Former President Trump drew mixed reactions from a rowdy crowd as he worked to appeal to the Libertarian National Convention, urging the party to “combine with us” to beat President Biden in November.

“The fact is we should not be fighting each other. If Joe Biden gets back in, there will be no more liberty for anyone in our country. Combine with us in a partnership, we’re asking that of the libertarians. We must work together. Combine with us. You have to combine with us,” Trump told an audience at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night.

Trump to libertarians: “Our rights and freedoms have never been more in danger than they are right now. That is why I have come to extend a hand of friendship to ask for your partnership to defeat communism, defeat Marxism, and defeat Crooked Joe Biden, who is destroying our… pic.twitter.com/pBUPKSAqJd

— Julia 🇺🇸 (@Jules31415) May 26, 2024

The remarks drew a mix of boos and cheers from a crowd of both Libertarians and pro-Trump attendees.

The former president said his appearance at the convention was to “extend a hand of friendship” to the party, which he argued “can make a big difference.”

“I’m asking for the libertarian party’s endorsement, or at least lots of your votes,” Trump said, prompting boos — but he also garnered “we want Trump” chants from his supporters in the crowd.

“Maybe you don’t want to win … Keep getting your three percent every four years,” Trump said in an apparent knock at the party’s recent polling success.

Donald Trump roasts the politically retarded attendees who are interrupting his speech at the Libertarian National Convention: “Maybe you don’t want to win… keep getting your 3% every four years”

pic.twitter.com/T4TvmkcPcM

— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) May 26, 2024

As part of his appeal to the party, Trump also committed to putting a Libertarian in his Cabinet if he wins the Oval Office in 2024 — and to commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht, who is serving life in prison for his role in operating a platform for buying and selling illegal drugs.

Chants of “free Ross” had erupted several times throughout the night’s events.

BREAKING: Trump just won over the Libertarians that have been booing him by saying “If you vote for me, I will commute the sentence of Ross Ulbricht”

This man is a political genius, he could’ve said that at the start but he allowed them to boo him and then cheer for him, now… pic.twitter.com/hrI9y4s4pi

— George (@BehizyTweets) May 26, 2024

Trump’s remarks come a day after independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed a crowd at the same event. Kennedy, who is running a long-shot bid to take on Trump and President Biden in the fall, knocked the former president on Friday over his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kennedy had challenged Trump to formally debate him at the convention, and though the White House rivals ultimately appeared on different days, Trump’s decision to attend the Libertarian event underscores the potential spoiler threat posed by Kennedy’s third-party bid.

Staff brought out additional chairs ahead of Trump’s speech to accommodate both the Libertarians and Trump supporters that crowded into the ballroom, after Kennedy’s showing reportedly drew a more meager audience. Libertarian leaders urged the mixed crowd to hear each other out.

Trump is heading toward a tight rematch with Biden in the fall, and the pair have committed to two head-to-head debates — as Kennedy decries his exclusion. Several recent polls have heralded in bad news for Biden in key battleground states.

Biden’s campaign knocked Trump ahead of the Saturday speech.

“Freedom isn’t free in Trump’s Republican Party and this weekend will be just one more reminder of that,” Biden-Harris spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement.

Watch:

Former President Donald Trump is whittling down his list of potential running mates, and one lawmaker is moving up, according to a report from The New York Times.

Sources close to Trump claim Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas is quickly becoming a top contender for the role, according to a Friday report from the outlet.

The three sources — who remained unnamed in the report — said Trump values Cotton’s reliability and clear communication of policy.

Trump has kept his vice-presidential machinations close to his chest since the beginning of the 2024 campaign, offering a variety of names at different points in time.

Cotton has been similarly unwilling to confirm or deny any rumors about his prospects in a hypothetical second Trump administration.

“I suspect only Donald Trump knows who is really on his short list,” the senator told Fox News on Monday.

He continued, “When we do talk, we talk about what it’s going to take to win this election in November — to elect President Trump to another term in the White House and elect a Republican Congress, so we can begin to repair the damage that Joe Biden’s presidency has inflicted on this country.”

Many former foes and rivals of Trump now stand as key vice-presidential hopefuls, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, and former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio is another name that has been circulated.

The campaign recently stated that former primary opponent Nikki Haley, a onetime South Carolina governor and former UN ambassador, is not under consideration.

Trump’s final selection will likely not be confirmed until the Republican National Convention in July.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris issued statements over Memorial Day weekend on the death of George Floyd, stating that he “should be alive.”

The statements from Biden and Harris came on the fourth anniversary of the death of Floyd, whose death on May 25, 2020, while in police custody, led to nationwide protests and riots.

“George Floyd should be alive. He deserved so much more,” Biden wrote in a post on X. “Today, I join all those who loved him and all those touched by the civil rights movement he inspired in remembering the tragedy and injustice of his death. He changed the world. Now, let’s act in his memory.”

George Floyd should be alive. He deserved so much more.

Today, I join all those who loved him and all those touched by the civil rights movement he inspired in remembering the tragedy and injustice of his death.

He changed the world.

Now, let's act in his memory. pic.twitter.com/uPSCkxFMRs

— President Biden (@POTUS) May 25, 2024

Harris, likewise, issued a statement in a post on X in which she said Floyd “deserved to be safe” and “should be alive today.”

To honor his memory, President Biden and I reaffirm our commitment to building a justice system that lives up to its name.

While we have made progress, we still have more work to do — including passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) May 25, 2024

“To honor his memory, President Biden and I reaffirm our commitment to building a justice system that lives up to its name,” Harris wrote. “While we have made progress, we still have more work to do — including passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.”

Floyd died after former Minneapolis, Minnesota, Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck as Floyd was handcuffed and lying facedown on the ground.

In April 2021, during Chauvin’s trial, Chief Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew Baker testified that heart disease and drugs had been contributing factors in the death of Floyd.

Baker added that he had certified overdose death in people who had lower amounts of fentanyl than Floyd had in his system.

Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges he faced in the death of Floyd: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.

Baker was also questioned in February 2022, during the trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating Floyd’s rights.

While being questioned, Baker stated that the death of Floyd came after police “subdual, restraint and neck compression,” which led Floyd’s heart and lungs to stop working.

Baker said that drugs and heart disease were factors in Floyd’s death but not the top factors. Floyd also reportedly had an enlarged heart, which needed more oxygen, along with narrow arteries, Baker said.

The temporary piers established at President Biden’s order have run way over budget and caused several issues since USAID commenced deliveries, leading some lawmakers to question the value of the operation.

“At the end of the day, it’s unnecessarily putting our people in harm’s way. It’s costing a lot. It’s pulling assets that should be used elsewhere, and I just don’t think it’s going to accomplish anything near what he’s promised,” Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview.

President Biden, during his State of the Union speech in March, pledged to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of the Gaza Strip to increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to the territory as millions remain displaced while Israel continues to hunt Hamas.

The Pentagon announced the completion of the piers – one that would remain several miles offshore while the other acted as a causeway onto the Gazan shore – were completed around May 9 but faced difficulty during deployment over the following week.

Waltz said the cost for the project totaled over $300 million, with some reports citing a figure as high as $320 million – which would be double what initial estimates indicated, Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told Reuters, calling the operation a “dangerous effort with marginal benefit.”

Waltz noted that the quoted costs only apply to the first few months of operation: “The longer it’s there, the more those costs are going to skyrocket.”

“We’ve been briefed that two Navy destroyers are assigned to patrol the waters around the pier,” Waltz said as an example. “Are those being included in their sustained fuel operating costs? The cost of their crew? That’s unclear … and then there’s opportunity cost, right? Those destroyers and other assets, air assets or what have you, are being dedicated to secure this thing from any type of drone or land attack that could be rested and refit in the U.S. and could be used elsewhere.”

The main issue, according to Waltz, is that the delivery outside of Gaza has not been the issue, but rather what happens once the aid is delivered across the border, at which point the aid faces the same issues as land-based delivery.

“It’s going to run into the exact same problems the land routes have faced once it gets across the border,” Waltz argued. “The trucks get ransacked. They get attacked. When they do make it to the warehouse, it’s Hamas controlling the warehouses.”

“Whether the trucks come from the sea or whether they come from land, they’re going to run into the same buzzsaw of issues once they get inside, and it is the Palestinian, you know, the poor Palestinian people and kids that suffer in the end,” Waltz continued.

“Because of corruption and because they’re being run by a terrorist dictatorship that is going to use aid to, one, feed and arm and resource itself, with more nutrients and medical supplies and fuel and what have you,” he added. “Then, secondarily, use it as a lever to make sure the Palestinian people don’t rise up against them.”

