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White House Teleprompter Operator Pays $172K After Betting on Trump’s Speeches

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A former longtime White House teleprompter operator will hand over more than $172,000 after federal regulators found he used advance knowledge of President Trump’s speeches to cash in on prediction-market bets.

Gabriel Perez, who ran the teleprompter for Trump since 2016, settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday. He must return $107,539 in profits and pay a $65,000 civil penalty. A three-year trading ban is also in place.

According to the CFTC, Perez traded so-called “mention market” contracts on Kalshi between December 2025 and February 2026. These contracts pay out based on whether specific words or phrases appear in a speech. As teleprompter operator, Perez saw the prepared remarks before the President delivered them and used that nonpublic information to place winning bets.

The agency said he misappropriated the material “in breach of his duty of trust and confidence,” generating over $107,500 in profits. The $65,000 penalty was reduced because of Perez’s “exemplary cooperation” with investigators. Kalshi flagged the activity and assisted the probe.

Former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed earlier that Perez was placed on unpaid administrative leave after the allegations surfaced. He is no longer employed by the federal government. The White House has long maintained strict ethics rules and previously warned staff against using nonpublic information for prediction-market bets.

ABC News first reported the investigation last month. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan were notified but declined to pursue a criminal case.

Kalshi’s lead lawyer welcomed the outcome, stating that no one is above the rules. The settlement closes the matter on a staffer who broke trust—and underscores that even in the White House, the rules apply.

Trump Ally Byron Donalds Taps Cuban-American Conservative as Florida Running Mate

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Political representation of parties making money

Rep. Byron Donalds has selected Florida state Sen. Bryan Avila as his running mate, adding a Cuban-American military officer and veteran state lawmaker to the Republican ticket in Florida’s race for governor.

Donalds announced the decision Tuesday at Miami’s historic Freedom Tower, calling Avila a “proven warrior” and “conservative fighter” who has battled higher taxes, rising costs and “woke ideology” in Tallahassee.

“He has fought woke ideology, he’s fought higher taxes, he’s fought higher costs every single day, and I could not be more proud to have him stand by my side,” Donalds said, according to The Hill.

The announcement came one week after Donalds won the Republican primary to succeed term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis. He will face Democratic nominee David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who joined the Democratic Party in 2025, in November.

Avila has represented portions of Miami-Dade County in the Florida Senate since 2022. Before moving to the Senate, he served eight years in the Florida House, including two years as speaker pro tempore.

The Hialeah native currently chairs the Florida Senate’s Finance and Tax Committee and serves as vice chair of its Transportation Committee. He has also served as a captain in the Florida Army National Guard since 2016, according to his official Senate biography.

Donalds emphasized Avila’s personal connection to Florida’s large Cuban-American community, describing him as the son of Cuban exiles who fled communism in search of freedom.

“My parents escaped communist Cuba because they believed America offered something socialism never could — freedom,” Avila said in remarks reported by WFLA.

Avila pledged that the Republican ticket would build on DeSantis’ conservative legacy, make Florida more affordable, protect public safety and defend the freedoms that have attracted millions of new residents to the state.

The selection also strengthens Donalds’ presence in heavily Hispanic South Florida. Avila’s district includes part of Miami-Dade County, while Donalds has represented a Southwest Florida congressional district since 2021.

Donalds enters the general election with the enthusiastic backing of President Donald Trump, a friend and political ally who helped propel his gubernatorial campaign from the beginning.

Their alliance became especially visible during the 2024 presidential race. Donalds endorsed Trump over his own governor, DeSantis, and became one of the Trump campaign’s most prominent congressional surrogates. He appeared at campaign events across the country and helped lead the campaign’s outreach to Black voters.

Trump returned that loyalty in February 2025, endorsing Donalds before the congressman had formally entered the governor’s race. Trump personally called Donalds before urging him to run in a Truth Social post declaring, “Run, Byron, Run!”

Donalds responded at the time by thanking Trump and promising, “I will never let you down,” according to WUSF.

The president reaffirmed his support ahead of Florida’s primary, describing Donalds as a “total winner” and saying he would work closely with the White House to advance the America First agenda in Tallahassee.

“Byron Donalds will be a truly Great and Powerful Governor for Florida,” Trump wrote while reiterating his “Complete and Total Endorsement,” according to Space Coast Daily.

