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When Effort Becomes Optional

Mar 16, 2026Center Right

AI rhetoric swings between utopia and apocalypse. The likeliest outcome, though, may be far less spectacular: AI will give us...

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Court throws wrench into Trump effort to rein in student loan bailout program

BizPac Review

Yesterday

Court throws wrench into Trump effort to rein in student loan bailout program

The Trump administration’s attempt to clean up student loan programs took a hit on Tuesday. Two Biden-appointed federal judges blocked the Trump administration from enforcing new restrictions […]

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About 2,000 U.S. troops supporting relief efforts after Venezuela earthquakes

Politics - CBSNews.com

2 days ago

About 2,000 U.S. troops supporting relief efforts after Venezuela earthquakes

Almost 60,000 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed in Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes last week, according to a NASA satellite assessment.

Center

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Melat Kiros becomes 28th far-left candidate to win a Democratic primary this year as socialists amass power

Latest Political News on Fox News

2 days ago

Melat Kiros becomes 28th far-left candidate to win a Democratic primary this year as socialists amass power

Melat Kiros becomes the 28th far-left endorsed candidate to win a Democratic primary, ousting 15-term incumbent Diana DeGette in Colorado's 1st district.

Right

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Citizenship Has Become A Financial Product Ripe For Exploitation By Birth Tourists And Illegals

The Federalist

2 days ago

Citizenship Has Become A Financial Product Ripe For Exploitation By Birth Tourists And Illegals

A 2025 policy paper arguing against the repeal of birthplace citizenship warned that people losing citizenship would be 'unable to access economic supports in times of need.'

Far Right

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Death Toll Climbs, Thousands Missing Amid Venezuela Earthquake Rescue Efforts

Truthout

3 days ago

Death Toll Climbs, Thousands Missing Amid Venezuela Earthquake Rescue Efforts

It’s believed more than 100 Venezuelans who were deported from the US to Caracas hours before the earthquakes have died.

Far Left

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Trump accuser's case is becoming Todd Blanche's confirmation nightmare: report

Raw Story

3 days ago

Trump accuser's case is becoming Todd Blanche's confirmation nightmare: report

A legal battle over one Jeffrey Epstein accuser's unreleased FBI interview notes has emerged as a flashpoint threatening to complicate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's path to confirmation, as a federal judge presses the Justice Department for answers it has so far declined to give.The woman, known in court filings as Jane Doe 4, alleged in four 2019 FBI interviews that she was abused by Epstein in the 1980s and separately assaulted by Donald Trump when she was between 13 and 15 years old, and a federal judge has asked the Justice Department for answers about her case that have so far not been provided, reported The Guardian.The White House has dismissed the claims as "completely baseless," but the case has taken on outsized significance because Jane Doe 4 is among the only alleged Epstein victims to have directly accused the president — and because the Justice Department's handling of her file has become emblematic of broader concerns about its compliance with the Epstein Transparency Act.Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan last week ordered Blanche to produce unredacted versions of already-released files by July 2 or explain why he cannot, and he separately ordered the release of handwritten interview notes from Jane Doe 4's FBI sessions that have never been made public. The order came in a civil case brought by journalist Katie Phang, and late Friday the DOJ's third-ranking official, Stanley Woodward, gave notice he would join the case, a move one attorney involved called a sign that officials "really, really don't want these documents released."The case has drawn particular scrutiny because Blanche, Trump's former personal attorney, personally oversaw the document-review process, directing a team of 500 reviewers through several chaotic release waves that exposed victims' names and compromising photographs while quietly retracting other records without explanation.Critics argue that roughly 2.5 million additional documents deemed "duplicative" or legally protected were withheld without sufficient justification, despite a law that explicitly bars withholding records over embarrassment or political sensitivity.Only one outlet, South Carolina's Post and Courier, has reviewed the still-unreleased interview notes, reporting that they reference high school friends who might corroborate parts of Jane Doe 4's account but do not address her alleged encounter with Trump.A Jane Doe joined a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate in 2020 with allegations and biographical details that line up with the FBI interviews, but she later dropped her claims.The Guardian spoke to a family member who said Jane Doe 4 is “staying off the grid” and lives in fear of retaliation from the Trump administration, adding that she's "coping" with "chronic trauma" related to the Epstein saga "the best she can," and an attorney who represented her during the two FBI interviews said he never received follow-up calls from the agents or copies of their reports that are usually provided to defense counsel.That attorney asked the publication not to report his name or location to protect the alleged victim's identity.

