaked to CNN by an anonymous, low-level loser in the intelligence community,” Leavitt posted to X on Tuesday of the CNN report. “The leaking of this alleged assessment is a clear attempt to demean President Trump, and discredit the brave fighter pilots who conducted a perfectly executed mission to obliterate Iran’s nuclear program. Everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000 pound bombs perfectly on their targets: total obliteration.”
Trump says US strikes on Iran ‘reasserted the credibility of American deterrence’
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the B-2 stealth bomber pilots who carried out the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities flew with a “great risk” and a “big chance that they would never come back home and see their husbands or their wives.”
“I got a call from Missouri… I got a call that the pilots and people on the plane were devastated because they were trying to minimize the attack,” Trump also said in reference to a leaked preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that said the U.S. strikes on Iran did not destroy three targeted nuclear sites.
“ And they all said it was hit, but oh, but we don’t think it was really maybe hit that badly. And they were devastated. They put their lives on the line,” Trump added. “I spoke to one of them, he said ‘sir, we hit the site. It was perfect. It was dead-on.’”
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth railed against the “fake news” media during a NATO summit press conference for casting doubt that the U.S. strikes on Iran obliterated the country’s nuclear program.
“A statement came in from the Atomic Energy Commission of Israel,” Trump said during a Wednesday press conference from The Hague as he wrapped up his NATO summit trip in the Netherlands. “They’re very serious people, as you know.”
“‘The devastating U.S. strike on Fordow destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility totally inoperable,'” Trump read from the letter. “‘It was devastated. We assessed that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons for many years to come. This achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.'”
Trump took aim at U.S. media outlets for initially casting doubt that the strikes he ordered on Iran Saturday evening were not as devastating as the administration initially reported, calling outlets such as CNN “fake news” and slamming them for “maligning” the U.S. military by doubting the ferocity of the strikes.
“I just want to thank our pilots,” Trump said. “You know, they were maligned and treated very bad, demeaned by fake news CNN, which is back there, believe it or not, wasting time, wasting time. Nobody’s watching them. So they just wasted a lot of time. wasting my time. And the New York Times, they put out a story that, ‘well, maybe they were hit, but it wasn’t so bad that they ended the war.'”
The president added that he received a call that the pilots who deployed from Missouri to Iran for the strikes were “devastated” due to certain media outlets attempting to downplay the success of the mission.
President Donald Trump brokered an historic ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran on Monday, marking a dramatic pause in the most significant military confrontation between the two foes.
The Monday evening announcement took effect 12 hours later, following a timeline designed to allow final military maneuvers on both sides. However, a barrage of Iranian missile fire in the hours that followed left many Israelis questioning whether the truce had already been violated.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, John Spencer, executive director of the Urban Warfare Institute, said such delayed implementation is not unusual. “It’s hard to turn things off on a switch. You have aircraft in flight. You have forces in position,” he explained.
Spencer described the U.S. operation as historic.
“What’s historic is that the U.S. carried out a limited operation on nuclear targets with zero losses—no pilot, no equipment—and helped Israel in a way only America could. Nuclear proliferation is nonpartisan, and this was an apolitical win.” Even after Iran struck a U.S. base in Qatar, he added, “the President showed immense restraint and kept focus on the broader goal: preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and continuing its terror campaign.”
Despite the violence that followed the announcement — including an Iranian strike that killed four civilians in Israel — Spencer believes the ceasefire will hold. “Both countries have now said we’re absolutely going to do it,” he said. “And yes, President Trump is very atypical in the way he communicates with the ceasefire… with the ‘don’t drop a single bomb.’”
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the U.S. will meet with Iranian officials next week.
“The way I look at it, they fought, the war is done. And, you know, I could get a statement that they’re not going to go nuclear. We’re probably going to ask for that… but they’re not going to be doing it anyway. They’ve had it,” Trump said.
