Politics - CBSNews.com
FBI orders field offices to send analysts to Atlanta for election probe
The FBI is asking for analysts to help evaluate thousands of records for a "priority" investigation ordered by FBI Director Kash Patel.
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NewsNation
Top politicians shouldn't be earning fortunes while in office: O'Reilly
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Bill O'Reilly believes leading politicians shouldn't be making financial fortunes while in office.
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Blaze Media
Radicals beware: Florida to hit top Islamist and leftist groups with new 'terrorist' label
Florida is taking action against nearly 100 organizations that will likely soon have a new "terrorist" designation under Florida law.On Wednesday, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that some significant legislation, which provides a stronger framework for declaring groups terrorist organizations, took effect on the first day of the month. 'We are not going to fund terrorism in our great state.'During his announcement, DeSantis said that officials "are not going to waste any time" before beginning the "initial tranche" of domestic terrorist designations in Florida, suggesting more to come in the future as well. "Based on the recommendations of Florida's domestic security professionals and the authority, the newly established authority in law, my office and the [C]abinet are poised to officially designate the first slew of terrorist organizations under the new law," DeSantis said in the announcement.RELATED: Florida AG calls for impeachment after judge acquits mother who killed baby and blamed COVID Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesAmong those organizations designated, DeSantis named familiar Islamic groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, but also mentioned the addition of Antifa to the list. He also named a couple of groups affiliated with drug cartels, like Cartel de Sinaloa and Tren de Aragua.Notably, DeSantis added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran would also be added to the list among "more than 90 Foreign Terrorist Organizations."Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass, who also serves as the state’s chief domestic security officer, explained that the new law gives more tools to prevent taxpayer dollars from reaching those organizations that have been designated as terrorist groups, Florida's Voice reported."We are not going to fund terrorism in our great state," Glass told Florida's Voice. "We’re just not going to do it."Glass added that the new framework will allow greater transparency for the public to see where taxpayer dollars are being distributed: “It’s actually even a public service campaign to ensure that you know where you’re receiving dollars or you’re giving dollars."These actions, however, have been under legal threat for months, dating back to before the legislation was signed. DeSantis acknowledged to Florida's Voice that "we'll definitely get sued," though he believes the outcome "will be beneficial." The new law, which went into effect on Wednesday, builds upon an executive order from DeSantis on December 8, which laid the groundwork for legislation to be drafted and signed by the governor in early April. The December executive order singled out CAIR and the Muslim Brotherhood. As a result, CAIR sued the administration over the executive order, arguing that its rights had been violated.On March 4, United States District Judge Mark Walker granted the motion for a preliminary injunction, freezing the use of the executive order. The DeSantis administration appealed the injunction two days later in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.The law, signed almost exactly a month later, will likely be used as a new legal support in the ongoing legal fight over the executive order. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
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NYT > U.S. > Politics
Court Blocks Firings of Intelligence Officers Who Worked on Diversity
The C.I.A. and Office of the Director of National Intelligence had tried to fire 19 officers at the beginning of the second Trump administration.
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Alternet.org
Top MAGA defector says Trump's US 'not a democracy'
According to conservative commentator Tucker Carlson — who used to be among President Donald Trump’s closest allies — the U.S. is “not a democracy,” and he’s now working to “help build a third party” that will uphold the “America first” values he says Trump has betrayed. Carlson made these assertions via an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review, which he gave following his announcement that he had left the Republican Party. While he says that he was a “consistent defender” of the party for 35 years, he now argues he can no longer support the way it has changed under Trump. Central to his criticism of both president and party was the war in the Middle East. While Carlson was instrumental to Trump’s success during the 2016 and 2024 campaigns, explains the New York Times, “he broke sharply with the president after the United States started the war with Iran in late February, declaring Mr. Trump was violating a core campaign promise to avoid foreign conflicts. By April, Mr. Carlson said he was ‘tormented’ by his past support for the president. He told the Columbia Journalism Review that he had not spoken to Mr. Trump since the start of the war.”“I’m not interested in talking to him,” said Carlson.While Carlson has in the past attempted to maintain a public perception of alliance with Trump, texts revealed in 2023 during a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems showed his true feelings. “I hate him passionately,” texted Carlson in 2020, just two days before Trump spurred on the January 6 insurrection. A few days later, he texted that the president was “a demonic force, a destroyer.” Trump regained Carlson’s loyalty — or at least his willingness to fake it — in time for the 2024 election, but then over the course of the following year, growing daylight could be seen between their policy positions. Then Trump launched conflict with Iran, which Carlson said betrayed the “America first” ethos as well as blatant promises to start “no new foreign wars.” Speaking with the Columbia Journalism Review, Carlson said that there was no longer any contrast between “war and finance.”“That’s not a democracy,” asserted Carlson. “That’s a one-party state posing as a democracy, and it needs to be broken, and there’s going to be a third party, and I’m going to do everything I can to bring that about.” While some have suggested that he may be preparing for a presidential run himself, Carlson has rejected this idea, saying, “I’m not a politician, that’s for sure. I’m not a rival to Trump for power. I have no power. I’m someone who knows Trump, and I know him well, and I’ve known him for a long time.” Carlson isn’t the only prominent figure from the MAGA movement to lose faith in Trump. Former Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene had her own dramatic falling out with the president, and on Wednesday announced plans to create a new political party specifically to oppose the MAGA agenda.
