'I got very thin. I started to question my sanity'

In addition to his presidential duties, Donald Trump operates Six Flags Over Pennsylvania Avenue. This taxpayer-funded amusement park promises never a dull moment. Its rides are some of the world’s most thrilling—like nothing anyone has seen before. The senior-staff roller coaster plunged at dizzying speed on Thursday morning, as National Security Adviser Michael Waltz seemed to drop to his doom. How badly would he crash? Could he survive the impact at that velocity and from such commanding heights? But just when Waltz looked cooked, the roller coaster took a sharp turn. In a head-snapping surprise, it shifted north and climbed anew.  “I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations,” Trump declared via Truth Social at 2:16 p.m. ET “From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my national security adviser, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our nation’s interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role.” So, Waltz advances to New York City, where he will be America’s voice at the institution that embodies Winston Churchill’s words: “Meeting jaw to jaw is better than war.” Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio found himself on the Centripetal Force Multiplier. As it rapidly revolved, power moved toward Rubio, not away from him. He now will serve as both secretary of state and national security adviser.  The late, great Henry Kissinger, one of America’s most legendary diplomats, simultaneously held both posts between September 1973 and November 1975. But Henry the K never ran the National Archives. What a slacker! America’s acting archivist is none other than … Rubio! He also currently leads the Agency for International Development. The faster the Centripetal Force Multiplier turns, the more jobs Rubio will hold. If the hapless Jerome Powell quits the Fed, the talented Mr. Rubio could become Federal Reserve chairman. For his part, Powell wanders through a Six Flags section called Limbo Land: Trump does not love Powell enough to grant him a long-term pass. But Trump does not hate him enough to banish him. So, Powell stumbles around looking for signs of growth to stomp on in a deeply misguided effort to fight inflation by hobbling economic expansion. This question immediately occurs: How might Waltz perform as U.N. ambassador? His quietly secured achievements at the NSA offer clues: The National Security Council captured and extradited Mohammad Sharifullah, the accused mastermind of the August 2021 suicide bombing at Kabul International Airport, the nadir of then-President Joe Biden’s shambolic Afghanistan retreat. This ISIS-K onslaught killed 13 U.S. troops and wounded 18 other Americans in uniform. This attack killed at least 170 Afghans and injured 132 others. The NSC helped free 47 Americans held hostage or unfairly detained overseas. Waltz wallpapered his West Wing office with bad guys’ scalps. The NSC counted 78 terrorists killed via Trump 47’s counterterrorism efforts in Iraq, Somalia, and Syria.  The NSC helped liquidate 82 Houthi officers and 120 fighters via airstrikes on 800 targets in Yemen. Such U.S. firepower will Make the Red Sea Great Again. NSC pressure persuaded Mexico to dispatch 10,000 soldiers to its side of the frontier. This reform helped shrivel illegal-alien border crossings by 95% and known gotaways by 99% under Trump 47. Turning terrorists into burger typically exceeds a U.N. ambassador’s job description. However, these triumphs confirm that Waltz is a hard-liner who delivers. “Mike Waltz was, in my view, an excellent national security adviser,” says Robert O’Brien, Trump 45’s NSC chief from 2019-21, and the last Republican to lead that institution. “Mike explained the president’s policies in a reasonable and confident manner. He played an important but underestimated role coordinating the president’s bevy of high-profile special envoys, including Steve Witkoff, Richard Grenell, and Adam Boehler,” O’Brien continued, citing Trump’s ambassadors tapped, respectively, to pursue Middle East peace, perform special missions, and liberate American hostages and detainees. “Often forgotten, Mike is a former Army Special Forces colonel, with multiple combat tours in the sandbox. So, our adversaries will know that President Trump is represented by a warrior,” he said. “Mike Waltz is an American hero who has served our country with honor, from the battlefield to Congress and now as our next ambassador to the United Nations,” says Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., the man who replaced Waltz in the House. “I’m confident he will bring the same strength, clarity, and conviction to the world stage that he has always shown at home. I trust the judgment of President Trump and his team, and I look forward to working with our next national security adviser.” “One thing is certain: The fight against the war on Israel and the Jewish people is far from over,” Fine continued, addressing matters that Waltz surely will address. “America remains ready to confront Muslim terrorists and rescue innocent lives in Gaza from the barbarism we’ve seen unfold that all too many politicians choose to ignore.” Onetime U.N. Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan called the world body “A Dangerous Place.” As the source of abundant global mischief, the U.N. deserves a hard-boiled American emissary to resist the thieves and thugs who befoul the General Assembly. Tough and effective, Waltz is poised to represent America admirably. And as crazy as things might get at the U.N.’s Manhattan headquarters, he likely will find it calm and soothing compared to Six Flags over Pennsylvania Avenue. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. ? The post Six Flags Over Pennsylvania Avenue’s Latest Surprise: UN Ambassador Michael Waltz appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Goldman Sachs in Trump II Era: Back in Black, or Back In the Black?

