During an interview on The Lead with Jake Tapper, he asked Tom Homan about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who recently posted a video threatening Tom Homan if his agents touch any of the lawmakers. He cut right through her video rant. “First of all, you can’t intimidate me. Come on, give me a break. Five years […] The post Tom Homan on AOC’s Threats & A Massive Crackdown Is Coming! appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

President Donald Trump deepens U.S. ties in the Middle East with historic economic partnerships, while domestic battles over tax cuts and Medicaid rage on in Congress. The Federal Aviation Administration calls an urgent meeting with airlines to address critical staff shortages and faulty equipment at major travel hubs, grounding thousands of flights. And, a sweeping ICE raid in Nashville nets nearly 200 illegal aliens, sparking backlash from the city’s Democratic mayor and a larger national debate on Homeland Security protocols.  It’s Thursday, May 15, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:     If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:     Budget Battle Continues Topline: House Republicans negotiated Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” this week in marathon sessions that began Tuesday and stretched well into Wednesday morning. Lawmakers muscled the legislation forward to prepare it for passage by the end of next week. As budget negotiations continue to shape the bill, Congressional Republicans are focused on permanently extending Trump’s 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” On top of that, Republicans want to make good on Trump’s campaign promises, such as no tax on tips, and boost funding for the military and immigration enforcement. “We’re checking all the boxes,” Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Newsmax. “ [The president] promised no taxes on overtime, no taxes on Social Security, no taxes on, for example, interest on car loans that are made in America. A number of those things are woven into this bill, and we’ve made all the math work so we can do that.“ So far, Republicans have agreed on new tax exemptions for tips and overtime pay for those earning less than $160,000 annually. The government will pay $1,000 to parents for babies born through December 31, 2028. The House bill also raises the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction from $10,000 up to $30,000, which some Republicans in blue states have said is still not enough. However, to balance the books, the GOP must find funding offsets. For example, the bill limits itemized deductions for the 37% top bracket, and some Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for electric vehicles and green energy will be scrapped, though not entirely until 2029. The bill would also introduce work requirements for able-bodied people to access Medicaid, and would create new safeguards to prevent waste and fraud, although those reforms could face opposition in the Senate. And… Yesterday, the White House announced an agreement that it said would generate an economic exchange worth $1.2 trillion with Qatar. As part of that deal, Qatar Airways said it plans to buy as many as 210 planes from Boeing. The U.S. has also agreed to deeper military cooperation with Qatar. Earlier this week, the president struck deals with Saudi Arabia that the White House says are worth about $600 billion.   FAA Reforms Topline: The Trump administration is putting pressure on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after several deadly plane crashes and concerns with staffing shortages. On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy testified to lawmakers on a House Appropriations subcommittee about the Transportation Department’s new budget request. He’s asking for billions of dollars to update the country’s air traffic control system, which has been the target of widespread criticism after several deadly disasters and major snarls in the system. Hundreds of flights were grounded at Newark Liberty International Airport last week when air traffic controllers lost communications with planes for about 90 seconds. Newark needs 38 air traffic controllers – it only has 24, and five of them are on a 45-day trauma leave due to stress resulting from recent problems. Also, construction at Newark has caused about 34 flight cancellations per day. Duffy blamed the Biden administration for failing to fix a broken system. “This did not have to be our story,” Duffy said. “Over the last four years, the last administration, they knew this was a problem. And by the way, during COVID, when people weren’t flying, that was a perfect time to fix these problems.” On Wednesday, airlines met with the FAA to address the situation at Newark. The FAA is already working on the Newark airport — it installed a software update to prevent another outage and is slashing the number of flights for now. Duffy has made reversing the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI ) hiring practices implemented under the Obama and Biden administrations a major focus and has introduced a new recruitment program to address the air traffic controller shortage. He also wants to invest in new equipment — new radios for air traffic controllers, radar on the ground, tarmac sensors, and a new flight management system to improve airspace efficiency. As he was testifying to Congress on Wednesday, Duffy’s Transportation Department announced it had just approved dozens more infrastructure grants, for a total of 405 grants worth nearly $5 billion so far. The department says it has cleared about 13% of the backlog under former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who served during the Biden administration.   