Deliveries have not hit the desired level since the piers commenced shipments last week: Trucks started entering the Gaza Strip on May 17, with plans to scale up to 150 truckloads a day, but the pier has run into a number of issues, including damage to one of the piers on Saturday as the military tried to move them due to “sea conditions.”

The move, attempted overnight Friday, led to a piece of one pier detaching from the line and floated ashore. A U.S. army landing craft mechanized (LCM) tried to rescue the piece and got stuck when a cable wrapped around its propeller – another unforeseen cost.

The U.S. Army and Navy worked throughout the day with Israeli counterparts to free the equipment, according to a U.S. defense official.

Waltz listed a number of other issues that have plagued the operation, from logistical issues to weather disruptions and security threats.

“Just getting the amount of material out there in what is often a rough sea state, in a very difficult environment, has been a problem,” Waltz explained. “Then, I think we just have this false notion of no boots on the ground coming from Biden and the administration.”

“I mean, technically, there’s no boots touching sand, but they’re on a dock that’s touching the sand, and we confirmed at a hearing they’re very close to shore,” he continued. “They are within small arms range of any militants that want to fire on them from Gaza, much less the types of drones or missiles that we’ve seen in the Red Sea.”

“We do know that the dock and the entire complex has come under mortar fire, already, so, again, this is putting our service members in harm’s way unnecessarily,” he stressed.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters on Tuesday that crowds have stopped the trucks at various points along the route after the trucks arrived on land, leading to a sort of “self-distribution” of the deliveries.

“These trucks were traveling through areas where there’d been no aid. I think people feared that they would never see aid. They grabbed what they could,” Dujarric said, according to Newsweek.

Pentagon Spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder also commented earlier in the week that the aid was “not flowing at a rate that any of us are happy with.”

Ultimately, Waltz argued that the piers have proven a project initiated for “purely political reasons.”

“When you have over 100,000 Democrats in the state of Michigan … go and vote against him in the Democrat primary – over 100,000 – that is a heck of a scary political moment for this White House,” Waltz said.

“We’ve seen the policy shifts towards Israel ever since, from Schumer calling for regime change on the Senate floor to the kind of bashing of Netanyahu, to the promising a change in policy if the Israelis carry out their offensive in Rafah … that has all been a signal to the youth vote,” Waltz added.

During an on-record call on Thursday, defense officials confirmed to reporters that three U.S. service members had been injured while supporting a mission to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza. All injuries were non-combat-related with one person being listed in critical condition.

Grayson Murray, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, has died at the age of 30.

The American’s passing was announced by the PGA Tour on Saturday – 24 hours after he withdrew towards the end of his second round the Charles Schwab Challenge in Texas. He had told his playing partners he was feeling unwell.

No cause of death has been issued, with commissioner Jay Monahan left ‘lost for words’.

‘We were devastated to learn – and are heartbroken to share – that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray passed away this morning,’ Monahan said of the world No 58.

‘The PGA Tour is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same. We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones.’

Only last month Murray’s fiancée, Christiana, caddied for him during the Par 3 contest ahead of The Masters. The couple was reportedly due to marry in the spring of 2024. He had previously spoken about his struggles with alcohol and his mental health.

‘My parents have been through hell and back basically for the last six years with me, fighting some mental stuff,’ he once revealed.

‘It’s not easy on me and the people around me that love me. They don’t like to see me down and they’ve been my No 1 supporters and everyone has their battles.

‘Sometimes people are able to hide them and function and sometimes you’re not. I think our society is getting better now about accepting that it’s OK to not be OK.’

He added: ‘I’m not ashamed that I go through depression and anxiety. I know I’ve helped people out in the past just through my social media DMs – people messaging me – and I can use my platform to continue to help with things like that.’

At the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, when he won his second PGA Tour title, the North Carolina-native gave a now-poignant interview about hard times away from the course.

‘My rookie year was 2017 – I was young and thought I was invincible and wasn’t doing the correct stuff off the course to really give myself the best chance to succeed out here,’ he said.

‘Over the years, I’ve given in a few times and then right when I try to give up, someone gives me a little bit more inspiration, saying: “Hey you got it, you can do it”

‘Those are just the people that are close to me that I really lean on in hard times and I just have to keep pushing through. That’s the only way I know how.’

He admitted there were ‘multiple low points,’ adding: ‘I’ve obviously been vocal about the alcohol use in the past and I’m over eight months sober and I have a beautiful fiancée that I love so much, who’s so supportive of me and my parents are so supportive of me.

‘My caddie, Jay (Green), is one of my biggest cheerleaders. And it just makes everything so easy when I get out here inside the ropes. When everyone in my circle is just really pulling for me and they’re right there with me when I do have those hard days. And I still have hard days but I feel a lot more at peace inside the ropes now.’

Green released a heartbreaking statement shortly after Murray’s death was confirmed. ‘Grayson was the absolute best. Not only was he an incredible, thoughtful and generous boss, he was an even better friend,’ he said.

‘He truly would do anything for anyone. He has the best family, and my heart goes out to them. We will all miss him deeply.’

Earlier this week, Murray shot a two-under-par 68 in his opening round but was five over for his second round when he pulled out of the tournament.

Play continued at Colonial on Saturday, even after the devastating news, with Monahan revealing: ‘I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play.

‘They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so. As difficult as it will be, we want to respect their wishes.

‘The PGA Tour has grief counselors available at both tournament sites (this week’s PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour events), as well as virtually for those not in the field. I am en route to Ft. Worth and will share more information when we can.’

Murray was a brilliant prospect, winning three consecutive Callaway Junior World Championships between 2006 and 2008. He made his first cut on the Korn Ferry Tour at the age of just 16 and was the top-ranked golfer in his age group.

He then turned professional back in 2015 before going on to win twice on the PGA Tour. Murray picked up his first title in 2017 at the Barbasol Championship, when he was just 24. His second and final title came in January in Hawaii.

Murray tied for 43rd at last week’s PGA Championship and ended the 2024 Masters in 51st.

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald also paid tribute to Murray, writing on social media on Saturday: ‘Truly devastating news that Grayson Murray has passed away.

‘He asked me for some advice on how to play Augusta a few months ago, last week I saw him at the PGA Championship, life truly is precious. My condolences and prayers to his whole family that they may find some peace.’

The California Senate passed a bill that would ban parental notification for gender changes in public TK-12 and provide more resources to increase parental support of LGBTQ pupils. While parents broadly support disclosure rules and have approved them in many school districts, state leaders, including the attorney general — who has supported lawsuits against districts with disclosure rules — say these efforts harm transgender children.

In the past year, school districts across California have adopted measures requiring parents to be notified if their children request to officially change their pronouns, go by a different name, or use facilities or school programs for children of the opposite gender.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has responded by supporting lawsuits against these school districts, with California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond supporting Assembly Bill 1955, a bill just passed by the California Senate and heading to the Assembly that would ban these parental notification requirements.

“AB 1955 protects our LGBTQ+ youth from increased risk of bullying and harassment, and it affirms families’ ability to handle family matters at home without school employees being forced to intervene,” said Thurmond in a statement. “The SAFETY Act will allow our teachers to focus on teaching academic skills – not on policing gender identity.”

Parental rights advocates maintain that this bill would likely be found unconstitutional and undermines children’s health and the trust between schools and parents.

“Notifying and involving parents for something as paramount as socially transitioning a child at school is critical for the well-being of children and for maintaining trust between schools and parents,” Jonathan Zachreson, whose Protect Kids California organization is collecting signatures for a statewide ballot initiative requiring parental notification, told to The Center Square.

Liberty Justice Center, a legal nonprofit representing two California school districts and Protect Kids California in various cases against the state, reiterated their support for parental rights and said it would fight AB 1955 in court when it likely passes.

“Parents have a right to know what their own minor children are doing at school – and school officials have no right to keep secrets from parents,” said Liberty Justice Center President Jacob Huebert in a statement. “We will continue to stand with parents and the school districts that want to respect their rights – and we’ll continue to represent them free of charge, at no cost to taxpayers.”

While parental rights advocates focus on the trust between parents and the schools, LGBTQ advocates focus on trust between students and schools.

“Teachers should not be the gender police and violate the trust and safety of the students in their classrooms,” Assemblymember Christopher Ward, D-San Diego, who authored the bill, said. “Parents should be talking to their children, and the decision for a student to come out to their family members should be on their own terms. The SAFETY Act simply ensures that conversations about gender identity and sexuality happen at home without interference from others outside of the family unit.”

Earlier this year, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service stopped administering puberty blocking hormones to transgender minors, saying there is “not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness” of such procedures. The United States Supreme Court has recently supported the constitutionality of state laws banning gender hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery for transgender minors, suggesting parental rights advocates may have the upper hand if AB 1955 passes and a legal challenge goes to trial.