If elected, Donalds would become Florida’s first Black governor. His partnership with Avila would unite two politically important parts of the state while pairing Trump’s chosen candidate with a lawmaker deeply rooted in Miami-Dade’s Cuban-American community.

Jolly responded to Avila’s selection by arguing that Trump—not Donalds’ running mate—would remain the central issue in the campaign.

“This race won’t come down to Byron Donalds’ relationship with Avila; it will come down to Byron’s relationship with Donald Trump,” Jolly said in a statement reported by WFLA.

Donalds, however, mocked the opposing Jolly-Gwen Graham ticket as “boring” and tied Florida Democrats to state Rep. Angie Nixon, a Democratic Socialists of America member who won the party’s U.S. Senate nomination last week.

“They’ve joined forces to create the most boring and uninspiring ticket Florida Democrats could have ever put together,” Donalds told supporters.

Republicans will begin the general-election campaign with a sizable historical advantage. No Democrat has won a Florida governor’s race since 1994, and DeSantis carried the state by nearly 20 percentage points in 2022.

With Avila now at his side and Trump firmly behind him, Donalds is pitching the Republican ticket as the team that will preserve Florida’s conservative direction—and keep one of the nation’s most important states solidly red.

Trump Urges Governors to Embrace AI Data Centers as Public Opposition Grows

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President Donald J. Trump visits the El Arepazo Doral restaurant, Monday, March 9, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

President Donald Trump is urging governors and mayors to welcome artificial intelligence data centers into their communities, arguing that the enormous facilities will generate jobs, tax revenue and technological breakthroughs even as Americans increasingly express concerns about their impact on electricity, water and the environment.

Speaking during a White House meeting with technology and cryptocurrency industry leaders, Trump argued that communities rejecting data-center projects risk being left behind as the United States races to expand its AI infrastructure.

“If I were the mayor of a town or the governor of a state, and I had a chance to get a big plant in an AI plant or a data center, I would absolutely want it because the jobs are enormous, and the money paid, the taxes paid are just enormous,” Trump said.

“And if you don’t take it, you’re going to be left behind because there are plenty of places that want it,” he added.

“Many of them are designed in a very beautiful way,” he said. “It’s really very positive.”

Americans Aren’t So Sure

Trump acknowledged that the rapidly expanding industry may need “a little public relations help,” and polling suggests he has a point.

A Gallup poll released in May found a majority of Americans opposed construction of data centers in their own communities. Among the major concerns are the facilities’ substantial electricity and water requirements, as well as their potential environmental effects.

The electricity issue has become particularly contentious as the AI boom accelerates. Data centers require enormous quantities of power to operate servers and cooling systems, raising questions about whether their expansion could strain electrical grids or ultimately increase utility costs for ordinary consumers.

The Trump administration has attempted to manage that backlash by encouraging technology companies and data-center developers to secure additional sources of electricity rather than simply adding their enormous demand to existing grids.

Trump has also backed efforts to speed construction. An executive order issued in July 2025 called for accelerating federal permitting for qualifying data-center infrastructure.

The president argued Wednesday that communities should weigh those concerns against the economic benefits the projects can bring.

Trump Points to Jobs and Medical Breakthroughs

Asked what he would tell Americans who remain skeptical about AI, Trump again emphasized employment while making a broader case for the technology’s potential.

“I think it’s going to create a lot of jobs. It’s going to create success. It’s going to create tremendous innovation medically,” Trump said.

He referenced an unspecified medical development he had recently reviewed involving a “pretty unstoppable disease.”

“All of a sudden they’re coming up with answers that they never thought were possible,” Trump said.

AI is already being explored for uses ranging from drug discovery and medical imaging to disease detection and personalized treatment, making health care one of the areas frequently cited by the industry’s proponents when arguing that the enormous investments in computing infrastructure could produce benefits beyond the technology sector.

Trump Wants Regulation Without ‘Stifling’ AI

The administration is simultaneously confronting another question: how aggressively Washington should regulate a technology Trump believes could become even more consequential than the internet.

“We’re leading by a lot with AI. We want to keep it that way,” Trump said. “We want to regulate, but we want to have regulation where they can continue to lead, not regulation that’s going to stifle a very important industry.”

Trump has made winning the global AI race a significant economic and national-security priority of his second administration.

On his second day back in office in January 2025, Trump appeared alongside technology executives to announce Stargate, a private-sector venture with plans to invest as much as $500 billion in American AI infrastructure.

Its flagship data-center complex in Abilene, Texas, has since become partially operational, while additional projects have been pursued around the country.

