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‘They Watched and Didn’t Care’: Epstein Victim’s Memoir Reveals Jaw-Dropping New Details

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The upcoming posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, one of the most famous victims of billionaire financier and child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, was excerpted in The Guardian on Wednesday, going into detail about a number of twisted events that happened to her.

Giuffre, who [allegedly] passed away earlier this year from suicide, has implicated a number of prominent and well-connected people as part of Epstein’s crimes, one of them being Prince Andrew of the British Royal Family. . .

“Don’t be fooled by those in Epstein’s circle who say they didn’t know what he was doing,” wrote Giuffre. “Epstein not only didn’t hide what was happening, he took a certain glee in making people watch. And people did watch – scientists, fundraisers from the Ivy League and other heralded institutions, titans of industry. They watched and they didn’t care.”

All of this comes amid a spiraling controversy about the Trump administration’s refusal to release troves of case files on Epstein publicly, after promising they would. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is even accused of dragging his feet on swearing in a Democrat who won a special election to prevent passage of a bipartisan discharge petition to compel the administration to release the files. (Read more from “‘They Watched and Didn’t Care’: Epstein Victim’s Memoir Reveals Jaw-Dropping New Details” HERE)

POTUS Trial Balloon on Pot

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We need to talk about an idea President Trump floated several weeks ago—a move to downgrade the classification of marijuana at the federal level. Right now, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, the same category as cocaine, where all use is prohibited. If this change happens, it would make marijuana far easier to promote and sell nationwide. But here’s the thing—this shift is completely out of step with Republican voters. Just last November, four out of five Republican-led states voted down major marijuana legalization efforts. In fact, more than 75 percent of Trump supporters themselves opposed those measures. That tells us someone is giving the President bad advice, becaust this isn’t a winning issue with his base.

This proposal would bring serious law enforcement concerns. Pot farms, both legal and illegal, have become magnets for illegal immigrants and dangerous working conditions. In one massive Homeland Security raid in California, 361 people were arrested—including criminals convicted of rape, burglary, DUIs, and hit-and-run offenses. Even more disturbing, 14 children were found working in these unsafe environments. And it’s not just crime. Under current federal tax law, businesses that deal in Schedule I substances can’t deduct normal expenses like advertising. If marijuana is downgraded, those restrictions vanish, greenlighting expansion of the pot industry and new aggressive promotions.

Health issues are another big concern. Today’s marijuana is far more potent than it used to be. Emergency room visits are climbing, with cases of severe vomiting syndrome tied to high THC levels. Marijuana use has also been linked to memory problems, risky behavior like impaired driving, and addiction. In fact, the CDC estimates about 30% of users develop cannabis use disorder.

Even the environment takes a hit. Illegal pot growers often use toxic pesticides, dump chemicals into groundwater, and create terrible odors for nearby communities. Oddly enough, many environmental groups seem to look the other way. (Read more from “POTUS Trial Balloon on Pot” HERE)

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“She Might Love Israel More”: Trump’s Remark About Miriam Adelson Sparks Criticism

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When President Donald Trump addressed the Israeli Knesset on Monday, much of the world’s attention was on his historic return to Israel — but it was one offhand comment that drew the most attention back home.

Gesturing toward billionaire Miriam Adelson, one of his most prominent financial backers, Trump joked, “I’m gonna get her in trouble with this one, but I actually asked her once, ‘So, Miriam, I know you love Israel. What do you love more? The United States or Israel?’ She refused to answer. That might mean Israel.”

The remark, which prompted laughter and applause in the chamber, underscored what many observers see as a contradiction in Trump’s political identity. For years, Trump’s “America First” message has defined his movement — yet here he was, highlighting the deep influence of a donor whose loyalties, by his own teasing admission, lie primarily with another country.

During his speech, Trump praised Miriam and her late husband, Sheldon Adelson, for their generosity and political support, reminiscing about their frequent visits to the White House. “Miriam and Sheldon would come into the office, they’d call me. I think they had more trips to the White House than anybody else I could think of,” Trump said. “Look at her sitting there so innocently! She got $60 billion in the bank … and she loves Israel.”

He went on to credit the Adelsons with inspiring some of his most consequential pro-Israel decisions during his first term — including recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

But Trump’s nostalgic praise also raises uncomfortable questions about the role of billionaire donors in shaping U.S. foreign policy. How much influence should private citizens — especially those with dual citizenship — have in decisions that affect America’s diplomatic posture?

In 2018, Trump awarded Miriam Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the nation’s highest civilian honor — citing her contributions to medicine, philanthropy, and Jewish causes.

Sheldon Adelson once described his worldview bluntly: “All we care about is being good Zionists, being good citizens of Israel.”

Trump’s comments have reignited debate over his relationship with the Adelsons and the broader influence of money in U.S. foreign policy. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) was quick to respond on X (formerly Twitter):

“Trump asked dual citizen Miriam Adelson, a billionaire running nasty ads against me in Kentucky, ‘what do you love more, the United States or Israel?’ She refused to answer him. He says that might mean she loves Israel more. This isn’t AI, it’s real video…”

Trump’s joking acknowledgment of Miriam Adelson’s divided loyalties may have been meant in jest, but it exposed a deeper tension at the heart of his political brand. While he continues to promote an “America First” foreign policy, his own words highlighted the extent to which personal relationships and donor influence have shaped U.S. policy toward Israel — a contradiction not lost on his critics.