A maniac ignited a cup of liquid and hurled it at a stranger on a Manhattan subway Saturday, setting fire to the man’s shirt and burning his chest and neck, cops said.

The terrifying episode is the second time in four months someone tossed flaming liquid at a straphanger — and authorities are investigating whether the same fire bug is to blame in both incidents.

The latest incident unfolded as the No. 1 train was pulling into the Houston Street station at West Houston and Varick Streets around 2:45 p.m..

When the train doors opened, the attacker, identified as Nile Taylor ran — but stopped to scoop up a phone a woman on the platform had dropped.

Quick-thinking police officers talked to her and then tracked the lost phone.

Taylor was taken into custody a short time later about five blocks away at Canal Street and Renwick Street, near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel.

The burned man, 23, was treated at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Hospital but was not seriously injured.

Investigators are probing if Taylor, 49, was also responsible for a similar attack in February, a police source said.

In that incident, a crazed man tossed a flaming container at a group of straphangers on a subway platform on the No. 1 line on Feb. 5, around 7:40 p.m. inside the West 28th Street station.

“They think he might be the guy from the February incident,” a police source said, of the prior flame-throwing incident.

Cops released footage at the time showing a man holding two blazing cans at a turnstile.

Taylor’s rap sheet includes a 1997 arrest for weapons possession when he was found with a .22 caliber rifle, a Ruger, and a silver Derringer, according to a source.

The fiery afternoon on the rails is another example of how much the city’s justice system has deteriorated, said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD Sergeant and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“What’s next?” he wondered. “I’ve been to this movie so many times, where, if we think the criminal justice system has become a revolving door, the emotionally disturbed, mental health procedures have become a double or triple revolving door.

“Unfortunately someone is going to get badly hurt.”

The New Hampshire political consultant behind robocalls mimicking President Biden is now facing 24 criminal charges, 13 of which are felony counts.

Steve Kramer admitted to commissioning robocalls that used artificial intelligence to generate a voice similar to President Biden encouraging recipients not to participate in the primary.

The Federal Communications Commission also announced $6 million in fines against Kramer.

“It’s important that you save your vote for the November election,” the illicit calls stated, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella. The calls added, “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

“After we received multiple reports and complaints on the day these calls were made and the day after these calls were made, my office immediately opened an investigation,” Formella said.

He described how his office’s Election Law Unit worked with the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, a bipartisan task force made up of 50 state attorneys general and the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau.

Kramer previously told local outlet News 9 he produced the phone calls as a stunt to demonstrate the need to regulate AI technology.

“Maybe I’m a villain today, but I think, in the end, we get a better country and better democracy because of what I’ve done, deliberately,” Kramer previously said of the investigation.

The New Hampshire robocalls sparked immediate action in outlawing deep fakes impersonating political candidates. The FCC ruled the practice illegal in February.

With the unanimous adoption of a ruling that recognizes calls made with AI-generated voices as “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a 1991 law restricting junk calls that use artificial and prerecorded voice messages, the FCC said it was giving state attorneys general new tools to go after those responsible for voice-cloning scams.

“Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities and misinform voters. We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.

“State Attorneys General will now have new tools to crack down on these scams and ensure the public is protected from fraud and misinformation.”

Calls from Democratic lawmakers and left-wing groups for Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from key cases over ethics violations are a “coordinated effort” to delegitimize the Supreme Court, according to experts who say the attacks on conservative justices are becoming more consistent with each passing year.

The “An Appeal to Heaven” flag, one of the foremost flags used by Patriot forces including, George Washington, during the Revolutionary War, was flown at Alito’s vacation house last year, according to a New York Times report published this week, drawing outrage from Democrats who claim it was also a key symbol during the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. It marked the second time in two weeks that the justice’s flag poles became a topic of controversy, and the report prompted calls from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) for Alito to recuse himself from cases involving former President Donald Trump and the 2020 election, all because a handful of protesters carried the Revolutionary War-era flag on Jan. 6, 2021.

Congressional Democrats and activist groups are turning up the pressure on Alito in the wake of the flag controversy. Despite pushback from legal experts and voices on the Right, Democrats and left-wing groups have sought throughout Biden’s presidency to raise questions about key Republican-appointed justices on the Supreme Court and have done so by relying on the strategy of attacking their ethics.

“The Left has been constantly attacking the court since at least March 2020 when Sen. [Chuck] Schumer [D-NY] stood in front of the court during an oral argument on an abortion case and directly threatened Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh on their vote,” Mark Paoletta, ex-general counsel for Trump’s Office of Management and Budget and a close friend of Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, said.

Paoletta specifically recalled that the last three years have shown a pattern of leaks or reports that elevate Supreme Court scrutiny “in the springtime, as the court nears the end of the term and big decisions will be handed down.”

In May 2022, there was the leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Decision that signaled the imminent overturning of Roe v. Wade, a leak that has remained unsolved despite its damaging impact on the institution. Last year, ProPublica launched a dedicated series in the spring questioning Thomas’s ethics, specifically over gifts of vacations that billionaire Harlan Crow gave to Thomas, just before the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.

“And now there’s the Trump cases in 2024,” Paoletta said, adding that the reporting about flags flown months ago in front of Alito’s home arrived near the end of the current term “like clockwork.”

Paoletta said the left-wing groups amplifying the attacks on conservative justices’ ethics have an agenda.

“Short term, it’s to intimidate the conservative justices and try to force a baseless recusal or to have them trim their sails on an opinion and longer term to undermine the court’s legitimacy and pack the court,” Paoletta said, likening Democrats’ calls to reduce the number of justices deciding a case to an inverse court-packing effort.

Democratic Sens. Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who oversee the federal courts in their respective roles as chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a judicial oversight subcommittee, requested a meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts as soon as possible to discuss what they called an “ethics crisis” at the Supreme Court. In a letter dated Thursday, the senators renewed calls for the high court to impose binding ethics rules and specifically urge Alito to recuse from 2020 and Jan. 6 related cases.

The decision to recuse is left up to specific justices and is not reviewable by other colleagues. The law requires recusal if a family member is involved in a case as a litigant, witness, or lawyer or has an interest that will greatly affect the decision.

Legal experts told the Washington Examiner there is nothing in the Code of Conduct for United States Judges nor the recently-adopted ethics code for the Supreme court that would result in a need for Alito to recuse himself from the case. That code was adopted to ensure justices maintain proper disclosures of gifts they receive from outside parties, but it has no binding enforcement mechanism.

“The upside-down flag does not require Alito to recuse from every 2020 election case or future election case or whatever else,” Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University who specializes in environmental, administrative, and constitutional law, said.

There have also been arguably more blatant signs of personal bias from past Supreme Court justices who did not ultimately recuse from cases. For example, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an outspoken anti-Trump critic in 2016, calling him a “faker” and criticizing him for not releasing his tax returns. She did not recuse herself from a 2020 case involving Trump titled Trump v. Mazars, which concerned a congressional subpoena for his tax returns.

But Adler offered a pointed response to both the conduct of Alito and Ginsburg, saying that both should have worked toward limiting any appearance of partisanship even if their conduct did not meet the standard for recusal. He also conceded “it’s pretty clear” the recent concerns about Alito are part of a “continued sustained campaign to attack the integrity of conservative justices.”

Cases that Democrats such as Durbin and Whitehouse think Alito should recuse from are pivotal in the high court’s current term, and the justices have not yet handed down their decisions in them. One of the cases is Trump v. United States, which asks the justices whether Trump has any immunity from prosecution in the context of the 2020 election subversion case brought by special counsel Jack Smith. The other case involves a question of whether hundreds of Jan. 6 riot defendants were wrongfully charged under a long-standing obstruction statute when the certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory was briefly interrupted due to the riot.

After the initial report that an upside-down flag, a symbol associated with 2020 election skeptics, had flown briefly outside Alito’s home in 2021, the second report about the An Appeal to Heaven flag opened a deluge of scrutiny on the conservative justice. A reporter from the nonprofit outlet ProPublica posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, an image he obtained from a source who spotted the same An Appeal to Heaven symbol flown outside the home of Federalist Society Chairman Leonard Leo, who played an influential role in helping Trump name three justices during his term and is close to members of the high court.

“No surprise that creepy-billionaire-funded Court packer Leonard Leo flies the same MAGA battle flag as his minion Alito,” Whitehouse said.

No surprise that creepy-billionaire-funded Court packer Leonard Leo flies the same MAGA battle flag as his minion Alito. https://t.co/sHlvtyUje7

— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) May 23, 2024

An attorney for Leonard Leo scoffed at the notion that there is even a remote connection between the flag that Alito and Leo flew outside of their and the riot on Jan. 6.

