4/30/2026

jerome powell never trembled in front of chump (and general hospital)


Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced Wednesday he will remain on the Fed’s Board of Governors after his term as chair ends May 15, citing what he called “unprecedented” legal attacks on the central bank’s independence by the Trump administration.

“My concern is really about the series of legal attacks which threaten our ability to conduct monetary policy without considering political factors,” Powell said at what is his final press conference as chair. “These legal actions by the administration are unprecedented in our 113-year history, and there are ongoing threats of additional such actions.”
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, closed a criminal investigation into Powell on Friday about the Fed’s headquarters renovation, but said she would “not hesitate” to restart it. Powell said the Justice Department had since provided assurances it would not reopen the investigation or issue new subpoenas, but said he was “watching the remaining steps in this process carefully.”

Powell did not specify how long he would stay, saying only that he would remain until “this investigation is well and truly over, with transparency and finality.” He can technically remain a governor until January 2028. The decision blocks President Donald Trump from filling Powell’s board seat with a more dovish nominee. 

good.  at a time when every 1 cowered before donald chump, powell stood firm.  congress didn't - dems and republicans.  but powell did.  good to know he's staying and i hope he stays through january 2028.  

'general hospital'?

yesterday?

i don't know.  i just don't get it.  if you say something's a secret than it should be a secret.

'nathan' went to tell lulu that rocco had told britt he shot ross.  nathan wants rocco sent out of town to a baseball camp or something to shut him up.  he and lulu had words and then some.  but lulu hasn't caught on that he's not nathan. 


with rocco, he's a kid, i understand his not keeping the secret.  with lucas?

joslyn went to lucas to ask about ross.  he wanted to know why she was concerned with him (like most people in port charles, lucas doesn't know that his niece is part of the wsb spy agency).  she said she and carly had a fight and she's worried about her mother because she knows jason being grabbed and taken off to some secret prison was driving her mom crazy.  lucas told her that her mother was probably not trying to scheme to see jason.  why?  oh, i said too much, lucas says.  and then goes on to tell her that carly told him she's cheating on jack with another man.  he didn't name cassadine because he doesn't know who the other man is but joslyn was able to figure it out.

he tells joslyn not to say a word.

but lucas wasn't supposed to say a word.  and he did.  

does no 1 know how to keep a secret shared in confidence? 


michael went to carly (his mom) to tell her he'd figured out how to get back at willow: get her and chase to sleep with each other. he'd observed chase around her and it's obvious, michael insists, that chase still wants her.  and if that happens then chase will figure out who willow really is and ...  

are you rolling your eyes?

carly was very clear about this, brook lyn is michael's cousin.  he would be breaking up brook lyn and chase if he pursued this.

well, michael said, when he learned willow was cheating on him, it hurt but in the end he was grateful to know the truth.  

okay, michael. 

walking in the park, alexis came across brook lyn.  she had phoebe with her.  alexis said she figured something must have happened to make brook lynn and chase put the adoption process on hold.  brook said that they'd really rather keep phoebe.  alexis explained that it would be difficult because they didn't note this when they took phoebe in.  she and chase had to declare their desire to adopt.  they also needed to hire people to look for phoebe's relatives.  she appears ready to steer brook through it.  

curtis is a blow hard.  and he's erupting over isaiah.  isaiah was the 1 who left jordan and curtis on the side of the road after the accident!  if, curtis tells laura, isaiah had hung around or called for help, jordan could have been drug out of the car quicker and wouldn't have to worry about the scars on her face.  laura asked him if he wasn't maybe wanting isaiah to be the driver because isaiah had slept with (and was now involved with) portia who is curtis' wife?


let's close with c.i.'s 'The Snapshot:'


Thursday, April 30, 2026.  Chump continues his war on Iran and his war on the economy, while demanding money for his ballroom it turns out he can't even feed -- or won't feed -- America's children, Hegseth attends a hearing to testify to the fact that he knows nothing and isn't qualified for his job,  CNN fact check Ka$h Patel on his claims that there are no men to investigate in The Epstein Files, and much more. 



Chump's losing it as Ben (MEIDASTOUCH NEWS) notes this morning.



Donald Chump continues to nose dive in the polls.  Sam Stevenson (NEWSWEEK) reports:

President Donald Trump’s job approval rating is underwater on all key issues including the economy, foreign policy and immigration, according to a new poll.

The survey, conducted by The Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll between April 23 and 26, found that Trump’s approval rating is weakest on handling inflation on 37 percent, followed by managing the Iran conflict on 39 percent.
[. . .]
Persistent weakness on economic and foreign policy issues could limit Trump’s ability to expand support beyond his core voters.

Presidents can weather low approval ratings if they retain credibility on certain key issues. This poll suggests that Trump is struggling to do just that, with his approval rating below 50 percent across all major policy areas tested.

The polling news is bad and getting worse.  Steve Charnock (METRO) reports on another poll, this one by REUTERSA-IPSOS: 

A Reuters/Ipsos survey carried out this week shows a broad decline in Trump’s popularity across multiple groups. The sharpest falls are among men and white voters, both of whom have historically backed him in rather strong numbers and helped sustain him through previous political and personal turbulence.
With American men, approval has dropped to 37%, marking an all-new low. It’s a noticeable shift from earlier in the year, when support was far more stable and much less jittery.

White voters are now at 44% approval, which also represents a record low for Trump approval. For a group that has consistently delivered some of Trump’s strongest numbers, that change carries a pretty hefty weight and will likely cause concern at The White House.

The disappointment is only going to continue to grow.  Gas and oil are up due to Chump's war on Iran, groceries continue to rise and produce will be rising as a result of the huge increase in the cost of fertilizer (due to Chump's war).  There's talk of cuts to Social Security and that's not going to help.  But there's the job market which is still not booming.  The tariffs that started a higher taxation on American consumers continues.  And some are asking where the boom in US manufacturing is?  Alex Bitter (BUSINESS INSIDER) notes:

A year after Liberation Day, tariffs haven't led to a manufacturing renaissance in the US, new data shows.

Consulting firm AT Kearney found in its annual study of manufacturing and import data that companies imported more into the US than they exported last year. As a result, the firm's reshoring index remained in negative territory in 2025, though it improved slightly from the year before.

The finding challenges one of President Donald Trump's reasons for enacting tariffs — namely, that the duties would incentivize companies to move more manufacturing to the US after decades of outsourcing it to countries such as China.

Manufactured goods and imports brought into the US rose 4.6% to $2.98 trillion in 2025, according to AT Kearney's report.

But there was never going to be a boom.  Stephanie Ruhle spent 2025 pointing that out on a near daily basis on her MSNBC (now MS NOW) program.  Monday through Friday, she could often be found pointing out a very basic fact.  A boom in manufacturing in the US requires what?