“We’re going to talk to them next week, with Iran. We may sign an agreement, I don’t know. To me, I don’t think it’s that necessary. I mean, they had a war. They fought. Now they’re going back to their world. I don’t care if I have an agreement or not. The only thing we would be asking for is what we’re asking for before about, we want no nuclear [program]. But we destroyed the nuclear,” Trump added.
“If we got a document, it wouldn’t be bad. We’re going to meet with them. Actually, we’re going to meet with them,” the president also said.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that both Israel and Iran are fatigued from fighting each other, which is why he believes the conflict is now over.
“They fought very, very hard and very viciously, very violently. And they were both satisfied to go home and get out. Can it start again? I guess someday it can, it could maybe start soon. I think a big telltale sign was when, as you know, Iran — somewhat by not much — violated the ceasefire. And Israel had the planes going out that morning. There were a lot of them, 52 of them. And I said, ‘you got to get them back.’ And they brought them back. They didn’t do anything. They brought them back. It was very good. I thought it was amazing, actually,” Trump added.
Trump was referencing a post he made on his Truth Social account early Tuesday in which he warned Israel not to drop bombs on Iran, or it would constitute a “major violation” of a ceasefire between the two sides.
“I think the war ended actually when we hit the various nuclear sites with the planes,” Trump also said during a press conference following a NATO summit in the Netherlands.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration’s airstrikes on Iran have reasserted the credibility of American deterrence, “which is like no other.”
“We think it’s over. I don’t they are going to be going back at each other, I don’t think so,” Trump said about Israel and Iran.
A ceasefire that Trump announced earlier this week appears to be taking hold between both countries. The president spoke to the media Wednesday at the conclusion of a NATO summit in the Netherlands.
“Not only have we dealt decisively with the critical threat of Iran’s nuclear program,
which was what I wanted. I said, ‘Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.’ I’ve said that for 15 years, long before I decided to do the political thing. But we’ve also reasserted the credibility of American deterrence, which is like no other,” Trump added.
President Donald Trump was hailed at the 2025 NATO Summit after the U.S. struck Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Trump as a “man of strength” and a “man of peace.”
“I just want to recognize your decisive action on Iran,” Rutte said at the start of his joint remarks with the president. “You are a man of strength, but you are also a man of peace. And the fact that you are now also successful in getting this ceasefire done between Israel and Iran— I really want to commend you for that. I think this is important for the whole world.”
Rutte also praised Trump’s effort to get NATO members to pay more and said the president was “flying into another big success” after all countries—except Spain—agreed to spend 5% of their GDP on defense. He added that Trump achieved something “NO American president in decades could get done.”
Leaders of NATO member states had mixed reactions to the strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, with several calling for de-escalation while acknowledging the threat a nuclear Iran would pose to global security.
“Iran’s nuclear program is a grave threat to international security. Iran can never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon, and the US has taken action to alleviate that threat,” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote on X.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Wednesday that his country’s nuclear facilities had been “badly damaged” by the Trump administration’s airstrikes.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Baghaei refused to go into detail, according to the Associated Press, but conceded the Sunday strikes by American B-2 bombers using bunker buster bombs had been significant.
“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. airstrikes set Iran’s nuclear program back “many years,” the Israel Atomic Energy Commission assesses.
“The devastating U.S. strike on Fordow destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable,” the commission said in a statement the White House provided to Fox News Wednesday. “We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years,” it said.
“This achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material,” it added.
Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei is slamming text messages that President Donald Trump received from NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
“Congratulations and thank you for your decisive action on Iran. That was truly extraordinary, and something no one else dared to do,” Rutte wrote to Trump as he flew to the NATO summit in the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Trump shared the messages in a post on Truth Social.
Baqaei then said Wednesday that “It is disgraceful, despicable and irresponsible for NATO’s SG to congratulate a ‘truly extraordinary’ criminal act of aggression against a sovereign State.