“Given the venerable and respected status of the ‘An Appeal to Heaven’ flag, as the key symbol during the American Revolution that was often used by George Washington, to suggest that its use today carries some insidious connotations is to manifest profound respect for America’s heritage,” Leo’s attorney David Rivkin told the Washington Examiner.

Leo responded to the ProPublica reporter posting the flag outside of his home, saying, “As someone who lives on the water, I like naval flags, and as a history buff, I occasionally fly those and about a half dozen other early American flags.” A source familiar with the matter told the Washington Examiner there was no coordination between Alito and Leo over the flags they raised outside their homes.

Major donors to ProPublica, including the Sandler Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and Ford Foundation, have funded watchdogs that have called on Thomas to resign or be investigated, the Daily Caller reported.

In response to a question about allegations of coordinated campaigning against the high court, a spokesperson from ProPublica told the Washington Examiner, “Our reporter posted a newsworthy and accurate photo. We stand by our previous reporting about Leonard Leo’s connections to Justice Alito.”

Other nonprofit organizations, such as Accountable.US, an ex-project of the Arabella Advisors-managed New Venture Fund, this week raised awareness about Alito’s flag waving and amplified calls for him to recuse from cases raised by Durbin and Whitehouse. Arabella Advisors is widely considered the largest left-wing dark money consultancy empire.

“Chief Justice Roberts must take urgent action to preserve some semblance of integrity at our high court,” Accountable.US president Caroline Ciccone wrote in a statement on the same day that Durbin and Whitehouse penned their letter to Roberts.

Accountable.US gained more than $2 million in 2022 from New Venture Fund for “civil rights, social action, and advocacy,” according to financial disclosures previously reported on by the Washington Examiner. Between 2019 and 2021, Accountable.US received a staggering $8 million from the New Venture Fund, which used to sponsor the watchdog fiscally.

On Nov. 1, Accountable.US and other left-wing activist hubs called for “Clarence Thomas’s immediate resignation in the face of a growing Supreme Court corruption crisis,” according to a letter, which cited reporting from ProPublica on the conservative justice not reporting travel with Crow.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the Senate have broadly dismissed the issue surrounding Alito.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) told the Washington Examiner that Durbin’s concerns amount to “silly, flag-based conspiracy theories.” The flag waving does not “constitute grounds for Justice Alito’s recusal, and the senator has been unable to cite a single principle of law to make his case. This is part of a coordinated effort by Democrats to bully the Supreme Court into ruling the way they want,” Lee added.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said Durbin and Whitehouse’s new letter was “more harassment.”

More harassment https://t.co/mq1lx1hDqT

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) May 24, 2024

“After President Trump’s appointment of three Justices, the Left is furious that it no longer controls the Court, as they had for decades,” Paoletta said, adding, “This is about power, not ethics.”

Special counsel Jack Smith requested a gag order Friday against former President Donald Trump regarding his case involving the alleged mishandling of classified documents, according to a court filing.

Smith filed the request Friday evening, asking presiding Judge Aileen Cannon to modify Trump’s “conditions of release,” seeking that it makes clear “he may not make statements that pose a significant, imminent, and foreseeable danger to law enforcement agents participating in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”

“The law enforcement agents participating in this case conducted the search in an appropriate and professional manner, subject to the Department of Justice’s standard use-of-force policy. Trump’s repeated mischaracterization of these facts in widely distributed messages as an attempt to kill him, his family, and Secret Service agents has endangered law enforcement officers involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case and threatened the integrity of these proceedings,” the filing stated.

“A restriction prohibiting future similar statements does not restrict legitimate speech. Trump’s conditions of release should therefore be modified to prohibit similar communications going forward.”

Smith’s request comes shortly after court documents were released regarding the language used within the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) authorization of their raid at Mar-A-Lago in August 2022, according to Fox News. As part of the special counsel’s investigation, the FBI’s “Operations Order” showed the FBI “believed its objective for the Mar-a-Lago raid was to seize ‘classified information, NDI, and US Government records,’” court documents stated.

The “Deadly Force” language used in the operation’s “Policy Statement” noting how “Law Enforcement officers of the Department of Justice may use deadly force when necessary” garnered criticism from some observers. The FBI stated, however, they were following “standard” protocols for the raid at Trump’s private home, according to a statement given to Fox News.

“The FBI followed standard protocol in this search as we do for all search warrants, which includes a standard policy statement limiting the use of deadly force. No one ordered additional steps to be taken and there was no departure from the norm in this matter,” the FBI told the outlet.

“The standard deadly force policy statement included in the operations order for the search of the former president’s residence was also included in the operations order for the search of the sitting president’s residence in Delaware, as is standard practice for all FBI operations orders.”

Following the release of the information, Trump vocalized his criticism of the “deadly force” term use, claiming on Truth Social that President Joe Biden is a “serious threat to democracy.” Additionally, through a fundraising email distributed Wednesday, the former president claimed Biden was “locked & loaded and ready to take me out,” according to The Hill.

“WOW! I just came out of the Biden Witch Hunt Trial in Manhattan, the ‘Icebox,’ and was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their Illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE,” Trump’s Truth Social post read. “NOW WE KNOW, FOR SURE, THAT JOE BIDEN IS A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEMOCRACY. HE IS MENTALLY UNFIT TO HOLD OFFICE — 25TH AMENDMENT!”

Smith’s filing cites several statements made by Trump in relation to the language of the raid’s court filing. Smith claimed “intentionally false and inflammatory” statements were used to “distort the circumstances under which the Federal Bureau of Investigation planned and executed the search warrant at Mar-a-Lago.”

“Those statements create a grossly misleading impression about the intentions and conduct of federal law enforcement agents—falsely suggesting that they were complicit in a plot to assassinate him—and expose those agents, some of whom will be witnesses at trial, to the risk of threats, violence, and harassment,” the filing states.

The FBI filing used language mirroring that included in a January 2023 search warrant for classified documents in Biden’s Delaware residence, according to Fox News. Documents show authorities had “planned to bring ‘Standard Issue Weapons,’ ‘Ammo,’ ‘Handcuffs,’ and ‘medium and large sized bolt cutters,’ but they were instructed to wear ‘unmarked polo or collared shirts’ and to keep ‘law enforcement equipment concealed,’” according to the outlet.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called out Smith in a statement Friday evening, noting the “repeated attempts to silence” the former president as he had already been placed under a gag order in his New York case regarding alleged falsified business records.

“Crooked Joe Biden and his hacks and thugs are obsessed with trying to deprive President Trump and all American voters of their First Amendment rights. Repeated attempts to silence President Trump during the presidential campaign are blatant attempts to interfere in the election. They are last ditch efforts of desperate Democrat radicals running a losing campaign for a failed president,” Cheung stated.

Smith charged Trump with 37 felony counts last year, claiming there was willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements, Fox News reported.

The former president has pleaded not guilty.

A trans-identified male inmate appears to have been transferred back to a men’s prison after being charged with rape while in custody at a women’s prison. Tremaine “Tremayne” Deon Carroll, a male who identifies as a woman, was housed at the Central California Women’s Facility when the sexual assault took place but has since been moved to Kern Valley State Prison.

Carroll’s criminal history dates back to 1988, when he began participating in organized crime at just 15 years old. In 1990, Carroll would be convicted for his participation in an armed robbery where he and several other men broke into an apartment occupied by two women. The women were kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and held under demand of ransom.

Despite being only 17 years old, the brutality of the crime resulted in Carroll being charged as an adult with three counts of kidnapping for ransom, two counts of robbery, and three counts of oral copulation by force. However, a hung jury along with a number of other technical issues during the trial process resulted in the need for a retrial. Carroll ultimately pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping in an effort to avoid a retrial on all of the charges.

In 1998, Carroll committed his third violent felony, but while in prison awaiting trial he was found in possession of a metal wire shank he had crafted with the intention of stabbing someone.

Because of his extensive criminal history, Carroll was ultimately sentenced to 25-to-life under California’s Three Strikes Law. The law dramatically increases punishment for persons convicted of a felony who have previously been convicted of one or more “serious” or “violent” felonies.

While in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Carroll filed dozens of legal complaints alleging mistreatment, discrimination, and even sexual abuse at the hands of CDCR officials and prison staff, along with demanding his conviction under the Three Strikes Law be overturned. But Carroll was a problem inmate, and between 2001 and 2015, he received over a dozen Rules Violation Reports, one of which was related to filing false reports against a Peace Officer.

In a 2019 legal complaint, Carroll revealed he had been moved around within CDCR facilities over 200 times since 2009, something he claimed was “retaliation” for his allegations of employee misconduct. But many of those moves appear to have been to or from medical centers, where Carroll had been receiving treatment for mental health episodes.

In an earlier legal complaint, Carroll referred to himself as “mentally disturbed” and stated he was on high doses of anti-psychotic medication.

