Monday September 8th, 2025
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
WH Asks Supreme Court to Back Freezing Up to $430 Billion in Free Foreign Aid
President Donald Trump's administration has filed an emergency request
to the U.S. Supreme Court asking the top court to allow the
administration to freeze billions in foreign aid, The Washington Post
reported Monday.
The request comes after a U.S. appeals court Friday declined to block a
lower court ruling that said the Trump administration could not
unilaterally cut billions of dollars of foreign aid authorized by
Congress.
Trump vowed on the campaign trail to "end free foreign aid," and used
the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team to investigate
waste, fraud, and abuse.
In one of Trump's first moves in his second term, he halted about $30
billion in foreign assistance routed through the State Department and
USAID. Congressional Democrats estimate roughly $430 billion in
spending is now on hold, with critics arguing the actions violate the
Constitution's grant of spending authority to Congress.
Treasury
Secretary Scott Bessent threatens housing regulator Bill Pulte in
explosive Trump admin fight: ‘Punch you in your f—ing face’
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Bill Pulte, director of the
Federal Housing Finance Agency, got into an explosive argument last
week — with threats of physical violence involved, The Post has
confirmed.
Two sources say that Bessent, 63, threatened to beat up Pulte, 37, for
allegedly trash-talking him to President Trump, two sources said.
At one point, the Treasury chief lashed out at Pulte, saying: “Why the f— are you talking to the president about me? F— you.”
“I’m gonna punch you in your f—ing face,” added Bessent.
Supreme Court Lets Trump Remove FTC Member for Now
The U.S. Supreme Court allowed Donald Trump on Monday to keep a
Democrat member of the Federal Trade Commission away from her post for
now, temporarily pausing a judicial order that required the
reinstatement of the commissioner who the Republican president has
sought to oust.
The court's action, known as an administrative stay, gives the justices
additional time to consider Trump's formal request to let him fire
Rebecca Slaughter from the consumer protection agency that enforces
antitrust law prior to her term expiring.
The stay was issued by Chief Justice John Roberts, who handles emergency filings arising in Washington, D.C.
Border czar Tom Homan vows crackdown on protest violence, says funders will face prosecution
Tom Homan says US attorneys nationwide directed to prosecute cases
Border czar Tom Homan warned Sunday that President Donald Trump’s crime
crackdown will allow "zero tolerance" for protesters who cross the line
into violence against immigration officers.
"You throw a stone, you’re going to jail. You put hands on an ICE
officer, you’re going to jail. You make a threat – online or in person
– you’re going to jail," Homan said on this week's "Sunday Morning
Futures."
The Trump border czar joined guest host Jason Chaffetz to outline the
Trump administration’s tougher stance, adding that U.S. attorneys
nationwide have been directed to prosecute such cases.
Residents in exclusive enclave demand Dem mayor act on crime surge
Encino community presents list of demands after 'American Idol' producer's murder, break-ins
Residents in a ritzy area of Los Angeles are getting frustrated with
local leaders such as Democratic Mayor Karen Bass over a recent rise in
crime, with one resident saying that people in the community are "on
edge" and says more needs to be done.
The call for increased security in the Encino neighborhood of Los
Angeles, California, comes after longtime "American Idol" music
producer Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, were found dead
inside their home on July 14.
Police believe the couple was killed on July 10 as two calls were
placed reporting a possible burglary incident at the couple's Encino
house. The suspect, 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian, was arrested on
double homicide charges. It's believed the alleged killings were
random, officials said.
Multiple people killed in shooting attack on Jerusalem bus
Two attackers were neutralized by police and a civilian after opening fire at busy intersection in northern Jerusalem
At least six people were killed and more than a dozen were injured
after a pair of attackers opened fire on a bus in Jerusalem Monday
morning, paramedics said.
The shooting unfolded at a busy intersection in northern Jerusalem, on
a road that leads to Jewish settlements located in east Jerusalem.
Israeli media reported that the two attackers boarded a bus and opened
fire. Paramedics said 14 other people were injured and five are in
serious condition.
Police said two attackers were "neutralized" soon after the shooting
began but have not released additional information about the attackers’
identities.
Appeals court upholds E. Jean Carroll's $83 million judgment against Trump
A federal appeals court on Monday rejected President Donald Trump's
appeal of writer E. Jean Carroll's defamation verdict against the
president, leaving him on the hook for the $83 million judgment.
"[W]e conclude that Trump has failed to identify any grounds that would
warrant reconsidering our prior holding on presidential immunity. We
also conclude that the district court did not err in any of the
challenged rulings and that the jury’s damages awards are fair and
reasonable," the ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.
Trump's attorneys had argued the verdict needed to be tossed because it
"severely damages the presidency and is a great miscarriage of justice."
Chilling video shows moments before Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death on Charlotte light rail
Decarlos Brown attacked 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska in random assault captured on transit surveillance footage
A haunting new video shows the last moments of a Ukrainian refugee’s
life before she was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light rail train
last month.
The surveillance footage, released by the Carlotte Area Transit System
(CATS), shows 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska boarding the Lynx Bline line
just after 9:45 p.m. on Friday, August 22.
The footage shows Zarutska in her pizzeria uniform while scrolling on
her phone. A man in a red hoodie is seen sitting behind her.
Around four minutes later, the man pulls out a knife and begins
stabbing Zarutska three times, including at least once in the neck.
Fed Governor Faces Second Criminal Referral
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte has submitted
a second criminal referral to the Justice Department (DOJ) concerning
Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook’s real estate transactions. He alleged
that she has misrepresented the classification of a condominium in
Massachusetts, following a previous referral about another property.
The referral highlights potential inconsistencies in Cook’s mortgage
filings and raises scrutiny over her financial disclosures.
Pulte alleged Cook misclassified her Massachusetts condo—first as a
“second home” for a mortgage, then as an “investment property” in later
filings—raising concerns over her financial disclosures.
Pulte added, "In subsequent filings from 2022 to 2025, Cook
consistently listed this property as an investment/rental property, not
a second home."
N.Y. Village Orders Resident to Remove Pro-Trump Flag
A Democrat stronghold in the New York City suburbs is trying to force a property owner to remove a pro-Trump flag.
Leonard Amicola, a resident of Croton-on-Hudson, has been ticketed and
told his "Trump Is My President" flag must be removed because it does
not follow the village's "content-neutral code," according to News12.
Amicola, a disabled Vietnam veteran who has lived in the village for 67
years, told News12 that he has displayed support for President Donald
Trump since 2021. He added that his right to fly the flag is protected
by the U.S. Constitution.
Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv Power Plant, Cause Blackouts
Russian forces struck a thermal power generation facility in the Kyiv
region as part of an overnight attack, Ukraine's energy ministry said
on Monday, provoking localized blackouts and gas outages.
The strikes followed a day after Moscow's largest air attack of its three-and-a-half year war on Ukraine.
"The goal is obvious: to cause even more hardship to the peaceful
population of Ukraine, to leave Ukrainian homes, hospitals,
kindergartens and schools without light and heat," the ministry wrote
on the Telegram messaging app.
It added that rescuers and technicians were working on site on Monday.
Foreign Minister: Israel Has Accepted Trump's Gaza Ceasefire Proposal
Israel has accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal from President Donald Trump, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart in
Budapest, Saar said that Israel was ready to accept a full deal ending
the war that would include the release of hostages and Hamas laying
down its arms.
Rising-sea hysteria debunked — but the ‘climate change’ cult won’t care
Yet another much-predicted climate-change catastrophe turns out to be
baseless: Worldwide sea levels are not rising any faster than a century
ago.
This doesn’t mean climate change isn’t happening, nor that particular
locales don’t face a rising-seas problem — but it does mean no
apocalypse is coming unless the whole world takes drastic action to
prevent it.
For decades, complex climate-change models have indicated global sea
levels to be rising at twice or more the historic level, but until now,
no scientists had bothered checking that against actual observed
reality.
Dutch engineer Hessel Voortman and researcher Rob de Vos finally did
the work; their peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Marine Science
and Engineering, “A Global Perspective on Local Sea Level Changes,”
shows the models have gotten it completely wrong.
Bessent outlines Trump administration plans for tariffs, housing crisis and Fed chairman selection
A new report released Friday from the Congressional Budget Office is
surprising, even stunning. The "CBO" is not thought to be a friend of
Republican presidents and Congresses. Questions always arise from
"supply-siders" about whether CBO rejects serious "dynamic scoring" of
developments in the law and in major regulatory actions. Whatever the
agency’s methodology, it issued a report on the Trump tariffs at the
close of last week.
"We project that increases in tariffs implemented during the period
from January 6, 2025, to August 19, 2025 will decrease primary deficits
(which exclude net outlays for interest) by $3.3 trillion if the higher
tariffs persist for the 2025‒2035 period," Phillip Swagel, CBO’s
director wrote. "By reducing the need for federal borrowing, those
tariff collections will also reduce federal outlays for interest by an
additional $0.7 trillion. As a result, the changes in tariffs will
reduce total deficits by $4.0 trillion altogether."
The report is here.