Plants.

Plants to manufacture things. And there were no efforts to start building these plants.  Still hasn't been.  

Bitter reminds at the end of the report:

Another study published in January by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank, found from shipment records that US consumers and importers paid the brunt of Trump's tariffs. Trump has said the tariffs would lead to more competition and lower prices for shoppers.

He did say that.  Whether that was another one of his lies or part of his dementia, who knows? 

But he said it.  

And when you say things as the president of the United States, people tend to believe you.  Early on, they tend to believe you.  But if repeatedly lie, you develop a reputation and people no longer trust you and they don't like you much either.  Donald Chump is now a lie face and he's earned that name and that reputation.  David Moye (HUFFINGTON POST) notes Wall Street has a new nickname for Chump:

Just in time for Cinco De Mayo, it looks like Wall Street has coined a new insulting acronym for President Donald Trump. And like the infamous TACO, or Trump Always Chickens Out, it also has a connection to Mexican food. 

Bloomberg columnist Javier Blas claimed on X Wednesday that one business analyst is mocking the president’s handling of the Iran war by replacing TACO with NACHO.

The acronym is more spicy than cheesy, as it bluntly stands for “Not A Chance Hormuz Opens,” a reference to Iran’s decision to restrict movement through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf where 20% of all traded oil and natural gas normally passes.



In Congress yesterday, US House Rep John Garamendi noted the connection between Chump's war of choice and the US economy:


Mr. [Pete] Hegseth, as Secretary of Defense, you are ultimately responsible for the conduct of the Iran War.  Any unvarnished review of what is happening right now in the Middle East would reveal a geopolitical calamity, a strategic blunder resulting in worldwide economic crisis.  The result of Chump's war of choice is a serious, self-inflicted wound to America.  It will take years and a new administration to recover from the grave damage to our standing in the world as well as our economy and our military.  We must remember that 13 Americans have been killed in action, hundreds wounded and thousands of civilians killed -- including more than a hundred school children.  The risk of this conflict was foreseeable [. . .] Secretary Hegseth, you have been lying to the American public about this war from day one and so has the president.   You have misled the public about why we are at war.  You and the president have offered ever changing reasons for this war.  You've misled the public about the progress of the war.  While the military has executed this war with tactical success, the strategy has been an astounding incompetence doing immense economic damage to America.  [. . .]  This war of choice is a political and economic disaster at every level.  Despite the president's promise to lower  the cost of living, gas prices are up 40 percent and inflation is soaring. So much for lowering the cost of living. The president has got himself and America stuck in a quagmire of another war in the Middle East. He's desperately trying to extricate himself from his own mistakes.  It is in America's, and indeed the world's interest, that he succeed in that.


Hegseth was appearing before the House Armed Forces Committee.   We'll note this exchange:


US House Rep Seth Moulton: You know, at the end of the day, this also has cost to us.  If you -- if let's say this war cost one hundred billion dollars.  I mean, you've already said give us more time.  It's only been two months. It could go on for 20 years like Iraq and Afghanistan.  Let's just say it costs $100 billion.  What is that to the average American taxpayer? Do you have any idea? 

Secretary Pete Hegseth:  Well unlike previous foolish administrations, it won't go on.


US House Rep Seth Moulton:  [Cross talk] -- But let's just say it's $100 billion 

Hard to imagine how you know that allowed those things to happen.  You were part of the work on that [the Iraq War], so was I --

US House Rep Seth Moulton: I'm just asking if you know what your war costs the average American? 

Secretary Pete Hegseth: What is the cost of Iran having a nuclear weapon?

US House Rep Seth Moulton:  I'm just asking if you know the cost. So for the American taxpayer out there -- constituents, some of the constituents you want to represent in Minnesota, I'm just wondering if they have an extra 600 bucks laying around to pay for your war? I think it's just a question that we ought to ask.  Now quickly, on March 13th, in a press conference, you said, "We will give them on quarter, no mercy for our enemies."  "No quarter" or no survivors is a War Crime under The Geneva Conventions. You understand that's murder.  Do you stand by that statement? 

Secretary Pete Hegseth: The Department of War fights to win and we ensure that our war fighters have the rules of engagement necessary to be okay.

US House Rep Seth Moulton:  So just to be clear, you called for Democratic member of Congress to be tried for sedition for reminding our troops to follow the law but when you tell them to commit a War Crime, you stand by yourself for insinuating that the laws that we're giving them are law times expired? 

Hegseth couldn't answer.  He didn't want to say it but he couldn't answer.  He couldn't justify his rhetoric endorsing War Crimes, he couldn't justify his attack on US Senator Mark Kelly and the others who did a PSA reminding US troops of their obligation to the law and he certainly couldn't answer as to the financial  cost of this war of choice to the American people. 









The war has also underscored the need for alternative energy.  Yet, as Betty noted this week ("Con artist Chump works to destroy the entire planet"), Chump's doing everything to destroy alternative energy and doing so at a time when we need it financially and certainly we need it for the health of this planet.  Jennifer McDermott (AP) reports:

The Trump administration is spending nearly $2 billion to get energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects. Democrats in Congress are investigating.

The Republican administration adopted this strategy after federal courts thwarted President Donald Trump’s efforts to stop offshore wind development through executive action. Three agreements have been announced.
U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, and Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, are demanding information about the first and largest of the three. Under a deal made public in March, French company TotalEnergies is getting $1 billion — essentially a refund of its leases for offshore wind projects off North Carolina and New York— if it invests the money in fossil fuel projects instead.
Huffman said that is a “scam” and the administration is going to "light a lot of federal taxpayer money on fire if we let them."


He is wasting money on the war and he's wasting it in his attacks on alternative energy sources.  The American people are suffering during all of this.  Sasha Rogelberg (FORTUNE) reports:


As more than two-thirds of U.S. public schools say they already can’t sustain free meals for their students, one economist is sounding the alarms and says the Trump administration’s updated dietary guidelines may make these financial troubles even worse.

For the 2023-2024 school year, the government provided 4.8 billion lunches to the nearly 29.4 million students belonging to the National School Lunch Program, at a cost of $17.7 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture data. Part of this sum takes the form of cash reimbursements to schools serving free or reduced-cost food to students, with free lunch costing roughly $4.70 per student per meal.
Many schools, however, say the assistance they receive to feed students the subsidized meals are not enough. A recent survey of more than 1,170 school nutrition directors from the trade group the School Nutrition Association (SNA) found this year, 69.6% reported insufficient reimbursement rates to cover the cost of school lunches, an increase from 67.4% the previous year. More than half of the directors said there is “serious concern” about the financial sustainability of their school nutrition programs over the next three years, up from 46% from the 2024-2025 school year.
These school nutrition directors were surveyed in October 2025, and since then, additional factors may threaten the robustness of school lunch programs. Though reimbursements per meal increase each year alongside rising food costs, President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act slashed funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, ending automatic free meal eligibility of children. Fewer children qualifying for SNAP lowers a school’s identified student percentage of those requiring assistance, meaning fewer reimbursements may be offered to schools providing free or reduced-cost meals.

