REPORT: Acting DNI Bill Pulte Fires Dozens of ODNI Staff for Politicizing Intelligence, Insubordination, Gross Misconduct

The funniest part of the MSNBC report about the issue is their claim that Pulte has not been in office long enough to know who the Deep State embeds are. “I have a real question of how he would know this. This isn’t a guy who is familiar with intelligence,” said the former official, who […] The post REPORT: Acting DNI Bill Pulte Fires Dozens of ODNI Staff for Politicizing Intelligence, Insubordination, Gross Misconduct appeared first on The Last Refuge.

The Race to Rescue 8,000 Sailors Still Stranded Behind Hormuz

After more than 100 days trapped in the Persian Gulf, thousands of seafarers are still waiting for a chance to sail out of the Strait of Hormuz.

Penn Dems boot GOP Rep from House floor for patriotic suit despite encouraging ‘Pride’ attire

A Pennsylvania state representative is calling out Democrats after he was kicked off the House floor for wearing patriotic clothes. Rep. Eric Davanzo showed up to work […]

Wes Moore on democratic socialist gains: Voters want ‘someone who is going to fight for them’

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on Friday argued the recent rise in democratic socialist candidates stems from an appetite within the Democratic Party for fighters, but not necessarily for direct challengers to President Trump. “I actually don’t think people are looking for someone who can fight against the president,” the Democratic official told The Hill’s Judy…

Unnerved ex-officials uncork stark analogy as Trump spy chief cleans house on 'deep state'

President Donald Trump's controversial new intelligence chief is clearing house, and career officers warn the man swinging the axe doesn't know what he's cutting.Bill Pulte, Trump's loyal acting director of national intelligence, began notifying dozens of intelligence officials of their terminations Thursday, part of a downsizing Trump ordered when he installed Pulte at the office two weeks ago, MS NOW reported Friday. An intelligence official, who spoke anonymously citing fear of reprisal, told the outlet that leadership is targeting workers it believes are "deep state" and accused them of failing to hand up a complete picture of available intelligence.But former officials aren't buying his rationale. Several told MS NOW they had never heard of intelligence officers withholding information from their superiors. "The premise is absurd," one said. Another questioned how Pulte, who ran the federal housing agency and has no intelligence background, could reach such a conclusion within days of arriving.“I have a real question of how he would know this. This isn’t a guy who is familiar with intelligence,” a former official told the outlet. “How is he going to get to the bottom of this and rely on any information with a matter of fidelity? It would be like me taking over a hospital and firing dozens of surgeons in a matter of days.”The cuts follow Pulte's earlier removal of six political appointees who served under his predecessor, Tulsi Gabbard. His arrival has drawn alarm across party lines: he took the post without ever holding a security clearance, and he can stay in the acting role past November's midterms under federal vacancy rules. Critics note his office doesn't collect intelligence of its own, relying instead on the CIA, the NSA and more than a dozen other agencies to supply it.Democrats and some Republicans fear the purge is less about efficiency than about clearing out analysts who might resist Trump's election claims. The ODNI says it is providing "elite, apolitical intelligence that keeps America safe."

This Republican Has a Wild Idea for Fixing Housing Prices: Let the Market Actually Work

Voters rage at White House 'corruption' as summer cooling bills surge

MS NOW reports voters appear to be mindful of President Donald Trump raking in millions of dollars this summer while their own air-conditioning bills are creeping out of reach of their monthly home budget.Across much of the country, the 4th of July weekend is bringing more than just fireworks. It's also bringing dangerous and potentially record-breaking heat from the Midwest all the way to the northeast with heat indexes potentially climbing well above 100 degrees.More than 160 million people in 30 states are currently under extreme heat warnings this holiday weekend, with little sign of relief from either Mother Nature or the Trump economy. In places like New York, for example, humidity can make a 100-degree day feels like 110, 115 degrees. And it is, of course, considerably more humid in many Southern red states.MS NOW reporter Moses Small marched out into the street and talked to voters fleeing high home utility bills at city cooling centers.“Yeah, it's stressful,” said New York resident Daniela Crespo. “I've been anticipating looking at the forecast, thinking about, how many days am I going to run the AC? What temperature am I going to set it at? What is this going to cost me? It definitely has been on my mind.”Crespa added, however, that even as her own monthly electric bill blows up in her face and she struggles to control it by adjusting her AC to the tip of tolerance she is markedly aware of the extreme wealth pooling out of the White House and the Trump family’s bank accounts.“I mean, I think it really distills the kind of moment we're in with the level of corruption that we're seeing at the very highest levels of government,” Crespa told Snow, speaking on Trump making $2 billion in White House related monetization schemes and crypto machinations since returning to the White House.“When it gets to this hot, families tell me they really do think about the utility bills and their bank accounts,” said Snow, “especially with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting inflation up 4.2 percent in the past year — but within that, a 23.5 percent jump on energy costs.”Snow added that a CNBC analysis claims Americans, on average, have spent an extra almost $450 in gas and electric prices alone since Trump unilaterally kicked off his war in Iraq. Meanwhile, the money the Trump family is making while occupying the White House appears to smell with enough corruption to make Democrats competitive even in some of the reddest farm states this November. - YouTube youtu.be

Live updates: Trump to headline Mount Rushmore’s celebrations; heat forces changes to National Mall event plans

People across the country are preparing to celebrate America’s 250th birthday this weekend — a process that has been made more challenging as event organizers scramble to deal with the extreme heat. President Trump is headed to South Dakota late on Friday, where he’s expected to make remarks at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial and…