In another filing, an unnamed witness called upon by Carroll to provide a statement in support of his claim alleges that Carroll suffers from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, PTSD, and Rubinstein–Taybi Syndrome, a genetic condition characterized by physical and developmental issues.

In the vast majority of his complaints, Carroll refers to himself by “he/him” pronouns, and does not mention his gender identity or sexuality.

But in a case filed in March of 2021, Carroll suddenly invoked SB-132, also known as the Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act. The law had been implemented just three months prior, and formally established the ability of inmates to be housed on the basis of their gender identity in California.

By August of that year, Carroll had been moved to the Central California Women’s Facility, and began fully utilizing his transgender identity to bolster the long-held claims of victimhood he had always forwarded.

In March of 2022, Carroll penned an article for the San Francisco Bay View, a newspaper serving the African-American community in the Bay Area. In the article, Carroll referred to himself as a “trans woman” and portrayed himself as the victim of systemic discrimination by the criminal justice system. He also claimed he was in prison for “non-violent” offenses, in contradiction of his criminal history.

The next year, Carroll was profiled by the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, who featured him as being “an incarcerated transgender woman instrumental in several prison lawsuits.”

Madera County court records obtained by Reduxx show that the District Attorney filed multiple charges against Carroll, including two counts of rape, and one count of dissuading a witness from testifying.

The incident is said to have occurred in January of 2024, and would have occurred while Carroll was incarcerated at the women’s prison. While the complaint by the District Attorney refers to the victim as “Jane Doe,” it is unconfirmed if she was a female inmate or a female member of the prison’s staff.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s inmate locator now shows that Carroll is housed at Kern Valley State Prison, a male-only facility almost two hours away from CCWF.

Ironically, Carroll is one of the trans-identified males intervening in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent males from being housed in women’s prisons in California. The lawsuit, launched against the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, includes four female inmates who all stated they had been victimized by trans-identified male transfers.

In 2022, the ACLU intervened in the case, suggesting that the state of California could not adequately fight the lawsuit and represent the interests of trans-identified males.

In his sworn testimony collected by the ACLU for the case, Carroll declared: “I know what it feels like to live in fear and to carry the weight of the past abuse by men. But I am not a threat [to women]. I strongly believe that everyone here at CCWF would benefit from more structured interaction — opportunities to sit and talk with each other and realize that we’re all in the same boat.”

Speaking to Reduxx on Carroll’s charges, Amie Ichikawa – a former inmate and advocate for incarcerated women in California – said she had personal interactions with Carroll that left her fearful for the safety of the women at CCWF.

“Tremaine Carroll fit the description of everything I feared for women in prison when I learned about Senator Scott Wiener’s SB-132,” Ichikawa said. “I was face to face with Tremaine when I went inside CCWF last year. We shared enough correspondence for me to know that even having almost 10 years of freedom from prison and 5 years free from narcissistic abuse was not enough to qualify me as a woman beyond his reach.”

Ichikawa is the co-founder of WomanIIWoman Inc., a Christian charity that focuses on supporting both incarcerated women and former female inmates. The organization has campaigned extensively against SB-132 and the transfer of male inmates to the state’s female correctional institutions.

Ichikawa adds that assaults on female inmates extend far beyond the immediate victims, and impact the general female population due to the close bonds incarcerated women often form.

“The domestic violence that ensued did not only impact the women walking around bloodied and bruised. It impacts the entire population, because when you hurt one woman in prison it hurts all of us. We move collectively and work like a unit,” she says.

“One woman breaking down and moving backwards affects the ability of the power they had to move forward. Now they’re stuck and there’s not going to be forward motion in their growth or rehabilitation until this stops.”

Nicki Minaj filmed herself seemingly getting arrested for allegedly ‘carrying drugs’ while traveling from Amsterdam to Manchester for her next Pink Friday 2 Tour show.

Despite vehemently denying that she was carrying any drugs, the 41-year-old rapper was told that she needed to go to the police station in footage captured during an Instagram Live.

In the recording, a man explained to her that she ‘would get a lawyer at the office’ and they would go ‘as fast as possible.’

During the Instagram Live, the Anaconda hitmaker said she was told ‘to get into this [police] van and go into the precinct with no lawyer present.’

She further alleged that someone working for airport security requested she made a ‘statement with no lawyer present’ after finding ‘pre-rolls’ in ‘bags that they were not authorized to take.’

It is currently unclear if she was booked at a police station.

A própria Nicki Minaj disse AO VIVO que o policial tinha identificado que a marijuana na bagagem da equipe não era dela. Ainda assim, ela foi detida. pic.twitter.com/rgj23tSv3h

— Minaj Access Brasil (@MinajAccess) May 25, 2024

Before the alleged arrest, Minaj shared a series of posts on X (previously known as Twitter), about her bags getting pulled for a thorough search at the airport.

‘They’ve been trying everything they possibly can to TRY to stop this tour,’ she wrote in one tweet, before theorizing that they were trying to ‘plant things’ in her luggage.

Additionally, she shared footage on her Instagram of a man telling her that police needed to take a closer look at her luggage.

In the clip, an airline crew member told her that a ‘police officer told’ him that they had ‘to offload all the luggage and to search everything.’

‘I’m so sorry to say that,’ he continued.

She, then, asked: ‘But wasn’t that what you planned on doing from the get-go? Why didn’t you guys search it before it went on the plane?’

He explained: ‘They did just a random quick check, but now they want to open it.’

After she asked why, he said: ‘First of all, because you filmed him… [and] … he doesn’t believe you that you don’t have more with you than you say.’

pic.twitter.com/h9UrZM9Abm

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) May 25, 2024

‘No, he asked me “Do I have any more in those purses” and I said, “No,” and I asked him where are my bags,” the rapper said. ‘They took my bags and put them on the plane before I could know what bags are on the plane.’

The airline crew member simply said he was ‘so sorry for that.’

‘Okay, of course,’ she said before the video ended.

In Minaj’s caption, she wrote ‘they took my bags before I could see them’ then ‘put it on the plane.’

‘This is what it looks like when ppl are paid big money to try to sabotage a tour after all else failed. Everything they’ve done is illegal,’ she wrote.

Minaj’s most recent tweet, at the time of publication, claimed that she was told that she had ‘5 mins away to make a statement about my security to the police precinct.’

Earlier, she had noted on X that ‘they said they found weed & that another group of ppl have to come here to weigh the pre-rolls.’

‘Keep in mind they took my bags without consent. My security has already advised them those pre-rolls belong to him. Oh yea & the pilot wants me to take my ig post down,’ she wrote.

In another X post, she pointed out that marijuana is legal in Amsterdam.

A New York City liquor store owner could face seven years behind bars after a video shows he shot a would-be thief who had been kicked off the premises along with an accomplice. But the head of a large bodega organization is calling on prosecutors to drop the charges.

Francisco Valerio, 53, who owns Franja Wine and Liquors in Ridgewood, Queens, caught the two shoplifters stealing liquor bottles from the store at around 7:40 p.m. Monday and booted them out with the help of another clerk, the Queens District Attorney’s Office says. Video from inside the store shared with Fox News Digital shows one of the suspects dressed in red trying to stuff a liquor bottle into his jacket.

The situation outside then turned violent when 20-year-old suspect Kevin Pullatasi charged at the liquor store door. He pushed the door against the store worker, who responds by waving his hand at him as a shouting match ensues, video shows. The store worker is the owner’s brother.

Pullatasi then walked away before dropping his bag and charging at the door again. Pullatasi can be seen on video trying to kick and punch the store worker.

That’s when store owner Valerio appears in the video and can be seen trying to pistol-whip Pullatasi, who then drops to the ground having been shot. Pullatasi then dragged himself against a car before Valerio went over to check on him.

Valerio has been charged with assault in the second and third degrees, reckless endangerment in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. The DA’s office says that Valerio has a concealed carry permit and that the gun was concealed in his rear waistband.

Pullatasi, who was treated in hospital for a gunshot wound, was charged with petit larceny, as was Edwin Poaquiza. They both have addresses in Brooklyn and prosecutors say they stole two bottles of liquor.

“All three of the defendants in this incident will have to answer charges against them,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.

“After the store was targeted by these shoplifters, the stolen merchandise was recovered and the two men were escorted out of the store. At that point, the store owner was physically attacked by one of the men. Unfortunately, as alleged, that led to a reckless shooting by the store owner on a public street in broad daylight.”

Watch:

New York City liquor store owner is facing 7 years in prison after shooting a thief who assaulted him and tried stealing from his store.

The incident happened after Francisco Valerio and his brother Luis caught Kevin Pullutasi and Edwin Paiquiza stealing. pic.twitter.com/iWInK9BS8s

— Trending News (@Trend_War_Newss) May 23, 2024

The decision to prosecute Valerio was slammed by Fernando Mateo, the founder and spokesperson for United Bodegas of America, who said that the perpetrators’ crew had targeted the store at least four times before.

