The White House has released the full list of private donors for the new White House Ballroom and it’s a VERY interesting list! From the NY Post: Here’s the full list of private donors for the project: Altria Group Inc. Amazon Apple Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. Caterpillar Inc. Coinbase Comcast Corporation J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul Hard Rock International Google HP Inc. Lockheed Martin Meta Platforms Micron Technology Microsoft NextEra Energy Inc. Palantir Technologies Inc. Ripple Reynolds American T-Mobile Tether America Union Pacific Railroad Adelson Family Foundation Stefan E. Brodie Betty Wold Johnson Foundation Charles and Marissa Cascarilla Edward and Shari Glazer Harold Hamm Benjamin Leon Jr. The Lutnick Family The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation Stephen A. Schwarzmann Konstantin Sokolov Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher Paolo Tiramani Cameron Winklevoss Tyler Winklevoss I put one in bold because it really caught my eye…. Got XRP? Man, I’ve been shouting about XRP around here since 2017 and there it is folks! You want to see the next Microsoft?  The next Amazon?  The next Apple?  It’s right there in bold, surrounded by all those other companies it’s about to surpass! It’s a fascinating list all around, very heavy in tech, very heavy in crypto and very pro-Israel.  Not a comment or a critique, just a reporting the facts. CNN had a really great breakdown on some of the big names, here’s a portion: Adelson Family Foundation Miriam Adelson, a billionaire who made her fortune in casinos alongside her late husband Sheldon and has been a major Trump donor, runs this philanthropic foundation. Trump awarded Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018. Past donations to Trump: Miriam and Sheldon Adelson have been some of Trump’s top political donors since his first presidential bid, giving more than $30 million to pro-Trump PACs and his campaigns over the years. Miriam also gave $1 million to the president’s 2025 inaugural committee. Key issues: The foundation’s stated aim is to “strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people,” and Trump has publicly praised Adelson and her support of Israel. Adelson, who is the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has also donated to lawmakers and PACs that support pro-gambling and sports betting legislation. Altria Group Previously known as Phillip Morris, tobacco giant Altria Group is the seller of Virginia Slims, Marlboro and Parliament cigarettes in the United States. Industry: Tobacco Past donations to Trump: A subsidiary, Altria Client Services, LLC, gave $1 million to a Trump-associated PAC in May 2025, $1 million to the president’s 2025 inaugural committee and $500,000 to his 2017 inaugural committee. Key issues: Altria has fought tighter industry regulations and, along with other tobacco companies, pushed legislation that would limit FDA oversight of e-cigarettes. Amazon Amazon billionaire founder Jeff Bezos told the world he was “optimistic”about a second Trump presidency late last year, saying he appreciated his “energy” around reducing regulations. The president called out Amazon publicly earlier this year when he learned that the e-commerce retailer was considering displaying tariff costs for consumers, which the company said it would not do. Industry: Tech, e-commerce Past donations to Trump: Amazon gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee and made an in-kind donation of almost $900,000 for digital services and advertising supporting the event. The company also gave about $58,000 to his 2017 inaugural committee. Government business: Amazon Web Services – the company’s cloud computing platform – earned more than $500 million from federal contracts over the last three years, government data shows. Apple Apple CEO Tim Cook served on Trump’s American Workforce Policy Advisory Board during his first term. He attended the president’s 2025 inauguration along with other tech leaders, and this summer presentedTrump with a customized 24-karat gold-and-glass statuette in the Oval Office while announcing plans to invest $100 billion in US jobs and suppliers. Industry: Tech Past donations to Trump: Cook personally gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee. Key issues: The company secured a major win this summer, when smartphones were exempted from heavy tariffs levied on goods imported from India. Betty Wold Johnson Foundation The late Betty Wold Johnson was a philanthropist and mother of the two owners of the New York Jets, who are the foundation’s co-presidents. One of her sons, Woody Johnson, served as ambassador to the United Kingdom during Trump’s first term. Past donations to Trump: Woody Johnson has given more than $4.7 million to Trump’s campaigns and supporting PACs since 2016. Booz Allen Hamilton A major federal contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton primarily provides technology and consulting services and takes in billions in annual revenue. Industry: Defense and national security consulting Government business: About $6 billion paid by federal agencies over the last year, government data shows. Key issues: In January, Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay the US government nearly $16 million to settle a case alleging that a subsidiary submitted fraudulent claims related to a Defense Department contract. …. Ripple Ripple helped launch XRP, one of five cryptocurrencies Trump has said should be included in a new US crypto strategic reserve. The company’s CEO shared a photo alongside Trump on X earlier this year, saying he had “a great dinner” with the president. Industry: Cryptocurrency Past donations to Trump: Ripple gave nearly $4.9 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee, the second-largest single donation the committee received. Key