Chump's asking for a ballroom when he won't even feed America's kids? 


Chump's old friend Jeffrey Epstein has been dead since 2019; however, he continues to haunt Chump.  


Three MAGA lawmakers frustrated with the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files are putting several major Republican priorities—including the Farm Bill—at risk.

Representatives Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Anna Paulina Luna of Florida publicly criticized the White House after the Justice Department declined to release additional Epstein‑related records.

Boebert and Mace said they could derail a procedural vote that GOP leaders need to advance three major priorities at once: extending spying powers enabled by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, passage of the Farm Bill and a budget blueprint to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

Luna warned that the three “messy bills” will fail despite securing an amendment on pesticide liability, having previously threatened to “BLOW UP the Farm Bill” if it was not included.


In another development, former Attorney General Pam Bondi will be deposed by the House Oversight Committee.  Democrats on the Committee released the following yesterday:


Washington, D.C. — Today, a spokesperson for Oversight Democrats released the following statement after Department of Justice (DOJ) officials lied by stating that former Attorney General Pam Bondi, through counsel, spoke with Oversight Democrats and confirmed her deposition date. Bondi skipped her scheduled deposition on April 14, 2026. Oversight Democrats haven’t received any communication from Bondi or her counsel, despite repeated attempts to make contact. Oversight Chairman James Comer confirmed this on the record, stating that he did not communicate the date to Democrats and he did not know whether Oversight Democrats were aware the deposition had been set.

“Saying that Pam Bondi, her counsel, or Oversight Republicans communicated with Oversight Democrats about her scheduled deposition is a bald-faced lie. 45 minutes after Oversight Democrats filed a resolution to hold Bondi in civil contempt of Congress, Oversight Republicans said they have confirmed a date for Bondi to appear for the first time. Bondi and Oversight Republicans have had zero communication with Democrats on this issue, which James Comer confirmed on the record. We forced them to act and they’re trying to continue their shameless cover-up,” said Sara Guerrero, spokesperson for Oversight Democrats.

On April 29, 2026, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and all Democratic Members of the Committee filed a resolution to hold former Attorney General Pam Bondi in civil contempt of Congress after she failed to appear for her legally-binding, bipartisan subpoena to be deposed on the Epstein investigation and the White House’s cover-up of the Epstein files. The resolution would instruct the House of Representatives to go to court to compel Bondi’s testimony.

In March 2026, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform secured a bipartisan subpoena for then-Attorney General Pam Bondi following a motion by Congresswoman Nancy Mace supported by all Committee Democrats, joined by Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Lauren Boebert, Rep. Michael Cloud, Rep. Scott Perry, and Rep. Tim Burchett. The bipartisan subpoena passed the House Oversight Committee 24 to 19. On April 14, 2026, Pam Bondi refused to appear for her deposition before the Oversight Committee, despite the lawful bipartisan subpoena the Committee issued. The subpoena remains legally binding, even after Bondi was fired. The subpoena followed the Department of Justice’s botched release of the Epstein files and the continued White House cover-up.

 
###



Yesterday, CNN reported on how, despite Ka$h Patel's claim that there is no indication of any one other than Epstein assaulting girls and women, the survivors' own statements name powerful men in this country and yet there has been no follow up on the part of the FBI that's indicated in the released files. 





Tuesday, US House Rep Ro Khanna met with survivors for a public conversation about Epstein.  It was hoped that King Charles of England, visiting the US, would meet with the survivors but he elected not to. 






We posted the video below by Ellie Leonard earlier this morning.

 

Some e-mails have come in asking about it and if this means we're not posting Michael Wolff anymore?  No, we'll continue to post Wolff.  He's a source.  He's not a good person, but he's a source.  

There was a VANITY FAIR article last year and it quoted people from the administration -- most notoriously, Susie Wiles.  We noted the article in passing.  We did not treat it as the Holy Grail.  I made a few comments back then when real outlets -- including then MSNBC -- were treating it as the best example of journalism.  

It wasn't.

The author had access to various members of the administration.  Long term access.  And he cobbled together what he learned via a trust relationship that the subjects thought they had with him. 

It's a form of journalism, it's not one I applaud.  

You get some gossip that way, but it's just gossip, and you get the gossip by cozying up and pretending there's a relationship between you and the interview subject.  

That's what Michael Wolff most likely did and that probably becomes obvious in the e-mails that the Justice Dept released between him and Epstein.  

If you've watched REVENGE, he's Mason Treadwell.  

He's not very scrupulous.  

He wasn't undercover but he did trick Epstein into thinking the two were friends.  And from that, what have we gotten?  A ton of gossip -- more recently a ton of conjecture -- from Michael Wolff.  


Ellie Leonard notes that he e-mails Epstein about trying to get journalism pieces on Epstein killed.  

Did he?

I would hope no.  I would hope that was just another deception Wolff was tossing out there -- either to get more on Epstein's good side or to make himself seem more powerful than he was.  

Ellie's right to call him out.  As she notes, he has hours and hours of interviews -- recorded intrviews -- with Jeffrey Epstein but he refuses to release them all this time later. 

I don't think there's anything nefarious going on there -- I could be wrong, I often am -- I just think he's flattering Epstein and kissing Epstein's ass for the access and he doesn't want people to hear that.  

Wolff can be a great source in interviews -- or he can offer conjecture that's more than a little unmoored from reality -- and we'll continue to note him in the videos we post but his videos rarely make the snapshot and that's due to the fact that they really aren't journalism that I respect.  This is not a new position for me, I've noted it here for years. 


Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:



MURRAY: “At the same time Trump is demanding trillions for a war in Iran and trying to justify this war on the threat of nuclear proliferation, he is completely blowing off the very program that works around the clock to prevent state and non-state actors from developing nuclear weapons, or acquiring weapons-usable materials, equipment, technology, and expertise.”

ICYMI: Senator Murray on President Trump’s FY27 Budget Request

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s opening remarks***

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s full questioning***

Washington, D.C. — Today—during a Senate Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee hearing on President Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, pressed witnesses on current needs of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation programs, following congressional direction in the recently-enacted FY26 funding bill for the Department of Energy, staffing challenges caused by DOGE ripping through the agency last year, and changes to funding and plans for pit production.

Witnesses included NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams, NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Matthew Napoli, and NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs David Beck.