“Frequent flier thieves must be stopped, we have the right to defend ourselves, our businesses and our communities,” Mateo told Fox News Digital via a statement. “District attorneys must stop prosecuting victims and charging criminals when they commit crimes.”

Mateo said that business owners are constantly dealing with looting, shoplifting, assaults and robberies, among other crimes. He also slammed New York’s often perceived soft-on crime policies, including bail reform which he demanded be changed.

“Francisco Valerio is a licensed gun owner, has been married for 30 years, has two children and is a Columbia graduate. He is a liquor store owner and a member of the 83rd precinct community, he will lose everything he has worked for if prosecuted,” Mateo said.

“DA Malinda Katz is holding his future in her hands, she must drop the charges.”

Neighbors living near the store said they supported Valerio’s actions.

“He had a permit to carry it and they were assaulting him, and it was an accident. He shouldn’t be in trouble,” one neighbor told Fox 5.

Google’s new artificial intelligence (AI) search feature is facing criticism for providing erratic, inaccurate answers.

Its experimental “AI Overviews” tool has told some users searching for how to make cheese stick to pizza better that they could use “non-toxic glue”.

The search engine’s AI-generated responses have also said geologists recommend humans eat one rock per day.

A Google spokesperson told the BBC they were “isolated examples”.

Some of the answers appeared to be based on Reddit comments or articles written by satirical site, The Onion.

They have been widely mocked on social media.

But Google insisted the feature was generally working well.

“The examples we’ve seen are generally very uncommon queries, and aren’t representative of most people’s experiences,” it said in a statement.

“The vast majority of AI overviews provide high quality information, with links to dig deeper on the web.”

It said it had taken action where “policy violations” were identified and was using them to refine its systems.

It is not the first time the company has run into problems with its AI-powered products.

In February, it was forced to pause its chatbot Gemini which was criticised for its “woke” responses.

Gemini’s forerunner, Bard, also got off to a disastrous start.

Google began trialling AI overviews in search results for a small number of logged-in UK users in April, but launched the feature to all US users at its annual developer showcase in mid-May.

It works by using AI to provide a summary of search results, so users do not have to scroll through a long list of websites to find the information they are seeking.

It is billed as a product that “can take the legwork out of searching” though users are warned it is experimental.

However, it is likely to be widely used – and trusted – because Google search remains the go-to search engine for many.

According to web traffic tracker, Statcounter, Google’s search engine accounts for more than 90% of the global market.

It is still fundamental to the way in which Google makes its money, and a service the firm needs to both protect and future-proof.

Many industry experts agree that more focused AI-driven search is the way forward – despite the power-hungry tech’s environmental price tag.

Why wade through pages of search engine results and adverts to find information if a chatbot can give you a single, definitive answer?

But this only works if you can trust it.

So-called hallucinations by generative AI tools are not just a problem for Google, but as the world’s largest search engine it gets more scrutiny.

In one baffling example, a reporter Googling whether they could use gasoline to cook spaghetti faster was told “no… but you can use gasoline to make a spicy spaghetti dish” and given a recipe.

We don’t know how many searches it got right (because they’re less funny to share on social media), but AI search clearly needs to be able to handle anything thrown at it, including the more leftfield.

Rival firms are facing a similar backlash over their attempts to cram more AI tools into their consumer-facing products.

The UK’s data watchdog is looking into Microsoft after it announced a feature coming to its new range of AI-focused PCs that would take continuous screenshots of their online activity.

And ChatGPT-maker OpenAI was called out by Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson for using a voice likened to her own, saying she turned down its request to voice the popular chatbot.

New images show America’s highly secret, $745-million stealth nuclear bomber taking to the air for what is apparently its first, publicly acknowledged, flight test.

The B-21 Raider was unveiled in December 2022, but the US government has so far been discreet about showing off this cutting-edge, radar-evading aircraft.

The sleek bomber was shown flying for the first time as it undergoes flight testing, in pictures released Wednesday, one crucial step before a minimum first order of 100 of these stealth craft can be approved for manufacture.

The B-21 has been described as a ‘dual-capable bomber’ — able to launch both conventional and nuclear ordinance.

This month, during testimony at the Senate Armed Services committee, Andrew Hunter, the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, asserted that the B-21’s flight testing is currently on schedule.

‘We are in the flight test program, the flight test program is proceeding well,’ he said.

‘It is doing what flight test programs are designed to do, which is helping us learn about the unique characteristics of this platform, but in a very, very effective way.’

Assistant Secretary Hunter later explained that this is the first aircraft that is more digital than not, which contributes to the program meeting requirements.

The B-21 is a long-range, highly survivable, penetrating strike stealth bomber that will incrementally replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers and will play a major role supporting national security objectives and assisting US allies and partners across the globe.

The B-21 weapon system is manufactured under the Air Force’s contract with Northrop Grumman.

‘It is designed with an open systems architecture, enabling rapid insertion of mature technologies, and allowing the aircraft to remain effective as threats evolve over time,’ according to the US Air Force.

‘The aircraft is expected to enter service in the mid-2020s with a production goal of a minimum of 100 aircraft,’ the military branch continued in their statement.

B-21 RAIDER FIRST FLIGHT 11-10-23 #RAIDER33 #B21Raider pic.twitter.com/3tEKudqDiw

— Matt Hartman (@ShorealoneFilms) November 10, 2023

The B-21 Raider is a nuclear-capable craft and the first of its kind to be introduced since the end of the Cold War.

While press releases described the recent test flights as the B-21’s first, it was previously spotted conducting a test flight in California late last year, as confirmed by Air Force officials.

Aviation photographer Matt Hartman caught the new warplane in action at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale facility in November 2023, recording video of this less public test flight from a road near Air Force Plant 42 Palmdale, California.

His footage shows the uniquely shaped B-21 Raider roaring through the sky, flanked by another plane, before it takes a sharp turn.

There are six test aircrafts being produced by aerospace company Northrop Grumman and each one is projected to cost $750 million.

It is touted to be virtually ‘invisible’ to all enemy stealth radars and will equipped with the latest features in military tech.

The B-21 Raider weighs around 30,000 pounds, has a wing span of 172 feet and can reach maximum speeds of 621 miles per hour.

Air Force Global Strike Commander Thomas A. Bussier called the craft the ‘future backbone of the bomber fleet,’ at a November unveiling event.

Long term, the US Air Force hopes to have at least 220 of them to replace old B-1 and B-2 bombers.

The service has estimated that the program will likely cost at least $203billion over 30 years to develop, purchase and maintain the B-21 fleet.

The B-21 is part of the Pentagon’s efforts to modernize all three legs of its nuclear triad, which also includes silo-launched nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched warheads, as it shifts from the counterterrorism campaigns of recent decades to meet China’s rapid military modernization.

A California man reported his father missing and spent the next 17 hours being grilled by police until he confessed to murder.

Now the man, Thomas Perez Jr., has received nearly $900,000 from the city of Fontana, California, after his father was found alive and well, The Orange County Register reported.

Thomas’ ordeal began on August 7, 2018, when his father, Perez Sr., took the family dog for a walk to the mailbox and didn’t return, even though the dog returned within minutes. Thomas waited a few hours for his father to return, and then called the police to report him missing.

Instead of searching for Perez Sr., investigators spent the next 17 hours grilling Thomas into confessing that he killed his father, with investigators claiming his father had been found dead and was in the morgue.

The investigators, according to court records obtained by the Register, told Thomas they had evidence that he had killed his father and told him to just admit it. For hours, Thomas said he didn’t kill his father, but detectives allegedly explained that the human mind could block out traumatic memories.

Detectives even told Thomas that they would kill his dog, Margosha, as a stray, even bringing her in so Thomas could say goodbye. Margosha was not euthanized.

“OK? Your dog’s now gone, forget about it,” an investigator said, according to the Register.

Photographs from the interrogation show Thomas lying on the floor in the fetal position with his dog in his arms.

“How can you sit there, how can you sit there and say you don’t know what happened, and your dog is sitting there looking at you, knowing that you killed your dad?” a detective said to Thomas. “Look at your dog. She knows, because she was walking through all the blood.”

After holding his dog, Perez confessed to murdering his father, claiming he stabbed Perez Sr. with a pair of scissors after the older man hit Thomas on the head with a beer bottle.

After confessing, a distraught Thomas tried to hang himself with the drawstring from his shorts when police left him alone in the interrogation room, the Register reported. He was then put in handcuffs and sent to a mental hospital for 72-hour observation.