issues: Ripple has previously battled federal regulators who alleged that the company had violated securities law through the sale of its XRP token to retail investors. A federal judge ultimately sided with the company, finding it had not violated the law. Stephen A. Schwarzman Stephen A. Schwarzman is a GOP megadonor and the co-founder of global investment firm Blackstone. He served as the chairman of a business advisory council during Trump’s first term. Schwarzman announced in 2022 that he would not back Trump for a second term, but reversed course in 2024, citing concern with the rise of antisemitism in the US. Industry: Finance Past donations to Trump: Gave more than $4 million to pro-Trump political groups and Trump’s campaigns since 2017. Key issues: Schwarzman has publicly backed Trump’s wide-ranging global tariffs. Konstantin Sokolov Konstantin Sokolov is the founder of a private equity firm focused on tech, finance and infrastructure, a major shareholder in Armenia’s largest telecom company and the chairman of an undersea cable initiative to carry energy and telecommunications between Africa and Europe. Industry: Finance T-Mobile One of the largest wireless carriers in the country, T-Mobile said in a statement that its donation wasn’t only earmarked for the ballroom. “Ahead of America’s 250th Anniversary, T-Mobile donated to the Trust for the National Mall, which partners with the National Park Service to restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital, such as the White House ballroom,” the company said. “T-Mobile has no role in the use of those funds or decisions related to the construction of the ballroom.” Industry: Telecommunications Key issues: T-Mobile has reportedly been part of a new wireless service announced by Trump, dubbed Trump Mobile. Democratic lawmakers have criticized the deal as a conflict of interest. Government business: T-Mobile has received at least a billion dollars from federal contracts in the last three years, government data shows. Tether The cryptocurrency company Tether has a multi-billion-dollar valuationand claims to have 500 million users worldwide. The firm, which is headquartered in El Salvador, hired former Trump administration crypto official Bo Hines to lead its US expansion earlier this year. Industry: Cryptocurrency Key issues: Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce and former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, had previously promoted Tether — with Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly securing a financial stake in the company. At his confirmation hearing, Lutnick told lawmakers he would divest himself of interests in his companies, including Cantor. RELATED REPORT: FACT-CHECK: Outrage Over President Trump’s Ballroom Ignores Over a Century of White House Upgrades! Over the past few days, Democrats have been accusing President Trump of "destroying" the White House by tearing down part of the East Wing in order to begin construction on the new ballroom. In case you missed it, here's the full scoop on the demolition: JUST IN: White House Begins Demolition on East Wing for President Trump’s Ballroom Hillary Clinton (whose husband did, in fact, defile part of the White House) is among the voices whining about the ballroom construction: It’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it. pic.twitter.com/YchFF5U1nO — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) October 21, 2025 So is California Gov. Gavin Newsom: Donald Trump doesn’t want you to see this picture. He’s literally destroying the White House. pic.twitter.com/W63bLLwt82 — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) October 22, 2025 By the way, Newsom is currently (gasp!) tearing down part of the California Capitol in order to expand on it. Of course, unlike President Trump's ballroom, Newsom's renovation project is entirely funded by the California taxpayer. I wonder why everyone on the left is so upset about President Trump‘s expansion of the White House that is being 100% funded by donations, but have zero interest in the $1.6 billion expansion of Gavin Newsom‘s California Capitol that is 100% taxpayer funded and 100% cloaked in… pic.twitter.com/PCwS98oiED — Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) October 20, 2025 Both Clinton and Newsom should probably sit this one out... But, beyond their hypocrisy, all the outrage over President Trump's ballroom is absolutely bogus. Everyone who is crying foul over President Trump's ballroom is choosing to ignore over a century of White House history. You see, President Trump is far from the first president to renovate and expand on the White House. In fact, it was FDR who first expanded on the East Wing that President Trump is now expanding once again to make way for his big, beautiful ballroom. Here's a complete history of presidents modifying the White House: A lot of FAKE OUTRAGE over construction of the big, beautiful (and privately funded) White House Ballroom. FACT: Presidents have been renovating and expanding the White House for more than 100 years. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt built the West Wing . In 1909,… pic.twitter.com/p7opxjsNAm — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 20, 2025 A lot of FAKE OUTRAGE over construction of the big, beautiful (and privately funded) White House Ballroom. FACT: Presidents have been renovating and expanding the White House for more than 100 years. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt built the West Wing . In 1909, President William Howard Taft added the first Oval Office during a West Wing expansion. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt added a second floor to the West Wing; in 1934, he relocated the Oval Office to its current spot, completed the East Wing, and built an indoor swimming pool. In 1948, President Harry Truman began completely gutting and rebuilding the White House interior, preserving only the exterior walls. In 1970, President Nixon converted FDR's pool into the press briefing room; in 1973, he added a bowling alley in the basement. In 2009, President Obama upgraded the tennis court into a full basketball court. Now, in 2025, President Trump has broken ground on a grand ballroom — modernizing the wing while privately funding the project. I hate to burst your bubble… But Trump is not the first to Renovate the White House Here is the list 1902 – Teddy Roosevelt: Built the West Wing 1909 – Taft: Added the first Oval Office 1933–34 – FDR: Expanded, added a pool, moved the Oval Office 1948 – Truman:… pic.twitter.com/m2hmFmBRmP — Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) October 21, 2025 I hate to burst your bubble… But Trump is not the first to Renovate the White House Here is the list 1902 – Teddy Roosevelt: Built the West Wing 1909 – Taft: Added the first Oval Office 1933–34 – FDR: Expanded, added a pool, moved the Oval Office 1948 – Truman: Rebuilt the entire interior 1970s – Nixon: Added the press room & bowling alley 2009 – Obama: Turned the tennis court into a basketball court Now 2025 – Trump: Building a grand, privately funded ballroom. Teddy Roosevelt built the West Wing. Taft made the Executive Office oval. FDR added the entire East Wing and included an indoor pool for himself. Truman gutted the entire White House. Nixon added a bowling alley. Obama added a basketball court. Trump is building a ballroom. pic.twitter.com/OoQQjZVwQ1 — Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) October 20, 2025 Where was the outrage when Obama built his basketball court? Huh? The White House provided this helpful fact sheet for everyone who is upset at President Trump: In the latest instance of manufactured outrage, unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom to the White House — a bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and additions from commanders-in-chief to keep the executive residence as a beacon of American excellence. FACT: For more than a century, U.S. Presidents have been renovating, expanding, and modernizing the White House to meet the needs of the present day. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt built the West Wing — replacing expansive greenhouses constructed during the Jefferson Administration and establishing the modern day executive office wing with a “classically leaning design” — along with a colonial garden and East Terrace, which eventually became the East Wing. In 1909, President William Howard Taft remodeled and expanded the West Wing, which included construction of the first Oval Office. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson demolished the colonial garden, modernizing it with a rose garden. In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge oversaw the renovation of the upper floors and attic of the White House. In 1929, President Herbert Hoover remodeled the West Wing, including reconstruction work in the basement level and remodeling the first floor; after a fire on Christmas Eve, the West Wing was repaired and reopened in 1930. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt overhauled the West Wing, adding a second floor, a larger basement, and a swimming pool, and relocating the Oval Office to its current location; in 1942, President Roosevelt constructed the East Wing. In 1948, President Harry Truman undertook a “total reconstruction” of the White House’s interior, expanding its foundation and footprint — preserving only its exterior walls. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy constructed the modern Rose Garden. In 1970, President Nixon converted the swimming pool into the press briefing room; in 1973, he added a bowling alley in the basement. In 1975, President Gerald Ford installed an outdoor swimming pool on the South Grounds, financed entirely by private donations. In 1993, President Bill Clinton undertook a restoration and refurbishment of the Executive Mansion. In 2009, President Barack Obama resurfaced the south-grounds tennis court into a basketball court and added the White House Kitchen Garden on the South Lawn. In 2020, President Trump and the First Lady completed a new White House tennis pavilion, refurbishing the White House Tennis Court and Grandchildren’s Garden, as well as constructing a new building. Now, in 2025, President Trump is carrying forward that legacy, breaking ground on a grand ballroom — a transformative addition that will significantly increase the White House’s capacity to host major functions honoring world leaders, foreign nations, and other dignitaries. Once again, something is totally okay when a Democrat does it. But, it's suddenly criminal if it's President Trump doing it! Take a look at these photos of White House construction photos from over the past 100+ years: Construction at the White House? How could a President EVER do such a thing? https://t.co/9eKcSVObXS pic.twitter.com/ijOS1XaRbT — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 22, 2025 On another note, President Trump shared some new renderings of the ballroom himself today, and they look absolutely gorgeous! He also re-iterated that the cost is coming completely out of his own pocket and will not cost the taxpayer a single cent. It's his gift to America. Watch this: JUST IN: President Trump has just presented renderings of his BALLROOM at the White House and liberals say it has "too much gold." I don't know about you, but this looks ELEGANT and beautiful. It's exactly what the White House needed. KEEP BUILDING.pic.twitter.com/QPJ1e4mfvx — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 22, 2025 Everything President Trump touches turns to gold, and the White House ballroom will be no exception! What do you think? Do you support President Trump building a White House ballroom? Your thought?