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"Keep Supporting the Venezuelan People": Thousands Missing as Earthquake Rescue Efforts Continue

Democracy Now!

3 days ago

"Keep Supporting the Venezuelan People": Thousands Missing as Earthquake Rescue Efforts Continue

Rescue efforts in Venezuela continue as thousands of people remain missing — trapped under the rubble of flattened homes and buildings nearly a week after two back-to-back earthquakes devastated the capital, Caracas, and the nearby city of La Guaira. Rescue teams are desperately searching for survivors, with Venezuelan health officials saying Monday that over 1,700 people are confirmed dead. The toll is expected to rise dramatically as the window for finding survivors closes. In the face of the wreckage, “we’re seeing also a lot of solidarity from the Venezuelan people” who are sharing space and resources with those displaced by the quakes, says Beatriz Ochoa, Latin America head of advocacy for the Norwegian Refugee Council. Looking ahead, “We will need to transition to more medium- and longer-term solutions, so that people can have affordable housing and a more dignified place to sleep and to be able to rebuild their lives,” says Ochoa, calling for more international support.

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CBS News effort called a 'blatant sham' by expert: 'Yet another embarrassment'

Raw Story

3 days ago

CBS News effort called a 'blatant sham' by expert: 'Yet another embarrassment'

A veteran journalist and former New York Times public editor called out CBS News' gesture toward public accountability as a "blatant sham."The network's Donald Trump-aligned new owners tapped Kenneth R. Weinstein, a former chief executive of the right-leaning Hudson Institute, to review complaints about its coverage as ombudsman, but media expert Margaret Sullivan wrote on her "American Crisis" Substack that he had failed to be independent or transparent as promised."From the get-go, there was no reason to think this would be a real thing — a person whose first responsibility was to the CBS audience and whose first interest was fairness in the public interest," Sullivan wrote. "First off, Weinstein had no background in supervising news coverage. He was a denizen of the right-leaning think tank, the Hudson Institute, a vocal champion of Israel, a critic of the Biden administration and a big donor to Republican and pro-Trump political groups.""I’m not sure how this amounts to independence," she added.Weinstein had been "notably unresponsive" to viewer complaints about CBS News, which has seen "60 Minutes" stars like Anderson Cooper and Scott Pelley flee and ratings collapse, and Sullivan said the network's ombudsman had done remarkably little to respond to the tumult."Despite the lip service to 'transparency,' his role was never meant to face outwards, as is the norm with news ombudsmen; rather, if he saw a problem, he’d report it to his corporate bosses," Sullivan wrote.The Times recently reported on Weinstein's public silence, noting that he hadn't issued any statements about the CBS News controversies or issued any guidance to staffers, and employees say he's told them he is scheduled to work only one day a month."It’s absurd," Sullivan wrote."I know something about this because I was the fifth 'public editor' at the New York Times, a role dedicated to making sure the news organization was fair and was serving the public interest," she added. "The way the Times’s position was structured created actual, not fake, transparency."Sullivan compared her workload – several blog posts each week and a more formal column every other week, in addition to fielding hundred of emails and calls – to Weinstein's duties, and she suggested five topics the CBS News ombudsman could look into during his seemingly singular workday.For example, Sullivan urged him to investigate editor-in-chief Bari Weiss delaying Alfonsi's El Salvador prison report amid a pending merger; mass departures of top talent like Cooper, Pelley and "60 Minutes" executive producer Tanya Simon; CBS Evening News' ratings collapse under Dokoupil; CBS Mornings' steep audience drop post-Pelley; and whether Weiss's pro-Israel views compromise Gaza coverage independence."I could go on, but you get the picture," Sullivan said. "So does the public, if comments on the Times article are any indication. It’s (yet another) embarrassment to CBS News."

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When Effort Becomes Optional

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When Effort Becomes Optional

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