“Who endorses an injustice lacks integrity. Who supports a crime is regarded as complicit,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow is not planning
to supply Iran with nuclear warheads, after President Donald Trump mocked him for suggesting that other countries would step in and provide Iran with nuclear weapons after the U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, originally said Sunday that Iran would continue to advance its nuclear program and would receive assistance from other nations to do so.
Although Medvedev did not specify any countries, he clarified later Monday that he was not talking about Russia.
“I condemn the U.S. strike on Iran
— it failed to achieve its objectives,” Medvedev said in a Monday post on X. “However, Russia has no intention of supplying nuclear weapons to Iran because, unlike Israel, we are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.” Medvedev’s statement came after Trump called him out by name in a post on Truth Social following the Russian leader’s original Sunday remarks.
“Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS,’” Trump said in a Monday Truth Social Post.
Iran reportedly executed three prisoners on Wednesday for allegedly spying for Israel.
Iran identified the three men as Azad Shojaei, Edris Aali and Iraqi national Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, the Associated Press reported, citing the state-run IRNA news agency.
The hangings happened in Urmia Prison in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province.
IRNA cited Iran’s judiciary for the news, saying the men had been accused of bringing “assassination equipment” into the country.
Wednesday’s executions bring the total number of hangings for espionage around the war up to six.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump thanked former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush after he praised the president’s decision to order strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Thank you to Jeb Bush — Very much appreciated!” Trump declared in a Tuesday Truth Social post.
Bush, the chairman of the organization United Against Nuclear Iran, issued a statement with several others from the group hailing the president’s move.
“We applaud President Trump and the United States for this decision—one of the most important of the 21st century,” the statement declared, calling it “an act of courage, clarity, and historical necessity.”
“President Trump’s decision to neutralize Iran’s regime’s nuclear program is a watershed moment—one that reasserts American strength, restores deterrence, and sends an unmistakable message to rogue regimes: the era of impunity is over. Where others delayed and wavered, President Trump acted,” the statement asserted, in part.
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Israel is working on a report confirming the “total obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear facilities following U.S. airstrikes.
“It was obliteration. And you’ll see that — and it’s going to come out. Israel is doing a report on it now, I understand. And I was told that they said it was total obliteration. You know, they have guys that go in there after the hit, and they said it was total obliteration,” Trump said on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in the Netherlands.
Reports have cited a leaked preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that said Trump’s strikes on Iran did not destroy three targeted nuclear sites.
“It’s very tough to rebuild because the whole thing has collapsed,” Trump said in reference to Iran’s underground Fordow facility. “In other words, inside it’s all collapsed. Nobody can get in to see it because it’s collapsed. You can’t go in to see a room that has, you know, 10 million tons of rock in it. And the tunnels are totally collapsed.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Wednesday that Beijing “is following closely the developments in the Middle East” and that “We hope to see a lasting and effective ceasefire.”
“China and Iran enjoy traditional friendship between our peoples,” he added. “China stands ready to maintain the friendly cooperation with Iran for the benefit of the two peoples and provide positive factors for peace and stability in the Middle East.”
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that “China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran.”
“Hopefully, they will be purchasing plenty from the U.S., also. It was my Great Honor to make this happen!” Trump added on Truth Social after announcing a ceasefire between Israel and Iran.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said leakers are “professional stabbers” after reports cited a leaked preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that said President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran did not destroy three targeted nuclear sites.
“On the stuff about the intelligence, this is what a leaker is telling you,” Rubio told reporters. “The intelligence says that’s the game these people play. They read it, and then they go out and characterize it the way they want to characterize. And they’re leakers this is the game they play.”
“Here’s a fact: the conversion facility — which, you can’t do a nuclear weapon without conversion facility. We can’t even find … where it used to be on the map. You can’t even find where it used to be because the whole thing is blackened out. It’s gone. It’s wiped out. Then we dropped 12 of the strongest bombs on the planet, right down the hole in two places. Everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape,” he continued.
