One birthday, two party planners: Freedom 250 vs. America250, explained

Trump says he could replace Freedom 250 artists himself

After multiple performers withdrew, Trump mocked them and proposed turning event into an “AMERICA IS BACK" rally

Trump tears apart his number two and refuses to crown him as MAGA's future

Judging by interviews President Donald Trump doesn’t sound eager to envision a world without him in charge, and he’s slow to acknowledge up-and-coming lieutenants who are eager to take the reins.The New York Times reports that when confronted with the prospect of Vice President JD Vance as MAGA’s next crowned leader, Trump is loathe to discuss it openly — even as his own personal brand struggles to reclaim the supremacy it once held with legions of largely racist, antisemitic MAGA men.Citing information from more than a dozen anonymous White House sources, the Times reports that Trump “has told several allies that Mr. Vance has never won a tough race without his help. (Mr. Trump’s endorsement got Mr. Vance over the finish line in a tight race for an Ohio Senate seat.) He has brought up the number of vacations Mr. Vance has taken as vice president. (Mr. Trump does not generally take them.)” The president has also has repeatedly mentioned the vice president’s initial opposition to starting Trump’s wildly unpopular war with Iran and has even pointed this out in front of. Vance, saying “I’m more of a peace person than you are — but I had to do it,” according to the Times. And Trump has also questioned his decision to send a delegation led by the vice president to an international negotiation — which ultimately failed to end Trump’s war.Trump, says the Times, has “zeroed in on moments when Mr. Vance might not look the part,” such as when Vance almost dropped Ohio State’s national football championship trophy on a White House lawn. And Trump has “continued to needle … Vance on matters of substance and style, from criticizing his shoes to ribbing him for his tendency to interject in conversations.” Last November, Trump even openly mulled why Vance “was not more subservient, like the officials who work for President Xi Jinping of China,” says the Times.“Why don’t you behave like that?”. Trump asked Vance during a breakfast for Republican senators. “JD doesn’t behave like that! JD butts into conversations! I want to have that for at least a couple of days. OK, JD?”Trump may not appear happy with the idea of a MAGA world with a hole where the aging Trump once stood. But neither, apparently, are critics eager for Vance to sidle into the encroaching Trump-shaped void as Trump hits 80 and routinely nods off at public events.“Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky, who is widely seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, has repeatedly accused Mr. Vance, who was born in Middletown, Ohio, of overstating his blue-collar roots and misrepresenting himself as a product of Appalachia,” reports the Times. In an interview, Beshear accused Vance of “governing in a way that only hurts the places he claims he was from.”“JD Vance doesn’t have a real bone in his body,” said Beshear. “Last week he’s appointed the fraud czar, and this week he’s defending a new $1.7 billion slush fund for the Trump administration to give to their allies.”

Japan Overhauled Its Entire Intelligence Community...and One Nation Is Not Happy About It

Trump administration prepares to put his face on $250 bill even as law prohibits it

The Treasury Department says it’s preparing to roll out $250 bills with President Trump’s face on it, as the U.S. celebrates in 250th birthday on Independence Day. But first, it will need Congress to green light the new bill. NBC News’ Monica Alba reports.

Illegal alien former superintendent caught with gun sentenced to two years, will be deported

Ian Andre Roberts, an illegal alien who had been posing as a school superintendent, has been sentenced after pleading guilty. Roberts, from Guyana, was working as the […]

'Something happening' in Texas as furious GOP voter says she will 'turncoat' against party