But the scale of the buildout has also transformed data centers from an obscure piece of digital infrastructure into a local political issue. Communities that once competed enthusiastically for major corporate investments are increasingly weighing promised construction jobs and tax revenues against higher electricity demand, water consumption, land use and potential effects on utility bills.

READ NEXT: Biden Weaponizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to be ‘Woke’

Air Force Major Back in Custody After Demanding Trump’s Impeachment

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Ted Eytan from Washington, DC, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

An active-duty Air Force major who staged a uniformed protest calling for the removal of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance has been detained for a second time.

Maj. Jason Watson was placed in pretrial confinement Tuesday, Aug. 18, as the Air Force continues investigating his conduct, a service spokesperson confirmed to The Hill.

“Based on probable cause to support allegations of continued misconduct,” Watson was ordered into confinement, the spokesperson said. The Air Force emphasized that Watson is presumed innocent and entitled to a review under military court rules.

Watson had not been formally charged as of Wednesday evening. He was reportedly being held at a county detention facility in Maryland under a military hold.

The latest detention came one day after Watson appeared for an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett and renewed his criticism of Trump.

Attorney Expects Military Charges

Watson’s attorney, Christopher Mutimer, said the major was arrested while reporting for duty Tuesday.

According to Mutimer, Watson informed his chain of command through counsel that he would no longer wear his uniform. He was then ordered to put the uniform on and was taken into custody roughly 20 minutes later, the attorney told CNN.

“He expected to be arrested,” Mutimer said.

The defense expects that Watson could face allegations under Article 88 and Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Article 88 prohibits commissioned officers from using contemptuous words against the president, vice president, Congress and certain other senior officials. Article 92 covers violations of lawful general orders or regulations and failures to obey other lawful orders.

Mutimer stressed that those were anticipated charges rather than charges that had already been filed. Depending on how the case proceeds, Watson could face confinement, loss of pay or dismissal from the Air Force.

A review of Watson’s continued confinement was scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 20.

Arrested on the Capitol Steps

The military case follows Watson’s July 1 arrest during a protest on the House steps at the U.S. Capitol.

Watson, wearing his Air Force service uniform, held a sign reading “Impeach Convict Remove” after delivering a speech calling for Trump and Vance to be removed from office. His objections included the administration’s military actions involving Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, initially accompanied Watson onto the House steps. Green subsequently left, leaving Watson alone in an area where members of the public generally may not demonstrate unless accompanied by a member of Congress.

Capitol Police said officers ordered Watson to stop the demonstration or face arrest. He refused to leave, placed his sign on the ground and was taken into custody for alleged crowding, obstructing and incommoding, according to Military Times.

The D.C. Office of the Attorney General later dropped the civilian charge. Watson was not immediately released, however. Air Force investigators took custody of him and brought him to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington.

The Air Force subsequently restricted Watson to specified areas of the base while he performed military duties, Military Times reported.

At that stage, his attorney said investigators were considering possible violations involving contempt toward officials, failure to obey an order, conduct unbecoming an officer and conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline. No military charges had been filed at the time.

Political Activity Rules Under Scrutiny

Active-duty service members retain the right to vote and express personal political opinions, but military rules impose substantial restrictions on partisan activity and conduct that could suggest official military endorsement.

Defense Department Directive 1344.10 bars active-duty members from certain forms of partisan advocacy and directs them to refrain from political activity while in uniform. Violations of the directive may be prosecuted under Article 92.

Watson is a 40-year-old Air Force Academy graduate who entered active duty in May 2009. He has served as a logistics officer and was assigned as a staff officer in Bydgoszcz, Poland, before the Capitol protest, according to Stars and Stripes.

During his CNN interview Monday, Watson said he understood that his public stand could end his military career or lead to prosecution.

“What’s the highest price that I’m willing to pay?” Watson asked while explaining his decision.

The Air Force said Watson’s statements do not represent the views or policies of the service. His case remains under investigation.

Lindell Says He’s Ready To Spend ‘Upwards of $1M’ On Recount After 11-Point Loss

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    Missvain, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Mike Lindell is prepared to put a seven-figure sum behind his refusal to walk away from Minnesota’s Republican gubernatorial primary.

    The MyPillow founder told NBC News that he intends to personally finance a statewide hand recount after losing the Aug. 11 contest to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth by nearly 11 percentage points.