Nashville ICE Raids Nab Nearly 200 Illegals Topline: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) carried out a week of raids in Nashville, Tennessee, arresting nearly 200 illegal aliens and prompting outrage from the city’s Democratic mayor. A week-long ICE raid in Nashville that started on May 3 captured nearly 200 illegal aliens, many of whom have been convicted of criminal offenses. Of the 196 illegal aliens detained by ICE, 95 had prior criminal convictions or pending charges, and 31 had illegally re-entered the United States after previously being deported. A Daily Wire investigation found that one of the illegal aliens captured is a 60-year-old Iraqi national who was convicted of rape and failed to register as a sex offender. Another is a 33-year-old from El Salvador believed to be affiliated with MS-13, a violent gang that was recently designated a foreign terror organization by the Trump administration. The government of El Salvador also suspects the man of committing aggravated murder. There’s also a Haitian male convicted of possessing meth with the intent to distribute, a Salvadoran convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to manufacture and sell the drug, and a Guatemalan national with a conviction for aggravated assault. Nashville Democratic Mayor Freddie O’Connell said that ICE’s immigration enforcement raids caused “deep community harms” and added that he was “heartbroken” over the federal law enforcement agency’s actions. O’Connell announced the creation of the “belonging fund,” a joint project between the city of Nashville and a local foundation to support organizations that assist illegal aliens with their childcare, transportation, and food needs. The mayor also signed an executive order requiring city employees and police to report any communications with ICE to his office. But Nashville Legal Director Wally Dietz said that the city government can do nothing to prevent ICE from carrying out enforcement operations in Nashville. “We are powerless. We have absolutely no authority to instruct ICE not to carry out their enforcement actions…we have no authority to tell [Tennessee Highway Patrol] they cannot cooperate with ICE.” Tricia McLaughlin, the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, called O’Connell a “pro-open borders politician” who would “rather protect illegal aliens than American citizens.” O’Connell was also slammed by ICE acting director Todd Lyons, who said that the Nashville mayor should be thanking the federal law enforcement agency for protecting his city. 

Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) tried to trip up Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his testimony on Wednesday, but instead exposed herself to be wildly unfamiliar with Kennedy’s department. While Kennedy was trying to respond to Alsobrooks’ confusing questions about his sprawling department, she suggested to the secretary that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is not part of his department, which, of course, is false, since HHS does oversee NIH. “It’s assistive reproductive technology, it’s a division. Do you know what it does?” Alsobrooks asked Kennedy. The secretary asked what she’s specifically talking about is part of NIH, since, when he took over as secretary, there were dozens of offices for reproductive health, which Kennedy is in the process of organizing and consolidating. “No, it’s actually part of your agency,” Alsobrooks responded. “NIH is part of my agency,” RFK shot back. “Senator, you should know that.” “I do know that,” the senator suggested. “It’s actually, the CDC is where is it.” Astonishingly, Alsobrooks then told RFK that he was “unfamiliar with the programs” in his department. “You’re unfamiliar with my agency,” a fiery Kennedy reacted. “The NIH and the CDC are part of HHS.” WATCH: This sums up today for you. RFK Jr was supposed to be answering questions about his 2026 proposed budget. Instead, he was giving Congress a lesson on his agency. Kennedy: “Is it part of NIH?” Senator: “No, it’s actually part of your agency.” Kennedy: “NIH is part of my… pic.twitter.com/8sT6IzX8o9 — Anna Matson (@AnnaRMatson) May 14, 2025 As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Kennedy sparred with a number of Democrats during his testimony before the House committee on appropriations before his hearing with the Senate. Kennedy defended cuts made to HHS and called out Democrats for echoing party talking points and engaging in what he viewed as the politicization of public health. In one instance, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) accused Kennedy of potentially breaking the law and putting Americans’ health at risk over cuts he’s made at HHS. The secretary shot back by describing the “absolute cataclysmic disorganization” of the department when he took it over, which he said was under her oversight for decades. “We had nine separate offices of women’s health,” RFK explained. “When we consolidate them, Democrats say that we’re eliminating them. We’re not, we’re still appropriating the $3.7 billion, but we’re not keeping all nine. We had eight separate offices for minority health, we eliminated one. We had 27 HIV offices, we had 59 behavioral health programs.” Moreover, during his testimony before the Senate Health Committee, several protesters were tackled and arrested by Capitol Police for screaming and interrupting Kennedy’s opening statement. Among those arrested was Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen. Related: Ben & Jerry’s Co-Founder Arrested For Stunt During RFK Testimony