In opening comments, Senator Murray said:

“The National Nuclear Security Administration plays a really crucial role maintaining our nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile, safely and reliably powering the Navy’s nuclear-powered fleet, keeping nuclear weapons out of the wrong hands, and advancing critical nonproliferation efforts.

“And NNSA labs are on the frontlines propelling new technologies like AI to answer critical national security questions. So the stakes for this work couldn’t be higher. It is really crucial that we make balanced investments advancing important defense programs, as well as nuclear nonproliferation work.

“And, in the course of that work, it’s also crucial that we make sure these dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively. And what I see from Trump’s budget to me is not balanced in the least.  

“He wants to boost the war spending by roughly half a trillion dollars—and cut investments in families. When it comes to our nuclear program, he wants to make completely unjustified, exorbitant increases to weapons spending while cutting the nuclear nonproliferation work.

“This was already far from a balanced budget in any way, shape, or form. But the NNSA investments are to me, completely lopsided. Especially when you consider the fact that Republicans already shoveled nearly $4 billion for the Weapons program into the reconciliation bill last year.

“What’s more—we still lack details on exactly how the Department plans to spend these resources, making our process this year very difficult. But now, on top of that, the $4 billion spending spree, Trump is now requesting another $7 billion boost. All while he is slashing funding for nonproliferation programs. Not to mention proposed cuts to medical research, affordable housing, cost saving energy programs, and more.

“Look, we all agree NNSA is an important investment. How we handle our nuclear weapons program, and how we defuse potential nuclear threats—is about as important as it gets. That is exactly why we need to be incredibly thoughtful and ensure due diligence here. It is an enormous responsibility.

“But there is nothing responsible about blindly shoveling billions of dollars at an agency without addressing some long-running challenges we’ve seen regarding project management, cost estimates, and sufficient federal staff to oversee that work.

“It is critical that NNSA do a much better job at providing accurate cost estimates, effectively managing projects, and preventing the massive cost overruns and delays we have seen too much of. Ballooning costs and inaccurate estimates waste taxpayer dollars—and make it much harder for this Committee to do its work.

“I am also worried about how President Trump’s policies are worsening cost overruns we’re seeing tariffs, and wars, and haphazard firings, and grant cancellations, those all worsen inflation, they fuel uncertainty in the country, they restrict our supply chains for really crucial materials, and undermine our ability to keep our crucial work on track.

“With work this important, we can’t just throw money at projects and programs without addressing fundamental project management issues or acknowledging root causes of skyrocketing project costs. And just as we cannot ignore ballooning costs on the Weapons side. We also cannot ignore Trump’s plan to shortchange nonproliferation programs.

“This work helps keep us safe. It is mind boggling to me that at the same time Trump is demanding trillions for a war in Iran and trying to justify this war on the threat of nuclear proliferation, he is completely blowing off the very program that works around the clock to prevent state and non-state actors from developing nuclear weapons, or acquiring weapons-usable materials, equipment, technology, and expertise.

“We need to continue investing in the essential nonproliferation work, which helps secure nuclear materials across the globe and keeps people out of harm’s way. We’re talking about programs to improve detection capabilities, prevent terrorists from accessing nuclear materials, and more.

“This is work that the Pacific Northwest National Lab in my state, Washington state, is helping lead—and that we cannot afford to shortchange. President Trump’s budget largely ignores it. Which is why I’m planning on ignoring the budget.

“Last year, Chair Kennedy and I worked together to reject similar cuts Trump proposed, and to make really thoughtful investments across the NNSA portfolio. I hope we can do that work again together this time, draft a balanced, bipartisan bill. And I look forward to working with you Mr. Chairman.”

[Nonproliferation Programs]

Senator Murray began her questioning by asking Deputy Administrator Napoli about which programs would be responsible for working to respond to the situation in Iran—and why President Trump is proposing to shortchange those programs. Separately, Murray asked Deputy Administrator Napoli how he intends to restore programs that were cut in FY25 back up and running now that the FY26 bill provide additional resources.

MURRAY: As I said, the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation program plays a really critical role in protecting Americans and our allies from nuclear threats—investigating and countering nuclear smuggling, monitoring and verifying nuclear treaty compliance, preventing and mitigating effects of radiological incidents worldwide.

So, I wanted to ask you today Mr. Napoli, as international tensions [rise], this work is really more important than ever. So, if we are successful in denuclearizing Iran, what programs are responsible for that work and what does it entail?

NAPOLI: Thank you Senator for the question. The National Nuclear Security Administration, through the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation, has the unique and unmatched capability to deny, detect, and defeat our adversaries from acquiring nuclear and radiological weapons. Through the funding of this committee Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation maintains a broad set of capabilities in this regard, and they’re very, very diverse. That is removing and securing of nuclear materials, the technical ability to address the entire fuel cycle, including centrifuges and uranium conversion facilities, the ability to detect weaponization programs, the ability to enact verification expertise and work in concert with the International Atomic Energy Agency and respond to our Nuclear Emergency Support Team, better known as NEST.

We draw upon experts within the NNSA headquarters, as well as our laboratories, plants and sites nationwide, and PNNL is a huge part of my portfolio to accomplish that mission. It takes a weapons program to know weapons program, and our team has a track record of success in this area, addressing international threats—legacy ones, including removing highly enriched uranium from Kazakhstan after the fall of the Soviet Union, dismantling Libya’s nuclear program in the early 2000s, and material removals from Iraq in the early 2000s as well, via project McCall.

We also worked to convert research reactors from highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium, and we work to secure radiological sources around the world such as cesium and cobalt. Two primary examples, just in the recent months, we secured cesium materials from University of Georgetown as well as Lebanon across the oceans, showing a broad range of capabilities of our team. NNSA, and the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation stands ready to rise to any challenge.

MURRAY: Well, I think you made the point that this is really, really a critical program. So you can see why I was concerned when DNN carried out layoffs and cuts to really critical programs last year after the slush fund CR and Trump’s bad [FY26 budget] request. Thankfully, Congress rejected that and worked together to pass a bill and restored the funding.

And I wanted to ask you, with that funding restored in our FY26 bill, what are you doing now to get those projects back up and running? It takes really, critically, really great people to run those programs, and I want to know what you’re doing to get them back up and running since they were cut.

NAPOLI: Senator, I appreciate the question. As you noted, people are at the heart of our business. I will continue to be an advocate for all men and women of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Now, I would like to thank you for the generous appropriations that were provided in FY26 and we are using those in a variety of methods to scale up and execute our mission priorities, that is things like security by design, work that we’re doing—

MURRAY: So I’m asking, are you able to get qualified people back? Are they on board? Where are you in restoring all of the cuts that were made?

NAPOLI: We are continuing efficiency in our hiring and targeted hiring selections to make sure that we can execute the totality of our mission. Yes, ma’am.