A high school student in Baltimore was placed in handcuffs after an artificial intelligence system apparently mistook his bag of Doritos for a firearm. According to WBAL-TV 11 News, Taki Allen was sitting with friends Monday night outside Kenwood High School when police officers showed up with guns and approached him. “It was like eight cop cars that came pulling up for us. At first, I didn’t know where they were going until they started walking toward me with guns, talking about, ‘Get on the ground,’ and I was like, ‘What?'” Allen told the outlet. Police told Allen an AI detector thought his bag of chips was a deadly weapon. “They made me get on my knees, put my hands behind my back, and cuffed me. Then, they searched me and they figured out I had nothing,” Allen told the outlet. “Then, they went over to where I was standing and found a bag of chips on the floor,” he added. Allen said an officer showed him a picture from the AI detection system, saying the crumpled-up bag of Doritos resembled a gun. #BREAKING: A 16-year-old student says he’s now terrified to go back to school after an AI system mistakenly sent more than 20 police officers after him after a gun detection software falsely flagged a Doritos bag as a firearm. leading armed officers to hold the student at… pic.twitter.com/VxFhXymFpY — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) October 23, 2025 More from WBAL-TV 11 News: County police sent a statement Tuesday afternoon to WBAL-TV 11 News, saying: “On Monday evening, at approximately 7:20 p.m., officers assigned to Precinct 11-Essex responded to Kenwood High School following a report of a suspicious person with a weapon. Once on scene, the person was searched and it was determined the subject was not in possession of any weapons. I would refer you to BCPS regarding questions pertaining to Omnilert.” Last year, Baltimore County high schools began using a gun detection system that employs AI to detect potential weapons by utilizing existing school cameras. The system can identify a possible weapon and send an alert to the school safety team and law enforcement. “Nobody wants this to happen to their child. No one wants this to happen,” said Lamont Davis, Allen’s grandfather. “Superintendent Dr. Myriam Rogers told reporters that the system worked how it was meant to,” WMAR 2 News Baltimore stated. “The program is based on human verification and in this case the program did what it was supposed to do which was to signal an alert and for humans to take a look to find out if there was cause for concern in that moment,” Rogers said, according to the outlet. Does this crumpled bag of chips look like a gun to you?@RebeccaPryorTV has the story of how an AI gun detection device made a mistake on Monday, leading a student be handcuffed outside his Baltimore County school.https://t.co/KdJaF2jx68 pic.twitter.com/va2EtEqmx4 — FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) October 22, 2025 WMAR 2 News Baltimore shared further info: But Allen is skeptical. “I don’t think no chip bag should be mistaken for a gun at all,” he said. The school’s principal Kate Smith sent a letter to parents saying in part, “Please know that ensuring the safety of our students and school community is one of our highest priorities.” But Allen said Smith didn’t come to speak to him until three days after the incident happened. “I was expecting them to at least come up to me after the situation or the day after, but three days later that just shows like, do you really care or are you just doing it because the superintendent called me,” Allen said. He told WMAR-2 News that the principal asked him how he was and to come to her if he needed anything. Now, he feels on edge at a place where he’s supposed to feel safe. “Now, I feel like sometimes after practice I don’t go outside anymore. Cause if I go outside, I don’t want – don’t think I’m safe enough to go outside, especially eating a bag of chips or drinking something. I just stay inside until my ride comes,” said Allen. He thinks the school should invest in more accurate technology so this doesn’t happen again. Superintendent Rogers told us she’ll review the notification process and consider changes. Watch additional coverage below:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized California and specifically its Democrat governor, Gavin Newsom, for permitting the state to issue Commercial Driver’s Licenses (CDLs) to illegal aliens, following another deadly crash involving a non-citizen driver from India that claimed three lives on Tuesday.