Before they sent Thomas to the mental hospital, however, Perez Sr. turned up alive and well. He had simply gone to the Los Angeles International Airport to wait for a flight to Northern California so he could see his daughter. Police didn’t immediately tell Thomas about this.

Thomas sued the city of Fontana and recently settled his lawsuit for nearly $900,000.

“Mentally torturing a false confession out of Tom Perez, concealing from him that his father was alive and well, and confining him in the psych ward because they made him suicidal, in my 40 years of suing the police I have never seen that level of deliberate cruelty by the police,” Thomas’ attorney, Jerry Steering, told the Register.

One of the officers involved in the case has since retired, but three others are still employed by the police department.

Police said in court documents they thought Thomas was lying because he seemed “unconcerned” when he called 911 to report his father missing. Police also found Perez Sr.’s cellphone and wallet in the home, which was a mess. Thomas said the mess was the result of renovations, but police believed it showed a struggle had occurred inside the home.

A police dog also allegedly detected the scent of a corpse in Perez Sr.’s bedroom. As The Daily Wire has reported, sniffing dogs are hardly a reliable source.

Police found blood in the home as well, but Steering argued those came from Perez Sr. pricking his finger for diabetes tests.

Steering also argued in Thomas’ lawsuit that police spent hours refusing to provide Thomas with medications he took for high blood pressure, asthma, depression, and anxiety.

“He was sleep deprived, mentally ill and significantly undergoing symptoms of withdrawal from his psychiatric medications,” U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee wrote in a summary of the case.

In her summary judgment order published on June 15, 2023, Gee ruled that “a reasonable juror could conclude that the Detectives inflicted unconstitutional psychological torture on Perez,” according to Steering’s website.

“There is no legitimate government interest that would justify treating Perez in this manner while he was in medical distress, since the FPD already had two warrants to search his person and property, and he was already essentially in custody and unable to flee or tamper with any evidence,” Gee wrote.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to halt the war in Ukraine with a negotiated ceasefire that recognises the current battlefield lines, four Russian sources told Reuters, saying he is prepared to fight on if Kyiv and the West do not respond.

Three of the sources, familiar with discussions in Putin’s entourage, said the veteran Russian leader had expressed frustration to a small group of advisers about what he views as Western-backed attempts to stymie negotiations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to rule out talks.

“Putin can fight for as long as it takes, but Putin is also ready for a ceasefire – to freeze the war,” said another of the four, a senior Russian source who has worked with Putin and has knowledge of top level conversations in the Kremlin.

He, like the others cited in this story, spoke on condition of anonymity given the matter’s sensitivity.

For this account, Reuters spoke to a total of five people who work with or have worked with Putin at a senior level in the political and business worlds. The fifth source did not comment on freezing the war at the current frontlines.

Asked about the Reuters report at a news conference in Belarus on Friday, Putin said peace talks should restart.

“Let them resume,” he said, adding that negotiations should be based on “the realities on the ground” and on a plan agreed during a previous attempt to reach a deal in the first weeks of the war. “Not on the basis of what one side wants,” he said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on X that the Russian leader was trying to derail a Ukrainian-initiated peace summit in Switzerland next month by using his entourage to send out “phony signals” about his alleged readiness to halt the war.

“Putin currently has no desire to end his aggression against Ukraine. Only the principled and united voice of the global majority can force him to choose peace over war,” said Kuleba.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said Putin wanted Western democracies to accept defeat.

Not “Eternal War”

The appointment last week of economist Andrei Belousov as Russia’s defence minister was seen by some Western military and political analysts as placing the Russian economy on a permanent war footing in order to win a protracted conflict.

It followed sustained battlefield pressure and territorial advances by Russia in recent weeks.

However, the sources said that Putin, re-elected in March for a new six-year term, would rather use Russia’s current momentum to put the war behind him. They did not directly comment on the new defence minister.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in response to a request for comment, said the country did not want “eternal war.”

Based on their knowledge of conversations in the upper ranks of the Kremlin, two of the sources said Putin was of the view that gains in the war so far were enough to sell a victory to the Russian people.

Europe’s biggest ground conflict since World War Two has cost tens of thousands of lives on both sides and led to sweeping Western sanctions on Russia’s economy.

Three sources said Putin understood any dramatic new advances would require another nationwide mobilisation, which he didn’t want, with one source, who knows the Russian president, saying his popularity dipped after the first mobilisation in September 2022.

The national call up spooked part of the population in Russia, triggering hundreds of thousands of draft age men to leave the country. Polls showed Putin’s popularity falling by several points.

Peskov said Russia had no need for mobilisation and was instead recruiting volunteer contractors to the armed forces.

The prospect of a ceasefire, or even peace talks, currently seems remote.

Zelenskiy has repeatedly said peace on Putin’s terms is a non-starter. He has vowed to retake lost territory, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. He signed a decree in 2022 that formally declared any talks with Putin “impossible.”

One of the sources predicted no agreement could happen while Zelenskiy was in power, unless Russia bypassed him and struck a deal with Washington. However, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Kyiv last week, told reporters he did not believe Putin was interested in serious negotiations.

Swiss Talks

The Swiss peace summit in June is aimed at unifying international opinion on how to end the war. The talks were convened at the initiative of Zelenskiy who has said Putin should not attend. Switzerland has not invited Russia.

Moscow has said the talks are not credible without it being there. Ukraine and Switzerland want Russian allies including China to attend.

Speaking in China on May 17, Putin said Ukraine may use the Swiss talks to get a broader group of countries to back Zelenskiy’s demand for a total Russian withdrawal, which Putin said would be an imposed condition rather than a serious peace negotiation.

The Swiss foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In response to questions for this story, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said any initiative for peace must respect Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, within its internationally recognised borders” and described Russia as the sole obstacle to peace in Ukraine.

“The Kremlin has yet to demonstrate any meaningful interest in ending its war, quite the opposite,” the spokesperson said.

Kyiv says Putin, whose team repeatedly denied he was planning a war before invading Ukraine in 2022, cannot be trusted to honour any deal.

Both Russia and Ukraine have also said they fear the other side would use any ceasefire to re-arm.

Kyiv and its Western backers are banking on a $61 billion U.S. aid package and additional European military aid to reverse what Zelenskiy described to Reuters this week as “one of the most difficult moments” of the full scale war.

As well as shortages of ammunition after U.S. delays in approving the package, Ukraine has admitted it is struggling to recruit enough troops and last month lowered the age for men who can be drafted to 25 from 27.

Territory

Putin’s insistence on locking in any battlefield gains in a deal is non-negotiable, all of the sources suggested.

Putin would, however, be ready to settle for what land he has now and freeze the conflict at the current front lines, four of the sources said.

“Putin will say that we won, that NATO attacked us and we kept our sovereignty, that we have a land corridor to Crimea, which is true,” one of them said, giving their own analysis.
Freezing the conflict along current lines would leave Russia in possession of substantial chunks of four Ukrainian regions he formally incorporated into Russia in September 2022, but without full control of any of them.

Such an arrangement would fall short of the goals Moscow set for itself at the time, when it said the four of Ukraine’s regions – Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – now belonged to it in their entirety.

Peskov said that there could be no question of handing back the four regions which were now permanently part of Russia according to its own constitution.

Another factor playing into the Kremlin chief’s view that the war should end is that the longer it drags on, the more battle-hardened veterans return to Russia, dissatisfied with post-war job and income prospects, potentially creating tensions in society, said one of the sources, who has worked with Putin.

‘Russia Will Push Further’

In February, three Russian sources told Reuters the United States rejected a previous Putin suggestion of a ceasefire to freeze the war.

In the absence of a ceasefire, Putin wants to take as much territory as possible to ratchet up pressure on Ukraine while seeking to exploit unexpected opportunities to acquire more, three of the sources said.

Russian forces control around 18% of Ukraine and this month thrust into the northeastern region of Kharkiv.

Putin is counting on Russia’s large population compared to Ukraine to sustain superior manpower even without a mobilisation, bolstered by unusually generous pay packets for those who sign up.

“Russia will push further,” the source who has worked with Putin said.

Putin will slowly conquer territories until Zelenskiy comes up with an offer to stop, the person said, saying the Russian leader had expressed the view to aides that the West would not provide enough weapons, sapping Ukraine’s morale.

U.S. and European leaders have said they will stand by Ukraine until its security sovereignty is guaranteed. NATO countries and allies say they are trying to accelerate deliveries of weapons.

“Russia could end the war at any time by withdrawing its forces from Ukraine, instead of continuing to launch brutal attacks against Ukraine’s cities, ports, and people every day,” the State Department said in response to a question about weapons supplies.

All five sources said Putin had told advisers he had no designs on NATO territory, reflecting his public comments on the matter. Two of the sources cited Russian concerns about the growing danger of escalation with the West, including nuclear escalation, over the Ukraine standoff.