MURRAY: Are you back up to where you were?

NAPOLI: I am in the process of evaluating our future needs and continuing to hire the best and brightest in the United States to come to the National Nuclear Security Administration.

MURRAY: Okay, it’s really important that you keep our committee informed of where you are in the hiring as we work on this budget now. It is really critical that we have your agency up running and capable.

[Following FY26 Funding Bill]

Senator Murray then pressed Administrator Williams on how FY26 funding is being spent, and whether he intends to follow Congressional directions and funding levels.

MURRAY: Administrator Williams—Congress included language to protect specific programs and projects in the FY26 bipartisan bill. Are you executing the FY26 funding in accordance with the funding level directives we put in that bill?

WILLIAMS: Yes, Senator, we’re following the direction, the letter of intent provided by Congress.

MURRAY: Okay, so you are not planning any reprogrammings that would move money away from congressionally directed levels?

WILLIAMS: We’re doing some reprogramming internally, as we’re allowed by law. But I think we’re very transparent in everything that we’re doing, we’re transparent to you and the committee to keep things moving. But if you’re talking about redirecting OBBBA funds, the answer is, no, we’re not doing—

MURRAY: Okay, so, but in our bill, we directed funding to go to the Forensic Research and Development Global Material Security Nonproliferation Stewardship program, nuclear detonation, detection, reactor conversion, and uranium supply. You’re not redirecting any of those funds? Those were congressionally directed.

WILLIAMS: I don’t believe so. And those are really important missions to us. I really view the nonproliferation mission as part of the deterrence mission. They all serve deterrence for our country, and our ability to interdict and detect other programs is a key part of our national deterrence, our strategic deterrence.

MURRAY: Okay, thank you for that answer.

[Rehiring NNSA Staff]

Senator Murray continued and asked Administrator Williams about his plan to hire back staff that were recklessly pushed out at NNSA last year as DOGE swept through the agency.

MURRAY: Before Trump took office, NNSA had 2,000 employees, and was hiring more. Under President Trump and Elon Musk and the DOGE thing, you had a lot of cuts.

And by the time you stopped the bleeding, we know that hundreds of key staff—actually the people who manage the nuclear stockpile—were gone. I know you are still trying to undo that damage. And your budget requests a 10 percent increase for Federal Salaries and Expenses to support additional hiring across NNSA.

What is your target hiring number right now for NNSA?

WILLIAMS: Senator, we are looking to hire about 100 new personnel, you know across, in terms of federal employees, across our enterprise. And again, as Dr. Napoli said, those are targeted hires. It’s the quality of the people we bring in is really important, and that we do so in an efficient way.

MURRAY: Yeah, well, I know that under the DOGE cuts a lot of people were gone. You’re now trying to hire them back. Can you tell the Committee how much it cost the taxpayers to have to recruit and hire back hundreds of those people?

WILLIAMS: Honestly Senator, that all happened before I was confirmed at the end of September.

MURRAY: So you can’t tell us?

WILLIAMS: I don’t have that information.

MURRAY: Okay, well I just think it’s important that the American people understand the reality: efficiency is good, and we need good people. And DOGE was not efficient, and it has cost us money. So I just wanted to make that point.

[Competing Pit Production Strategies]

Senator Murray then questioned Deputy Administrator Beck about possible changes to funding and plans for pit production and how that squares with the budget request NNSA submitted this year.

MURRAY: Mr. Beck, I wanted to ask you a question about the pit mines. You recently released a memo outlining a series of “Transformation Objectives”—including a reevaluation of all the ongoing major production and infrastructure projects across the NNSA complex.

One of the most costly efforts at the agency right now is the pit production mission. NNSA is slated to release a long-awaited Integrated Master Schedule for pit production that outlines the two-site construction schedule.

Can you clarify: Does the FY27 budget propose funding for projects based on the existing plan for pit production? Or does it factor in changes you’re pursuing in your transformational objectives effort?

BECK: Senator, I’m so glad you asked that question. We are the reasons why—there’s a couple reasons I’m in this job, is I care about the mission. The other one is, I’m frustrated about some of the things you’ve already mentioned, about how expensive it is to build facilities in the world that we’re in, and the Administrator has mentioned some of the reasons for that. The transformation objectives are an effort to try to impart greater urgency into our production so that we can create, get to the deterrence level that we need going forward in the future. And we’re looking hard at the pit strategy. Our pit strategy is we’re looking at it from a synergistic effect, where we’re bringing all the pit capabilities together, and looking at it as a systems approach. And we have an integrated plan for the work that’s done at Los Alamos. We do not yet have a complete integrated master schedule that includes Savannah River, because the CD23 estimate for SRPPF is not quite in. We expect that this summer.

We are moving forward with an approved strategy to be able to make more pits faster. And our intent is to change the way we do business. This is not the NNSA of two years ago. We are moving fast to make more pits. The number of pits we plan to make this year at Los Alamos, we got that done in the first half of the year, and we’ll make three times that number by the end of the year. That’s done in cooperation with all the sites. Savannah River in particular, is helping with classified tooling, training, electro refining efforts and chemical analysis. So, it’s a total team effort across the sites. The facility of Savannah River will not be ready until the 2030s, we’re trying to move that forward faster.

But we are going through, if one of the transformation objectives in that list is to evaluate every line item and capital project, we have to relook at three things. Do we have the right leadership? That’s the number one thing, leadership, federal and contractor leadership. Do we have the right strategy? Many times, we do not. And do we have the right operational drum beat and metrics to achieve where we go? And as we look at that, we’re making some significant improvements to move forward faster. And I’m encouraged by that, by the great work that has been done by the Savannah River and Los Alamos people that are assigned pits. And they are doing extremely good work this year, and I’m proud of what’s been happening so far.

MURRAY: Okay, well, from appropriations perspective here, that’s our job. If the execution strategy on some of the largest projects that you have change, how are you going to work with this Committee, so we understand where the resources are going that we are providing?

BECK: This is my second time in government. This is my 50th year in the nuclear weapons business, and having an agile strategy is one thing. One of the challenges you have is the budget’s not as agile as you’d like it to be, because it takes a long time to get to this stage. We will work with you very closely. We’re working with your staff. We’re briefing your staff in this, you know, we’ve spent many times briefing the staff on how to move forward and where we need help. And there are some things, in particular summary program is that I think makes sense to move forward to be more agile.

MURRAY: Well, speaking on behalf of the Chair and myself, we need to know what those are and where you’re going, so we know what resources need to be provided and where those are going. Those are critical decisions for us to understand.

BECK: We have met with your staff this week and last week, and we’re working through that process to make that happen.

