Personal income increased by 0.8% in April, well ahead of the forecasted 0.3%, CNBC reported on Friday. In an X post on Friday, the White House’s Rapid Response account posted a report by CNBC’s Rick Santelli in which he showed the data that reveals the 0.8% increase. CNBC: Personal income increased 0.8% in April — “almost TRIPLE the expectations.” ? “They’re powerful numbers — up 0.6% in January, up 0.7% in February, up 0.5% last month, up 0.8% this month. This is a GREAT four-month start to any year.” pic.twitter.com/s1Rx1KAYFl — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 30, 2025 “Personal income is up eight-tenths of a percent,” Santelli states. “That is almost triple the expectations. … When you look at income for the first four months of the year, they’re powerful numbers. Up six-tenths in January, up seven-tenths in February, up a half of 1% last month, and up eight-tenths this month. This is a great four month start to any year.” Per the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income increased by $210.1 billion in April. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased by $189.4 billion, which is also 0.8%, and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased by $47.8 billion, which is 0.2%. Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships In spite of this, consumer spending slowed, showing just a 0.2% increase in April. This is in line with the consensus, but is significantly less than its 0.7% increase in March. Consumers also showed more wary spending habits, as April’s personal savings were $1.12 trillion and the personal saving rate was 4.7%. “The increase in current-dollar personal income in April primarily reflected increases in government social benefits to persons and in compensation,” the Bureau wrote. “The $47.8 billion increase in current-dollar PCE in April reflected an increase of $55.8 billion in spending on services that was partly offset by a decrease of $8.0 billion in spending for goods.” In his report, Santelli revealed the impressive news that “eight-tenths is the strongest month-over-month jump since May of 2021, when it was 1.9%.”

President Trump declined to rule out a pardon for disgraced rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs if the hip-hop mogul is convicted on federal sex trafficking charges. Trump made the remarks during an Oval Office press conference alongside Elon Musk on Friday, “Nobody’s asked. But I know people are thinking about it. I know they’re thinking about it. I think some people have been very close to asking,” the president said in response to Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy. Trump said he hasn’t been following the case closely, but was aware of the extensive media coverage the trial was receiving. Combs, 55, has been held without bail since his September arrest on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges in Manhattan. Combs’ trial began in early May, and if convicted, the Bad Boy Records founder faces life in prison. The president acknowledged his former ties to the embattled music mogul, but added that he hasn’t seen or spoken to Combs in years. “I haven’t seen him, I haven’t spoken to him in years,” Trump said. “He used to really like me a lot, but I think when I ran for politics … that relationship busted up, from what I read. I don’t know — he didn’t tell me that, but I’d read some little bit nasty statements.” Trump emphasized that any pardon decision would be based solely on the merits of the case. “I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don’t like me, it wouldn’t have any impact on me,” he stated. President Trump on possibly pardoning Diddy: "Nobody's asked…I know people are thinking about it…I haven't been watching it too closely…I haven't spoken to him in years…I would certainly look at the facts." pic.twitter.com/34e7SmBRvd — CSPAN (@cspan) May 30, 2025 Since reclaiming the presidency in January, Trump has issued an unusually high number of pardons and commutations, often citing his own convictions as evidence of what he describes as a politicized justice system. Trump issued 17 pardons and nine commutations on Wednesday alone, according to the New York Post. Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships Prosecutors allege the music mogul used his fame and power to orchestrate what they call “freak offs” — sexual performances involving paid sex workers that were reportedly recorded without consent. Recent testimony in the federal sex-trafficking trial has revealed allegations from Diddy’s former assistant “Mia” about rape and violence, corroborating accounts from stylist Deonte Nash, who testified to witnessing Combs physically assault Cassie Ventura until her head was bleeding. Ventura testified that Combs raped her after they had broken up. Diddy has pleaded not guilty on all charges.