“I refer you to the statement of the IAEA, Mister Grossi,” Rubio added. “You know what he said? He said there was Iran the way it looked the day before the attack and what their nuclear program looks like now. Two very different things. They are way behind where they were just seven days ago. Now anything in the world can be rebuilt, but now we know where it is and if they try to rebuild it, we’ll have options there as well.”
Rubio also said “these leakers are professional stabbers.”
“They go out and they read this stuff and then they tell you what it says, against the law. But they characterize it for you in a way that’s absolutely false,” he said.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon is conducting a leak investigation with the FBI after reports cited a leaked preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that said President Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran did not destroy three targeted nuclear sites.
“When you talk to people who built the bombs, understand what those bombs can do and deliver those bombs, they landed precisely where they were supposed to, Hegseth told reporters. “So it was a flawless mission … Any assessment that tells you something otherwise is speculating with other motives. And we know that because when you actually look at the report — by the way, it was a top secret report — it was preliminary, it was low confidence. All right. … And we believe far more likely severe and obliterated. So this is a political motive here.”
“Of course we’re doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now because this information is for internal purposes. Battle damage assessments,” Hegseth told reporters when asked about a possible probe. “And CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this was an overwhelming success.”
President Donald Trump said Iran will not be building bombs “for a very long time” and “the last thing they want to do” is enrich uranium.
Trump was asked while speaking to reporters at a NATO summit in The Hague what his response was to the Iranian foreign minister saying the country will continue to enrich uranium.
“The last thing they want to do is enrich anything right now,” Trump said. “They want to recover, and we won’t let that happen.”
“Look, I’ve had a relationship over the last four days. They agreed to the ceasefire. And it was a very informal agreement. They both said, that’s enough, and they both said it. But, no, they won’t do that. The last thing they want to do is enrich. They’re not looking to fill that void,” he continued.
“Can you imagine after all of that, they’re going to say, ‘oh, let’s go and do a bomb?’” He added. “You know, there could be a day in the future and then somebody else taking our place will be saying, don’t do it. And maybe they won’t do it as well. I don’t know, but, they’re not going to have a bomb and they’re not going to enrich, and we believe all of this stuff is down there.”
Trump said he does not believe Iran has “nearly the time.”
“I think it was just a tremendous victory for everybody … Israel got, hit very hard, especially the last couple of days,” Trump said. “Israel has hit really hard. Those ballistic missiles, boy, they took out a lot of buildings and they’ve been great. Netanyahu should be very proud of himself. And they’ve really been great, but they’re not going to be building bombs for a long time.”
Sanders rips Musk’s ‘absurd’ Trump donations while Rogan reveals Harris’ $1.5B
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., tried to slam Elon Musk over the $270 million he spent to help get President Donald Trump elected during an appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Tuesday, but Rogan quickly shot back with the large sums donated to former Vice President Kamala Harris’ doomed campaign.
Sanders sparred with Rogan over political donations during a discussion of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision. The ruling found that political donations were a form of speech, and therefore could not be limited under the First Amendment. Sanders slammed Citizens United as “maybe the worst decision that the Supreme Court has ever made.”
“What is says is you’re a billionaire, you now have the constitutional right because your money is your freedom of expression,” Sanders said. “The result of that decision, let’s take us to where we are today, Elon Musk… he spent $270 million to elect Donald Trump. I think that’s absurd.”
BERNIE SANDERS ENDORSES FORMER PUNK ROCK MUSICIAN WITH HISTORY OF RACIST, SEXIST REMARKS
Rogan then asked what the largest donation to the Harris campaign was. Sanders didn’t give a sum but said the campaign spent “a lot of money.”
“They spent $1.5 billion just in the course of a couple months,” Rogan said.
The Harris campaign raised $1.5 billion during her 15-week-long campaign, and exited the race $20 million in debt. The Tesla CEO formally endorsed Trump after he survived his assassination attempt at his Butler Pennsylvania rally.
