FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the ouster of at least 10 employees involved in the investigation of President Donald Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, four people briefed on the matter told CNN. The agents had secretly seized Kash Patel’s and Susie Wiles’ phone records. They did it before Trump was […] The post Patel Fires 10 Agents Who Seized Phone Records Before Trump’s Re-Election appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

'the president seems now well prepared to take'

REUTERS–Cuban forces killed four people and wounded six others aboard a Florida-registered speedboat that entered Cuban waters on Wednesday and opened fire on a Cuban patrol, the Cuban government said at a time of heightened tensions with the United States. Cuba’s Interior Ministry said the group was comprised of anti-government Cubans, some of whom were previously wanted in Cuba. It said the group came from the U.S. armed with assault rifles, handguns, homemade explosives, ballistic vests and telescopic sights. An additional Cuban suspect was detained inside Cuban territory in connection with the plot, the statement said. “According to preliminary statements from the detainees, they intended to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes,” the Interior Ministry said in an official statement. The wounded were evacuated and receiving medical attention, while the Cuban patrol commander was also wounded, the ministry said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters it was not a U.S. operation and that no U.S. government personnel were involved. Cuban authorities made the U.S. aware of the incident, but the U.S. embassy in Havana would attempt to independently verify what happened, Rubio said. “We are going to have our own information on this, we are going to figure out exactly what happened, and there are a number of things that could have happened here,” Rubio said. “Suffice to say it is highly unusual to see shootouts in open sea like that,” he said. The incident took place as the U.S. has blocked virtually all oil shipments to the island, increasing pressure on the Communist-run government. American forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas on Jan. 3, removing a key Cuban ally from power, and Rubio reiterated his rhetoric against the Cuban government on Wednesday, calling the status quo unsustainable and saying Cuba needed to change “dramatically.” Cuba said it identified the six detainees from the boat, two of whom were previously wanted in Cuba on suspicion of planning terrorist acts against Cuba: Amijail Sanchez Gonzalez and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gomez.  In addition, Cuba said it detained another Cuban man in Cuban territory who had come from the U.S. to the island in order to receive the infiltrators. One of the dead was identified as Michel Ortega Casanova, while the other three dead had yet to be identified, Cuba said. The speedboat came within one nautical mile of a channel on Falcones Cay, on the north coast of Cuba about 120 miles east of Havana, when it was approached by five members of a Cuban border patrol unit, Cuba said. The speedboat then opened fire, wounding the commander of the Cuban vessel, the statement said. Cuba said the speedboat was registered in Florida with the number FL7726SH. “Faced with the current challenges, Cuba reaffirms its commitment to protecting its territorial waters, based on the principle that national defense is a fundamental pillar for the Cuban state in safeguarding its sovereignty and stability in the region,” the Cuban statement said.  Florida politicians called for separate investigations, saying they did not trust the Cuban account.  Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he was ordering prosecutors to open an investigation in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement partners.  Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Republican whose district includes the southern tip of Florida, called for a federal investigation, saying he had asked the State Department and military to look into the matter. “United States authorities must determine whether any of the victims were U.S. citizens or legal residents and establish exactly what occurred,” Gimenez said. Originally published by Reuters The post Cuba Says It Killed 4, Wounded 6 Others Aboard Speedboat, Including Wanted Cubans Who Came From US appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Candace Fans Claim People Are Being Paid to Say She's 'Evil'