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky landed in Turkey today for what he hoped would be face-to-face negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Instead, he was met with Putin’s underlings. On Sunday, Putin first proposed direct talks with Ukraine to bring the three-year war to a close during a televised address. “We are proposing that Kyiv resume direct negotiations without any preconditions,” Putin said. “We offer the Kyiv authorities to resume negotiations already on Thursday, in Istanbul.” HOW TRUMP AND RUBIO PUT AMERICA FIRST IN 100 DAYS Zelensky responded by challenging Putin to come to Istanbul himself for a face-to-face meeting. “We await a full and lasting ceasefire, starting from tomorrow, to provide the necessary basis for diplomacy,” Zelensky said on X. “There is no point in prolonging the killings. And I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally. I hope that this time the Russians will not look for excuses.” Instead, Russia sent aides to negotiate with the Ukrainian leader, who described them as “stand-in props,” reported the BBC. In response, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said “A clown and a loser is talking about respected people.” BEN SHAPIRO CONFRONTS ZELENSKY ON CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION AND CONSCRIPTION IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Russia’s delegation will be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, but meetings are still not officially scheduled, according to the BBC. So far, Zelensky has met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara. President Donald Trump also said he was skipping the meetings because of scheduling conflicts, despite floating the possibility of attending earlier this week. Trump said he doesn’t think it “was possible for Putin to go” if he himself wasn’t there. “I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going?” Trump said, speaking at a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar during his four-day Gulf tour. HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST TRIP The President added that the war “has to stop.” “We spent $350 billion there — just handed,” he said. “Nobody even knows where the money is. There’s no accounting.” Trump added that Zelensky is the “greatest salesman, maybe in history” because “every time he came to the United States, he’d walk away with $100 billion.” “That’s a good salesman, right?” Trump added. “Last time he didn’t do as well. He only got $60 billion.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio is already in Istanbul for meetings with his NATO counterparts and he and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff were planning to be present for the Russia-Ukraine talks.

Most children don’t begin remembering things until they’re around two or three. Before that, some events might stand out, such as emotional events. Parents can employ things that evoke emotional responses to create early childhood memories. When Liz Stanford was preparing to celebrate her son’s second birthday, she planned a special surprise. It will probably cause an emotional response in most people. @spenditlikestanford the pure shock on his face #toddlerbirthday #2ndbirthday #secondbirthday ♬ Stuff We Did (from ‘Up’) – Piano Version – your movie soundtrack When Liz’s son woke up, he left his bedroom to see the Pooh friends waiting for him with birthday hats and balloons. Eeyore (who has his tail), Tigger, and Winnie the Pooh wait in the hallway to wish the young boy a bright beginning to a special day. You can see from the look on his face that seeing his friends lined up made him happy. In the stories of Winnie the Pooh, Pooh’s friends are stuffed animals that come to life in Christopher Robin’s imagination. With this birthday surprise, Liz is helping her young son develop the imagination that will bring these friends to life. Image from TikTok. The only thing that might have been better would be to turn her son’s room into the Hundred Acre Wood. As Liz’s son clutches a Mickey Mouse stuffie, it is evident that the Disney characters have a big influence on him. The character Christopher Robin was based on the real-life son of A.A. Milne, although the stories came from the author’s imagination. Whether her son remembers this birthday will likely depend on many factors. One thing the parents can do is show this and other videos to keep that memory alive. The emotional impact of seeing all his friends ready to celebrate also makes an impact. Please share if you “saw” Tigger bounce when the door opened. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Mom Surprises Toddler With Special “Guests” On His Second Birthday appeared first on InspireMore.

The Colts are weak as hell for this

by Serra Everyone knows what camouflage is. That is the easy part – or should be. In real life, there are many misconceptions. Let’s begin with the goal of camouflage: getting the task done. That could mean wearing red and yellow garments and sporting a regimental tie. Or it could mean being the country boy in a Huge-City mall – buying new urban garments. You know, new in town and eager to start a new adventure at Acme Inc., 45th Street. Let’s get practical John Doe has a problem: some bad guys are robbing and terrorizing the area where he lives. You know, in some parts of the world, criminal gangs use these methods to reduce local populations into submission and obedience. At any rate, those are dangerous and armed guys. Maybe they get information from someone living in the area, who knows? The police are nowhere to be seen. Maybe they are too few, maybe there has been an earthquake in the neighboring Shire – you know, John Doe is a Hobbit. Our hero – John Doe – lives in the countryside (either in late Spring, Summer, or early Autumn), and it is not going to rain. Moreover, John is a customer of a camo shop – at least today. That means no ghillies or other special paraphernalia. By the way, John doesn’t own—or is not allowed to own or bring along—a firearm. This means going undetected is of paramount importance. John’s goal is to locate the black hats and obtain information on their movements—maybe to sound the alarm and save lives. The first question John Doe asks himself is: Who could be interested in spotting me, and what means could he use? Drones? Not probable, but one never knows. Okay, then what kind of drones and with what sensors—daylight camera, IR, FLIR? On this occasion, commercial daylight-camera drones