Rudy Giuliani explains support for candidate others want to push out of NYC mayoral race

U.S. President Donald Trump will test his deal-making capabilities on a trip next week to Asia, a region battered by his hardball trade policies, while doubts hang over his highly anticipated meeting with China’s Xi Jinping. Trump, who leaves Washington on Friday night, is set for a five-day trip spanning Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, his first to the region and his longest journey abroad since taking office in January. The Republican leader hopes to pile up trade, critical mineral and ceasefire deals before turning to the toughest challenge, a face-to-face with Xi on Thursday in South Korea. Trump is also working to maintain the signature foreign policy achievement of his second term, a ceasefire he helped to strike in the Israel-Gaza conflict, while the Russian war in Ukraine rages and a trade war with China shows little sign of ending. Washington and Beijing have hiked tariffs on each other’s exports and threatened to cut off trade in critical minerals and technologies altogether. The trip was formally announced by the White House on Thursday. Details remain in flux, including the meeting between leaders of the world’s two largest economies. Neither side expects a breakthrough that would restore terms of trade that existed before Trump’s second-term inauguration in January, according to a person familiar with the conversations. Instead, talks between the two sides to prepare for the meeting focused on managing disagreements and modest improvements. An interim agreement could include limited relief on tariffs, an extension of current rates, or China committing to buy U.S.-made soybeans and Boeing airplanes. Beijing reneged on similar promises in a 2020 deal with Trump. Washington could let more high-end computer chips flow to Beijing, which in turn could loosen controls on rare earth magnets that have angered Trump. On Wednesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump-Xi talk would be a “pull-aside,” suggesting nothing formal. Trump later told reporters the two would have “a pretty long meeting,” allowing them to “work out a lot of our questions and our doubts and our tremendous assets together.” China has not confirmed a meeting is planned. Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to DailyWire.com/Subscribe to join now. Mira Rapp-Hooper, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution and former Biden administration official, said Trump’s Asia policy has been defined by intense pressure on countries’ trade policies and defense spending. “The high-level question on this trip is really, who does the United States stand with, and what does it stand for,” she said. Trump is expected at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, which starts Sunday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There, he could oversee the signing of a ceasefire deal between Thailand and Cambodia. The deal would formalize an agreement that ended the worst fighting in years between the two countries in July, though it falls short of a comprehensive peace deal. During his second term in office, Trump has branded himself as a global peacemaker. After that stop, Trump will head to Japan to meet Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected prime minister. Takaichi is expected to affirm plans by her predecessor to hike military spending and to make $550 billion in Trump-directed investments in the U.S. Then, in Busan, South Korea, Trump plans to meet Xi ahead of an international trade summit. Trump is set to return to Washington before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ forum gets under way, according to the schedule announced by the White House on Thursday. Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to a total of some 155% from November 1 if they cannot strike a deal. That would almost certainly provoke a reaction from Beijing and end a truce that paused tit-for-tat hikes. Beyond trade, the two leaders are expected to discuss Taiwan, a long-running U.S.-China irritant, and Russia, a Chinese ally now subject to expanded U.S. sanctions over the war in Ukraine. “There’s no intent from the U.S. side to discuss other issues,” aside from China’s trade, export controls and its purchases of Russian oil, according to a U.S. official, who said Trump would be prepared to reiterate previous responses if Xi raised other topics. Trump is also trying to close trade deals with Malaysia and India, while shoring up a deal that has already been struck with South Korea. U.S. and South Korean relations have been strained by Seoul’s concerns over the $350 billion investment in U.S. companies sought by Trump and deportations of the country’s foreign workers. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung wants Trump to pursue peace with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. U.S. officials considered, but never confirmed, a trip to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, according to another person familiar with the discussions. Another U.S. official said on Friday that no Kim-Trump meeting was on the schedule for the trip. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Lincoln Feast and Edmund Klamann)