FBI Had a Mole in Newsom’s Inner Circle

Not All Terrorists Are Journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) board of directors voted to affirm the organization's definition of a journalist to make clear that terrorists are also journalists worthy of protection. The post Not All Terrorists Are Journalists appeared first on .

Pay-to-play cycle behind GOP's corporate tax cuts exposed in new report

Major American corporations that benefited from tax cuts enacted last year by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are donating to the campaigns of GOP lawmakers who made the windfall possible.A report published Friday by Unrig Our Economy spotlights seven House Republicans who voted for the sprawling and unpopular GOP budget package, which extended tax breaks for corporations and wealthy Americans while inflicting unprecedented cuts on Medicaid and federal nutrition assistance—with disastrous consequences for millions of low-income families across the country.Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), one of the lawmakers featured in the new report, has received campaign donations from corporate PACs representing 3M, Amazon, Walmart, AT&T, and other companies that collectively received billions of dollars in tax breaks from the Republican law, which restored a provision allowing businesses to immediately write off new investments.Amazon saw its US income taxes fall by more than half last year due to the GOP law, even as the company’s profits grew. Unrig Our Economy noted that Amazon, whose PAC donated thousands to the Republicans spotlighted in the new report, has an effective federal tax rate of 1.37% following enactment of the budget law.Miller-Meeks, who has received at least $57,000 in donations from the PACs of companies that benefited from the 2025 law, issued a statement Thursday bragging about supporting “the largest tax cuts in American history,” not mentioning that the benefits will disproportionately flow to profitable corporations and the richest people in the country.“Thanks to the Republican tax law, corporations are receiving tax breaks, House Republicans are getting campaign cash, and working families are getting stuck with the bill,” the report states.Another Republican lawmaker featured in the report, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, received $2,500 in campaign donations from the PAC of FirstEnergy, which reaped $500 million in depreciation deductions thanks to the GOP tax law.“Bresnahan voted to give FirstEnergy hundreds of millions in tax breaks even after the company raised utility prices for his constituents,” Unrig Our Economy’s report observes.The report also points out that Bresnahan “owned stock in every single one” of the companies who contributed PAC money to his campaign following passage of the Republican budget package last summer.“This comes after Bresnahan has already faced scrutiny for dumping stock in Medicaid providers and selling off bonds in Pennsylvania hospitals before voting to slash Medicaid and put rural hospitals at risk,” the report notes.Leor Tal, Unrig Our Economy’s campaign director, said in a statement that “one year ago, House Republicans ripped away healthcare and food assistance from millions of Americans, so that corporations could get massive tax breaks.”“Now, many of those companies are dishing out PAC money to the Republicans listed in this report,” said Tal. “Republicans in Congress sold out many of their own constituents to help corporations get even richer. It’s time that House Republicans step up, do the right thing, and start fighting for working Americans—not giant corporations.”

Journalist Karen Hao on Sam Altman, OpenAI & the "Quasi-Religious" Push for Artificial Intelligence

As part of our July Fourth special broadcast, we continue our extended interview with Karen Hao, author of Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. The book documents the rise of OpenAI and how the AI industry is leading to a new form of colonialism. “One of the things that you really have to understand about AI development today is that there are what I call quasi-religious movements that have developed within Silicon Valley,” says Hao. “The concept of artificial general intelligence is not one that’s scientifically grounded.”

Lisa Monaco and Merrick Garland Organized Wire Recording Surveillance of Gavin Newsom in June of 2024

You may have read the article from the New York Post about the FBI enlisting a close insider to California Governor Gavin Newsom to wear a wire and record conversations within Newsom’s circle.  However, did you overlay the timeline? Remember, there is no possibility this FBI wired surveillance of Gavin Newsom would take place without […] The post Lisa Monaco and Merrick Garland Organized Wire Recording Surveillance of Gavin Newsom in June of 2024 appeared first on The Last Refuge.

Longtime Dem insider was FBI mole within Newsom’s inner circle amid federal investigation

A longtime Democratic political insider secretly served as an informant for the FBI while working for California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Alexis Podesta, who was appointed by Gov. […]

Wannabe-governor Xavier Becerra’s campaign probed by watchdog investigating Gavin Newsom’s wire-wearing ally

Alexis Podesta secretly wore a wire against Gov. Gavin Newsom's ex-chief of staff. Now The Post has learned she's the subject of multiple state ethics investigations, including one that could haunt Xavier Becerra's campaign for California governor.

House Democrats accuse Trump’s Freedom 250 of misleading donors, potential wire fraud

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee released an interim report on Thursday alleging Freedom 250 potentially misled donors, directing them to complete payments that were rerouted. “According to sources interviewed by Committee Democrats, donors who intended to donate to America250 were instead given wire instructions with Freedom 250’s banking information—including its routing number and…