Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy pressed Security Council spokesman John Kirby on President Joe Biden’s Iran policy‚ suggesting that he might want to take it a step further than simply the word “don’t” going forward. At Monday’s press briefing‚ the first since Iran launched a direct attack on Israel over the weekend‚ Doocy pointed to the fact that Iran had acted in defiance of Biden’s warning — “Don’t” — issued late last week. WATCH: DOOCY TIME: “John‚ has President Biden considered maybe beefing up the public Iran posture to be more than just one word&;#63;” WH’s John Kirby: “You — you’re referring to‚ ‘don't’&;#63;” Doocy: “Yeah.” Kirby: “And so‚ let's —” Doocy: “Because he said —” Kirby: “— talk about —”… pic.twitter.com/KufejLZFnX — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 15‚ 2024 “John‚ has President Biden considered maybe beefing up the public Iran posture to be more than just one word&;#63;” Doocy asked Kirby. “You — you’re referring to ‘don’t’&;#63;” Kirby clarified. “Yeah‚” Doocy replied. “And so‚ let’s — talk about —” Kirby said. “Because he said ‘don’t’ and they did it anyway‚” Doocy added. “So now what&;#63;” “Let’s talk about — what we did. Peter. Let’s talk about ‘don’t’ and did‚” Kirby continued. “Let’s talk about Saturday night. He made it clear that he didn’t want to see escalation in the region.” Doocy interrupted‚ saying‚ “And yet‚ there was.” “Eh‚ let me finish. He added military resources to the region right after October 7 and then‚ when we had an inkling that this kind of thing was coming‚ he added even more military resources to the region‚ more destroyers that were capable of shooting down ballistic missiles‚ fighters — fighter squadron that was able to shoot down drones and that’s what we did‚” Kirby said. Kirby went on to argue that Iran had “utterly failed” in its attempt to attack Israel‚ noting that despite the barrage of hundreds of drones and missiles‚ only a few had made it through Israel’s defenses. “Yes‚ they fired an unprecedented amount of munitions‚ but how much of a success did they have‚ Peter&;#63; None. Zero‚” Kirby added. “It was an embarrassing failure for the Supreme Leader‚ for the IRGC.”

Republicans in the House have prepared a dozen bills to slap new sanctions on Iran following its unprecedented attack on Israel. House Republicans want penalties leveraged against Iran for its attack. On Saturday‚ Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a number of Iranian proxy groups fired over 300 drones‚ ballistic missiles‚ and cruise missiles at Israel‚ the first time Iran has launched a direct attack on the Jewish state from Iranian soil. The White House is pressuring the Israeli government to forgo a military response to the attack‚ urging the Israeli war cabinet to avoid any action that could escalate attacks between Israel and Iran. The White House’s position has earned it criticism‚ largely from Republicans‚ who say that Israel should be free to respond as it sees fit and that Iran cannot go unpunished. House Republicans have announced a dozen bills that would strengthen sanctions on the Iranian regime and cut off Iran from some international economic connections. Some of the legislation would take action against Iran’s terror proxies in the region‚ especially Hamas‚ according to Axios. A couple of the bills would also push the European Union to designate the IRGC a terror group‚ and officially recognize the slogan “from the river to the sea‚ Palestine will be free” as antisemitic. “While the White House teeters and displays weakness against our adversaries on the world stage‚ House Republicans are unwavering in our support of Israel‚” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said in a statement. “Last year‚ we passed a supplemental bill to aid Israel and support our ally – but the Senate refused to take it to the floor for a vote. This week‚ we’re bringing several measures to demonstrate our support of Israel and take action against Iran.” “These bills … represent a comprehensive response to the Iranian threat by supporting Israel’s response to the attack and sanctioning Iran’s leaders‚ cutting off their revenue sources‚ and targeting their partners and terrorist proxies‚” Scalise said. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that House Republicans would once again try to push U.S. aid for Israel through Congress after the attack. House Republicans “understand the necessity of standing with Israel‚” he told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo. “We’re going to try again this week‚ and the details of that package are being put together.” Democrats have pushed back saying that the House should instead pass a $95 billion foreign aid bill that includes funding for Israel and Ukraine that was passed by the Senate in February.