Musk then jumped into the race head first, pouring $240 million into a pro-Trump Super PAC called America Pac. He also handed out $1 million checks at rallies he hosted to audience members who signed a petition endorsed by his PAC, as well as spending millions on other pro-Trump efforts. Sanders claimed that as a reward, Musk became the “most powerful person in government” when Trump took office.
EX-CLINTON OFFICIAL APPLAUDS TRUMP’S ‘COURAGEOUS’ IRAN CALL, DOUBTS HARRIS WOULD’VE HAD THE NERVE
The SpaceX founder ran the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose mission was to cut “waste, fraud and abuse” from the federal government. During his brief tenure at the agency, DOGE made headlines for effectively shuttering USAID, as well as many other high-profile cuts to federal spending.
Sanders, a long-time outspoken opponent of big money in politics, went on to state that both parties rely on billionaire donors, and he doesn’t limit his criticisms to Republicans and Musk.
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“You’re not going to hear me defending [the] Democratic Party on this issue… During the election it wasn’t just Musk and the Republicans putting a lot of money into Trump, it was Democratic billionaires putting money into Kamala and other candidates as well,” Sanders said.
Top Biden aide admits she directed autopen signatures without knowing who gave final OK
A former top aide to President Joe Biden said she was authorized to direct autopen signatures but was unaware of who in the president’s inner circle was giving her final clearance, according to a source familiar with the aide’s closed-door testimony in front of Congress Tuesday.
Neera Tanden, the former director of Biden’s Domestic Policy Council, testified for hours Tuesday during an interview in front of the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the former president’s mental acuity and his use of an automatic signature tool that allowed aides to sign pardons, memos and other important documents on Biden’s behalf.
During Tanden’s interview before Congress, which lasted more than five hours, she told lawmakers that, in her role as staff secretary and senior advisor to the former president between 2021 and 2023, she was authorized to direct autopen signatures on behalf of Biden, an Oversight Committee official told Fox News. The system of approval used, according to Tanden’s testimony relayed to Fox News, was inherited from previous administrations.
WHO IS NEERA TANDEN? THE CONTROVERSIAL DEM OPERATIVE WHO TESTIFIED ON BIDEN’S MENTAL ACUITY
But Tanden, who said she had limited interactions with Biden, described an approval process that left her in the dark about who specifically was giving final approval on the decisions to use the automatic signature tool, sources told Fox News.
Tanden testified that to get approval for the use of autopen signatures she would send decision memos to members of Biden’s inner circle. However, she added that she was not aware of what actions or approvals took place between the time she sent the decision memo and the time she received it back with the necessary approval.
When Tanden was asked whether she ever discussed Biden’s health or his fitness to serve as president during her time as a top aide, including during the period of the former president’s widely criticized debate performance last summer, Tanden said she did not. Lawmakers laid out a list of names of officials she could have potentially discussed it with, and Tanden said “no” to each name, according to a source familiar with her closed-door testimony.
BIDEN INSISTS ‘I MADE THE DECISIONS’ AS REPUBLICANS INVESTIGATE WHITE HOUSE AUTOPEN USE
Tanden did not speak to reporters on the way to the Capitol Tuesday morning. Upon exiting, she expressed her willingness to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
“I just spoke with the House Oversight Committee, Majority and Minority Council. I answered every question, was pleased to discuss my public service and it was a thorough process. And I’m glad I answered everyone’s question,” Tanden told reporters.
When subsequently asked whether there was any effort to hide Biden’s condition, Tanden replied, “Absolutely not.”
In addition to Tanden, Biden’s former White House physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, will appear for a deposition in front of House Oversight lawmakers after being subpoenaed by Republicans.
