Pentagon Quietly Hired MAGA Influencers To Push Hegseth’s Agenda: REPORT

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The Pentagon hired military veterans and conservative political influencers to advance the U.S. Department of War Sec. Pete Hegseth’s political agenda, according to a Washington Post report published Sunday.

The influencers included retired Air Force colonel Rob Maness, retired Army colonel and Townhall columnist Kurt Schlichter, and Thomas Anderson, another retired Army colonel who writes and posts under the pseudonym Cynical Publius, WaPo reported.

Maness and Schlichter had active official government email addresses as of the week before WaPo published its story, according to the outlet. Their addresses reportedly had a “.civ” suffix reserved for civilian employees.

Anderson was listed in Department of War (DOW) records earlier in the year with a “.civ” email address, but was no longer listed when the story was published, WaPo reported.

All three were assigned to the office of Anthony Tata, the under secretary of war for personnel and readiness, according to the outlet. WaPo reported that “at least some of the influencers have been assigned to civilian roles that could lead to changes in policy.” (Read more from “Pentagon Quietly Hired MAGA Influencers To Push Hegseth’s Agenda: REPORT” HERE)

Moment Disgraced Eric Swalwell is Surrounded by FBI Agents at San Francisco Airport

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Former Rep. Eric Swalwell was surrounded by FBI agents at San Francisco International Airport as he deboarded a plane, leading to the seizure of his cellphone and laptop as part of a federal criminal investigation, newly obtained video shows.

The California Post exclusively obtained surveillance footage of the Aug. 15 encounter, providing the first look at the dramatic airport search that unfolded after Swalwell arrived in California.

The footage shows Swalwell — dressed incognito in a hat, black sweatshirt and sneakers — speaking with several agents at his flight gate as travelers pass nearby. The former Democratic congressman appears calm and cooperative throughout the encounter.

Video footage of the encounter then shows Swalwell, wearing a backpack and dragging a rollbag, being escorted throughout San Francisco’s airport. He’s taken up an escalator and eventually arrives in a hallway with a sign that says “restricted area.” He then enters a room with multiple people.

Agents served Swalwell with a search warrant at about 8:25 p.m. and seized a white Apple iPhone, its charging cable and wall adapter, and an Apple MacBook Pro, according to an inventory filed with the warrant. (Read more from “Moment Disgraced Eric Swalwell is Surrounded by FBI Agents at San Francisco Airport” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

The Happiest City in America Revealed — and the Others in the Top 5 may Surprise You

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Happiness has an address — and it’s in California.

Fremont, Calif., has been crowned the happiest city in the country, according to a new WalletHub study ranking 182 of the largest US cities.

The Bay Area city took the No. 1 spot after WalletHub compared cities using 29 measures of happiness spanning emotional and physical well-being, income and employment, and community and environment. . .

The city, located on the southeast shore of San Francisco Bay, ranked first for emotional and physical well-being, helped by its walkability, mild weather, high sports participation and an average life expectancy of nearly 82 years, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo told the New York Times.

Bismarck, ND, took the No. 2 spot, followed by Scottsdale, Ariz.; South Burlington, Vt.; and Fargo, ND — putting two cities in frigid North Dakota among the five happiest places in America. . .

Bismarck topped the community and environment category, with the study pointing to residents’ strong sense of connection and satisfaction with their community. (Read more from “The Happiest City in America Revealed — and the Others in the Top 5 may Surprise You” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

First ‘Space Elevator’ — a 66,000-Mile Cable to the Cosmos— Closer than Ever Before as Scientists Make Breakthrough

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On a visit to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston last week, President Trump promised American astronauts would establish a permanent presence on the Moon before pushing forward to Mars.

“Our nation will conquer … this vast frontier that we have before us … We will explore it, we will tame it, and we will win it,” he said of America’s present “golden age” of space exploration.

But researchers thinking of truly big ideas say we’ll never get there with today’s inefficient chemical rocket technology. And they point to an important breakthrough.

“We’re really pushing for permanent infrastructure, like a bridge replacing ferries to cross a river,” Pete Swan, president of the International Space Elevator Consortium (ISEC), a nonprofit research and advocacy hub, told The Post.

