Report: Democrat Politician, Longtime Partner Are Second Cousins with 2 Children

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Maine Democrat U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson and his longtime partner are second cousins who share two children, according to reports published Thursday.

The Maine Wire reported that Jackson, the former Maine Senate president tapped last week to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, and his longtime partner are related by blood. The outlet said the two are second cousins and have two children together.

Robinson identified the partner as Lana Pelletier. He reported that she and Jackson share a set of great-grandparents, citing genealogical records. Both are from Allagash, a small town in Aroostook County. The two have never legally married, and Maine does not recognize common-law marriage.

The relationship could carry consequences for how Jackson reports his finances. Under Senate rules, candidates and members must file detailed disclosures covering their own income, assets, and liabilities, along with those of a spouse. Because Jackson and Pelletier never wed, it is not clear whether his disclosures would have to account for her finances the way Collins’ filings account for her husband.

Townhall’s Matt Vespa, aggregating the reporting, noted that Jackson had not filed a Senate financial disclosure or requested an extension as of this week. (Read more from “Report: Democrat Politician, Longtime Partner Are Second Cousins with 2 Children” HERE)

Fireworks: Sen. Rand Paul Promises ‘Repercussions’ for Fauci’s Refusal to Testify, Ejects Fauci’s ‘Unruly’ Lawyer

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One of Anthony Fauci’s lawyers became “unruly” after Chairman Rand Paul (R-KY) promised repercussions for Fauci’s refusal to answer lawmakers’ questions during his appearance before the committee, resulting in the lawyer’s removal.

Fauci, who is before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, made it clear in his opening statement that he would be invoking the Fifth Amendment during the line of questioning today, putting that on display immediately by refusing to answer any questions from Chairman Paul.

Paul said after his line of questioning:

The chairman has denied your assertion of privilege and directed you to answer, but you nonetheless refuse and stand on privilege despite the existence of the pardon. The committee will have to consider after this hearing what appropriate action should be taken against you for the failure to testify after being directed to do so.

“It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions to your refusal to testify today,” Paul promised, prompting some sort of complaint from one of Fauci’s many lawyers in the room. (Read more from “Fireworks: Sen. Rand Paul Promises ‘Repercussions’ for Fauci’s Refusal to Testify, Ejects Fauci’s ‘Unruly’ Lawyer” HERE)

Trump Announces His Board of Peace Reached ‘Historic Agreement’ to Disarm Hamas in Gaza: ‘Monumental Step’

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President Trump announced Thursday that his Board of Peace has reached a “historic agreement” with Hamas that will result in the “complete disarmament” of the terror group in Gaza.

“This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The president indicated that “all other armed groups” in the Gaza Strip have also agreed to lay down their arms.

“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” Trump continued. “At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks.”

Disarmament of Hamas marks “major milestone in the implementation” of the 20-point plan for peace in the region unveiled last September, the president said.

The deal was eight months in the making, according to US and Board of Peace officials. (Read more from “Trump Announces His Board of Peace Reached ‘Historic Agreement’ to Disarm Hamas in Gaza: ‘Monumental Step’” HERE)

Trump may Yank Todd Blanche for AG Nominee Over GOP Opposition to Weaponization Fund — on One Condition

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s bid to run the Justice Department hung in the balance Thursday as a handful of Senate Republicans vowed not to give him their votes — and President Trump threatened to yank his nominee over opposition to a nearly $1.8 billion so-called “weaponization” fund.

Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have both opposed Blanche’s nomination in the Judiciary Committee until they receive confirmation in writing that the fund won’t be reconstituted — despite Blanche having testified that it was “dead” during a recent hearing.

“I have no objection to temporarily withdrawing Todd’s name, if they do not do the right thing, and putting him back after Cornyn and Tillis are out of office,” Trump posted on his Truth Social later Thursday.

Cornyn fired back in an X post: “POTUS is mistaken if he believes concerns about the provisions in his tax lawsuit settlement are limited to me and Senator Tillis.”