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In addition to O’Connor and Tanden, the Oversight Committee plans to hear from Anthony Bernal, who served as a senior advisor to former first lady Jill Biden; Annie Tomasini, who was Biden’s former deputy chief of staff; and Ashley Williams, who was the former deputy director of Oval Office operations under Biden.
Oversight Republicans are also seeking interviews with officials who were some of Biden’s closest confidants, including former chief of staff Ron Klain and Anita Dunn, a former senior advisor to the president for communications.
Judge orders end to Trump’s block of EV funding approved under Biden
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in funds former President Joe Biden approved to build electric vehicle infrastructure in 14 states.
In granting a partial preliminary injunction Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin – a Biden nominee – ordered that funding frozen by the Trump administration earlier this year be distributed to the states of Washington, Colorado, California, Arizona, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
While the judge ruled that the Trump administration breached its constitutional authority in pulling the funds approved by Congress in 2021 under Biden’s “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” Lin said Minnesota, Vermont and the District of Columbia did not provide enough evidence to prove they would suffer “irreparable harm” if the funding was not immediately released.
TRUMP REVEALS THE ‘SURPRISING’ MOMENT HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH MUSK BEGAN TO UNRAVEL
The sixteen states and D.C. sued the Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration in the Western District of Washington at Seattle last month.
“Although range anxiety, EV charging stations, and current DOT leadership’s policy preferences lurk in the background of this case, the bedrock doctrines of separation of powers and agency accountability, as enshrined in Constitution and statute, are indifferent to subject matter and blind to personality,” Lin wrote Tuesday. “When the Executive Branch treads upon the will of the Legislative Branch, and when an administrative agency acts contrary to law, it is the Court’s responsibility to remediate the situation and restore the balance of power.”
Through Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure deal, Congress established the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (“NEVI”) Formula Program, which appropriated $5 billion to “provide funding to States to strategically deploy electric vehicle charging infrastructure and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.”
President Donald Trump directed federal agencies earlier this year to stop releasing certain funds appropriated under the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” including those for electric vehicle charging stations, as the incoming administration claimed the Biden White House had generally misused resources and eroded public trust.
AUTO STOCKS MIXED AFTER TRUMP SIGNS ROLLBACK OF CALIFORNIA EV MANDATE
On Feb. 6, 2025, the Federal Highway Administration “rescinded its administrative guidance on the program, revoked the state deployment plans for constructing EV infrastructure that had been created, implemented, and previously approved under that guidance, and, effectively, stopped distributing the Congressionally appropriated funds,” Lin’s order says.
The judge said the freezing of congressionally appropriated funds violated the “separation of powers” ensured by the Constitution.
The Trump administration said it intended to review and revise the EV program’s guidance to align with the new president’s policy objectives.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, the state’s Democratic top cop under Gov. Gavin Newsom, celebrated the partial preliminary injunction on Tuesday.
“It is no secret that the Trump Administration is beholden to the fossil fuel agenda. The administration cannot dismiss programs illegally, like the bipartisan Electric Vehicle Infrastructure formula program, just so that the President’s Big Oil friends can continue basking in record-breaking profits,” Bonta said in a statement. “We are pleased with today’s order blocking the Administration’s unconstitutional attempt to do so, and California looks forward to continuing to vigorously defend itself from this executive branch overreach.”
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Lin gave the Trump administration seven days to appeal until her order goes into effect on July 2.
NYC mayor fights back against progressive candidate’s ‘unrealistic’ free housing plan
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is one step closer to becoming New York City’s next mayor, but current Mayor Eric Adams believes voters won’t be fooled.
“He’s a snake oil salesman,” Adams said on “Fox & Friends” Wednesday. “He would say and do anything to get elected.”
Adams, who is seeking a second term, is not running on the Democratic ticket this time. After a federal corruption investigation against him was dropped, Adams announced he would run as an independent.
Adams argued that the city needs leadership that isn’t tied to the extremes of either political party.
“You had one candidate that was running away from his record. You had another candidate with no record. And you have Eric Adams with a record,” he said. “I delivered for this city, and we’re not going backwards.”