The State Department said the United States had not adjusted its nuclear posture, nor seen any sign that Russia was preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
“We continue to monitor the strategic environment and remain ready,” the spokesperson said.

President Biden lambasted the White House press corps Thursday — complaining that reporters “never keep the deal” when a journalist asked a second question at a joint press conference with Kenyan President William Ruto.

The 81-year-old Biden repeatedly evinced confusion and irritation at the 32-minute event and mistakenly referred to his vice president as “President Kamala Harris” — making the error for at least the eighth time — before trying to bar the reporter’s second query.

“Our nation’s first black vice president, President Kamala Harris” 🧐 pic.twitter.com/sLjw0eFHsM

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 23, 2024

“Thank you, Mr. President. Two questions, if I may,” began the McClatchy newspaper chain’s chief Washington correspondent Michael Wilner, one of two US journalists selected to ask questions — along with two Kenyan reporters — of both Biden and Ruto at the so-called “2:2” press conference.

“No, one!” Biden replied — in what his chuckling audience initially assumed was a joke.

Wilner asked first about US-supported peacekeeping efforts in Haiti, to which Kenya is contributing troops — a widely anticipated topic — before attempting to ask his second question about a pending arrest warrant application against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, filed Monday by International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Karim Khan.

“And on Israel,” Wilner began before Biden cut him off.

“One question. I’ll answer your question,” the president said, before reading a scripted reply on Haiti.

The White House press office generally has some idea of what a journalist will ask at such events — either due to their recent history of questions at briefings and gaggles or because press officers ask, sometimes slyly, about topics a reporter under consideration is interested in that day.

When Wilner — who frequently covers Haiti-related news due to interest among readers of the Miami Herald, one of McClatchy’s biggest titles — was given time to ask his question of Ruto, he politely defied Biden’s restriction and went ahead and asked his second question of the US president.

“I do very briefly have a question,” Wilner calmly proceeded, “on whether the United States has any evidence at all that would substantiate the ICC prosecutor’s specific allegations against Israeli leaders that they are using starvation as a tactic of war in Gaza — or exculpatory evidence, for that matter.”

Wilner asked Biden whether “you would commit to releasing that information before any potential issuance of ICC arrest warrants?”

“Look, we made my position known on ICC. You guys never keep the deal — but that’s OK,” Biden said in a displeased tone.

Watch: Joe Biden scolds reporter Michael Wilner of McClatchy for asking more than 1 question.

Joe has a mean look on his face 😠
Angry Biden complains press ‘never keep the deal’ pic.twitter.com/cGv2taZz7w

— Joni Job (@jj_talking) May 23, 2024

“You know, we’ve made our position clear on the ICC,” he added.

“We don’t think — we don’t recognize the jurisdiction, ICC, the way it’s been exercised. And it’s that simple. We don’t think there’s an equivalence between what Israel did and what Hamas did.”

Biden’s performance at the press conference drew immediate attention for other reasons, including his apparent confusion at multiple points, such as when he made reference in his opening remarks to “our nation’s first black vice president, President Kamala Harris.”

In response to the first Kenyan reporter’s question, regarding the US decision not to send its own troops to Haiti, Biden appeared to claim that American troops were serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo in central Africa.

“We’re kind of occupied around the world, but we’re also engaged in Congo, in the neighborhood, and you know, we’ll continue to help mitigate human suffering there,” Biden said — though no such deployment is publicly known.

Moments later, Biden lost his train of thought.

“What was my question?” Biden asked the second American reporter, the Grio’s April Ryan, who had queried him about efforts to crush a powerful Haitian gang.

Before the fourth reporter at the “2:2” presser was selected, America’s oldest-ever president asked Ruto, “That it?”

Biden’s latest stumbles came as an overwhelming majority of voters say he’s too old to serve another four-year term ahead of his Nov. 5 rematch against former President Donald Trump, 77. Biden would be 86 if he completes a full second term in January 2029.

A New York Times/Siena College poll released in March found 73% of registered voters believe Biden is “too old to be an effective president” — while just 42% said the same of Trump.

Missouri state Rep. Ben Baker’s daughter and son-in-law were among three people shot and killed in a gang attack while serving as missionaries in Haiti, the politician said Friday.

“My heart is broken in a thousand pieces. I’ve never felt this kind of pain,” the Republican lawmaker wrote on Facebook.

Baker’s 21-year-old daughter, Natalie, and her husband, Davy Lloyd, 23, died alongside their mission group’s director when they were “attacked by gangs” on Thursday evening, Baker said.

“They went to Heaven together. Please pray for my family we desperately need strength. And please pray for the Lloyd family as well. I have no other words for now,” the grieving father added.

Natalie and Davy served in Port au Prince with Missions in Haiti Inc., which was founded by Davy’s parents, David and Alicia Lloyd, in 2000.

They were leaving a youth church meeting when they “were ambushed by a gang of three trucks full of guys,” the mission said on Facebook.

Davy Lloyd was tied and beaten up before the gang allegedly looted the site and fled, only for another group to show up after them, the statement read.

“This gang went into full attack mode,” the missionary’s statement said.

The couple and the mission’s Haitian director, Jude Montis, 20, took shelter in a house while the gang shot out all the windows, the post added.

All three were shot and killed around 9 p.m. Thursday, a follow-up statement said.

The news of Natalie and Davy Lloyd’s deaths was quickly reshared by former President Donald Trump, who lamented the young couple’s death in a fiery Truth Social post.

“God bless Davy and Natalie. Such a tragedy. Haiti is totally out of control. Find the killers NOW!!!” the presumptive Republican presidential candidate wrote.

Natalie and Davy were also mourned by conservative Christian singer Sean Feucht, who told his fans that the pair “were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ.”

Natalie and Davy were married in June 2022, and moved to Haiti three months later, according to Natalie’s Instagram account.

They documented their work in the country on their joint Instagram, @adventuresinhaiti_, as well as on Natalie’s personal page.

The last post on the joint account was a carousel of images to mark Haitian Flag Day on Saturday, May 18.

“Celebrated Haitian Flag Day with pizza today!” the caption read.

On April 30, Natalie also shared a series of pictures showing groups of smiling kids eating, doing crafts, and listening to Davy preach in a chapel.

In March, the US State Department issued a travel advisory urging Americans not to travel to Haiti due to ongoing political unrest and an uptick in serious gang violence.

In the weeks before Natalie and Davy were killed, Missions in Haiti Inc. documented the island nation’s recent struggles in a series of Facebook posts.

“Things have been calmer over the past 2 weeks,” the last update on May 19 read. “Gang activity still happening with looting and destruction, but much less than before.”

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have reportedly sent a cease and desist letter to the filmmakers of The Apprentice in an effort to block the movie’s release, warning the producers not to pursue a domestic distribution deal.

The existence of the letter was first confirmed by two unnamed sources to Variety, while excerpts were obtained by Deadline.

“The Movie presents itself as a factual biography of Mr. Trump, yet nothing could be further from the truth,” the May 22 letter to director Ali Abbasi and screenwriter Gabriel Sherman reportedly states.

The letter continues:

“It is a concoction of lies that repeatedly defames President Trump and constitutes direct foreign interference in America’s elections. If you do not immediately cease and desist all distribution and marketing of this libelous farce, we will be forced to pursue all appropriate legal remedies.”

“You have until May 27, 2024, to respond with your agreement to immediately comply with this demand. President Trump reserves all rights.”

The Apprentice, which had its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival this week, was independently financed and produced outside the Hollywood studio system — mostly through overseas companies as well as some domestic investors.

Since its Cannes debut, the movie has ignited a firestorm of debate over its portrayal of a young Trump (played by actor Sebastian Stan) and his rise to power beginning in the 70s.

In one scene, Trump is seen raping his first wife, Ivana — an alleged incident that Ivana Trump herself has denied ever happening. Other scenes depict Trump undergoing plastic surgery and liposuction.

The Apprentice has yet to secure a domestic distribution deal. Any potential buyer — whether it be a major streamer or a speciality theatrical label — would have to weigh the possible costs of a protracted legal fight with Trump.

Iranian-born director Ali Abbasi has stated he hopes his movie will open in the U.S. before the November presidential election — specifically, during the upcoming presidential debates.

The movie’s producers responded to the cease and desist letter in a statement sent to Variety. “The film is a fair and balanced portrait of the former president,” they said. “We want everyone to see it and then decide.”

As Breitbart News reported, the Trump campaign threatened to sue the makers of The Apprentice following its Cannes premiere.

“We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers,” the Trump campaign’s chief spokesperson Steven Cheung said, “This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked.”

Cheung also called the movie “malicious defamation.”

The Apprentice co-stars Succession star Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, Borat 2 actress Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, and Martin Donovan as patriarch Fred Trump.