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    White House Denies Reports It’s Seeking New Defense Secretary

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt didn’t mince words Monday, firing back at an NPR report claiming the administration is quietly searching for a new secretary of defense.

    In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Leavitt dismissed the story as “fake news” and reaffirmed that President Trump has full confidence in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — echoing remarks she made earlier during an appearance on Fox News.

    At the center of the controversy are revelations that Hegseth shared sensitive details about a planned U.S. airstrike in Yemen through a private Signal chat. According to a New York Times report published Sunday — later corroborated by The Wall Street Journal — the previously unreported March 15 exchange included Hegseth’s wife, brother and personal attorney.

    Hegseth allegedly disclosed the timing of F/A-18 Hornet aircraft departures for an operation targeting Houthi terrorists. The Signal group, titled Defense | Team Huddle, was reportedly used for both personal and professional updates — but in this instance, it included highly sensitive operational information.

    The incident follows a previous misstep involving another Signal chat, where a conversation between top administration officials — including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance — was accidentally shared with a prominent liberal journalist from The Atlantic.

    The Pentagon inspector general’s office has launched an inquiry to assess whether the use of a platform like Signal violated protocols for handling certain information.

    Despite the growing pressure, the administration has shown no public sign of backing away from Hegseth. In addition to Leavitt’s denial of the NPR story, Trump himself has brushed off concerns over Hegseth’s Signal chats.

    The White House may be banking on a unified public front to contain the fallout.

    READ NEXT: Trump Cabinet Member Robbed

    US Threatens To Abandon Ukraine Peace Negotiations

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    By President Of Ukraine - https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the United States may back off from assisting in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that it needs to be determined within days whether achieving a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is “doable in the short term,” warning that he thinks the U.S. will “move on” if it is not achievable.

    Rubio has been working alongside Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff to broker a 30-day ceasefire agreement with Russia and Ukraine, which has not yet been seen to fruition.

    “We are now reaching a point where we need to decide whether this is even possible or not,” Rubio told reporters Friday while departing from negotiations with his counterparts in Paris. “Because if it’s not, then I think we’re just going to move on.”

    “It’s not our war. We have other priorities to focus on,” he added, suggesting the U.S. would decide if continued talks were “doable” in a “matter of days.”

    But Rubio noted that the U.S. will help if either or both sides are “serious about peace.”

    (Miami – Flórida, 09/03/2020) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro durante encontro com o Senador Marco Rubio..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

    “@POTUS has been clear: The time to end the war between Russia and Ukraine is now. Today in Paris, @SE_MiddleEast, @SPE_Kellogg and I met with leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Ukraine to talk about how we can stop the killing and reach a just and sustainable peace,” Rubio noted in a post on X. 

    While ceasefire negotiations have been slow, Trump has maintained that efforts to obtain a minerals deal with Ukraine are picking up pace. The U.S. leader said access to the country’s critical natural resources would provide a strong interest in maintaining Ukraine’s sovereignty and security for years to come. 

    The secretary also suggested that the U.K., France and Germany can help “move the ball” on negotiations. Officials who met in Paris have agreed to meet again in London next week with hopes of gearing peace talks toward a secured deal. 

    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    Despite Rubio’s comments, Vice President Vance said Friday he believes talks will move forward.

    “The negotiations, I won’t pre-judge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war to a close,” he told reporters during his visit to Rome, where he met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — a day after she met with President Trump at the White House.

    Ukrainian Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said she signed a memorandum of intent with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ahead of a potential agreement. 

    “I assume they’re going to live up to the deal, so we’ll see. But we have a deal on that,” Trump said Thursday.

    MyPillow CEO Makes Emotional Plea Following Smartmatic Court Loss

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Mike Lindell via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told a judge he has no money left to pay the sanctions imposed against him in a defamation case brought by voting technology company Smartmatic.

    “I’m in ruins,” Lindell said tearfully during a virtual hearing before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on Wednesday, according to a report from ABC News. “I borrowed everything I can. Nobody will lend me any money anymore.”

    Lindell was ordered to pay $56,369 in sanctions to Smartmatic, which sued him for defamation in 2022 over his baseless claims that the company helped rig the 2020 presidential election against President Donald Trump.

    A judge previously labeled a countersuit Lindell filed as “frivolous” and imposed the fine to cover Smartmatic’s legal costs.

    Lindell said he was not even able to pay the judgment in installments.

    “I can’t turn back time … but I will tell you, I don’t have any money,” he told the judge.

    The embattled pillow executive described a steep financial downfall, claiming he was forced to let hundreds of employees go.

    He also said he lost several MyPillow warehouses and owes millions to the IRS. Lindell told Nichols his only possessions were two homes and a truck he was trying to sell for cash.

    He asked Nichols to postpone any payments until after a final judgment is issued in the case.

    According to ABC News, Nichols asked Lindell on Wednesday for proof that he was in financial ruin. He described Lindell’s claims as “non-verifiable” and gave him until Friday to submit proof he was bankrupt.

    “I have nothing to hide,” Lindell reportedly told Nichols. “I want Smartmatic to see the financial situation I’m in as well.”

    Smartmatic filed a motion to hold Lindell in contempt of court for his failure to comply with the sanctions order, accusing him of dodging payments.

    FAA Contractor Pleads Guilty To Spying For Iran

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Arrest image via Pixabay

    A former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) contractor has pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of Iran.

    The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that 42-year-old Abouzar Rahmati, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of Virginia, pleaded guilty to acting as an agent of Iran by pursuing an FAA job to gain access to information. From 2017 to 2024, Rahmati met with Iranian officials, communicated with security officials, and provided “non-public materials about the U.S. solar energy industry.”

    According to the DOJ, it was Rahmati who offered his services to Iran:

    In August 2017, Rahmati offered his services to the Iranian government through a senior Iranian government official who previously worked in Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and with whom Rahmati had previously attended university. Four months later, in December 2017, Rahmati traveled to Iran, where he met with Iranian intelligence operatives and government officials and agreed to obtain information about the U.S. solar energy industry, to provide that information to Iranian officials, and to conduct future communications under a cover story based on purported discussions about research with fellow academics.

    Rahmati previously was an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 1st Lt., a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, from June 2009 to May 2010. The IRGC is a designated terrorist group by the U.S. government.

    The DOJ said Rahmati offered his services to Iran in August 2017 through a former colleague who was a senior Iranian government official who previously worked at the country’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

    Rahmati traveled to Iran four months later and met with intelligence operatives and government officials, the DOJ said. He also agreed to gather and provide Iranian officials with information about the solar industry in the U.S.

    Read:

    24-cr-438_indictment_Download

    Rahmati provided information “relating to solar energy, solar panels, the FAA, U.S. airports, and U.S. air traffic control towers” to his brother in Iran, which was then provided to government officials. He also at one point provided information related to “the National Aerospace System (NAS), Airport Surveillance Radar systems, and radio frequency data.”

    In early 2018, Rahmati obtained private and open-source materials related to the U.S. solar industry, then provided them to the office of Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology.

    Rahmati is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 26, and he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison for acting as an agent of a foreign government, and up to five years in prison for conspiracy.

    The guilty plea comes amidst President Donald Trump’s ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran in which the president has warned military options are on the table should Iran not agree to never possess a nuclear weapon.

    Report: Top Hegseth Advisor Placed On Administrative Leave

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    A top advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was escorted out of the Pentagon on Tuesday and placed on administrative leave, according to a Defense Department official. 

    Dan Caldwell had been placed on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure” of information amid an investigation into Pentagon leaks an official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Reuters’ initial reporting is accurate but declined to comment on an ongoing investigation. 

    Last month the Defense Department announced a probe into “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information” and said it planned to use polygraphs to determine the source of leaks. 

    “The use of polygraphs in the execution of this investigation will be in accordance with applicable law and policy,” DOD Chief of Staff Joe Kasper wrote in a memo. “This investigation will commence immediately and culminate in a report to the Secretary of Defense.”

    He wrote that “information identifying a party responsible for an unauthorized disclosure” would be referred for criminal prosecution.”

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

    Space Force Commander Fired After Sending Mass Email To Staff About VP Vance

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    3
    David B. Gleason from Chicago, IL, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    She’s out…

    The Pentagon fired the commander at the U.S. Space Force base in Greenland after she broke with Vice President JD Vance who recently traveled to Greenland.

    After the vice president’s visit, Col. Susannah Meyers emailed base personnel on March 31, writing, “I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the U.S. administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.”

    She added that she had “spent the weekend thinking about Friday’s visit — the actions taken, the words spoken, and how it must have affected each of you.” The email was first reported by Military.com.

    The Space Force said in a public statement Meyers had been relieved of command “due to loss of confidence in her ability to lead.” 

    “Commanders are expected to adhere to the highest standards of conduct, especially as it relates to remaining nonpartisan in the performance of their duties,” the statement read. 

    Col. Shawn Lee has now assumed the command, Space Force said. 

    “Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense,” Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X. 

    Meyers became commander of the 821st Space Base Group in July, according to a Facebook post about the change-of-command ceremony. 

    Vance, during his visit to the snow-covered island, criticized Denmark for treating Greenlanders as “second-class citizens.” 

    “Our message to Denmark is very simple,” Vance said. “You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security of this incredible, beautiful landmass.”

    Vance was the highest-ranking official to ever travel to the base in Pituffik, the White House said. 

    The Trump administration has made acquiring Greenland a top goal. 

    “We need Greenland for national security and international security,” President Donald Trump said on March 11. 

    Supreme Court Rules Wrongfully Deported Man Must Return To US

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran national living in Maryland, from an El Salvador prison.

    Abrego Garcia, 29, was deported to the El Salvadoran mega-prison last month for being an alleged MS-13 gang member, however, his attorneys maintain he does not have any gang ties. Garcia’s wrongful deportation has triggered an onslaught of criticisms from both sides of the aisle. (RELATED: IRS, DHS Reach Game-Changing Agreement For Trump Immigration Agenda)

    The Supreme Court sided with U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis who initially ordered federal officials to coordinate Garcia’s return back to Maryland in a Monday order, calling his deportation “wholly unlawful.”

    Fox News reports:

    “On March 15, 2025, the United States removed Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia from the United States to El Salvador, where he is currently detained in the Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT),” the order states. “The United States acknowledges that Abrego Garcia was subject to a withholding order forbidding his removal to El Salvador, and that the removal to El Salvador was therefore illegal.” 

    Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she “would have declined to intervene in this litigation and denied the application in full.”

    “Nevertheless, I agree with the Court’s order that the proper remedy is to provide Abrego Garcia with all the processes to which he would have been entitled had he not been unlawfully removed to El Salvador,” Sotomayor wrote. “That means the Government must comply with its obligation to provide Abrego Garcia with ‘due process of law,’ including notice and an opportunity to be heard, in any future proceedings.”

    The Justice Department responded to the order in a statement to Fox News in a statement. 

    “As the Supreme Court correctly recognized, it is the exclusive prerogative of the President to conduct foreign affairs,” the statement says. “By directly noting the deference owed to the Executive Branch, this ruling once again illustrates that activist judges do not have the jurisdiction to seize control of the President’s authority to conduct foreign policy.”

    Trump Secures Release Of American Ballerina In Prisoner Swap With Russia

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    (Miami - Flórida, 09/03/2020) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro durante encontro com o Senador Marco Rubio..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

    The Trump Administration has reportedly secured the release of another American being held prisoner in Russia.

    On Thursday morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the release of American ballerina Ksenia Karelina.

    Moscow released Karelina in exchange for German-Russian citizen Arthur Petrov, who was arrested in 2023 in Cyprus at the request of the U.S. on charges of exporting sensitive microelectronics, the Wall Street Journal reported.

    “American Ksenia Karelina is on a plane back home to the United States. She was wrongfully detained by Russia for over a year and President Trump secured her release. @POTUS will continue to work for the release of ALL Americans,” Rubio wrote on X.

    Karelina was sentenced to 12 years in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty to treason for donating $51.80 to a Ukrainian charity in early 2024.

    She was initially detained for “petty hooliganism” while visiting family in Russia in February 2024, but the charge was later upgraded to treason after accusations that she was acting as an American spy.

    Russian authorities claimed that Karelina, who lived in Los Angeles, raised money for the Ukrainian army and took part in “public actions” that supported Ukraine while in the U.S. 

    Her boyfriend, boxer Chis Van Deerden, told Fox News Digital last year that she was “proud to be Russian, and she doesn’t watch the news. She doesn’t intervene with anything about the war.”

    She is the latest American prisoner detained in another country to be freed under President Donald Trump’s administration. In February, Trump brought American history teacher Marc Fogel, who had been detained in Russia since 2021, back to the U.S.

    In March, the Taliban agreed to release American prisoner Faye Hall after President Donald Trump removed multimillion-dollar bounties on senior members of the militant group, according to a report by the Telegraph.

    The White House shared a video on X of Hall thanking the president.

    “I’m glad you’re the President, and thank you for bringing me home,” Hall said. “I have never been so proud to be an American citizen. Thank you, Mr. President.”

    In a response posted to Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Thank you Faye — So honored with your words!”

    Trump Announces Pause On Tariffs, Except For China

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Image via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    On Wednesday, President Trump raised tariffs on China to 125 percent and implemented a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs against all other trading partners, causing a major surge in the markets.

    “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realize that the days of ripping off the U.S.A., and other Countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable,” Trump posted on his Truth Social media platform.

    Trump’s decision to pause the higher reciprocal tariffs that he announced last week, which hit about 60 countries on Wednesday morning, caused an immediate market surge.

    Moments after his social media post, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising by 2,000 points after days of major losses on Wall Street.

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

    Report: Supreme Court Gives Trump Green-light To Axe Some Probationary Workers

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

    Just in…

    On Tuesday, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration by enabling officials to fire thousands of federal workers in their probationary period, saying the government employee unions that sued don’t have legal standing. 

    The emergency ruling, for now, lifts one of two lower court orders reversing the mass terminations. The other injunction, which has not yet reached the high court, remains in effect and still protects many employees’ jobs. 

    Read:

    24a904-orderDownload

    “The District Court’s injunction was based solely on the allegations of the nine non-profit-organization plaintiffs in this case. But under established law, those allegations are presently insufficient to support the organizations’ standing,” the court wrote in its unsigned ruling. 

    Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, both members of the court’s liberal wing, publicly dissented. 

    Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have sought to rapidly reshape the federal bureaucracy, sparking dozens of lawsuits across the country.

    Democrat-led states, government unions and individual employees have filed several lawsuits alleging the administration did not follow the proper procedures for firing probationary employees

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

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