Veteran news anchor Katie Couric balked at comedian Bill Maher’s assessment of former President Donald Trump’s town hall on CNN — specifically the claim that Trump was “killing it” — complaining‚ “He’s not a stand-up comedian.” Couric and Maher clashed over the Trump town hall — and Maher’s assessment of the media’s failures when it came to covering Trump and his supporters — during a recent episode of Maher’s “Club Random” podcast. WATCH: Bill Maher telling Katie Couric why he is bored with the 'negative view' on Trump‚ and why he wants to represent the Trump voter's viewpoint as well:&;quot;Not to defend Trump‚ but to defend the people who still vote for him. Because what they see on the other side‚ to them is even… pic.twitter.com/l24hPXicCo — Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) April 14‚ 2024 Maher brought up the CNN town hall — which was supposed to have an audience made up of both Trump voters and independents — and noted that the audience had been very receptive. “The audience loved it. The audience loved it‚” he said. “It was stacked with Trump supporters‚” Couric complained. Maher pointed out the fact that it was supposed to be an audience of Republicans and independents – and said that if CNN had failed to properly vet them‚ that was their issue to handle. “Here’s what people saw in America. They saw Trump killing it. Killing it with the crowd&;#33; Then you cut to a panel of six people who all just do nothing but dump on him and call him a liar and America goes‚ ‘Oh‚ didn’t you just see that we like him&;#63;’ And now —” Maher continued. “He’s not a standup comedian&;#33;” Couric protested. “What&;#63;” Maher asked. “‘He’s killing it.’ He’s not a standup comedian‚” Couric said. “No‚ but popularity. Doesn’t matter. The people loved him and what he was saying‚” Maher pushed back. “And then you cut to a panel of six know-it-alls in Washington who just do nothing but talk about the neg — and I’m all in on the negative‚ no one’s been harder on Trump than me‚ but I get it and I’m bored with it‚ and there’s a different way to do this‚ I think.” “Not to defend Trump‚ but to defend the people who still vote for him. Because what they see on the other side‚ to them is even more dangerous. Because it’s very — closer to home: My kid is coming home from school and he thinks he’s a racist&;#63; He’s five‚ what have you been telling him&;#63; My son thinks maybe he’s not a boy and maybe that’s true‚ that happens. Those kind of things are what they say ‘That’s why I’m voting for Trump’‚” Maher explained. “A backlash to the pendulum swinging so far to the Left‚” Couric said. Maher concluded by saying that there were some Trump voters who loved him and some who didn’t but still voted for him because they believed he was the only thing standing between them and “madness” — and he argued that their position should at least be presented in media coverage.

The Biden campaign recently announced that it is hiring a diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion (DEI) director who will be responsible for the campaign’s DEI strategy and receive a salary of up to $120‚000. The role‚ recently advertised online‚ will pay between $95‚000 and $120‚000‚ with the director being responsible for DEI strategy and programming on the Biden campaign‚ educating staff on the topic and even influencing hiring practices. “The DEI Director will focus on creating and executing a comprehensive strategy to attract and support diverse talent to further the campaign’s commitment to diversity‚ equity‚ and inclusion‚” the job listing reads. “They will also be responsible for upskilling and further educating campaign staff around DEI.” The Biden campaign’s DEI director will also be responsible for implementing “DEI-focused workshops for management and other staffers in service of educating and upskilling campaign staff on the DEI space and specific initiatives‚” as well as managing and reporting “on the campaign’s diversity efforts‚ leveraging best in class tools including developing an internal dashboard to support data analysis and reporting.” The position will also have direct influence on the campaign’s hiring decisions‚ with the DEI director being tasked with reviewing “hiring practices and outcomes to ensure diverse talent is represented and successful in candidacy at all levels of the campaign.” The Biden campaign’s decision to hire a DEI director comes as the Democratic incumbent has ordered the federal bureaucracy to embrace the leftwing agenda and institutionalize it throughout the federal workforce’s policies. Biden signed an executive order in 2021‚ called the “Executive Order on Diversity‚ Equity‚ Inclusion‚ and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce‚” that formalized the presence of the ideology within the administrative state. Former President Donald Trump has since pledged to gut the administrative state by re-issuing an executive order called Schedule F‚ which would remove civil service protections from bureaucrats who occupy a position that impacts policymaking. “We will pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee fireable by the President of the United States‚” Trump said at a rally‚ touting the plan. “The deep state must be brought to heel.”