are the worst scenario, but wars have been lost just because one never took one step more during planning. By the way, criminals are making use of drones in some countries, so John is going to be ready for drones with IR equipment. Long-range firearms? That could mean binoculars and other optics – you know, those things are NOT ONLY are useful to take out innocent Hobbits, they magnify everything. Oops! We are spoiling many wonderfully-crafted videos – such as those on camo comparisons and supposedly concealed observation posts. The fact is, John never stumbled upon – his fault – a single video in which binoculars were used. BTW, basic binoculars (4x or 8x) are cheap and maybe the bad guys own one – even if they are too lazy to go around with long-range firearms. Or maybe a local informer owns binoculars – perhaps, quite powerful ones. As for the who, informers are often ordinary people. Besides, even upstanding Hobbits could love gossiping for the sake of it – or be loose-tongued. Let’s stop here, lest we run short of parchment. Let’s begin with IR (infrared) To begin with, John buys, as far as possible, NIR compliant camos. NIR stands for Near Infra Red: in a few words, the IR band most commonly used (till now) in IR devices. In a few words, NIR compliant means John’s camos will stay camos when observed with an IR device – but without colors. How can John be sure a garment is NIR compliant? He tests it with an IR device – one with an IR spotlight is perfect (obviously, John uses such a device only for tests). One never knows what the bad guys could field. Besides, unless one is rich, one will wear those camos again – maybe in another scenario. John never forgets a camo – NIR compliant or not – is no formula for invisibility. It is just a camo. Back to visible light A good camo should not only conceal (as far as possible) John, but should also disrupt his shape – the human eye is very good at detecting it. That is the main reason why Hobbits usually prefer not to use – or at least use in specific environments only – one-color camos. Now it is up to John: he knows what works well in The Shire in that season – or better in that specific lapse of time and weather. Colors and patterns should be chosen according to the environment. There is a caveat, though: unless he is a lucky guy, John will have to go for a camo effective on x% of terrain – or for a compromise. In a fully forested area, the choice will be easy. If it is mainly vegetation and cultivated fields – Green? Dark brown? Light brown? Sand? Lavender?  – the choice will be a bit more difficult. But if the area is quite populated – or a varying mixture of colors/shapes – the choice may be very difficult. Now you know why the multicam camo is so popular with many armies: quite disruptive, it does a decent job in many environments. That does not mean it is the right choice for John, though. It may be, or it may not. Besides, John knows the best daylight pattern could be the worst night camo, and vice-versa. It all depends on John’s needs. Maybe a forgotten – NIR compliant – pattern used long ago in a little kingdom is the best solution for the task. BTW, John Doe never forgets what binoculars can do. Enters the scrim net John is a lucky guy: his cousin traveled a lot – as you know, this is a rare event among Hobbits – and brought home a scrim net (aka sniper veil in the Duchy). For the sake of brevity, let’s say a scrim net is a scarf with many bores. It allows one to see through it while concealing one from view. One may buy/make camouflaged scrim nets of a size sufficient to conceal oneself and his equipment – or just to disrupt the shape of his head and upper torso. Scrim nets take little space, so John can bring along more than one. I am sure you have the solution: the scrim net is a portable camo. In case of need, John can change his camo on the spot. He just dons it over his regular camo. By the way, it is not always possible to avoid open areas. John just takes a less visible posture and throws a scrim net upon himself. And… he never ever forgets it is just camouflage, not a cloak of invisibility. Hands and face Hands and face are visible from quite far away, even without binoculars. They often gave John away. IR-compliant face cream is a solution, but John prefers gloves and a shemagh. A shemagh can be useful under many circumstances and shields John from wind, snow, the sun, and so on. It can be donned as a big scarf, and if necessary, it can shelter all the head. By the way, a not-too-small scrim net can be used as a shemagh. To complete his set-up, John uses a Boonie – his cousin advised him to add some local vegetation. Poncho A poncho can be very light – John uses the same fabric used for scrim nets – and is a good solution if he must change his camo pattern and keep going. Besides, it conceals not only John, but also his equipment. John got a great idea from his cousin: if necessary, local vegetation can easily be added to such a poncho – and to a scrim net, obviously. And the winner is… All said, for John the best camo is… as far as possible, being/moving where no one can see him – no naked eyes, no binoculars, no drones, no IR, no Flir, no informers, and… no long-range shots. What about you? What is your go-to camo set up for your area? How do you stay invisible? What technology concerns you most where you live? Let’s discuss camo (and Hobbits) in the comments section. About Serra Never in the same place for too long, Serra likes speaking local languages and dialects. Having come to the conclusion that the night is dark and full of terrors – who the hell said that? – he has upturned his life upside down. Serra can usually be found far from urban spaces. It is being said right now he is taking care of rural people’s rights somewhere on a small blue planet in the Solar system – but one can take nothing for granted when it comes to him. The post On Camouflage and Hobbits appeared first on The Organic Prepper.