###




The following sites -- plus Marcia's "Dementia Donald is an easy mark" -- updated:

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4/28/2026

levar burton and general hospital


levar burton was 'the view' today. amanda bell ('tv insider') reports:

LeVar Burton was on hand for Tuesday’s (April 26) new episode of The View and fielded a series of questions about his lengthy screen history, from Star Trek to Reading Rainbow to the new Trivial Pursuit, as well as to discuss some “Hot Topics” with the cohosts.
[. . .]
After Sara Haines asked him to journey down memory lane to talk a bit about Reading Rainbow, his classic hit educational series, Joy Behar asked him what he thinks of the recent cuts, by Donald Trump‘s administration, to funding for PBS.

“Joy, do you really want to hear me say that?” he asked, perhaps rhetorically.

“Yes, I do,” she insisted.

After a sigh, he said, “Just like we have a problem with the truth in this nation, we are also addicted to spending money on war and weapons of war, and we have sacrificed generations of our kids and their education.”

good for levar.  reading rainbow was so important to so many people growing up.  

'general hospital'?

jordan was less whiney today.  her face is not messed up from the car accident and should probably heal fine.  portia asked lucas about a friend of his from medical school who is 1 of the top plastic surgeons.  lucas agreed to talk to him and see if he could consult on jordan's case. 

curtis told michael that they scraped some paint off the guardrail from amother car.  it's a black suv.  curtis is convinced that it's isaiah (portia's boyfriend).  he drives a black suv.  isaiah complained to lucas at the hospital that he scraped his car last night in the parking lot.

trina took a package to the quartermaine's that had been wrongly delivered to her.  while she was there, brook lyn asked about jordan.  trina told brook lyn and tracy that there might be scarring. 

after trina left, tracy told brook lyn that if she came forward and said she was the other car then she would lose everything.  she'd lose chase, she'd lose their foster child phoebe and there would be no adoption in their future.  

willow told michael she was sorry for going off on jacinda and she said that he and she needed to get along for the good of their children.  she asked about taking the kids to disneyland this summer and michael agreed to let her do that while he plans to take them to hawaii this summer.

let's close with c.i.'s 'The Snapshot:'


Tuesday, April 28, 2026.  Chump's war on Iran drags on, Senators Warren, Kelly, Blumenthal and Gillibran have questions about the Kuwait strike, the US government is accused of minimizing the damage of US posts in the Gulf, Katie Phang sues the Justice Dept over The Epstein Files, and much more.


Chump's war of choice with Iran continues.  The world watches with disgust  Tom Latchem (DAILY BEAST) reports:

Germany’s chancellor has branded Donald Trump’s Iran war a strategy-free debacle that has “humiliated” the United States.

The withering verdict from Friedrich Merz—the most pointed European criticism yet against the president’s flailing Middle East campaign—comes after other NATO allies, including the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy, all rebuffed Washington’s pleas for military backing in the conflict.

Speaking to students in the town of Marsberg, in North Rhine-Westphalia, on Monday, the chancellor, 70, said Washington “quite obviously went into this war without any strategy,” while warning that Iran’s leaders were “negotiating very skillfully,” The Telegraph reported.

“The Iranians are clearly stronger than expected, and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either,” Merz told the audience.

He added that “a whole nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards.”


Tyler Pager and Julian E. Barnes (NEW YORK TIMES) report this morning:


President Trump has told advisers he is not satisfied with Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, according to multiple people briefed on discussions in the White House Situation Room on Monday.

The proposal also called on the United States to end its naval blockade but would have set aside questions about what to do with Iran’s nuclear program, according to U.S. and Iranian officials familiar with details of the negotiations.

Iran has repeatedly rejected American proposals to suspend its nuclear program and hand over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

It is not clear precisely why Mr. Trump is not satisfied with the proposal, but he has repeatedly insisted that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. A U.S. official also said that accepting it could appear to deny Mr. Trump a victory.

It's not a victory.  It's way too late for Chump to claim a victory.  It was supposed to last a few weeks.  But March 28th was one month.  April 28th, today, is two months.  And there's no end in sight.  

Two months.


And counting.


This morning, THE NEW YORK TIMES notes:


Oil prices continued to climb on Tuesday, as peace talks between the United States and Iran appeared at an impasse, with negotiators deadlocked over proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic and restrict Iran’s nuclear program.

The price of crude oil has risen steadily over the past week, as talks have stalled during an uneasy cease-fire. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has posted gains in six of the past seven trading sessions: It remains more than 40 percent higher than it was before the first U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.


And not everyone is standing with Chump in the administration.  Vic Verbalaitis (DAILY BEAST) notes:


Vice President JD Vance is privately freaking out over how Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon has handled President Donald Trump’s war on Iran.

Two senior administration officials told The Atlantic that Vance, 41, has been skeptical of the Pentagon’s information about the war. The vice president has also shared concerns with Trump, 79, about the stockpiles of certain missile systems, sources familiar with the matter told the magazine.

The vice president “asks a lot of probing questions about our strategic planning,” a White House official told the outlet.

Vance’s concerns are his own and are not an accusation of Hegseth or General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, misinforming the president, his advisers told the magazine, adding that he is not trying to create divisions among the president’s war Cabinet.


Vance isn't the only one questioning Pete Hegseth.   Tom Boggioni (RAW STORY) notes:


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth might not be feeling comfortable about his future after a Republican senator publicly broke ranks and said that there is growing discomfort in Congress with Hegseth's job performance.

In an interview with The Hill, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), whose threat to halt the confirmation of Donald Trump’s pick, Kevin Warsh, to head the Federal Reserve was a contributing factor leading to the DOJ to drop an investigation of current chair Jerome Powell, now seems to be turning his focus to Hegseth, a former Fox News personality.

As The Hill’s Alexander Bolton wrote, “Senate Republicans who spoke to The Hill on the condition of anonymity say Hegseth wouldn’t be confirmed to head the Pentagon if he were renominated by Trump today, and they say senior staff turmoil at the Defense Department under Hegseth’s leadership is a major concern.”

According to Tillis, he sees a lot of ousted DHS head Kristi Noem in Hegseth.

“I think he’s missing the mark on personnel. He has separated some of the most extraordinary generals that we’ve had in play. I don’t quite know what’s going on there,” he explained while noting that during Hegseth’s active military career he only saw “30 or 40 people” under his command.

“Now he’s got an organization that’s much larger, much more complex than anything he’s done. I think he’s making some less-than-ideal personnel decisions,” he continued before adding that when it comes to management and technical skills, “there’s no question he’s got a failing grade.”


Hegseth is being asked about more than that by US senators.  We'll note this from Senator Elizabeth Warren's office:


Troops injured in strike on Kuwait post reportedly received no warning to evacuate, denied requests for additional protections

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) launched a new investigation into reports that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth failed to take basic steps to protect troops during Operation Epic Fury, including during a strike that killed six service members and injured twenty in Kuwait.

“Secretary Hegseth sent our troops to fight in Iran, refused to take basic steps to protect them, and then tried to cover up his failures when service members died. Hegseth’s leadership has been one betrayal after another — he must be held accountable,” said Senator Warren.

On March 1, days into President Trump’s war on Iran, an Iranian drone hit a U.S. military post in Kuwait, killing six American service members and injuring at least 20. The attack reportedly came with “no warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate or get into a bunker.” After the attack, service members reported triaging their injuries themselves and having to “commandeer() civilian vehicles to drive the wounded to two local Kuwaiti hospitals.”

Secretary Hegseth described the attack as a “powerful” Iranian drone hit that was able to get through “fortified” U.S. defenses. But survivors of the attack described his account as a “falsehood,” saying that the unit “was unprepared to provide any defense for itself” despite making requests “for more capabilities to defeat incoming drones.”

Accounts from survivors and other officials indicate that the risks to service members in the region were known, but leadership at the Pentagon failed to take steps to prevent harm that could come from Iran’s retaliation. One service member recounted seeing intelligence revealing that “the post [they were relocated to] was on a list of potential Iranian targets.” Three other officials raised concerns that troop positions “concentrated too many U.S. troops in a location that wasn’t defendable.”

Survivors of the Kuwait attack have made clear that basic steps were not taken to keep U.S. troops safe, despite previous requests for more defenses against drones. In another case, the Pentagon failed to warn American ships of imminent attacks from Iran, a break from precedent that left the ships no way to evacuate service members and left them stranded for a month.

“We are concerned that this is part of a larger pattern in which this administration has failed to protect Americans in the region from Iranian retaliation,” wrote the senators.

In another instance, the Pentagon also reportedly failed to warn troops of imminent attacks from Iran, a break from precedent that left the ships no way to evacuate service members and left them stranded for a month. One source said of Pentagon leadership that, “(t)hey literally do not think about the second-, third- or fourth-order implications” of these major operations.

“The safety and well-being of our service members should be a top priority for DoD leadership. That requires careful consideration of major operations like Epic Fury and plans to prevent possible harm from foreseeable attacks, like retaliation with drone strikes,” said the senators.

The senators asked Secretary Hegseth to explain the decision to place troops in Kuwait, why requests for additional protections were denied, and how the Pentagon is ensuring the protection of U.S. troops during Operation Epic Fury by May 11, 2026.

Senator Warren has fought to hold the Trump administration accountable for failing to protect civilians and troops alike during its illegal war in Iran:

  • On April 22, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.), pressed General Randall Reed, Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), on the Trump administration’s failures in evacuating Americans from the Middle East at the start of President Trump’s illegal war in Iran.
  • On April 20, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Van Hollen (D-Md.) led nine senators in opening a new investigation into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s role in weakening civilian harm prevention programs and the catastrophic civilian impacts of President Trump’s war in Iran.
  • On April 7, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) released a new video condemning President Trump’s threat to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran and called for Majority Leader Thune to bring the Senate back into session immediately to vote to stop Trump’s war.
  • On March 20, 2026, at a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) sounded the alarm about the Trump administration’s sidelining of the military’s Judge Advocate General Corps, who are responsible for providing independent legal advice to commanders. Senator Warren pressed the commanders of United States Northern Command and United States Southern Command about the impact the sidelining of JAGs has on civilian harm as the war against Iran continues.
  • On March 11, 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kaine (D-Va.), Schatz (D-Hawaii), Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and 41 colleagues pressed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for a full investigation on the airstrikes on a school in Minab, Iran, and other civilian casualties in the Trump administration’s war on Iran.
  • On March 5, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass) led the entire Massachusetts delegation in pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to explain the Trump administration’s “complete failure” to evacuate U.S. citizens — including Massachusetts residents — from the Middle East following the administration’s starting a reckless war in Iran.
  • On March 3, 2026, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to call on Congress to end President Donald Trump’s reckless war in Iran and demand accountability.

###



In other Iran War news, Gordon Lubold, Courtney Kube, Mosheh Gains and Natasha Lebedeva (NBC NEWS) report:


American military bases and other equipment in the Persian Gulf region suffered extensive damage from Iranian strikes that is far worse than publicly acknowledged and is expected to cost billions of dollars to repair, according to three U.S. officials, two congressional aides and another person familiar with the damage.

The Iranian regime swiftly retaliated after the Trump administration attacked on Feb. 28, hitting dozens of targets across U.S. military bases in seven Middle East countries. Those attacks struck warehouses, command headquarters, aircraft hangars, satellite communications infrastructure, runways, high-end radar systems and dozens of aircraft, according to the U.S. officials and an assessment by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C.

In the initial days of the war, an Iranian F-5 fighter jet bombed the U.S. base Camp Buehring in Kuwait, despite the base having air defenses, a rare breach that marked the first time an enemy fixed-wing aircraft has struck an American military base in years, according to two of the U.S. officials.


The administration has already been accused of fudging the numbers for service members wounded in the Iran War.  Now they stand accused also of lying to the American people about the amount of damage being done to US bases and US equipment in the Gulf.  


Yesterday, England's King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in the United States.  Today, Charles is expected to address Congress and then dine with Chump.   Sophie Brams (THE HILL) notes:

The controversies surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein threaten to cast a long shadow over King Charles III’s upcoming visit to the U.S., his first American state visit since becoming monarch.

The purpose of the king and Queen Camilla’s visit is primarily diplomatic, planned to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. But as the monarchy continues to grapple with the fallout of Epstein-related disclosures, the royals’ visit could be overshadowed by questions about former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and former United Kingdom Ambassador Peter Mandelson’s past ties to the disgraced financier.


Chump is having his own Epstein problems.  Most recently emerging one?  Sarah Ewall-Wice (DAILY BEAST) reports:

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is being sued for failing to release the full Jeffrey Epstein files as required by law.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C, on Monday by lawyer and political commentator Katie Phang, who slammed Blanche and demanded that the Justice Department release all documents, along with an explanation for any redactions.

She is also calling for the courts to appoint an expert to ensure that Blanche complies with the law.

“This case is about Defendant Todd Blanche’s brazen, shocking, and ongoing violation of the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” the 15-page lawsuit reads. 








Along with his island, Manhattan and Florida, Chump's buddy Jeffrey Epstein was also active in New Mexico.  Erica Stapleton and Andrew Hay (REUTERS) report: 

Authorities in New Mexico are trying to determine how many local women and girls were abused by the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at his isolated Zorro Ranch compound.

Several individuals have said they were flown to the ranch and abused by Epstein and his associates. To date, only one -  former Santa Fe massage therapist Rachel Benavidez - was known to be from New Mexico.