Over the weekend‚ the Islamic Republic of Iran essentially entered a war directly with the state of Israel. There’s no other way to put it. When you fire 170 drones‚ 30 cruise missiles‚ and 120 ballistic missiles at another sovereign nation‚ you are now in a state of war. This has been a long time coming. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been using all of its proxy terror groups to attack Israel repeatedly for decades at this point‚ from Hezbollah in the north of Israel‚ to Hamas in the south of Israel‚ to the current attacks from the Houthis in Yemen. The whole conflict started on October 7 with the Hamas massacre because Iran was deeply afraid that Israel was about to sign a new Abraham Accord with the Saudi government. Everyone was openly discussing it‚ and that would have solidified a Sunni-Israeli pact against Shia aggression in the Middle East. Iran then would have effectively been boxed in because the reality is that an American-backed Sunni-Israeli alliance would be extraordinarily powerful in the region. It would be a massive counterweight to terror groups in Yemen and Hezbollah and Hamas and Iran itself. Iran was feeling quite boxed in. So Iran activated the October 7 massacre through General Mohammad Reza Zahedi‚ the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its terror operations in Syria‚ Lebanon‚ and via Hamas. They greenlit the October 7 attacks that killed 1‚200 Israelis and took 250 hostage‚ with 133 Israelis still missing and most presumed dead. That was specifically designed in order to elicit a military response from Israel that would supposedly put the nascent Sunni-Israeli alliance on hold. The entire goal was to reorient the Middle East. The Biden administration‚ acting as cowards‚ decided to go along with that instead of doing what they should have done: Tell Israel to finish off Hamas and take that Iranian pawn off the board. And if Israel needed to make a move against Hezbollah in the north‚ which had been threatening Israel for years‚ then do that as well — because only strength works in the Middle East. No American troops needed to be involved. Instead‚ over time‚ the Biden administration began to put more and more shackles on the Israeli Defense Force regarding Israel’s attempt to extirpate Hamas and also to counter Hezbollah. WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show The reason the latest attack happened is because Iran saw the gap. Israel took out the general who had greenlit the October 7 attacks‚ and Iran was faced with this geopolitical prospect: It would be seen as weak by its own people for not responding to Israel taking out General Mohammad Reza Zahedi in Syria. They couldn’t be seen to look weak in the face of this. The problem they had is they weren’t sure just how far they could go in attacking Israel without the United States either directly responding or unshackling Israel. That was their catch-22. They needed to do something in response to the killing of General Mohammad Reza Zahedi‚ but the response could not be strong enough to elicit a full-scale military response from Israel greenlit by the United States.  So what did they do&;#63;  It sounds very much as though the United States was approached via channels by the Iranians. And the Iranians basically said‚ we’re going to do something and we want to make sure what we do is not enough for you to take the chains off of Israel. The Jerusalem Post stated in a stunning report that Iran apparently informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel. Washington had then responded to Tehran via Ankara that any action it took had to be within certain limits. That’s a betrayal of an American ally. The reason Biden would do that is because he knew Iran had to show its own people it was going to stand up muscularly against the “evil Zionist regime‚” and at the same time‚ Biden did not want this escalating into a full-scale Israeli retaliation. And so the happy medium for him was to greenlight an attack that would cost America billions of dollars in military resources‚ allow Iran to get away with a massive missile and drone attack on an actual sovereign country‚ and then tell Israel to stand down. So it appears the Biden administration effectively brokered this attack‚ which makes sense. Biden is now playing both sides of the aisle. Biden said that Donald Trump would get America into a war with Iran. Now the United States is having to use its materiel to shoot down actual ordnance from Iran. That is because Biden is a weakling. It is because his foreign policy on the Middle East is idiotic. The only thing that works in the Middle East is a perception of actual force. You know what would have happened if Trump had been president and Iran had approached and said‚ “We want to issue a limited attack on your ally Israel. So what do we greenlight&;#63;” Trump would have said‚ “I will kick you’re a** if you do that.” Foreign policy is a fifth-grade schoolyard. Whoever is the biggest bully on the block gets to call the rules. There is no sovereign state on planet Earth that should be told by America that it cannot defend itself against a state that just fired 120 ballistic missiles at it. That’s insane. But that’s exactly the position of the Biden administration. Trump always opted for a different route: If you screw with the United States or our allies‚ we will intimidate you. And you know what&;#63; It made for a pretty damn safe world under Donald Trump. Joe Biden’s idea has been to feed the alligator and maybe it will be nice to you.