Peace Sells… Who’s Buying? Hamas Will Disarm or ‘We Will Disarm Them,’ Trump Snaps After Terrorists Vow They Won’t

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President Trump said Tuesday that Hamas will disarm pursuant to his 20-point peace plan or “we will disarm them.”

“Well, they’re going to disarm because they said they were going to disarm, and if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” Trump told journalists while hosting Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House.

“I don’t have to explain that to you, but if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them. They know I’m not playing games. OK?”

Trump also admitted the Gaza-based terrorist group “misrepresented” how many dead hostages’ bodies they had in their possession after just four were handed over on Monday.

“If they don’t disarm, we will disarm them, and it’ll happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm. You understand me,” Trump said ahead of a bilateral Cabinet Room lunch.

“I spoke to Hamas, and I said, ‘You’re going to disarm, right?’ ‘Yes, sir, we’re going to disarm.’ That’s what they told me. They will disarm or we will disarm them. Got it?” (Read more from “Peace Sells… Who’s Buying? Hamas Will Disarm or ‘We Will Disarm Them,’ Trump Snaps After Terrorists Vow They Won’t” HERE)

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Kremlin Calls Time Magazine Editors ‘Freaks’ After Trump Blasts ‘Worst Cover Of All Time’

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The Kremlin tore into Time Magazine on Tuesday after President Donald Trump ripped a new cover photo as “the Worst of All Time.”

Moscow’s broadside came within hours of Time unveiling its “His Triumph” cover praising Trump’s Middle East deal. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova used Telegram to sneer at the editors while amplifying Trump’s gripe about the picture.

“Only unhealthy people, people obsessed with malice and hatred — perhaps even freaks — could have chosen such a photo,” Zakharova wrote on her official Telegram channel.

Trump had set the stage in a pre-dawn Truth Social post, saying Time “wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time,” complaining editors “disappeared” his hair and stuck “a floating crown, but an extremely small one” over his head. “Really weird!” he added.

(Read more from “Kremlin Calls Time Magazine Editors ‘Freaks’ After Trump Blasts ‘Worst Cover Of All Time’” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

‘Orwellian:’ GOP Congressman Publicly Hits Back Against Stephen Miller

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U.S. Rep Thomas Massie (R-KY) recently celebrated Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s decision to reject a deal from the Trump administration, leading to a public dispute with Stephen Miller.

Raw Story reported on the MIT’s initial statement saying it cannot support the Trump admin’s plan. That led Massie to reply with, “The surest way to screw up the world’s best technical school is to let feds tell them how to run it… Congrats to my alma mater for turning down a bribe to let the executive branch dictate what happens on its campus.” . . .

Trump adviser Stephen Miller chimed in on that post, writing, “MIT is a federally funded and financed institution. The US government asked MIT, as one of America’s largest recipients of taxpayer dollars, to certify that students and professors will be hired based on objective merit and not skin color.” . . .

Massie himself then responded to Miller.

“Undergrad tuition is privately funded at MIT with a few exceptions like Pell grants which apply to all colleges,” Massie wrote. “I trust MIT more than any party at the White House to know which 18 yr olds can solve differential equations. Also, Feds policing speech on campuses is Orwellian.”

(Read more from “‘Orwellian:’ GOP Congressman Publicly Hits Back Against Stephen Miller” HERE)

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Naked Bike Riders Flood Portland For ‘Emergency’ Anti-Trump Protest

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Hundreds of mostly naked demonstrators pedaled through Portland, Oregon, on Sunday to protest President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.

The “emergency” edition of the city’s World Naked Bike Ride — typically held in summer — was organized to oppose what participants called “the militarization of our city, the genocide in Palestine, and the injustices of our broken and systemically cruel immigration system,” the organization wrote in a statement.

The riders covered roughly six miles to the city’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, where they staged a silent “die-in,” lying in the street to dramatize their cause.

One 51-year-old rider, clad only in wool socks, a wig and a hat in roughly 50-degree weather, told the Associated Press the ride was a “quintessentially Portland way to protest.” (Read more from “Naked Bike Riders Flood Portland For ‘Emergency’ Anti-Trump Protest” HERE)

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Former Obama Official Ben Rhodes Can’t Bring Himself To Give Trump Credit For Israel-Hamas Deal

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Former Obama administration official Ben Rhodes brushed off the deal President Donald Trump brokered between Israel and the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas as “just a cease-fire” Monday during a MSNBC appearance.

Hamas released the 20 surviving hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on multiple locations in southern Israel that killed over 1,200 people on Monday. Rhodes, the architect of then-President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear weapons program, was asked by MSNBC host Ana Cabrera if he thought Trump could see it through.