Despite repeatedly calling Fox News “state TV” during President Trump’s first term (when he still had his show, so-called Reliable Sources), CNN’s Brian Stelter decried Trump’s executive order defunding the actual state-media outlets of PBS and NPR. In his appearance on Friday’s Inside Politics, Stelter argued that Trump didn’t have the authority to strip funding but he ignored the literal tower of evidence to show public broadcasting was not following their mandate to be neutral. “Today, America's two biggest public broadcasters are facing a possible halt in federal funding after an overnight executive order by President Donald Trump,” fretted host Dana Bash near the end of the show. “But there is a sticking point: the corporation is a private entity that is supposed to be protected from government interference. That would include executive orders.” Waving around a stack of papers, Stelter touted his “prop.” “I went ahead and read the entire law for you. The 1967 Public Broadcasting Act. There is nothing in this law that gives any president the ability to strip away the funding for PBS and NPR,” he proclaimed. “Congress was really specific back 50 plus years ago. They wanted to create an entity that was free of government control. They wanted to make sure no president could ever pressure PBS or NPR,” he declared. “So, this is going to be a legal fight, like so many others that we've seen. And I suspect President Trump probably wants it that way.” Of course, Stelter ignored the evidence the White House provided that proved public broadcasting was not living up to the law’s mandate to be unbiased. The White House cited three NewsBusters studies (among other evidence) to prove that point: In 2023, a study found that congressional Republicans saw 85% negative coverage while congressional Democrats saw 54% positive coverage on PBS’s flagship news program. According to a 2024 study, PBS news staff used 162 variations of the term “far-right,” but only six variations of “far-left.” (…) A 2024 Media Research Center study found that PBS’s coverage of the Republican National Convention was 72% negative, while coverage of the Democratic National Convention was 88% positive.     Instead, Stelter touted the defiance from the tax-payer funded left-wing news outlets and threats of legal action: You know, look at the statement that we've received this morning from the head of PBS, Paula Kerger. She says this is a “blatantly unlawful” move overnight by President Trump. She says this is going to hurt people around the country because it “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programing.” The line at the end is key: “We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue.” NPR is saying the exact same thing. “But I don't think we should overlook the fact that there is no legal authority for the president on this particular case,” he continued to suggest as he whined about Trump still winning: He tried to fire three board members this week. There's no authority for that. He's done the same thing with congressional allocations of funds for U.S. funded international broadcasters. There's all these court fights going on, and the international broadcasters keep winning, but they've already been laid off. The staffers have already been laid off. Radio Free Europe today shutting down half of its stations. So even though Trump loses in court, he wins no matter what. Stelter had previously claimed Trump wanted to defund NPR and PBS for “simply covering the news,” and described the desire to defund them as part of Trump’s “autocratic playbook.” The Media Research Center has a literal tower of examples of NPR’s and PBS’s liberal bias dating back 15 years.   .@realDonaldTrump is right. Here is 15 years of @theMRC research proving extreme bias at NPR and PBS (in violation of the law). @DefundPBSNPR https://t.co/XU71Dd6UhS pic.twitter.com/GRiX4ZwMde — Dan Schneider (@Schneider_DC) May 2, 2025   The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read: CNN’s Inside Politics May 2, 2025 12:50:51 p.m. Eastern DANA BASH: Today, America's two biggest public broadcasters are facing a possible halt in federal funding after an overnight executive order by President Donald Trump. It said that PBS and NPR will no longer receive direct funding to the, quote, “maximum extent allowed by law and shall decline to provide future funding” from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. But there is a sticking point: the corporation is a private entity that is supposed to be protected from government interference. That would include executive orders. CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter joins me now. Brian, what do we make of this? BRIAN STELTER: I brought props with you today, Dana. BASH: I love a prop. STELTER: I went ahead and read the entire law for you. The 1967 Public Broadcasting Act. There is nothing in this law that gives any president the ability to strip away the funding for PBS and NPR. Congress was really specific back 50 plus years ago. They wanted to create an entity that was free of government control. They wanted to make sure no president could ever pressure PBS or NPR. So, this is going to be a legal fight, like so many others that we've seen. And I suspect President Trump probably wants it that way. BASH: He definitely does. STELTER: You know, look at the statement that we've received this morning from the head of PBS, Paula Kerger. She says this is a “blatantly unlawful” move overnight by President Trump. She says this is going to hurt people around the country because it “threatens our ability to serve the American public with educational programing.” The line at the end is key: “We are currently exploring all options to allow PBS to continue.” NPR is saying the exact same thing. Now, we know that President Trump was already planning on sending a rescission package to Congress, trying to claw back the next two years of funding for PBS and NPR. That's already in the works. It seems to me he wants to have a fight very publicly with these networks, and he may well get one. BASH: Yeah, no, that's a 100% what this is. STELTER: But I don't think we should overlook the fact that there is no legal authority for the president on this particular case. BASH: Yeah. STELTER: He tried to fire three board members this week. There's no authority for that. He's done the same thing with congressional allocations of funds for U.S. funded international broadcasters. There's all these court fights going on, and the international broadcasters keep winning, but they've already been laid off. The staffers have already been laid off. Radio Free Europe today shutting down half of its stations. So even though Trump loses in court, he wins no matter what. (…)