CNN axed the Charles Barkley and Gayle King primetime talk show after only six months on the air after it failed to generate ratings. The “King Charles” show — co-hosted by sports commentator Barkley and “CBS Mornings” host King — aired on Wednesday nights and generated worse ratings than reruns of shows like “South Park” and “Friends‚” the New York Post reported. The show launched in November and became the lowest-rated primetime week night show CNN has debuted in at least a decade‚ according to Nielsen ratings.  Viewership fell 20% from the debut episode of “King Charles” in November‚ which was watched by 500‚000 viewers‚ with 139‚000 of those in the coveted age demographic of ages 25-54‚ according to Nielsen. By the end of January‚ those numbers didn’t even crack 100‚000 mark among that same demographic‚ Nielsen showed.  Over the show’s 14 episodes‚ it had an average of 459‚000 total viewers‚ with an average of 106‚000 in the advertising demographic of ages 25-54. It came in third behind Fox News’ “Gutfeld” and MSNBC’s “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” The Greg Gutfeld-lead show averages 2.2 million total viewers with more than 300‚000 viewers in the 25-54 age demo‚ the highest of all three cable news outlets‚ according to Nielsen. While over on MSNBC‚ O’Donnell scores an average of 1.5 million total viewers and 142‚000 in the highly desired age demographic. CNN axes Charles Barkley and Gayle King’s weekly show ‘King Charles’ after 6 months https://t.co/yD1j7EW7mf pic.twitter.com/U7ua9oUGEa — New York Post (@nypost) April 15‚ 2024 An industry insider attributed part of the problem to the NBA Hall of Famer’s rigorous schedule‚ as he was still a co-host on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” and was only available on Wednesdays. However‚ a CNN spokesperson touted the show‚ stating that it was “a great addition to CNN’s lineup‚” noting the shows diversity pull with 44% non-white — the most diverse viewership among the network’s prime time shows‚ according to Nielsen figures. The spokesperson also said that the viewership was among “the youngest‚ most affluent‚ and most diverse” audience in all of cable in the 10 p.m. time slot. “King Charles” was created by fired former CNN boss Chris Licht‚ whose tenure at the network ended after The Atlantic published a 15‚000-word profile titled “Inside the Meltdown at CNN‚” a piece that reportedly enraged executives at Warner Bros. Discovery‚ as previously reported. Last June‚ Licht announced he was leaving the media company — just 16 months after being picked for the position. His tenure at CNN was rough from the start. Weeks after the former CEO took over the reins‚ the cable news giant’s attempt at launching a streaming service failed after just a month in operation‚ attracting fewer than 10‚000 daily users. The CNN executive also faced criticism from his employees and poor ratings performances in the news channel’s primetime slots. Zach Jewell contributed to this piece. Related: CNN Boss Out After Damning Atlantic Profile‚ Trump Town Hall Disaster

An adorable crowd of golden retrievers gathered ahead of the Boston Marathon to honor the event’s late official dog‚ Spencer‚ and his niece‚ Penny‚ who both passed away from cancer last year. MA Golden Meetups got the dogs together to take their owners on a “Golden Strong” walk around the Boston Commons on Sunday‚ April 14‚ the day before the race. During that walk‚ the pups had the chance to meet the runners in person. The dogs also got to enjoy a “social hour.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rich Powers (@thehenrystudio) The dogs and their owners also took time to recognize a statue that had been erected with Spencer’s likeness in March. The statue sits near the spot where Spencer always stood during the race. This was the second such meetup. Boston Marathon’s Official Dog “Epitomized” What The Race Was About Spencer passed away on Feb. 17‚ 2023‚ at the age of 13‚ after his second battle with cancer. The beloved therapy dog began making an annual apperance—rain or shine—at the Boston Marathon with his blue “Boston Strong” flags in 2015. The race organizers dubbed him their official dog in 2022. Penny stood beside Spencer and cheered on the runners with her own flags each year. She died only eight days after her uncle. She was 10. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rich Powers (@thehenrystudio) The dogs’ owner‚ Richard Powers told Good Morning America that Spencer “really epitomized what the Boston Marathon is about‚ which is overcoming obstacles and doing the best you can.” “He was our world‚” he added. “He was everything; He and Penny. They were just wonderful dogs and each of them were too good not to share‚ and so that’s what we did.” The golden retrievers helped raise money for the Morris Animal Foundation’s hemangiosarcoma and canine cancer research initiative. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Hundreds Of Golden Retrievers Gather Ahead Of Boston Marathon To Honor The Late Official Dog‚ Spencer appeared first on InspireMore.

The federal government collected approximately $34‚400 in taxes per American household in calendar year 2023‚ according to data published by the Treasury Department and the Census Bureau. From January through December 2023‚ according to the Monthly Treasury Statements‚ the federal government collected a total of $4‚521‚306‚000‚000 in taxes. The Census Bureau estimated there were approximately 131‚434‚000 households in […]

'Consistent with the Commission’s and courts’ longstanding interpretation'

Versace made Cillian Murphy‚ one of the world's most famous Irishmen‚ the new face of the company