CUOMO CONCEDES IN NYC DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR MAYOR, CONGRATULATES AOC-ENDORSED MAMDANI
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Mamdani is a 33-year-old state assembly member from Queens, and if elected he would become the city’s first Muslim mayor. He was able to pull ahead of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary with strong support from progressive and younger voters.
While Mamdani has not yet officially won since all votes haven’t been tallied, and he hasn’t yet passed the 50% threshold needed to call it, Cuomo trailed by a wide margin and has conceded.
However, an aide for the former governor said Cuomo is still considering a third-party or independent run, something Adams called a mistake.
“Andrew, at this time, should realize that the time has moved on,” Adams said. “He just did not bring the energy of wanting to be mayor.”
Mamdani has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and reiterated that during his victory speech. His proposals for New York City include eliminating public transit fares, offering free municipal housing and childcare, and opposing ICE operations within the city.
BERNIE SANDERS, AOC-BACKED MAYORAL CANDIDATE PLANNING MASSIVE SPENDING INCREASES IN NYC
Adams argued those promises are unrealistic and potentially misleading.
“He wants to raise taxes on 1% of New Yorkers, high-income earners. As the mayor, you don’t have the authority to do that,” Adams said. “You know who has the authority do that? An assemblyman, which he is.”
Despite the changing dynamics of the race, Adams says he’s not deterred and plans to continue fighting for reelection.
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“I’m looking forward to being on the campaign trail and showing New Yorkers we can’t go backwards,” he said. “New York is never surrender or quit. I’m never going to quit for the city that I love.”
Sneaky passenger’s ‘hidden’ luggage trick sparks fury from fellow travelers
While airlines have a variety of baggage policies in place, it is standard for carry-on roller suitcases of a certain size to be stored in overhead bins for flights.
One passenger, however, sneakily flouted an airline rule and was then called out by a fellow flyer.
Posting in “r/delta” forum on Reddit, a flight passenger asked, “How did FA [flight attendants] miss this?”
VICTIM OF ‘SEAT SWAP SHENANIGANS’ REVEALS HOW FELLOW FLYER ATTEMPTED TO TRICK HER
“Suitcase was ‘hidden’ behind the curtain that separates C+ and first,” the person wrote.
“Multiple FAs passed this before departure and during the flight and I didn’t notice a single one say anything about it,” the person continued.
“The carry-on abuser has outed themselves here. We all despise you,” commented one person.
One user joked, “Pay no attention to that case behind the curtain.”
“What happened to actual thorough walks through the cabin to ensure items were fully under the seat in front of people?” one user questioned.
A Redditor commented, “This must be some sort of violation that the flight crew is supposed to do to ensure cabin safety.”
“Frankly, I’ve seen stuff like this lately and I guess now it’s OK for people not to bring their seats back to the original position in prep for landing,” said one user. “The flight attendants do their ‘walk’ and I’m convinced they see it but they walk right by.”
Another Redditor commented, “Mind your own business, carry-on narc.”
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“Mind your business,” echoed another.
On the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) “Air Carrier Operations Bulletin,” the agency lists rules for proper carry-on stowage procedures.
“Carry-on baggage may be stowed either against a passenger-class divider or bulkhead if both are stressed for inertia loads, if it is restrained from shifting by FAA-approved tiedown straps or cargo nets,” FAA’s bulletin reads.
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The bulletin also states there should be “preboarding scanning to ensure that size and amount of passenger carry-on baggage is in accordance.”
Under the FAA “Carry-On Baggage Tips,” the agency says that “some aircraft have limited overhead bin space, and your personal item will need to fit under the seat in front of you.”
WNBA star goes ice cold as teammate’s career night saves Indiana against Seattle
Caitlin Clark’s struggles on the court continued on Tuesday night as the Indiana Fever needed to lean on a career night from Aliyah Boston to get past the Seattle Storm, 94-86.