When Pope Leo XIV addressed the College of Cardinals two days after he was elected to the papacy, he explained why he took the name that he did. “Sensing myself called to continue in this same path, I chose to take the name Leo XIV,” he said. “There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great Industrial Revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.” Pope Leo XIII was born Joachim Vincent Pecci in 1810 in Carpineto, Italy, the second-youngest of seven children. “The inhabitants of Carpineto were generally poor, but they supported their poverty courageously,” wrote the Rev. James J. McGovern in a biography of Pope Leo XIII published in 1903, the year the pope died. The family of this future pope was not poor. His father was Count Louis Pecci; his mother, Countess Anna Pecci. “Leo XIII,” says the biography, “belonged to the eleventh generation of the Peccis of Carpineto.” “The Countess Anna brought to her husband a notable amount of property, which the family holds to this day,” said the biography. She also homeschooled her children. “The first lessons taught Vincent were in the homeschool, presided over by his mother,” McGovern wrote. “She was a finished scholar, capable in more ways than one to take charge of the instruction of her children.” Pope Leo XIII’s brother, Joseph, recalled that their father would occasionally assist in the homeschooling. “Being an accomplished Latin scholar,” said Joseph, “he took upon himself the task of teaching us the rudiments of the Latin language so thoroughly that when we entered the college at Viterbo, we were enabled to make most rapid progress in our studies.” “Sometimes,” Joseph said, “the good Bishop of Anagni would visit our home, remaining several days. It was his delight to spend hours in our classroom, closing his visit with religious and moral counsels. These simple talks took deep root in our hearts, proving to be of incalculable advantage to us years afterward.” Their mother also taught them charity—by example. “It was a treat to us when our mother, animated always with an inexhaustible fund of charity, permitted us to accompany her on her visits to the poor and sick in the neighborhood, carrying hampers of provisions and medicine,” said Joseph Pecci, according to the biography. When the future Pope Leo XIII was 8, his mother stopped homeschooling him and Joseph, and enrolled them in a Jesuit school. “When the Countess Pecci saw that she could no longer conduct the education of her sons, who she felt were divinely called to an ecclesiastical career, she took them to Viterbo, a city not far from Rome, and placed them in the College of the Jesuits, where they entered upon a course of study embracing Latin, Italian, and Greek.” Joachim Vincent Pecci went on to study at the Roman College (“sometimes known as the Gregorian University”) and “also availed himself of the lectures delivered by world-renowned professors in the University of Sapienza.” “At the completion of his term of study he distinguished himself by securing the highest honors of his class,” said the biography. His brother Joseph became a Jesuit. He was ordained a secular priest and “celebrated his first Mass, in the presence of his beloved father and family” on Jan. 1, 1838. Forty years later, in February 1878, he was elected pope—and took the name Leo XIII. Pope Leo XIII, as depicted circa 1878 (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) In May 1891, he issued Rerum Novarum, an encyclical letter “on capital and labor” that defended the rights of laborers and private property—and condemned socialism. “In any case, we clearly see, and on this there is general agreement, that some opportune remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class,” said Rerum Novarum. “It is surely undeniable,” said this encyclical, “that, when a man engages in remunerative labor, the impelling reason and motive of his work is to obtain property, and thereafter to hold it as his very own.” “Socialists, therefore, by endeavoring to transfer the possessions of individuals to the community at large, strike at the interests of every wage-earner, since they would deprive him of the liberty of disposing of his wages, and thereby of all hope and possibility of increasing his resources and of bettering his condition in life. “What is of far greater moment, however,” wrote Pope Leo XIII, “is the fact that the remedy they propose is manifestly against justice. For, every man has by nature the right to possess property as his own.” “Hence, it is clear,” wrote this pope, “that the main tenet of socialism, community of goods, must be utterly rejected, since it only injures those whom it would seem meant to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of mankind, and would introduce confusion and disorder into the commonweal. “The first and most fundamental principle, therefore, if one would undertake to alleviate the condition of the masses,” wrote Pope Leo XIII, “must be the inviolability of private property.” COPYRIGHT 2025 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Pope Leo XIII Rejected Socialism, Defended Private Property. Will Leo XIV Follow Suit? appeared first on The Daily Signal.