“I give Trump credit for essentially finally applying some leverage on the Israeli government, on Bibi Netanyahu in particular, in a way that, you know, frankly, we didn’t even see President Biden do when he was in office,” Rhodes claimed. “And I think simultaneously, Qatar and Turkey were applying a lot of leverage on Hamas. And then that got us into the ceasefire. That’s terrific. It’s great that the Israeli hostages are reunited with their families, that aid is getting to Gaza. I would not go as far as to say that this kind of validates a certain, you know, theory of diplomacy, because frankly, it’s just a ceasefire. The problem has not been solved.”

“It’s not really a peace deal in the sense that we still don’t know who’s going to govern Gaza. We still don’t know if Hamas is going to disarm,” Rhodes continued. “We’re at phase one, quite literally, of what would be a very long road to some kind of lasting peace. So, look, I think a transactional — and, you know, it’s interesting to reflect on that quote you put up, I mean, a transactional style of diplomacy, it can get you that kind of short-term win, right? You know, you take care of a piece of business, but it’s not necessarily designed for the kind of patient follow-through and painstaking work that is necessary to address something as deep as the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.” (Read more from “Former Obama Official Ben Rhodes Can’t Bring Himself To Give Trump Credit For Israel-Hamas Deal” HERE)

‘Not Sure I’m Gonna Be Able to Make Heaven!’ Trump Jokes

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By Daily Beast. . .The president didn’t appear optimistic about his prospects in the afterlife as he spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, days after he lost his long-running bid to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Fox News’ Peter Doocy checked in on Trump’s push to secure a seat in heaven after the president rushed to lock down an Israel-Hamas peace deal ahead of the highly anticipated Nobel Prize announcement last week.

“I mean, you know, I’m being a little cute,” Trump said. “I don’t think there’s anything [that’s] going to get me in heaven. Okay? I think I’m not maybe heaven-bound.” . . .

It’s no secret that getting into heaven has been on the 79-year-old president’s mind. In August, Trump told Fox News that he had personal motivations to put an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, which he previously claimed he could end on day one of his second term.

“If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I think that’s a pretty—I want to try and get to heaven if possible,” he said at the time. “I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole. If I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.” (Read more from “Trump, 79, Admits He Is Probably Not Going to Heaven” HERE)

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‘Not Sure I’m Gonna Be Able to Make Heaven!’ Trump Jokes

By New York Post. President Trump joked with a Fox News reporter that he doesn’t “think there’s anything [that’s] gonna get me in heaven” — even after brokering the historic Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal bringing the release of Israeli hostages.

As Trump took questions from reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday en route to Israel, Fox News’ Peter Doocy nodded to the president’s remarks a few months ago that he wanted to end the Russia-Ukraine war to improve his odds of passing through the pearly gates.

“How does this help? Does this help?” Doocy asked of the ceasefire deal, which led to the release of all 20 living Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Monday.

“You know, I’m being a little cute. I don’t think there’s anything gonna get me in heaven. I really don’t,” Trump said as to laughs from other reporters on the plane.

“I think I’m not, maybe, heaven-bound,” he added with a chuckle himself. “I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One. I’m not sure I’m gonna be able to make heaven, but I’ve made life a lot better for a lot of people.” (Read more from “‘Not Sure I’m Gonna Be Able to Make Heaven!’ Trump Disturbingly Jokes Despite Israel-Hamas Deal” HERE)

Trump Receives COVID Booster and Flu Shot During Second Checkup of the Year

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President Donald Trump received both a COVID-19 booster and a seasonal flu shot during a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center on Friday, marking his second official medical checkup of the year.

In a memo released by the White House, Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean P. Barbabella, stated that the 79-year-old president “remains in exceptional health,” citing strong cardiovascular, pulmonary, and neurological performance. According to the document, advanced imaging and lab tests confirmed “stable metabolic, hematologic, and cardiac parameters.”

Trump’s decision to receive a COVID booster is notable, given that his own administration has significantly scaled back vaccine promotion and access. Just this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under pressure from the Trump White House, revised its guidance to recommend COVID vaccinations only for people over 65 or those with specific health risks—and even then, only after consultation with a healthcare provider.

Despite receiving the shot himself, Trump has not personally promoted the COVID vaccine in recent months and has rarely mentioned it in public. His administration, meanwhile, has cast doubt on its safety and necessity. Several high-profile officials have made public remarks about the ineffectiveness of the vaccine and suggest it carries a variety significant risks.

Trump’s own relationship with the COVID vaccine has long been complicated. He was initially vaccinated in private before leaving office in 2021 and has at times taken credit for the rapid development of the original vaccine under his Operation Warp Speed initiative. However, he has also avoided strongly promoting it to his base, many of whom are deeply skeptical of the COVID vaccine due to remarkable evidence.

Friday’s checkup was the second of the year for the president, following a physical exam in April. While the White House described this visit as part of Trump’s “ongoing health maintenance plan,” some observers noted the unusual frequency for a sitting president’s full physical evaluations. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed concerns, calling the visit “routine” and a responsible part of Trump’s personal health regimen.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr