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Justice Department fails to release all Epstein files
The Justice Department only released a portion of the Epstein files despite a law requiring it to release everything by last Friday’s midnight deadline. On NBC’s “Meet the Press” yesterday, Todd Blanche, who is deputy attorney general and a former Trump lawyer, said the delays are so they can be sure that only the material that they are allowed to release is, in fact, released. Blanche said that a photo that showed Donald Trump with a group of young women was pulled from documents that had been released in order to protect victims of sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. He did not explain whether the women shown with Trump were victims and, if so, why Trump would have been photographed with them. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who helped lead the congressional campaign to require the files’ release, on “Face the Nation” on CBS warned that the administration was “flouting the spirit and the letter of the law.”
Trump to make $500 million from merger
President Trump stands to make an estimated $500 million from the merger of his company that owns Truth Social with a company involved in nuclear fusion technology, TAE Technologies. Nuclear fusion companies are regulated by the federal government and will likely need government support and funding to become commercially viable. The merger needs to be approved by federal regulators, some of whom were nominated by Trump. Trump Media’s share price skyrocketed 42% when the merger was announced. That increased the value of the stake Trump owns through a trust, by $500 million to $1.7 billion.
2028 election choices
A new CNN poll found that about half of Americans say they’ve already given the 2028 presidential election some thought — although most don’t have a specific candidate in mind. Those with a candidate in mind had no clear consolidation behind a single name. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, 22% named Vance, 4% named Secretary of State Marco Rubio and 2% named Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Another 3% say they’d like President Trump to make another run, even though he’s barred by the Constitution. California Gov. Gavin Newsom came in at 11% among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, followed by former Vice President Kamala Harris at 5%.
U.S. goes after a third Venezuela tanker
The U.S. is pursuing another oil tanker in international waters near Venezuela after attempting to intercept it, a U.S. official said. The ship, which was sailing toward Venezuela to pick up oil, is under U.S. sanctions for links to Iranian oil. When U.S. Coast Guard personnel attempted to board the tanker, however, the vessel kept sailing, the official said, leading to the pursuit. It was the second such operation conducted over the weekend. The interceptions mark an escalation in Washington’s efforts to squeeze Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who President Trump has accused of flooding the U.S. with illicit drugs and migrants.
60 Minutes correspondent alleges censorship
CBS News’ “60 Minutes” abruptly killed a segment it was planning to air last night that featured Venezuelan men who were deported by the Trump administration to the notorious maximum-security prison in El Salvador. The correspondent who reported the story, Sharyn Alfonsi, said in an internal memo that “the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship.” According to Alfonsi and two CBS sources who spoke with CNN on condition of anonymity, the story had been fully fact-checked and vetted by CBS attorneys by the time the network publicized on Friday that it would be shown on Sunday. But Alfonsi said CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who had been appointed by the new owners of CBS and parent company Paramount, who include outspoken Trump supporter Larry Ellison, pulled the story.
Russian general killed in car bombing
A Russian general has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, with officials pointing the finger at Ukraine for the latest apparent assassination of a senior military officer. Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who ran the armed forces operational training department, died after an explosive device installed under the chassis of a car exploded earlier today, Russia’s investigative committee said in a statement. Several prominent Russians have been killed by explosives or shot dead in Moscow in attacks blamed on the Ukrainian security services since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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