    Minnesota officials estimated the recount itself would cost approximately $825,000. Lindell, however, said his bill could climb “upwards of $1 million” after adding the cost of his investigative team and other expenses, according to Mediaite.

    The state’s reported results show Demuth receiving 179,683 votes, or 43.44 percent, compared with Lindell’s 134,282 votes, or 32.47 percent. That left Lindell 45,401 votes behind.

    Demuth’s margin was roughly 44 times wider than the 0.25-percent threshold at which a candidate in a statewide race can seek a publicly funded recount.

    Because the race was nowhere near that threshold, Lindell must cover the expense himself. In an Aug. 18 letter, Secretary of State General Counsel Lauren Bethke reportedly instructed him to submit a formal request and provide a bond, cash or surety for the estimated $825,000 cost by Monday, Aug. 24.

    The secretary of state’s office had not received that request as of Wednesday. Lindell told NBC News that he plans to “personally go in there myself” on Monday to deliver the necessary paperwork.

    He also intends to send representatives to recount locations across Minnesota. Under the state’s recount procedures, candidates and their representatives may observe the process and challenge decisions about voter intent, although only trained election officials may handle the ballots. Recounts are also open to the public and the media.

    Lindell argues that his campaign discovered irregularities in election-night reporting data, though he has not publicly released evidence demonstrating that the reported result was wrong. CBS Minnesota reported that election officials have made no formal finding of fraud or irregularities in the primary.

    The distinction between a recount and the broader “audit” Lindell has promoted could prove important.

    Minnesota law limits a recount to determining how many valid votes were cast in the race. The process allows officials to inspect and manually count the paper ballots, but it is not an open-ended forensic investigation of tabulators, software or election-night reporting systems.

    For Lindell, however, the effort appears to be about more than reversing one election result.

    “Even if this recount and audit does not overturn my election for governor of Minnesota, I believe this is the gateway to getting rid of these electronic voting machines,” Lindell said in a statement announcing the effort.

    Lindell, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, refused to concede on election night while a large number of ballots remained outstanding. Trump had endorsed Lindell and made a final social media appeal for Minnesota Republicans to support him hours before the polls closed.

    Once the remaining ballots were counted, however, Lindell’s deficit grew rather than disappeared. The State Canvassing Board subsequently certified Demuth as the winner.

    The recount fight follows years of legal battles stemming from Lindell’s claims about voting technology and the 2020 presidential election. He reached a settlement last month in a defamation lawsuit brought by Liberty Vote, formerly Dominion Voting Systems, that had sought $1.3 billion.

    In separate litigation involving Smartmatic, a federal judge held Lindell in civil contempt in March for failing to pay $56,369 in sanctions imposed over frivolous counterclaims. The judge ordered an additional penalty of $500 per day if Lindell failed to pay the original amount by April 7, according to a court order reviewed by Mediaite.

    Meanwhile, Demuth is moving ahead with her general-election campaign against Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar. She told CBS Minnesota that she remains “laser focused on connecting with voters” and advancing an agenda centered on taxes, education, government fraud and the state’s business climate.

    Minnesota law specifies that a candidate-funded primary recount cannot delay delivery of the nomination to the winner. That means Lindell’s million-dollar gamble will not stop Demuth from campaigning for November—even as officials prepare for the possibility of counting more than 400,000 Republican ballots by hand.

    ‘Donald Trump Avenue’ Unveiled Near US Consulate

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    President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd after delivering remarks at the House GOP Member Retreat, Tuesday, January 6, 2026, at the Donald J. Trump- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)

    President Donald Trump is celebrating an unusual international honor after a major road in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad was officially renamed Donald Trump Avenue.

    The road, which runs alongside the U.S. Consulate in Hyderabad’s Financial District, was dedicated during the Freedom 250 celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. U.S. Ambassador to India Sergio Gor joined Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to unveil the ceremonial plaque at Tuesday’s event.

    Trump highlighted the honor in a Truth Social post.

    “The new Donald Trump Avenue in Hyderabad, India — The first U.S. President to ever be honored in this way. Thank you!”

    The newly named avenue sits in Hyderabad’s booming technology corridor, near offices of major American companies including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, and adjacent to the U.S. Consulate.

    The road renaming stems from an initiative announced by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who has proposed naming prominent roads after leading global corporations and international figures as part of a broader effort to promote Hyderabad as a global hub for technology, investment, and innovation. The state has also announced plans for a nearby Google Street.