It’s a simple yet mind-bending concept: an ultra-strong electrified cable running from a point on the ground at Earth’s equator, extended out beyond geostationary orbit (GEO), where a counterweight will float in space keeping it taut. Vessels then climb the cable to deliver goods, people and machines, passing through the atmosphere and into space.

“The beauty is that raising it with electricity saves our atmosphere from pollution, it doesn’t leave any debris along the way and it will be routine, daily, inexpensive, safe. It’s gonna be a bridge to space.” (Read more from “First ‘Space Elevator’ — a 66,000-Mile Cable to the Cosmos— Closer than Ever Before as Scientists Make Breakthrough” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump Voters Suffer More Pain At The Pump Than Democrats. A New Gas Proposal Could Make It Worse

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By Daily Caller. A recent report found that higher gas prices caused by the Iran War are hurting rural Republican drivers more than Democrats who live in dense urban metros. Worse yet, a provision tucked into the Senate Agriculture Committee’s 2026 Farm Bill could end up keeping those costs high, despite the Trump administration’s efforts to drive down prices.

Filling up your car now costs 40% more than before the war started in February, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. While every American is paying more at the pump whether they live in New York City or a small town in Texas, the spike is nevertheless affecting deep red counties and supporters of President Donald Trump more than blue counties, NOTUS reported Aug. 28. (Read more from “Trump Voters Suffer More Pain At The Pump Than Democrats. A New Gas Proposal Could Make It Worse” HERE)

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Gas Prices Are High. Trump’s Supporters Are Feeling The Most Pain.

By Notus. Gas at the pump costs 40% more than it did before the Iran war began in February, according to the Energy Information Administration. And whether you’re a die-hard Democrat or red-blooded Republican or somewhere in between, everyone pays directly or indirectly for that hike.

Historically, this would be awful news for the White House occupant. Political scientists seem to agree that, unlike some trends that preoccupy pundits, gas prices really do move the needle on presidential approval.

Gasoline is a substantial part of the typical family’s budget, of course, but its real influence may lie in its simplicity. As Northwestern University’s Laurel Harbridge-Yong said on Matt Grossmann’s “The Science of Politics” podcast, you drive by gas stations with enormous price signs all the time. If you have a gas-powered car, you fill up regularly, so you have a common point of comparison. And, unlike with groceries where the long receipt obfuscates individual changes, you watch your wallet empty as your car fills up. (Read more from “Gas Prices Are High. Trump’s Supporters Are Feeling The Most Pain.” HERE)

Serial California Butt Sniffer Arrested Again

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A California man with a history of lewd behavior towards women was arrested once again after police received another report of a suspicious individual in a Glendale, California, business on Friday. Police officers arrested 39-year-old Calese Carron Crowder after two separate businesses reported suspicious activity.

Police officers responded to the area at around 3:30 p.m. on Friday. According to a report by mynewsla.com, a witness saw the man “hunkered down” and approaching people to smell them. Police were also dispatched to a nearby clothing store near South Brand Boulevard and East Broadway regarding a similar report. At that location, police reviewed surveillance video and identified Crowder as the suspect in the incident after it showed him allegedly engaged in similar offensive “sniffing” behavior.

As reported by Breitbart Texas, Crowder’s history of arrests for lewd activity is well known among surrounding Los Angeles area municipalities. In July 2025, Crowder was arrested after police received similar reports of a man loitering at a department store in Burbank, California.

On that occasion, according to a Burbank Police Department press release, officers responded to the report of a suspicious individual in the Nordstrom Rack department store at 1601 North Victory Place. Upon arrival, they were informed by store employees that the man had left. Police began searching the surrounding businesses in hopes of locating the man.

During a search of a nearby Walmart, Crowder was located as he moved around the various departments of the big-box retailer. Using the store’s surveillance system, officers monitored the suspect as he walked through the women’s department, where he was observed following a female customer. (Read more from “Serial California Butt Sniffer Arrested Again” HERE)

Supreme Court Delivers Win to Trump, Allows Construction to Continue on White House Ballroom

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The Supreme Court delivered a win to President Donald Trump, ruling that construction on the $400 million White House ballroom can continue.