Alan Alda has been a staple in Hollywood since the 1960s. Most remember Alan as Hawkeye Pierce on the hit show M*A*S*H*. Even with health challenges, Alan has enjoyed a decades-long career. Doctors diagnosed him with Parkinson’s disease in 2015 but kept his condition private until 2018. Alan Alda recently revealed to People that he has been suffering from prosopagnosia, or face blindness, for years. At one point, Alan’s face blindness even made it hard for him to recognize his own daughter. “I saw this person with horn-rimmed glasses and blonde hair staring at me, and it was starting to get distracting,” Alan told People. “I said to the assistant director, ‘Don’t let these strangers come on the set.’ He said, ‘That’s your daughter!’ I don’t think she was too happy about that, because neither of us knew that there was such a thing as face blindness [at the time].” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Alan Alda Clear+Vivid Podcast (@clearandvivid) Alan Alda Said He Has A Very Hard Time Recognizing People The M*A*S*H* star told People that even when he works with someone for an entire day, he might not know them hours later. “When somebody comes up to me, as if they know me, I often don’t know if they know me from seeing me on the screen or if I actually know them,” he explained. “I could have dinner with somebody, spend two hours with somebody next to me, and the next day not know who they are.” Alan Alda credits his wife of 68 years, Arlene Alda, for being a loving and caring partner for so many years. “She always says, ‘The secret to marriage is a short memory,'” Alan told People. “We both try to practice being there when we’re there: listening, answering, taking an interest. You can get used to somebody no matter who it is. I’ve always thought if the Pope and Mother Teresa were a couple, after a few years, they’d have to work it out.” This story’s featured image is by Ron Adar via Shutterstock. The post “M*A*S*H*” Star Alan Alda Details Life With Extremely Rare Disorder appeared first on InspireMore.

Turns out, voters like it when you promise them free stuff

'Empirically false by any measure'

Cuomo's total fines amount to $1.3 million

'Disability justice is reproductive justice.'

America’s top schools need to stop catering to hostile foreign powers looking to infiltrate the United States and focus more on building a talent pool here at home. That’s my take from Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement Thursday that the U.S. will begin aggressively revoking visas for Chinese college students connected to the Chinese Communist Party or who are studying in “critical fields.” The U.S. will begin revoking visas of Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields.— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) May 28, 2025 Some publications noted that this move could affect the “bottom line” of many universities and there is a lot of truth to that. Elite schools, like Harvard, rake in huge amounts of cash from admitting Chinese and other foreign-born students who must pay full price to attend. “One in every four international students comes from China, and Chinese students form a particularly large share of the student body at top U.S. schools,” the Wall Street Journal reported. The Journal lamented that by booting these Chinese students the U.S. may lose out on a significant talent pool that boosts U.S. research. There may be some truth to that, certainly in the short term. However, the foreign student pipeline is also a double-edged sword as many students take the skills they’ve built in the U.S. and take them back to China. Others continue to work here but conduct espionage for the CCP regime. The reality is that China is a totalitarian state that exerts influence over their people. They aren’t letting their people study abroad because they care about their individual ambitions or because it gives the U.S. a technological edge. Espionage by Chinese nationals in the U.S. only seems to be increasing, or maybe it isn’t and more are being caught. But a few recent stories highlight the problem. Fox News reported Thursday on the various incidents in recent years involving several Chinese students with alleged CCP ties. In some cases, they tried to spy on U.S. military installations. For instance, five Chinese nationals, students at the University of Michigan, were caught spying at Camp Grayling in 2023. The U.S. National Guard was training with Taiwanese military members at the time. China has announced that it will be “ready” to invade Taiwan by 2027, so there is obvious cause for concern. “Ji Chaoqun, a Chinese national and one-time student at the Illinois Institute of Technology, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he was convicted by a jury in 2022 of attempting to commit espionage and theft of trade secrets,” Fox News reported. Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons told Harvard in a letter that the administration has “serious concerns” that Harvard University has “coordinated with the Chinese Communist Party.” From Fox News: Lyons cited several examples, including Harvard accepting $151 million from foreign donors since 2020, working with “China-based academics” on projects funded by an “Iranian government agent,” partnering with Chinese universities and using public funds to do so and collaborating with people “linked to China’s defense-industrial base.” The sad truth is that the Chinese people live under a totalitarian system. The CCP has created sophisticated tools for tyranny that allow them to pressure their people whether at home or abroad. China's 2017 national intelligence law requires ALL CITIZENS to assist in intel gathering for the CCP – regardless of location.300,000 Chinese students here on visa is a massive threat to national security and intellectual property. It's time we put a stop to it. pic.twitter.com/wMFX04Sboz— Rep. Riley M. Moore (@RepRileyMoore) May 30, 2025 Continuing to ignore this would be foolish. Some online commentators have denounced Trump administration’s visa move, comparing it to Nazi Germany kicking out and persecuting brilliant Jewish scientists who moved to American universities on the eve of World War II and gave us a serious edge in developing the atomic bomb and other technologies. In the 1940s, global scientific leadership passed from Germany to America, because Germany kicked out its Jewish and liberal scientists. Well, guess what. The most important group of scientists in the world of 2025 aren't Jewish, they're Chinese. https://t.co/1jLFh59GoH pic.twitter.com/Qd4QPRHlyH— Noah Smith ? (@Noahpinion) May 30, 2025 This is a bad comparison for a few reasons. Of course, we aren’t persecuting our own citizens and booting them out of the country. We are preventing potential agents from an autocratic regime from infiltrating our society and chipping away at our technological edge. You can bet that the United States would have been wary about bringing over pro-Nazi German scientists in the 1930s. Even after the war when the German regime was annihilated it was complicated. And unlike a decade ago, the majority of Chinese students now return to China. So, the skills they build here they take with them back home even if they aren’t doing anything nefarious. It should also be noted that by booting students from China connected to the CCP there will now be more spots open to Chinese and Asian Americans who have been ruthlessly discriminated against by our elite universities. Our elite universities really would rather take more money from foreign born students who come with the risk of being literal spies for tyrannical, communist regimes than build a talent pool with what we have in our own country. That has to change. The Trump administration’s decision to remove CCP-connected students seems to be part of a multi-part strategy to further isolate the Chinese communist regime (that is not at all happy with the move) and to put additional pressure on American institutions to serve Americans once more. And that’s what putting America first is all about. The post Trump is Right to Revoke Visas for Chinese Students Linked to the CCP appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal Senior Contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for The Daily Signal. This week was the fifth anniversary, May 25, of the tragic death of George Floyd. It seems that it just happened but it was actually five years ago. And almost everything that has transpired after that in terms of racial relations has been disastrous. And now, maybe at the end of five years, we can look back with a little bit more circumspection and see what actually happened. George Floyd was a career felon. He was in the process of trying to pass off counterfeit bills. He was reportedly under the influence of severe, powerful drugs, perhaps fentanyl, in addition. He may have been suffering from post-COVID-19 syndromes. He had a heart condition. One of his prior felonies was putting a gun to a woman’s belly in a home invasion. Nevertheless, when he tried to pass this counterfeit bill, the store owner called the Minneapolis police. They tried to arrest him. He resisted arrest. He was a very big man. And then Officer Derek Chauvin, who was supposedly an expert in techniques that were institutionalized by the Minneapolis Police Department, unfortunately, put his knee on George Floyd’s neck. And there were varying autopsies. One said that killed him. Another one, perhaps, said it didn’t. But nevertheless, the expression on Officer Chauvin’s face was frozen into eternity. And that sparked the idea that he was a white policeman conducting a typical murder of an unarmed black suspect. And what followed was near mayhem. Officer Chauvin, remember, was convicted of second- or third-degree murder. He was sentenced to 20 years. His appeals have run out with the Supreme Court. He’ll be in prison probably for much of his life. George Floyd, of course, died at the hospital or on the way to the hospital. And what