Trump sued the IRS for leaking his and his family members’ confidential tax returns to the New York Times in 2019. The case resulted in a May settlement with the DOJ that created the anti-weaponization fund worth $1.776 billion to be paid out to alleged victims of government overreach, including possibly defendants of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. (Read more from “Trump may Yank Todd Blanche for AG Nominee Over GOP Opposition to Weaponization Fund — on One Condition” HERE)

Senator Trolls Fauci’s Blanket Fifth Amendment Claims Exposing ‘Contempt for this Body’

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Former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci’s refusal to answer questions from Congress extended to simple facts, including the day of the week and the color of the tie he was wearing.

Fauci, 85, invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination about as many times as his years alive on Earth, despite Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asserting that he did not have that right given his current legal status.

Hawley cited a Supreme Court case from 1896, where President Benjamin Harrison’s appointee, Justice Henry Brown, ruled that a witness granted statutory immunity from prosecution could nonetheless be compelled to testify because his immunity displaced pleading the Fifth.

In that case, an auditor for a Pittsburgh railroad unsuccessfully challenged a contempt charge for refusing to answer grand jury questions.

Hawley turned to Fauci and tested his repeated Fifth Amendment invocations throughout the hearing, quipping, “Doc, let’s try something.”

(Read more from “Hawley trolls Fauci’s Blanket Fifth Amendment Claims Exposing ‘Contempt for this Body’” HERE)

Seventh Person Dies in Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak

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A seventh person has died from the Legionnaires’ disease cluster that has terrified Upper East Side residents in recent weeks, The Post has learned.

Despite no new cases developing over the last two weeks, according to city officials, the death toll continued to tick up this week.

The last new case of the pneumonia-like sickness was reported on July 17, but around half a dozen remained hospitalized as of earlier this week. (Read more from “Seventh Person Dies in Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak” HERE)

Politics is Getting More Vulgar, with Two Presidents Leading the Way on Curse Words Counts: study

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. . .Politics is rapidly becoming more profane, with a staggering 87% of swear words from presidents dating back to 1919 coming from commanders in chief within the past 10 years, according to a shocking finding.

President Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden were responsible for 538 profane words— 78% of presidential cuss words used out of the 692 documented since Woodrow Wilson, a researcher in Wales found.

“It used to be rare for presidents, even as candidates, to swear in official remarks,” Dr. Joseph Phillips, a lecturer at Cardiff University, wrote. “Woodrow Wilson broke the profanity seal in 1919, recounting a time where he made a ‘conspicuous *ss of himself.’”

“[P]rofanity can be a signal of authenticity. In a time of low political trust, signals that a politician is ‘authentic’ are at a premium,” he added.

Trump hasn’t been shy about breaking out the expletives when he feels the stakes are high or is simply in the mood for it. (Read more from “Politics is Getting More Vulgar, with Two Presidents Leading the Way on Curse Words Counts: study” HERE)

Video: Spain Migrant Crisis Surges as Thousands Swim Across Border From Morocco

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Multiple thousands of migrants have streamed onto Spanish territory from Morocco in a matter of days, taking advantage of a new loophole after a Supreme Court ruling that ordered police to stop resisting migrants who came by sea.

The local government of Ceuta — a tiny slice of North Africa that is an exclave of Spanish territory otherwise surrounded by Morocco and the Mediterranean — has called on the national government in Madrid to declare a national emergency, deploy the army, and close the border as the city is overwhelmed by an enormous migrant wave. Certainly more than two thousand, with the full number unclear as the surge continues and local law enforcement finds itself unable to cope nor count, are reported to have swam around the small fenced breakwater that demarks the Moroccan and Spanish territorial line.

UPDATE 1930 BST — Army Deploys

Spanish newspaper El Mundo now states that after days of the border crisis and the Ceuta local authorities begging Madrid for help, the army has now finally deployed. Remarkably, the paper further states that previous estimates of arrivals being in the low thousands may be radically wrong and police sources tell them “some 20,000 people have crossed the Ceuta border”. This extraordinary figure is not yet confirmed by official sources.

