Rubio rises as Vance falls —all because one told truth and one told lies

Jimmy Kimmel takes cheap shot at Spencer Pratt while admitting truth about LA Dem voters

Jimmy Kimmel slammed Spencer Pratt as a “Karen” following the results from Tuesday’s election.

Sanctimonious Scott Pelley finds out no one is indispensable

In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here. Chuck Todd. Jim Acosta. Don Lemon. Terry Moran. Katie Couric. […]

Rubio 'unaware' his own agency sent Trump ballroom chief to Russia

This week, far-right figures from around the world have gathered in Russia for an economic forum nicknamed “Putin’s Davos.” Among the attendees is Rodney Mims Cook Jr., the commissioner tasked with overseeing President Donald Trump’s highly contested White House ballroom project. While Cook has gotten much attention from Russian media as he’s shown off Trump’s ballroom, there seems to be some confusion within the U.S. government as to what he’s doing there, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying he is “unaware” of an American delegation to the event while Cook himself claims he was sent by Trump and urged to go by the State Department, which Rubio oversees. “According to Russian media, Trump's ballroom commissioner, Rodney Mims Cook, told Russian press that Trump and the State Department permitted him to travel to Russia for the economic forum in St Petersburg,” reports Olga Lautman, senior Russian intelligence expert at the Center for European Policy Analysis. “He also said the [State Dept.] thought his travel to Russia was a good idea.”Said Cook to Russian media, "The President and the State Department allowed me to come over to say hello and see what could come out of this in the long term. … The President's allowing me to come over could open up new avenues. This is purely an observation to see where this might lead.”Cook’s assertion is interesting in the context of a statement from Rubio, who said he was “unaware” that a U.S. delegation was at the forum. Rubio oversees the State Department and works closely with Trump, raising questions about the daylight between his and Cook’s claims. According to Financial Times Moscow Bureau chief Max Seddon, Cook “is an ardent Russophile. He has been involved in restoring medieval Russian churches for decades. His own house in Georgia is designed in the Russian style. He says he is friends with many senior Russian elite figures. He seems absolutely thrilled to be there.”Said government affairs expert Alex Goldenberg, Senior Fellow at the Rutgers Miller Center, “The Kremlin courts the people it assesses as useful for widening America’s divisions, the specific issue is incidental. They’ll stoke whatever fracture is available.” Interestingly enough, Goldenberg was speaking about Candace Owens, a far-right influencer and former Trump ally who is also appearing at the event. “Moscow extended the platform and that tells you how they see her, as someone whose reach can be turned into division or political capital. The Soviets had a term for Western sympathizers like Candace Owens. It translates roughly to useful idiot.”“Maybe that’s why Trump’s ballroom commissioner is in St Petersburg,” suggested Lautman, pointing to recent news that funding for the president’s controversial ballroom had just been scrapped.Cook and Owens aren’t the only figures from Trump’s orbit to attend. Also there is the Trump-supporting actor Steven Seagal, an ardent fan of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke at the event of a Hollywood that has been taken over by “one mafia that is controlling all of the movies,” as well as the misogynist manosphere influencers Andrew and Christian Tate, who face numerous charges in Romania and the UK.As these and other attendees gathered in St. Petersburg, the skies above were thick with smoke from a Ukrainian drone attack.

Hearing takes a sharp turn as Rubio’s shoes turn it into a circus

Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed Democrats on Wednesday for turning a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into a “circus.” The theatrics started with Democrat Rep. Sara […]

Trump is at breaking point — and he has just one person to blame

Friends,No, he’s not over. I wish he were. But something important has changed.Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to direct Donald Trump to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran or win approval from Congress to continue the war. It was a remarkable rebuke. Four Republicans sided with Democrats.His “short-term excursion” into Iran, which he promised in late February would last no more than “four to five weeks,” has now entered its fourth month, with no end in sight. His claim to have “destroyed” Iran’s missiles and drones is belied by Iran’s massive attack on Kuwait on Tuesday. Iran still controls the Strait of Hormuz. Its highly enriched uranium remains hidden. Even MAGAs have had enough of his forever war.Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are rebelling. They’ve forced Trump to abandon the $1 billion request for his gilded ballroom, which was becoming ever more grotesque as Americans struggle to make ends meet.His $1.8 billion Thug Fund is also dead, largely because a significant number of previously gutless Republicans (including — gasp! — Lindsey Graham) pushed back.Trump’s name is coming off the Kennedy Center because a federal judge ordered it off, and no Republicans came to his defense.Even Trump’s endorsement is losing its magic. On Tuesday, Iowa voters rejected Trump’s choice for governor, Randy Feenstra, whom Trump called “MAGA all the way.” It was Trump’s first major endorsement loss.And even with Stephen Colbert off the air, Trump has become a bigger late-night joke than ever. All the entertainers — even the B- and C-list also-rans desperate for exposure — dropped out of his 250th anniversary ego trip. So he’s going to be the headliner in a four-hour Fidel Castro speech. Good luck with that.His Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House’s South Lawn has become a one-liner. To attend, military members have to pay their way to Washington and cannot have a waist size more than 55 percent of their height. (“No Fatties at UFC White House Event,” declared a Facebook page.) We’ll see how many show up.As if all this weren’t enough, he’s nominated an unqualified sycophantic MAGA mortgage clown to be the director of national intelligence — an action so absurd that even Mitch McConnell had to object: “Anyone performing this role of such immense public trust must have the extensive national security experience required by statute, and no nominee who falls short of this requirement will earn my vote.” Get ready for a circus of a Senate confirmation fight.No, Trump’s not done. He’ll continue to torment us with his cruelty, corruption, and criminality for some time, so we have to keep fighting.But his power is disappearing. He’s become a lame duck whose quack no longer causes anyone to quake.He has no one to blame but himself. His hubris finally reached its own breaking point.Robert Reich is an emeritus professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/. His new memoir, Coming Up Short, can be found wherever you buy books. You can also support local bookstores nationally by ordering the book at bookshop.org

Black Hawks and robodogs - how one Mexican city is preparing for the World Cup

BBC’s Will Grant got a first-hand look at security preparations in Monterrey, as the city gets ready to host four matches.

The Morning Briefing: Marco Rubio BRILLIANTLY Buzzsaws House TDS Dems During Hearing

Gov. Evers Doubles Down On Forcing Therapists To Lie About Sex And Gender

Wisconsin Democrat Gov. Tony Evers is doubling down on seemingly defying a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on so-called “conversion therapy” for children. The moment came during a Monday “Pride Flag Raising” event at the State Capitol. While flanked by attendees waiving rainbow flags, the left-wing governor bragged about vetoing bills passed by the Republican-controlled […]