Wednesday's Final Word

Despite having been painted a picture by the liberal media that the new CBS News would become something akin to MAGA TV, it has been anything but. Wednesday’s CBS Mornings reacted with negative narratives about President Trump’s “contentious” 2026 State of the Union speech, “clash[ing] with Democrats” and painting a supposedly dour economy as strong. The bias began in the tease with co-host and Democrat donor Gayle King saying Trump gave “a contentious State of the Union Address, claiming victory on the economy, and bashing Democrats.” Filling in at a show she spent seven years co-hosting, Norah O’Donnell voiced skepticism at Trump “claim[ing] the nation’s economy is strong despite polls showing most Americans feel otherwise” and “clash[ing] with Democrats in the room on a range of issues, including the ICE tactics at the root of the partial government shutdown.” Wednesday’s ‘CBS Mornings’ was indistinguishable from ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ on the bias and anti-Trump invective. Don’t listen to anyone trying to insist CBS is now MAGA. It’s still biased as hell. Here was Norah O’Donnell opening their #SOTU recap…. “We’re going to… pic.twitter.com/SeTBnpQHhE — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) February 26, 2026 Chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes scoffed at Trump’s focus on “affordability and the economy” because he “inflat[ed] the impact” his policies “have had already,” adding the night had both “a couple of truly tense moments and some very moving ones that brought the entire room to its feet.” After alluding to the bipartisan nature of the men’s hockey team bringing the room to its feet (well, except the reporters, but Cordes didn’t mention that), Cordes shifted back to the Trump bashing about his speech containing “plenty of division” and “put[ting] Democrats in a tighter spot on immigration” that resulted in “shouting from a small group of Democrats.” Cordes jabbed Trump for invoking voter ID, but at least she conceded Trump voiced desire for “another round of tax cuts and he touted a new plan to keep electricity prices low when AI companies and tech companies build data centers.” After alluding to the various military honors bestowed (including two Medals of Honor), she moved to the Democrat response from Governor Abigail Spanberger (VA) as having “targeted Trump’s personal behavior in office.” Cordes concluded with allusions to the empty seats from Democrats and the latest hijinks from Congressman Al Green (D-TX), whom she said has a tough reelection primary next week. Chief Washington analyst Robert Costa came next, opining to O’Donnell that his takeaway was “what was not said” with Trump not offering a preview of what he’d do in Iran. King tried to extend this out further to the Epstein files, but Costa didn’t take that bait and instead said he was struck by Trump’s message discipline on not attacking the Supreme Court justices who struck down most of his tariffs. “[Y]ou saw him trying to underscore patriotic themes, highlight Americans with compelling stories of service to the country, while also taking on Democrats, calling them ‘crazy’, saying they’re not addressing the issue of immigration or the economy, and you really see ahead of the midterm elections, this is a President who wants to be appealing to the center of the country, the undecided voter,” he added. The second hour featured two long segments that heavily criticized the President versus genuine concern for Democrats. As the show has been prone to do following major political nights, they brought in political consultants and CBS News contributors, Democrat Joel Payne and Republican Terry Sullivan. Payne predictably called the speech one for Trump’s “base” and so he could be “treated like the leader of a dictatorial country” and thus “not…to bring in new people” or truly be challenged. In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Trump made many claims about the economy, which he said is strong, and touched on foreign policy. The president also clashed with Democrats over mass deportation. CBS News contributors Joel Payne, a Democratic… pic.twitter.com/RHY3kH3BLR — CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 25, 2026 Sullivan humorously took a different approach by targeting the left’s counter-programming, but was then challenged by co-host Nate Burleson if Trump playing to his base is a hindrance. Of course, that was not asked of Payne (click “expand”): SULLIVAN: I completely agree because really what middle America cares about are frogs on a stage with Democrat politicians. Like that’s appealing to the middle of America? I mean, look…the point is that, like, both sides play to their base. That’s what they do, and their rival event played to their base. But Trump put a face on his policies. The family that’s getting –paying less in tax, $5,000 less in taxes because of his policies, they were there. The, like, his policies, you know, that he put forth, he was very disciplined last night in telling what he’s done and here’s what it’s done for Americans, and I think putting a face on that was a successful strategy. PAYNE: You will be surprised that Terry and I had a different takeaway from the speech. BURLESON: Terry, let me ask you. Is playing to your base like you’re saying President Trump did last night, the right strategy as we close in on the midterms? SULLIVAN: Look, but I think, like I was saying, I think he played to his base but I think he also played to the middle of America. I mean a working family paying less in taxes matters. Securing our borders matters. I know it was showmanship when the Democrats wouldn’t stand up for his defending - putting Americans over illegal immigrants, you know, but Americans care about that. That’s a winning issue. O’Donnell dutifully assisted Payne by offering up a softball set-up: “Joel, do you think [Trump’s message on lower taxes] resonates if people are paying less in taxes when they are paying more for other issues because of tariffs?” Some uninterrupted back-and-forth later with Sullivan countering Trump “stayed on message” and “talked about the issues that help Republicans,” O’Donnell simply asked Payne another softie: “What’s Democrats’ message?” King had a weak toss of her own disguised as a challenging probe about whether Democrats boycotting or heckling was “helpful.” Burleson and King had one last question for Sullivan, complaining Trump was blaming his circumstances in his second year on the Biden regime (click “expand”): BURLESON: Terry, can I ask you a question? I have some relatives that voted for Donald Trump and they — they’re tired of the blame game. Do you feel like at this point blaming the other side is as effective as it once was. KING: Or blaming the Biden Administration still? SULLIVAN: No, absolutely not. But it works on both sides. Like right now there is far less in policy solutions by both sides and far more, in just, well at least we’re not the other side and that’s what America is voting for in most of these elections. Well, who is the less bad candidate? That’s a terrible spot to be in. The last half-hour commenced with a dual economy and health care discussion with medical contributor Dr. Celine Gounder and business analyst Jill Schlesinger. O’Donnell first went negative and doomcasting with Schlesinger: “[Y]ou heard the President says the economy is soaring, but if you look at our CBS News poll, more than half Americans think the economy is bad. What’s the disconnect?” Schlesinger offered welcome nuance that, yes, “the economy grew at a slower pace last year in 2025 than it did in 2024 and for us, consumers, our lived experience on the ground is not about economic numbers, it’s about how much things cost.” She explained that, yes, inflation was “a surge after COVID” that “pushed prices up,” but thankfully “[t]he rate of increase has come down” but that surge has still had ripple effects “and that is what explains the consumer confidence down, and of course, why people are telling us in these polls they’re not feeling great about the economy.” Burleson tried to frame those happy with the Trump economy as only the rich (click “expand”): BURLESON: I understand that when we talk economy, it’s different for everybody, right? It’s really dependent on what you’re going through in the moment. But let’s just talk about people that might have a stock portfolio, and they’re looking at stock markets saying, whoa, things are good right now. President Trump, he is talking during the State of the Union and says, look at what’s happened in the market. It’s all because of me. So, is there a disconnect there, or do we need to give credit where credit is due? SCHLESINGER: We have always had this problem where the stock market is not the economy, the economy is not the stock market, okay? If you own a stock, you’re among the 60 percent of Americans that’s owned a stock, a mutual fund. Sure, the market was up by more than 16 percent last year, great. But that really means that your retirement account might have gone up a little bit. A lot of people can’t access that money. Again, lived experience on the ground — prices, affordability, health care, child care, elder care, cost of education, cost of rent, all of these things, even the price in the grocery store — these are still the problems that people are confronting. A member of the Biden transition team on COVID, Gounder was all negative in stating her shock that “there was not more of an acknowledgement of pain, the pain that people are feeling” with “[h]ealth care” being “the number one financial concern for Americans now, ahead of rent, ahead of food, utilities, gas[.]” Health care costs are the number one financial concern for Americans, Dr. Celine Gounder says, noting that President Trump did not speak to those concerns much during his Tuesday night State of the Union address. Dr. Gounder shares how some of the Trump administration’s health… pic.twitter.com/1RsYyKt3qe — CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) February 25, 2026 “[S]o, for that not to have been addressed, for that acknowledgement of we feel your pain, the other thing that he did not address is that the biggest driver of increased health care costs are actually hospital care and physicians, doctors like me – and he didn’t really talk about what was being done, or what might be done to curb those costs,” she added. Following Gounder’s dismissal of Trump Rx as just “a website where you can download coupons” that won’t help all that many people, Burleson and King concluded with questions for Schlesinger about Trump Accounts (which she’s a fan of) and replacing the income tax with tariffs (which she said won’t happen) (click “expand”): BURLESON: Yes, I hear you on that. Jill, he also mentioned these Trump accounts. What can you tell us about that? I was trying to unpack it, and then research while I was watching the State of the Union. SCHLESINGER: So, these are education savings accounts and retirement savings accounts. It’s sort of like, think of it like a Roth IRA for your kid. A thousand dollars goes in for every child born, starting last year for the next three years. KING: You have to apply for it. But it sounds like a good thing. SCHLESINGER: It is a great thing. BURLESON: It is a great thing. SCHLESINGER: It really is a great thing. KING: Yes. SCHLESINGER: You can do it during tax season, by the way, but it opens up in July, and parents and employers can add to those accounts, just if everybody has a kid in the last year or going forward the next three years, it is a really good thing to have. It has some special tax treatment. If you’re really trying to save for education yourself, though. Those Section 529 plans, they are the best way to save. (….) O’DONNELL: Trump also claimed that tariffs could replace income tax. SCHLESINGER: No, absolutely not. There’s no way. We’re talking about the government taking in a couple trillion dollars in federal tax revenue. Last year, the administration brought in $300 billion of tariff revenue, and by the way, about 150 of that is going away because of the Supreme Court decision, so there is no chance that tariffs can replace income taxes. Sorry, gang, go pay your taxes. To see the relevant CBS transcript from February 25, click here.