    Speaking during the ceremony, Ambassador Gor said Hyderabad has become one of the strongest examples of growing U.S.-India cooperation.

    “Nowhere is the high-speed trajectory of our partnership more evident than in Hyderabad. From HITEC City to aerospace and defense, this region represents progress that is defining our bilateral momentum.”

    Gor also praised the Telangana government for the designation.

    “With our interim trade agreement and Mission India on track to bring over $20 billion of new investment to the United States, we are proving that America First does not mean America alone. We are deeply grateful to the Government of Telangana for the generous tribute of naming Donald Trump Avenue, a gesture that reflects the kind of strong, respectful partnership President Trump has championed for America.”

    Deputy Chief Minister Vikramarka said Hyderabad has become an important bridge between the United States and India, pointing to the region’s growing cooperation in technology, artificial intelligence, aerospace, life sciences, and advanced manufacturing.

    The tribute, however, has also generated political controversy inside India.

    Telangana is governed by the center-left Indian National Congress party, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) controls India’s national government. BJP leaders criticized the decision, arguing it conflicted with criticism some Congress leaders have directed at Trump in recent years.

    India’s Communist Party also objected to the renaming, calling the move “outrageous” and urging officials to reverse the decision, according to Reuters.

    Supporters, meanwhile, say the avenue is intended less as a political endorsement than as a symbol of Hyderabad’s expanding relationship with the United States.

    Trump Brushes Off 2028 Question With Five-Word Reality Check

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    President Donald Trump brushed off another question about seeking a third White House term Tuesday night, repeatedly pointing to the legal barrier standing between him and a 2028 campaign.

    Speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump was asked whether he was serious about running again.

    “Everybody asks me that question, and you know that the law is very strong on that,” Trump responded. “I’d love to run, but the law is very strong.”

    Trump said supporters had been chanting “2028” earlier that day while he attended the Patriot Games in Ohio.

    “Everybody wants me to do it,” he said, once again adding that “the law is very strong.”

    When a reporter pressed Trump on whether that amounted to a definitive no, the president moved on without answering directly.

    The exchange captured the balancing act Trump has maintained throughout his second term. He has repeatedly welcomed speculation about another campaign—occasionally treating it as a joke and at other times suggesting he had seriously considered potential “methods” for returning to office.

    His latest answer, however, placed noticeably greater emphasis on the constitutional restriction.

    The Constitutional Roadblock

    The 22nd Amendment states that no person may be elected president more than twice. Trump won the presidency in 2016 and again in 2024, preventing him from being elected to another term under the Constitution’s current language.

    The amendment was ratified in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with the two-term tradition established by George Washington and won four presidential elections.

    Changing the restriction would require another constitutional amendment, demanding approval from two-thirds of both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states.

    Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a resolution in January 2025 that would permit a president to be elected as many as three times under specific circumstances. The proposal was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, but the official congressional record lists no additional action.

    Another proposed workaround would involve Vice President JD Vance running for president with Trump as his running mate, winning the election and then resigning—allowing Trump to return to the presidency through succession.

    Trump acknowledged that theory during a March 2025 interview with NBC News, when he insisted he was “not joking” about a third term and said there were “methods” that could potentially make it happen.

    Most constitutional scholars argue the plan would fail because the 12th Amendment states that anyone constitutionally ineligible to serve as president is also ineligible to become vice president. Trump later dismissed the proposal himself as “too cute.”

    In October 2025, Trump offered an even more direct assessment.

    “If you read it, it’s pretty clear,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad.”

    Attention Turns to Trump’s Successor

    Trump’s latest remarks arrive as the Republican Party’s 2028 succession contest slowly moves into view.

    The president reportedly told Republican donors during a recent Oval Office meeting that “we need to elect JD,” appearing to boost Vance as his preferred successor. Trump later said it was “way too early” to issue an endorsement and continued praising both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

    Trump has publicly suggested that Vance and Rubio could form an “unstoppable” ticket without saying which man should lead it.

    For now, the third-term speculation allows Trump to keep supporters energized while ensuring that potential Republican successors continue competing for his approval.

    Trump White House Bristles as MAGA Voices Attack AOC’s Path to Motherhood

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    The Trump White House is reportedly losing patience with conservative influencers attacking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her decision to freeze her eggs, viewing the backlash as both politically damaging and at odds with the administration’s push to help more Americans start families.

    Axios reported Tuesday that the online attacks have made some Republicans — including figures inside the White House — nervous with the midterm elections less than three months away.

    “We most certainly want to encourage more women and families to have children, period,” a senior White House official told Axios. The official added that Matt Walsh’s criticism was “not helpful.” An unnamed Trump adviser separately warned that the issue was not a political winner for Republicans.

    The tension began after Ocasio-Cortez, 36, posted videos over the weekend documenting the start of the egg-freezing process, including an injection she administered before appearing on ABC’s “This Week.”

    “Don’t be weird about this, even though I know all of you will be,” the New York Democrat told followers.

    Ocasio-Cortez said she had been considering the procedure for years and wanted to make the experience less mysterious for other working women. She described the decision as a way to feel more in control of her life.

    During her ABC interview, however, she also used the deeply personal announcement to criticize the Trump administration. Ocasio-Cortez accused the administration of denying reproductive care and said political leaders should normalize conversations about women’s fertility and health.

    The disclosure quickly became a target for several prominent voices on the right.

    Walsh questioned why Ocasio-Cortez would delay motherhood, calling the decision “completely baffling.” Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet argued that egg freezing was being promoted as an alternative to forming a family earlier in life and called Ocasio-Cortez’s situation a “cautionary tale.”

    Laura Loomer went further, suggesting that the announcement was a “political stunt” designed to help Ocasio-Cortez connect with women if she runs for president in 2028.

    But the criticism also triggered pushback from inside the conservative movement.

    Katie Miller, a conservative podcaster and the wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, said Ocasio-Cortez’s effort to preserve the possibility of motherhood should be celebrated.

    “If one woman wants to preserve her right to have children … we should celebrate that,” Miller wrote on X. While she argued that more women should marry and have children younger, she added that every woman’s journey to motherhood is different.

    Alexa Henning, a Republican consultant and former State Department official, also warned that conservative men attacking Ocasio-Cortez over the decision would not play well with women voters. She noted that many conservative women have frozen their eggs and later started families.

    That divide helps explain why the White House appears eager to shut down the fight. Whatever Republicans think of Ocasio-Cortez’s politics — or her possible ambitions in 2028 — attacking a woman for taking steps that could help her have children clashes with the message Trump has spent much of his second term promoting.

    Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 directing his administration to recommend ways to expand access to in-vitro fertilization and reduce its cost. Later that year, the White House announced discounted fertility medications and a new pathway for employers to offer stand-alone fertility benefits, including IVF coverage.

    When TrumpRx.gov launched in February, the administration said patients paying out of pocket could save more than $2,000 per fertility-treatment cycle on commonly used medications. In May, the White House unveiled additional initiatives intended to expand fertility benefits, lower childcare costs and support new and expectant mothers.

    The connection is not merely rhetorical. Frozen eggs must generally be fertilized through IVF if a patient later decides to use them. Ocasio-Cortez has said she saved for years to afford the procedure, which she estimated would cost between $8,000 and $9,000 and was not covered by her insurance.

    There are legitimate debates about the limits and success rates of egg freezing, particularly as a woman gets older. The procedure preserves an option; it does not guarantee a future pregnancy. But that is a different argument from ridiculing a woman for trying to keep motherhood possible.

    Republican pollster Adam Geller told Axios that Ocasio-Cortez knows how to command attention and advised Republicans not to take the bait. The political math is straightforward: Her announcement gave Democrats an opening to accuse conservatives of hostility toward women while dividing Republicans over a goal the Trump administration says it shares — helping more Americans have children.

    For the White House, that makes the attacks more than an online distraction. They risk turning a pro-family agenda into an argument over whether one of Trump’s most prominent political opponents deserves the chance to become a mother.

    Russia Releases American Marine After Four Years in Prison

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    The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    WASHINGTON — Russia released American citizen and former U.S. Marine Robert Gilman on Tuesday after more than four years of imprisonment on disputed charges.

    The State Department said Gilman, 32, was released on humanitarian grounds and had recently been designated as wrongfully detained. His release “was not part of an exchange, and no other concessions were provided,” the department said.

    U.S. officials told reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a humanitarian pardon following negotiations between the two governments.

    Gilman departed Russia aboard a State Department aircraft accompanied by his mother. Four doctors were evaluating him during the flight, according to Reuters, and an official who spoke with him said he was walking and talking. He is expected to receive medical and psychological treatment at a military facility in Texas.

    Russian authorities arrested Gilman in Voronezh in January 2022 after accusing him of kicking a police officer while being removed from a train. His family disputes Russia’s account, saying Gilman was ill and made accidental contact with the officer.

    Russian courts later convicted him of additional alleged assaults on prison and law-enforcement officials, eventually extending his sentence to 10 years.

    Gilman’s family and advocates said his health deteriorated sharply during his imprisonment. They reported that he spent approximately 47 days in a “dissociative stupor,” suffered severe pneumonia and required a feeding tube while handcuffed to a hospital bed.

    Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) welcomed Gilman’s release but said it was long overdue, alleging that he had endured physical torture, forced medication and deliberate provocations in Russian custody.

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    White House Releases Memos Detailing Secret FBI Investigation Into Trump

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    The FBI’s Russia investigation did not stop at Trump campaign aides.

    One week after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, bureau officials opened a counterintelligence investigation aimed directly at Trump, according to newly declassified memos released by the White House and reported by Fox News.

    The closely guarded probe carried an unusual codename: “Oxferd Comma”—with “Oxford” apparently misspelled for reasons that remain unclear.

    But the questions behind the name were anything but trivial.

    In a May 16, 2017, opening memo, investigators said they sought to determine whether Trump was “directed by, controlled by, and/or coordinated activities with, the Russian Federation in a manner constituting a threat to the national security of the United States and/or a violation of federal criminal statutes,” according to Fox News.

    The FBI also widened its focus to possible obstruction. The memo’s wording, as released, stated: “In addition, this investigation will also seek to determine whether President Trump and others yet to be named obstructed and/or conspiracy to obstruct any associated FBI investigation.”

    In other words, Comey’s firing triggered an extraordinary inquiry into whether the sitting president was acting in concert with a hostile foreign power—and whether he or others had tried to derail the bureau’s work.

    From Comey’s Firing to a Probe of the President

    Comey, appointed by President Barack Obama, led the FBI from 2013 until Trump dismissed him in 2017.

    During that tenure, Comey oversaw two investigations that became defining controversies of the 2016 election. The FBI examined Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, and Comey notified Congress shortly before Election Day that agents had found emails that “appear to be pertinent” to that case.

    Comey also oversaw the launch of “Crossfire Hurricane,” the FBI investigation opened in July 2016 after the bureau received information that Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos had suggested Russia possessed damaging material about Clinton.

    When Trump fired Comey, the administration initially pointed to the FBI director’s handling of the Clinton email investigation. The dismissal, however, rapidly intensified scrutiny of the president and the Russia inquiry.

    On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel. Mueller took over the existing Russia investigation and expanded the federal inquiry.

    Mueller’s final report, released in 2019, found that Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 election through a social media influence operation and the hacking and release of Democratic emails. The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government.

    The report also examined potential obstruction but did not make a traditional prosecutorial judgment on whether Trump committed a crime.

    According to the newly released memos, the “Oxferd Comma” investigation was closed on April 9, 2019, as Mueller’s work neared completion.

    Durham’s Review Reignited Questions About the FBI

    The bureau’s handling of the Trump-Russia investigation later came under examination by special counsel John Durham, whom Attorney General William Barr appointed to review the origins of Crossfire Hurricane.

    Durham’s 2023 report concluded that the FBI lacked sufficient factual grounds to open the full investigation and departed from its usual standards. His findings fueled renewed allegations that political bias shaped the bureau’s decisions.

    Separately declassified material from an annex to Durham’s report also showed officials scrutinized intelligence alleging that Clinton allies planned to link Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to shift attention from Clinton’s email controversy.

    “Raising the theme of ‘Putin’s support for Trump’ to the level of the Olympics scandal would divert the constituents’ attention from the investigation of Clinton’s compromised electronic correspondence,” the annex reads, according to Fox News.

    The annex also included a 2016 message attributed to Leonard Benardo, an official with the Open Society Foundations network who had done business in Moscow in the 1980s.

    “Julie says it will be a long-term affair to demonize Putin and Trump. Now it is good for a post-convention bounce. Later the FBI will put more oil into the fire,” Benardo wrote.

    The appendix said “Julie” appeared to refer to Clinton foreign policy adviser Julianne Smith.

    The newly disclosed “Oxferd Comma” memos add another striking chapter to the fight over the Russia investigation. They show that, after Comey’s firing, the FBI was not merely asking whether people around Trump had improper Russian ties. It was formally investigating whether the president himself was under Moscow’s direction and posed a threat to the United States.