Clark scored six points in one of her worst shooting nights since she scored eight points against the Washington Mystics in a game last September. Her career-low was three points against the New York Liberty in a blowout loss last June.
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She was 3-of-13 from the floor against the Storm with nine assists, three steals and two boards. She attempted six 3-pointers but came up empty on each shot. Since Thursday’s loss to the Golden State Valkyries, Clark is 1-of-23 from beyond the arc.
“She’ll be fine,” teammate Lexie Hull told reporters after the game, via the Indy Star. “We’re not worried about it. She’s a great shooter, she’s a great player. This happens to every player, every great player. She’ll be fine.”
Boston, the third-year Fever star, had 31 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals while veteran Kelsey Mitchell had 26 points. Hull had 15 points and 11 rebounds.
FEVER’S SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM CELEBRATES HITTING 1M TIKTOK FOLLOWERS AFTER STICKING UP FOR CAITLIN CLARK
The Fever needed every basket to halt the Storm’s winning streak. Seattle came into the game with a three-game winning streak and winners of six of their last seven.
Skylar Diggins had 22 points and six assists for the Storm. Erica Wheeler added 20 points.
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Indiana got back to .500 with the win at 7-7. Seattle fell to 9-6.
Prosecutors drop multiple charges against Diddy as sex trafficking trial nears end
Sean “Diddy” Combs’ prosecutors indicated they are not pursuing several charges against the rapper just days before closing arguments are set to begin in the sex trafficking and racketeering trial.
The government indicated in a letter to the judge filed Tuesday, and obtained by Fox News Digital, that the theories of attempted kidnapping, attempted arson and aiding and abetting sex trafficking will not be pursued.
“The Government understands the Court’s desire for streamlined instructions. With that in mind, the Government has suggested ways to streamline those instructions,” the letter read.
“Specifically, the Government has removed instructions from the charge relating to (i) attempted kidnapping under both California and New York law, (ii) attempted arson under California law, and (iii) aiding and abetting sex trafficking. The Government is no longer planning to proceed on these theories of liability so instructions are no longer necessary.”
DIDDY’S FREEDOM ‘RISES AND FALLS’ ON CASSIE VENTURA TESTIMONY AS LAWYERS PREP FOR CLOSING ARGUMENTS: EXPERT
Both the prosecution and Combs’ defense wrapped up their respective cases Tuesday after six weeks of testimony. The defense did not call any witnesses to the stand and instead presented evidence they claim proves inconsistent statements were made during the trial.
Combs’ defense team immediately moved for a judgment of acquittal before resting their case. Attorney Alexandra Shapiro argued the government failed to prove the counts against the rapper.
“There’s, at best, thin proof any of the other employees participated,” Shapiro said before noting that “there is no evidence any of them believed he was sex trafficking.”
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The jury spent the last six weeks hearing testimony from Combs’ ex-girlfriends, ex-employees and witnesses involved in the investigation. The prosecution used the testimony to show that Combs allegedly ran a criminal enterprise through his businesses, including Combs Global.
According to testimony, the rapper had his personal assistants set up hotel rooms for “freak offs” or “hotel nights.” The ex-employees who took the stand also testified they often procured drugs for the rapper. These drugs – including MDMA, cocaine and ecstasy – were then used by Combs and his ex-girlfriends during the allegedly forced sexual sessions involving male escorts, the prosecution argued.
Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs from 2007 until 2018, and the rapper’s most recent ex-girlfriend both took the stand during the six weeks of testimony. Cassie and Jane, testifying under a pseudonym, claimed they were introduced to “freaks offs” or “hotel nights” shortly after beginning their relationship with Combs.
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Combs’ defense and prosecutors are expected to finalize the jury instructions Wednesday. Closing arguments in the case against the disgraced music mogul will likely take the entirety of Thursday and Friday.
The jury could begin deliberations as early as June 30.
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