In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court stopped a ruling from a lower court that would have “restricted construction until Congress provided additional approvals,” the Hill reported.

While the ruling from the court “is not a final decision, and the case could ultimately return to the Supreme Court,” construction on the ballroom can move forward, according to the outlet:

It is not a final decision, and the case could ultimately return to the Supreme Court. But in the meantime, construction may proceed unimpeded. A 250-person crew is working on the ballroom 20 hours a day, seven days a week, court records indicate. . .

While Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was reported to have joined Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor in dissenting, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett “sided with the president, ruling that a preservationist group likely had no right to sue.” (Read more from “Supreme Court Delivers Win to Trump, Allows Construction to Continue on White House Ballroom” HERE)

Trump Reaches Deals with Nine More Pharmaceutical Companies to Slash Drug Prices

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President Donald Trump has struck deals with nine more pharmaceutical companies to slash drug prices for patients.

Trump announced the deals with Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and UCB on Monday in the Oval Office while flanked by pharmaceutical executives.

“I’m thrilled to announce a major expansion of one of our signature affordability initiatives, something that people have been trying to get for years, for decades, and I’m not even sure that other presidents tried,” Trump said of his most favored nation (MFN) drug pricing initiative.

“Nine new pharmaceutical companies are committing to deliver their lowest drug prices for American patients,” he added.

The agreements ensure that every state Medicaid program will have access to MFN drug prices for all nine companies’ products, which the White House projects will save Americans across the country billions of dollars. (Read more from “Trump Reaches Deals with Nine More Pharmaceutical Companies to Slash Drug Prices” HERE)

Federal Judge: Child Sex Abuse Images Are OK As Long As They’re Made With AI

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A federal judge ruled this week that possession of images depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM), otherwise known as child pornography, is protected by the First Amendment so long as the images are created with artificial intelligence (AI) and do not depict real people.

Seventh Circuit Appeals Judge John Z. Lee issued the ruling in a case where defendant Steven Anderegg was charged with producing, distributing, and possessing thousands of photorealistic AI child sex abuse images, as well as sending the materials to a young boy. The 13,000-plus images, many of which depicted nude, prepubescent children touching their genitals and being involved in sexual intercourse with men.

While Lee’s ruling upheld a district court dismissal of the possession charge, it appeared to include an implicit request for the Supreme Court to review its precedent on the matter, which was made well prior to advancements in AI.

“We now live in an age where GenAI models can render images depicting the abuse of virtual children that are virtually indistinguishable from those depicting the abuse of actual children,” Lee wrote. “Given the relentless advancement in artificial intelligence models, we have some concerns about the lines these cases draw, but we are not free to redraw them ourselves.”

Lee noted the controlling precedent in Stanley v. Georgia, a 1969 unanimous Warren Court opinion written by Justice Thurgood Marshall claiming private possession of obscene materials was protected by the First Amendment, and Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition, where a 6-3 court in 2002 effectively allowed virtual child pornography. Those cases, Lee wrote, mean “we must affirm.” (Read more from “Federal Judge: Child Sex Abuse Images Are OK As Long As They’re Made With AI” HERE)

Trump Announces ‘Historic’ Deal With Venezuela That ‘MORE THAN DOUBLES’ U.S. Oil Reserves

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President Donald Trump announced an historic energy deal with Venezuela in a Truth Social post Friday night.

The president called the deal “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY.” Trump wrote that the United States secured “majority U.S. control” of over 65 million barrels’ worth of Venezuelan oil reserves.

Trump credited Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez and “a partnership with private business.”

The president stated that the deal more than doubles American reserves and will “substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans.” He added that the deal would strengthen the “already growing relationship” between the two countries.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump wrote that the agreement was “the biggest oil deal, by far, in World history!”

(Read more from “Trump Announces ‘Historic’ Deal With Venezuela That ‘MORE THAN DOUBLES’ U.S. Oil Reserves” HERE)