A column of armoured vehicles has been deployed and there are said to be some 3,000 Spanish troops in the city. Yet given the move by Spain’s Supreme Court to ban migrant pushbacks at the border, and the Spanish socialist government’s openly pro-migrant policies, it is not clear whether the troops will be ordered to actually prevent the situation from continuing to snowball. Just as likely, they will be deployed to assist migrant arrivals and re-establish social services in the city, which have been overwhelmed for days.

The government said in a statement: “The Armed Forces will reinforce the Civil Guard in the exercise of its powers and any other duties that may be necessary to maintain security in the city of Ceuta. The mobilized personnel will be coordinated by the operations command and will provide support to the Civil Guard”. (Read more from “Video: Spain Migrant Crisis Surges as Thousands Swim Across Border From Morocco” HERE)

New Footage Renews Scrutiny of Lindsey Graham’s Long Campaign for Middle East Wars

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Newly released behind-the-scenes footage from filmmaker Alex Holder’s forthcoming documentary Lindsey’s Game has reignited debate over the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s decades-long advocacy for military intervention in the Middle East.

The footage, obtained by multiple news outlets, captures Graham speaking candidly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and other senior officials during the opening days of the 2026 Iran war. One exchange shows Graham offering to encourage President Donald Trump to expand military operations into Lebanon, while Netanyahu advises against opening another front at that moment. The documentary also contains lighter moments, including musician Elton John singing Graham “Happy Birthday” over the phone on his 70th birthday.

The recordings have attracted attention not only because of their unprecedented access to high-level conversations but because they reinforce Graham’s reputation as one of Washington’s most consistently hawkish foreign policy figures.

One of the most widely circulated clips shows Graham watching television coverage of the opening phase of the Iran conflict.

According to footage released by Alex Holder, Graham remarked:

“Look what we’ve done here. I almost cried.”

He also described President Trump as enthusiastic about the military campaign, saying Trump “loves blowing stuff up,” while expressing pride in having advocated for military action against Iran for years.

Another recording captures Graham telling Jake Sullivan that he expected pressure on Iran to rapidly destabilize the government and create what he described as “almost irreversible momentum.”

Perhaps the most striking exchange involves Graham’s conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

According to released footage, Graham proposed trying to persuade President Trump to support military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu urged caution, arguing Israel should remain focused on Iran rather than opening another major front.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump Administration Policies are Decimating Habitat and Hunting

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A July 13 proclamation signed by President Donald Trump reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah — Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — by 90%, or about 2.9 million acres. As explained by American Hunters & Anglers, “The largest rollback of protected public land in American history just happened and it was served with a side of lies.”

American Hunters also pointed out that Trump said (incorrectly), “You can’t do anything. You can’t go hunting. You can’t go fishing. You can’t do anything. You can virtually not even walk on it.”

Hunters and anglers disagree. Backcountry Hunters & Anglers posted the following “Facts Incoming” response on Instagram: “President Trump says there’s no hunting, fishing, or even walking on the ‘Grand Staircase monument.’ Here’s the truth: hunting, fishing, and recreation have always been allowed in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.” As for not being able to “walk on it,” well, I’ve hiked and camped in Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears many times over the years.

In addition, during 2017 BHA released detailed habitat maps of six Western national monuments. Each of the monuments — including Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante — was designated to safeguard, at least in part, important wildlife habitat, valuable fisheries and access to great places to hunt and fish. Together, the six monuments encompassed nearly 4 million acres of big game habitat, including nearly 3 million acres of deer habitat, and more than 1 million acres of elk habitat. Despite the fact that 65% of Utah voters and 91% of Western voters oppose cuts to the monuments, Trump took the action anyway.

Colorado’s Dinosaur National Monument (and others) may be next on the chopping block. During June the Bureau of Land Management leased thousands of acres in northwestern Colorado to oil and gas companies in the state’s biggest such sale in modern history. (Read more from “Trump Administration Policies are Decimating Habitat and Hunting” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr