Missing congressman and his staff paint a picture of business as usual
Center Left
Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J., has offered little explanation for his ongoing absence. His social media posts highlight how Capitol Hill staffers have come to cover for bosses who are MIA.
Trump's Chief of Staff Susie Wiles will soon quit her high-level White House post, insiders told the Daily Mail.Wiles is preparing to quit because she was "vehemently" opposed to the promotion of Bill Pulte from the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to the role of acting Director of National Intelligence, three White House insiders told the Daily Mail.She perceived it as an "insult" when Trump followed through on the Pulte promotion, and Trump had already been starting to "resent" her opposition, the Mail reported."She is loyal to Trump, but he is now basically saying, 'Look, Ma, you are not the boss of me,'" an insider told the Mail.She's plotting an exit strategy as she's also dealing with health problems, according to the Mail. "She is getting cancer treatment and is completely drained," a White House insider told the Mail. "Now Trump is taking more and more control of the White House."According to the Mail, Wiles is expected to use the midterms as an off-ramp and could leave the White House soon after the November elections. Wiles has been working with Trump since his first campaign in 2016 and has held the chief of staff role since his reelection, the Mail noted.
The US military shot down four Iranian drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening, US Central Command said — as President Trump told an audience in Wisconsin he had to hurry...
President Trump dismissed criticism of the recent Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovations on Friday, rejecting claims the project amounted to merely a “paint job.” “The Great Reflecting Pool, that stretches between The Lincoln Memorial and The Washington Monument, just opened to ‘rave reviews’ but, maliciously or not, some say, like The Washington Post, it was…
Attacks on police in Southampton, Russian strikes in Kyiv, the Ebola outbreak and PSG win the Champions League – the past seven days as captured by the world’s leading photojournalistsWarning: this gallery contains images some readers may find distressing Continue reading...
A disturbing discovery was made by police at a Minnesota home after a 14-year-old girl was reported missing from her school on May 26.The parents of the girl called the Maplewood Police Department to report her missing, and the girl's father told police the girl might have been at her friend's home in Oakdale. 'Her whole top half is out, and I'm like, "Whoa, what's going on here? Why are you naked in front of a child?"'Police said they investigated the home and spoke to a woman named Angeline Olson. She told them the girl was not at the home but that she would take the girl home if she showed up there.Police then said they returned to the home after a disturbing report from a neighbor at about 1:30 a.m."I came outside to smoke, and I'm minding my own business, and all of a sudden this little girl comes running past out her house, right in front of me, half naked," said Teaira Vennes, the woman who called police. "Next thing you know, Angel's out the bushes, and Angel comes out naked. Like, her whole top half is out, and I'm like, 'Whoa, what's going on here? Why are you naked in front of a child?'" she added. Police said the Olsons were argumentative and defied orders, so they were detained. When police searched the home, they found the girl in a cardboard box that was under a pile of clothes in the Olson couple's bedroom.Police then obtained warrants to search the couple's digital devices and found sexually explicit videos with the Olsons and the victim. The couple was arrested, and 47-year-old Angeline Olson was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Andrew Olson, 49, was charged with three counts of possessing child sexual abuse material.Their neighbors, who were outraged and terrified by the incident, told KARE-TV that Child Protective Services had taken away their teenage children prior to the incident. "It's not just another story; it's another f**king victim. It's another little girl," Vennes said. "After going through this, I couldn't never imagine that happening to my daughter."RELATED: Indiana teen targeted victims across several states for child sex abuse through social media, cops say "My client is presumed innocent and looks forward to clearing his name where it counts: in court," said John Chitwood, the lawyer for Andrew Olson. Andrew Olson faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted, while Angeline Olson faces up to 30 years if convicted. "They need to be locked up. I hope that they are locked up for a very, very long time," Vennes added.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
On Friday, the Trump administration celebrated a better-than-expected jobs report, which showed the U.S. gained 172,000 jobs in May. But while President Donald Trump may be patting himself on the back, one respected economist warns that the good news misses a “clear paint point” that shows the economy is shakier than the job numbers suggest. “This is the clear pain point in the economy,” posted Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal. “Wage growth in May was the lowest in 5 years. May wage gains: 3.4 percent (for past year). May inflation: Likely to be ~4 percent.”That’s bad math for the economy, meaning that inflation is outpacing wage gains. Or as Long puts it, “It's easier to get a job now, but it's hard to find a job where your pay will keep up with current inflation.” What’s more, Long notes that wage gains have hit their lowest point in five years, since May 2021, when the pandemic was still wreaking havoc on the global economy. Other experts have agreed with Long’s not-so-fast assessment of Friday’s positive job report.According to Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick, “It's very likely, given recent trends, that real wages will continue to fall and workers and their families will find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.” Hamrick also argues that affordability challenges have reduced job mobility, and that what job growth there has been is limited to a few sectors, which doesn’t bode well for economic strength overall. At the same time, he suggests that a strong labor market makes it less likely that the Fed will cut the interest rate, resulting in higher borrowing costs and slower business expansion. And as U.S. economic policy expert and former chief economist for the GOP Ways and Means Committee, Donald Schneider, noted, there is an interesting correlation between the rising job numbers and the removal of a key Trump policy: tariffs. Schneider shared a chart that plots both the effective tariff rate and job growth, saying, “These things might be related.”The chart indicates that as Trump’s tariffs began to fall at the end of last year, the plunging job growth rate started leveling off. Then tariffs plummeted after the Supreme Court slapped them down in February, and lo and behold, that’s precisely when the job numbers began racing upwards. So as Scheider points out, there appears to be a direct link between the two trends. Trump has announced his intentions to reintroduce tariffs.Europac chief economist Pete Schiff noted another issue with the job news, posting, “Unfortunately, all of those jobs were either in leisure and hospitality, or in government or government-related services. That drives demand for imported goods, increasing trade deficits and goods prices.”As one of his respondents explained, “We are subsidizing consumer demand without creating the domestic goods to match. Pumping government payrolls and service wages gives consumers cash to spend, but since the U.S. isn't producing physical goods, that liquidity immediately leaks out of the country to buy foreign imports.”“Exactly,” Schiff agreed.
The center’s general counsel also said that a federal judge’s order meant the president’s name must be taken off outdoor and indoor signage by June 12.