Meta is on the hot seat after Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) drew attention to a video that he wrote “describes in detail the ruthless and elaborate defamation campaign waged by Meta AI." Lee responded in a Thursday X post to political commentator and podcast host Robby Starbuck’s X post announcing “a major multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against @Meta, the owner of @Facebook & @Instagram.” Lee denounced Meta and wrote that he looks “forward to hearing Meta’s side of this—but from what I’m seeing, it doesn’t look good for Meta.” On Tuesday, Starbuck wrote that Meta’s AI chatbot had been “falsely claiming that I was charged with a crime from January 6th,” which he said was found out in August 2024. In response, Lee connected Meta AI’s claims about Starbuck to years of censorship of conservatives. The Utah Senator made clear that Meta’s history left little room for any benefit of the doubt and called for a “thorough investigation.”  [Story Continues on MRC Free Speech America] 

The fundraising arms of PBS and NPR were already on the defensive over challenges to their overwhelmingly biased reporting on the taxpayers’ dime. Now comes President Trump’s executive order Thursday night cutting taxpayer funding of PBS and NPR. The text of the order was posted on the Trump team’s “Rapid Response 47” account on X. Before that storm broke, both outlets took advantage of the latest “Public Media Giving Days” (they need two?) to release pleading emails on early Thursday afternoon, stressing different angles while asking the public to give generously. As if the public doesn't do that already, to the tune of over half a billion dollars a year to PBS and NPR via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, at least for now. The PBS email subject line fostered a sense of panic: “Urgent: PBS funding threats,” was signed by Alyson Brokenshire, identified as "PBS News Hour Principal and Major Gifts.” Dear Friend, We’re at a pivotal moment. Public media is facing intensifying threats to federal funding, which makes up 35% of PBS News Hour’s annual budget through direct federal appropriations and indirect PBS station contributions. The stakes are high. If federal funding is eliminated, the consequences for PBS News Hour could be significant. At a time when public media is more essential than ever, your donation doubled will help us navigate the uncertainty ahead. That’s why the 3rd annual Public Media Giving Days -- May 1 and 2 -- are especially important this year. This nationwide campaign is a chance for friends like you to stand up for the essential services that public media stations and programs like PBS News Hour provide in communities across the country. Brokenshire promised "integrity." Did she not dare to claim "objectivity," given PBS's clearly liberal skew? We’re committed to bringing you journalism with integrity. But with the mounting threats to federal funding, we’re concerned about our future. By contrast, the NPR email subject line laid down a mild guilt trip – do something for us, after all we’ve done for you! “On Public Media Giving Days, Give Back.” NPR's emphasis was on local reporting. It's Public Media Giving Days! As calls to defund public media get louder, we ask you to join people all around the country in reflecting on all that public media adds to your life. The NPR Network is a vital piece of the public media ecosystem. We provide: Independent, local journalism: Across the NPR Network, over 3,000 local journalists live and work in the communities they serve. Full, free access to fact-based reporting: With rising paywalls and closing news services, fewer media outlets provide high-quality information to those who can’t pay. We are a vital lifeline, leveraging our newsrooms in all 50 states to make our coverage available to nearly 99% of the U.S. population–free of charge. Eye-opening conversations about local arts, culture and music: We aim to reflect the whole human experience through its reporting on artistic expression and entertainment–from beloved cultural traditions to new work by hometown artists. This is actually the third annual “Days” pitch, a puzzlingly plural phenomenon which resulted in awkward headlines this year like “Public Media Giving Days is Today.” (Apparently Sesame Street can’t teach you everything.)