Texas Republicans have to deal with more than just being stuck with scandal-plagued Attorney General Ken Paxton as they hope to hang onto a US Senate seat sought by Democratic rising star James Talarico.According to a report from MS NOW’s Josh Einiger, there is a massive groundswell of anger aimed at AI data centers and voters are blaming the Republican Party for turning a blind eye to their concerns.As one Republican voter put it, she didn’t care if the Senate flipped to the Democrats because she feels betrayed. After speaking with multiple Republican voters in Burlington, Texas, Einiger told host Chris Jansing, “They feel taken for granted and left behind by the very people they elected to represent them, whether it's at the local level, the state level, or in the White House. Of course, you know, this is an area where people are very conservative, Christian conservatives, and they blame the president, their governor, for creating a world where a lot of these AI data centers are able to come in there.”“There's not a lot of regulation,” he elaborated. “These are unincorporated parts of central Texas. And, you know, these large tech companies come in there, they're able to negotiate tax incentives, tax abatements. They spend less in tax than they would perhaps otherwise. And in exchange, people are getting higher, you know, electricity rates because the point of these facilities is they just they just swallow up so much power because what they're doing is they have just millions of computers. They have to keep them cool. Cooling them takes power — it takes water. And so just the natural resources. And it's really, really upsetting a lot of the people who live nearby.”Conservative voter Rena Schroeder told him, “Conservative Republicans feel like they're not being heard anymore. That was a big voice that I heard through the whole campaign. They're not being heard by Republican candidates and officials, elected officials. I'm very disappointed and I'm hurt, and I do not like to be lied to.” Self-identified GOP voter Linda Polley agreed and added, “I'm just heartbroken. I mean, I am absolutely heartbroken. The public is now seeing through the illusion. They are now realizing that left and right has been nothing more than to keep us divided.”GOP voter Cheryl Shadden was even more vehement when asked if she is going to vote for Democrat Talarico.“Oh, absolutely. I will turncoat and vote for any Democrat that is championing the cause of the community,” she snapped.Einiger told host Jansing, “Fascinating, right? And I asked that woman, I asked her in a different way. I said, so, you know, this is obviously the Senate race. It's a race [for a seat] been held by Republicans in 1993. You know, Ken Paxton just won the nomination. And and James Talarico is the Democrat in the race. And I said to her, I said, if you vote for Talarico and you want this Texas seat to flip to blue — that means you're willing to flip the Senate to the Democrats. And you have all these issues that you're conservative on that you believe in, you've been voting on for your whole life. You're willing to let them all, leave them all behind. She said ‘yes.’” “And she knows a lot of people who feel the same way,” he added. “So look, Chris, this is anecdotal. This is a small number of people, it's not scientific, but there's something happening on the ground in this very ruby red area of a red state that is definitely worth watching.” - YouTube youtu.be

Kennedy Center win celebrated as 'one-two-punch' victory over Trump

US District Court Judge Christopher R. Cooper shot down President Donald Trump's effort to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after himself, citing the congressional laws that established the institution, making the name of it "abundantly clear." "Congress likewise took pains to ensure that no other memorial-like dedication would grace the Center’s public spaces. As a result, the Kennedy Center Board’s decision to rename the Center, along with its decision to affix President Trump’s name to the building’s façade, violate Congress’s unequivocal mandate. As stated at the outset, Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it," the judge wrote in his 94-page opinion. "And because the Defendants are currently in violation of Congress's express statutory direction, the Court will order that they remove President Trump's name from the institution's title, as represented on the façade of the Center, any other physical or digital signage, and official materials," it continues. The Center is meant to memorialize "President Kennedy and President Kennedy alone," Judge Cooper ruled.He also made it clear that the name can't be redesignated as the "Trump-Kennedy Center" even if it was a "nickname" or an unofficial name. The statute is clear that even in that case, it would violate the law. Judge Cooper adds that Trump's decision to close the Center down for two years was "a dereliction of common law duty of prudence," explained Lawfare's Roger Parloff. The ruling came on what would have been Kennedy's 109th birthday. Legal expert and Trump foe Norm Eisen celebrated the ruling for his colleagues at the litigation group Democracy Defenders ActionHe called it a one-two-punch, "the renaming and the closure of the Kennedy Center are enjoined.""About time," cheered former prosecutor Joyce Vance. "The ruling is a stinging blow for the president, who has made clear his personal stake in the rebranding and remodeling of the Kennedy Center," wrote Politico in its report. "Trump wants to unilaterally decide everything and put his face and name everywhere for what was supposed to be nonpartisan with congressional oversight and then MAGA pretends to be confused as to why anyone would take issue with that," lawyer Damin Toell said on X. “'Why don’t acts want to play at the Trump Kennedy Center, it’s a total mystery, they must hate America' vibes," replied The Bulwark's Sonny Bunch. It prompted questions from followers about how quickly Trump's name must be removed. But another was concerned that Trump might order the building bulldozed after he took down the East Wing of the White House. One grandfather offered to help remove the sign. "Remember that while Trump might get away with some of the stupid and childish stuff he pulls in the short-term, in the long-term courts overturn him 9 times out of 10. Today he got walloped over his Kennedy Center antics," said one person promoting Eisen's announcement. "If this is the thing that finally causes him to stroke out, I will sing the entirety of Les Misérables on the Kennedy Center steps," pledged one man.Writer Aaron Von Dorn said that he continues to find it "wild" that Trump shamelessly put his name on a Kennedy memorial. "I just cannot understand that kind of raw need."

Karen Bass plans ‘massive’ FIFA World Cup watch parties in MacArthur Park

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is planning to hold ‘massive’ World Cup watch parties in homeless drug-addict haven MacArthur Park. She claims they will be a boost for “Latino-owned businesses hit by ICE raids.”