New Mexico Representative Marianna Anaya, who co-sponsored the state's Truth Commission probe into Epstein, told Reuters that the group had been in contact with a number of New Mexico residents who say they were abused at the ranch.

"I can confirm that we have been reached out to by local alleged victims," Anaya told Reuters in a text message.

The Truth Commission is working with the New Mexico Department of Justice to help survivors who may have viable criminal cases bring charges against Epstein co-conspirators, Anaya added.


Sunday, Australia's 60 MINUTES did a report on Epstein's New Mexico ranch.







In a nearly 3,000-word bombshell report, veteran journalist Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez recently uncovered the company that appears to have constructed Jeffrey Epstein's sprawling New Mexico property, the implications of which, Valdes-Rodriguez wrote, were “terrifying” and made “it hard to sleep.”
Valdes-Rodriguez has uncovered several revelations as it relates to Epstein, largely revolving around his activity in New Mexico, including that his New Mexico property known as Zorro Ranch may have been used to surveil two U.S. nuclear weapons labs, and that the former chief federal prosecutor for the state had previously undisclosed ties to the disgraced financier.

In her latest report, Valdes-Rodriguez told people "brace yourselves" before revealing she uncovered yet another revelation when scanning through the Justice Department’s trove of Epstein-related files: that Zorro Ranch was likely constructed by Bradbury Stamm, a major U.S. government-linked contractor that “does not build individual homes.”

“If you’re not from around here, you might not think twice about seeing ‘Bradbury Stamm’ tucked in there, between the car phones and greenhouses of Zorro Ranch,” Valdes-Rodriguez wrote in her report.




Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling (THE NEW REPUBLIC) notes 


Epstein purchased Zorro Ranch from former Democratic Governor Bruce King in 1993. Then he hired Bradbury Stamm Construction, a company better known for building classified facilities at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Kirtland Air Force Base, to erect him a mansion on the 10,000-acre property. They also built him a sprawling courtyard, a private airstrip with a hangar and helipad, a ranch office, a firehouse, and a seven-bay heated garage.

Bradbury Stamm is the largest industrial commercial contractor in New Mexico, and is not known for constructing private homes, according to journalist and author Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. Yet they did it anyway. The company’s telephone number was listed under a series of contacts pertaining to Zorro Ranch in Epstein’s personal phone book, according to unredacted pages released by the Justice Department.

Why the company would go out of its way to take on the Zorro Ranch project is not clear, though Valdes-Rodriguez speculates that it could have something to do with Ghislaine Maxwell’s father.

“Bradbury Stamm holds classified construction contracts at the New Mexico nuclear weapons labs that Ghislaine Maxwell’s father, Robert Maxwell, penetrated with backdoored spy software on behalf of Israeli military intelligence in the mid-1980s, per publicly available FBI files and the testimony of Rafael Eitan, the Mossad operations chief who ran Maxwell as an asset,” Valdes-Rodriguez wrote. “Bradbury Stamm brings in hundreds of millions each year in contracts.”


So many questions remain regarding Jeffrey Epstein.  Yesterday, Adam Mockler reported on JD Vance and his connections to Peter Thiel.  



Peter Thiel has long backed JD Vance. Jeffrey Epstein encouraged Thiel to back JD Vance. 


And Cameron Adams (DAILY BEAST) reports on  a remark in Chump's 60 MINUTES interview on Sunday:



President Donald Trump has admitted that some senior members of his administration are unnecessarily living in military housing.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller all live in Washington-area military housing for security reasons.

Rubio and Hegseth live on “General’s Row“ at Fort McNair, an Army enclave, while freshly fired Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem has yet to vacate the waterfront home on a D.C. military base she moved into after threats related to her job.

During his Sunday interview on 60 Minutes, one day after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump was asked by correspondent Norah O’Donnell if he believed there was a link between the divisive political violence in the U.S. and his staff living on secure military bases because of potential threats against them due to their jobs.

“Well, they choose to,” Trump said of the living arrangements. “I’m not sure that... ah, they need to. They also have nice places, you know? Democrats did the same thing. Some of the housing on the military bases is very nice. I’m not sure they do it necessarily for violence, but probably... it’s not the worst thing in the world.”


Let's wind down with this from Senator Tammy Baldwin's office:


Tavern League of WI: “We wholeheartedly support this legislation”; WI Restaurant Association: “We are proud to support this effort to keep local sports accessible and affordable for Wisconsin’s businesses and fans alike”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – New legislation led by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) to stop professional sports leagues from blacking out games for fans and end the complicated and costly web of streaming services has earned the strong support of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and Tavern League of Wisconsin. This comes in addition to recent polling showing that overwhelming majorities of Americans support Senator Tammy Baldwin’s For the Fans Act.

“Watching Packers, Brewers and Bucks games with friends and family is as Wisconsin as beer, cheese, and Old Fashioneds. Tavern League members take great pride in bringing the community together to support our home teams. Wisconsin residents and businesses shouldn’t be subject to arbitrary black out rules or forced to watch our conference and division rivals because of where we live. We thank Senator Baldwin for introducing the “For the Fans Act" and we wholeheartedly support this legislation,” said Keith Kern, Tavern League of Wisconsin President.

“Our neighborhood restaurants and sports bars are the cornerstones of Wisconsin communities, serving as the primary gathering places for fans to cheer on our home teams. For too long, however, small business owners have been forced to navigate an increasingly expensive and fragmented maze of subscriptions and frustrating blackouts just to air a local game,” said Kristine Hillmer, Wisconsin Restaurant Association President and CEO. “Senator Baldwin’s 'For the Fans Act' is a common-sense solution that provides much-needed relief to the hospitality industry. By eliminating technical barriers and reducing the need for costly, overlapping streaming services, this bill allows our members to lower their overhead and focus on what they do best: providing a great atmosphere for their guests. We are proud to support this effort to keep local sports accessible and affordable for Wisconsin’s businesses and fans alike.”

“Wisconsinites across the state are fed up with paying an arm and a leg to watch our home teams – and that includes our restaurants and bars that are neighborhood staples who are already being squeezed by high costs,” said Senator Baldwin. “I am so honored to earn their support for this bill to cut costs, put the fans first, and make sure everyone in Wisconsin can cheer on our Brewers, Bucks, and Packers.”

The For the Fans Act improves access for consumers of professional sports broadcasts by requiring free viewing access for local fans and ending blackouts on league-owned streaming services, like NBA League Pass or MLB.tv. The bill applies to professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer leagues. The bill makes an exception for minor league teams and leagues with fewer than eight teams.

Baldwin’s press release announcing the legislation is available here.

A one-pager on the bill is available here.

###




The following sites updated:



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