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Raw Story
Kash Patel orders 'all FBI field offices to immediately surge' on Trump 2020 case: report
Director Kash Patel's FBI has ordered every field office to immediately send analysts to support its investigation into the 2020 election in Georgia, according to a new report.MS NOW obtained an unclassified memo showing Patel is mobilizing 260 intelligence analysts — from every field office in the country — as part of what the bureau calls a "priority effort" in Atlanta."In support of the Director's Office priority effort, the Directorate of Intelligence (DI) and Criminal Division are requesting all FBI field offices to immediately surge support to an FBI Atlanta priority investigation," the memo said.Each analyst must complete 708 records checks by July 17, MS NOW said."Overtime (including weekends and holidays) has been authorized," the memo added."Looking for derogatory information is the short answer," one official told MS NOW. "The idea is to build a case. Look at associations between people, look into their social media, their business activity, travel, contact with other investigative subjects."In January, Patel's FBI raided the Fulton County Elections and Operations Hub, seizing more than 600 boxes of records. The warrant relied largely on claims previously debunked by Republican-led investigations in Georgia. Then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accompanied the FBI during the search and arranged for President Donald Trump to speak by phone with agents on-site.The Department of Justice issued subpoenas in April for the personal information of thousands of 2020 election workers in the state. The FBI has also targeted 2020 records in Arizona and Wisconsin. Patel predicted arrests in April, though none have come.Democratic Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said the county has been targeted for years because it rejected Trump's "big lie" that the 2020 election was stolen."These ongoing efforts are about intimidation and distraction, not facts," Pitts said.Former President Joe Biden beat Trump in Georgia in 2020 by 11,779 votes. Trump has long pushed for ongoing investigations into his loss to Biden.
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BizPac Review
Top WH economic advisor touts great signs for the economy, June jobs report supports
A top Trump administration economic advisor is touting great signs for the economy. White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said that there’s a “construction boom” […]
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Blaze Media
Masked daredevil couple climb to top of Empire State Building to unfurl banner with message
New York City residents were surprised to find two masked people climbing the Empire State Building just after noon on Wednesday.The New York Police Department confirmed via social media that they closed down streets near 5th Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan.They unfurled a banner that read, 'When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.'The couple identified themselves on social media as daredevil climbers Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau from Russia.They unfurled a banner that read, "When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace."The NYPD later confirmed that officers had taken the couple into custody but did not immediately say what charges they may face.One woman told USA Today that there were rumors that the man proposed to the woman during the climb."But I don't really know exactly what it is," Stephanie Hazelwood said. "It just seems like an attention thing and art, maybe."Video obtained by ABC News did indeed appear to show the male climber getting on one knee and proposing to the female climber, who then takes photos of her hand."If it's a proposal, it's an elaborate one, and I hope she said yes," one news anchor said on the video."OK, they're hugging. I think he just proposed!" the other anchor said.The couple were the subject of a documentary titled "Skywalkers: A Love Story" from 2024 and have a large following on social media.RELATED: Watch: 'Pro-Life Spider-Man' climbs New York Times building and California's second-tallest skyscraper in daring protest against abortion A spokesperson for the Empire State Building said the "unauthorized" incident was resolved and used the occasion to market the building."It is to be emphasized that the Empire State Building Observation Deck, atop the 'World's Most Famous Building' in the center of New York City, does offer a practical way for the most memorable marriage proposals," the spokesperson said.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
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Bloomberg Politics
Trump Reports at Least $1.4B in 2025 Crypto Earnings | Balance of Power: Late Edition 07/01/2026
"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, Republican Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska says he has an "open mind" to adding ethics provisions to crypto market-structure legislation, including limits on executives or family members operating in the space. Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, says the U.S. defense industrial base has suffered from decades of insufficient attention to capacity, leaving the country with bottlenecks, single-source risks and dependence on foreign suppliers. Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, says President Donald Trump's crypto ventures could violate the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause if foreign government money is involved, and calls his holdings a "clear conflict of interest" as his administration regulates the industry. (Source: Bloomberg)
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