happened immediately was this huge riot, five years ago. Unlike the Jan. 6 riot, this thing went on for the end of May, June, July, August, September. Remember, former Vice President Kamala Harris said it wasn’t going to stop, nor should it stop. It’s going to keep going to Election Day. She said that, of course. Then later, when called on it, she said she didn’t mean the violent aspect. But violent aspects there were. There was $2 billion in damage. There was a police precinct burned to the ground in Minneapolis. There was a federal courthouse that was burned. There was a historic St. John’s Church—across from the White House—that was torched. A mob tried to go into the White House grounds and reach the president. But even more serious than all of that, we were coming off COVID-19. People had been in a lockdown. There had been a national quarantine. And their news was from the television in an isolated situation in their own home with no human interaction. So, these riots were kind of an expression of breaking out. And more importantly, they were subject to rumor, suspicion, lies. And one of the great lies was that George Floyd was iconic or emblematic of young black men, middle-aged black men that were systematically being killed while unarmed by the police. That was not true. The Washington Post even said it wasn’t. That year there were only 18 black males who were stopped by the police in the entire population of 340 million people. This year there were only 10. It was proportionate to the number of people by race who were stopped by the police, 11 million or 12 million each year. Professor Ibram X. Kendi and professor Robin DiAngelo, or journalist DiAngelo, they created this idea of systemic racism. And you had to be racist in an anti-racist fashion. In other words, the only way to deal with this systemic racism was to be pro-black. And what followed then was a defunding of the police. It caused a huge spike in crime. I think 20,000 murders in 2020. The Black Lives Matter group was energized. And now as we look back at it, the architects of that movement have ensconced with the money. It has collapsed. The women that were in charge have, apparently, embezzled the money or taken it. They have nice homes. But it’s an inert group. It had a lot of other deleterious effects. Universities trying to get in on the virtue signaling and performance-art caring dropped the SAT. They dropped the comparative ranking of high school GPA. They dropped meritocracy. They started really enforcing DEI, in the sense of loyalty owes—you have to show us that you’re loyal to the concept of DEI, that you’ve done something for it, or we’re not going to hire you. And the universities then went into something that we could call repertory admissions. Fast forward five years, looking back, and looking at all the damage of the downtowns in America—many of them that were destroyed. Today they have not recovered, in many cases. Look at the intense dissension and acrimony and racial relations that related to it. Look at the universities who were chastised by the Supreme Court for using race in a racist fashion in admissions. They’ve been discredited. And the people who capitalize on the death of George Floyd are, for the most part, discredited. And the country now is learning its lessons. It’s trying to find a sober solution, a reaction. I think they’re trying—we’re trying to come to a conclusion. Why in the world did we go completely collectively insane? And the result of that is we don’t think the quarantines were a good idea. They were more injurious to the country than was COVID-19 itself. We don’t think and we know that the police should be defunded. Much less are they attacking black unarmed males. Just the opposite is happening. We look at the career of professor Kendi, he went through $45 million at Boston University for an anti-racism center. And apparently, the money was squandered. I mentioned the BLM squandering. So, we’re getting back to the idea that, when you use race in any fashion, for bias or preference, it’s racist. It doesn’t matter what professor Kendi says or it doesn’t matter about the reactions to the death of George Floyd, it’s racist. As far as George Floyd is concerned, had Officer Chauvin not had that expression on his face and had he lifted his knee up when George Floyd said he couldn’t breathe, this entire catastrophe probably could have been avoided—or maybe not because there were people who were looking for an occasion like this to spread mayhem and to recalibrate race relations in the United States into what they would call anti-racism. Which means it’s permissible for someone who considers themself a victim to be a victimizer. If you think you’re a victim of racism, then you can use racial preferences yourself with impunity. In any case, it was a sad chapter in American history. We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post The Stain of George Floyd Riots on America, 5 Years Later appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A segment of the Democratic Socialists of America has thrown its weight behind an open letter declaring that Elias Rodriguez, the alleged murderer of two Israeli embassy staff, was “fully justified” in killing the couple because he intended to prevent “genocide.” The Palestinian activist group Tariq El-Tahrir released the letter Monday. The Democratic Socialists of America Liberation Caucus signed it, while other parts of the DSA condemned Rodriguez. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a candidate for New York City mayor, condemned the letter and urged his opponents in the primary to do likewise. “Elias Rodriguez’s targeted attack on two israeli diplomatic staff on May 21, 2025 was a legitimate act of resistance against the zionist state and its genocidal campaign in Gaza,” the letter states (the author appears to have intentionally lowercased both “Israeli” and “Zionist). Rodriguez reportedly shouted, “Free Palestine,” and confessed to killing Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. The letter frames the shooting as a “fully justified” response to “twenty months of non-stop apocalyptic violence wrought by the zionist movement.” It accuses Israel of advancing a “supremacist world view” and “cementing the festering settler colony they have, temporarily, established on Palestinian land.” It claims international law sanctions violent attempts to prevent a “genocide.” “To be clear, what we are asserting is more than a recognition that the violence and oppression meted out by the zionist movement will inevitably give rise to counter-violence, an indisputable truism,” the letter states. “We are saying that such counter-violence is legitimate. It is justice.” Thirty-three organizations and one individual publicly signed the letter. Democratic Socialists of America The Democratic Socialists of America did not support the letter, but one of the party’s caucuses, the Liberation Caucus, did. “Excellent statement that we are proud to add our name to,” the DSA Liberation Caucus posted on X. “Free Elias Rodriguez and all political prisoners.” Excellent statement that we are proud to add our name to. Free Elias Rodriguez and all political prisoners. https://t.co/z1yW0xm5xZ pic.twitter.com/6MIBhaCFKX— DSA Liberation Caucus ???? ? (@dsaliberation) May 27, 2025 The Democratic Socialists of America claims to have more than 92,000 members, following the presidential campaigns of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The party endorsed many Democratic politicians, helping to secure victories for Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., among others. Notably, the party withdrew its support for Ocasio-Cortez last year, citing her vote for a resolution affirming Israel’s “right to exist.” The New York City DSA chapter condemned the violence of Rodriguez’s actions, but many DSA members condemned this denunciation of violence, The Free Press reported. NYC-DSA believes in a world where political struggle is free of bloodshed. We reject the violence of last night’s fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers and commit, as always, to organizing for a world where all people can live in safety, dignity, and freedom.— NYC-DSA ? (@nycDSA) May 22, 2025 The Liberation Caucus posted Wednesday that it is “just one” of “many different ideological tendencies” within the party. “ “Right wing news outlets and individuals have chosen to take the statement we signed to portray the entire organization as holding our views—this is wrong,” the caucus added. Cuomo Criticism Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor and current mayoral candidate, condemned the letter and urged his fellow candidates in the race to do likewise. “This must be denounced for the insulting and revolting disregard for human life and legal standards that it is,” Cuomo posted on X Wednesday. “This was an obvious and blatant hate crime for which this nation must have zero tolerance.” He highlighted the fact that the letter calls Rodriguez a “political prisoner,” and noted that Rodriguez isn’t in jail for his political views but because he faces murder charges. Cuomo noted that his opponents in the mayor’s race are members of the DSA or have been supported by DSA members. “I call on them to denounce this inflammatory position which is abhorrent to the Jewish community and all law abiding Americans,” he concluded. This must be denounced for the insulting and revolting disregard for human life and legal standards that it is. This was an obvious and blatant hate crime for which this nation must have zero tolerance. Elias Rodriguez is not a "political prisoner", he is charged with murder… https://t.co/J6byVp37sn— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) May 28, 2025 The Democratic Socialists of America did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time. The post ‘FULLY JUSTIFIED’: Democratic Socialists of America Arm Defends Alleged Murderer of Israeli Embassy Staff appeared first on The Daily Signal.