The family of a pro-Palestinian protester says that their home was raided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were investigating the posting of officers' personal information. Annie Yang and YuZong Chang told KABC-TV that they were awakened by investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at their Irvine home in California on Thursday morning. Drone video captured ICE agents entering the Irvine neighborhood on Thursday morning, and neighbors recorded video from their windows. The couple said the officers were looking for their son, Michael Chang. His father told KABC that they were investigating posters that exposed personal details of ICE officers in public places in Los Angeles about three months prior. "They say they traced back the IP," said Yang. "They want to find out what's Michael's involvement in this," said Chang. Drone video captured ICE agents entering the Irvine neighborhood on Thursday morning, and neighbors recorded video from their windows. The couple said that officers did not find their son but instead took the family's router and hard drive as part of a criminal search warrant. Chang said that their family photos were stored on the confiscated hard drive. "I asked the agent if they wanted to talk to him directly, because we have no clue. So we did, along with the agents, so the agent explained everything to him," Yang added.The couple said that their son moved to New York in March. They added that he had been arrested over his participation in a pro-Palestinian protest at UC Irvine, but he served community service and had the charges dropped. "That never happened to us before," said Chang about the raid. "I feel like I was in a movie set or something. It was so unreal," said Yang.ICE issued a brief statement confirming only that agents conducted a search. "ICE agents, with assistance from U.S. Secret Service, executed a federal search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation. We are unable to provide any additional information at this time," the statement read. Scenes from the raid can be viewed on the news video report from KABC on its YouTube channel. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

The Fun60 Ultra is a TMR gaming keyboard with a fairly unique twist. You can mix and match both mechanical and magnetic switches on the same board, and any five-pin switches will work, according to Monsgeek. TMR stands for tunneling magnetoresistance, a technology that has been present in game controllers for a while now and is designed to bring heightened precision and accuracy compared to Hall Effect. Monsgeek has conjured up one of the best gaming keyboards your money can buy in the Fun60 Ultra. However, amongst the exciting features like rapid trigger, snap key, 8KHz polling, and mix-and-match switches, there are some flaws that prevent the Fun60 from reaching its full potential. Still, its value is unrivaled even by the best boards from the likes of Razer, Logitech, and Steelseries. Continue reading Monsgeek Fun60 Ultra review - incredible performance, even better price MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

Sometimes when a game draws from too many places for inspiration, it can end up being a bit of a muddled, disconnected mess. However, if you expertly pluck only the coolest elements from your peers and throw your own unique visual style over the top, then you might strike a winning formula. That’s exactly the kind of game The Shadow Syndicate appears to be. Fully revealed for the first time, it’s an action game with flavors of LA Noire, Hitman, GTA, and Max Payne, and I can’t wait to play it. Continue reading Noir action game The Shadow Syndicate turns you into a stealthy dog detective MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best action games, Best crime games, Best stealth games

"As scientists, we recognize the special nature of the impact crater, but it was also recognized by ancient inhabitants of the area," a geologist said of the discovery at Vredefort. The post Scientists Discover 8,000-Year-Old Drawings Inside A Two-Billion-Year-Old Impact Crater In South Africa appeared first on All That's Interesting.