Four people were stabbed and killed at a home where an elderly woman had tried to obtain a domestic violence protective order against her son. Washington state police responded to a report that a 32-year-old man was violating a protective order on Tuesday when they realized the order had never been served, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.The woman said her son was suffering from 'grandiosity, auditory hallucinations, and command hallucinations.' They rushed to serve the order against him, but as they were on the way, other calls came in about a man stabbing people at the same address near Tacoma. When they arrived, they found that he had allegedly stabbed four people, who later died.Police then shot and killed the man. He was declared dead at the scene.KING-TV reported that people had been stabbed in the back yard of the home as well as in the front street.Records show that the woman at the address had sought a protective order against her son on the basis that he had mental health and substance abuse issues, and had pushed her. He also made a threat to her after saying her "grave has been already dug up."The woman wrote that he had been doing "witchcraft/occult behavior and doing rituals" at her home, as well as "damaging personal belongings" and hurting her cat."I am an elderly disabled woman, and he is taking advantage of me and my health," she added.The son did not appear before court, and she was granted the protective order, which restricted him from being within 1,000 feet of her and ordered him to comply with a mental health plan. However, he wasn't served the order, and WDIV-TV reported that it was unclear why he wasn't served.The woman said her son was suffering from "grandiosity, auditory hallucinations, and command hallucinations," which were worsening.RELATED: 'Sadistic' PA man sexually assaulted and cut 13-year-old girl at California motel after grooming her on Discord, feds say Authorities have not yet released the names of the people killed or of the man killed by deputies. A neighbor in the area described what he witnessed."All of a sudden, I just heard, like, a series of gunshots. You could really hear it echoing through the trees," Chris Cardenas said.He said he saw ambulances and dozens of police cars at the scene of the crime, which he described as tragic.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!