This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has publicly explained why two Associated Press reporters were denied access to White House events: Their organization is pushing a "lie" by continuing to refer to the body of water off the coast of Louisiana as the Gulf of Mexico.
President Donald Trump, on his first day in office, ordered it renamed the "Gulf of America" and that was done for official government references. Apple and Google also have made that change. On Super Bowl Sunday this week, he designated Feb. 9 as "Gulf of America Day."
But AP, claiming that it needed to make its references easily recognizable for all audiences, said it would not change, although it would note Trump's announcement.
AP, which has held dictatorial power in journalism for decades by assembling and distributing its own journalism stylebook, which often has moved into advocacy for leftist ideals in recent years, released a statement from spokeswoman Julie Pace, who said, "It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of AP's speech not only severely impedes the public's access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment."
Leavitt explained how that thinking was faulty:
Asked about the barred reporters, she said, "First of all, let me just set the record straight. It is a privilege to cover this White House. It is a privilege to be the White House press secretary. Nobody has the 'right' to go into the Oval Office and ask the president of the United States questions. That is an invitation that is given."
She noted, "There are hundreds of outlets on this campus, many of you in this room, who don't have the privilege of being part of that pool every single day, and getting to ask the president questions.
"We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office."
She then was asked about the reasons.
"I was very upfront in my briefing on day one that if we feel there are lies being pushed by outlets in this room, we are going to hold those lies accountable," she said, "It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I'm not sure why news outlets don't want to call it that, but that is what it is.
"The secretary of Interior has made that the official designation, Apple has recognized that, Google has recognized that. Pretty much every other outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America. And it's very important to this administration that we get that right, not just for people here at home but for also for the rest of the world."
Trump's agenda, of course, is the Make America Great Again plan, and his design is to promote the presence of America, and its influence, everywhere.
The agency reported Tim Richardson, of PEN America, claimed that the decision was "an affront to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bars the government from impeding the freedom of the press."
Also putting itself in an antagonistic position to Trump, the White House Correspondents Association, a private organization that imposes its ideologies on seating charts at White House press events, called it unacceptable.
While news organizations may say denying their access to the White House is a First Amendment issue, that question is cloudy, as they are among the few – out of thousands of news organizations nationwide – that have been given that access as a privilege. The decision actually imposes no control over what that reporting agency writes.
Of course, Trump's renaming of the gulf does not necessarily affect what other nations may label it.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A policy adviser for the U.S. Department of the Treasury has admitted on camera that workers in the agency are defying Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.
Because DOGE and Musk are, "risks to national security."
The video comes from O'Keefe Media Group, which goes undercover to interview subjects.
This one was identified as Nate Johnson, a policy adviser in the agency.
He called DOGE, "Government sanctioned harassment," and complained about Trump's offer to have federal workers agree to resign in return for months of pay.
He said no one thinks that's legal, and it would end up firing the "wrong people."
Further, he complained that DOGE should not have access to Treasury information because, even if they're American, they could give information to a "foreign governmenta."
He admitted there are problems, with employees in the government for 40 years, who "don't do much."
And he explained he works on situations where there could be security issues with a foreign investment in America, and said those often are resolved with an agreement … and subsequent monitoring.
He claimed Musk is "showing what he really cares about is money. So in theory all he wants is more money."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A published column in Israel National News has revealed the stunning amount of American taxpayer moneys that were delivered to terrorists and terror-supporting regimes under Joe Biden's administration.
The report from Daniel Greenfield reveals that USAID, the entrenched team of bureaucrats that President Donald Trump is now disbanding and eliminating, moving only its necessary functions to the State Department, gave $9.3 billion to Islamic terror states that killed 3,000 American soldiers. "And over $18 billion to Islamic terrorist states."
The report noted over the last two years alone, USAID "doled out $2.3 billion for 'humanitarian assistance'" to Rep. Ilhan Omar's native Somalia.
"Last year it reported a request for $1.6 billion in aid and even in December 2024, with the Biden administration on the way out the door, it sent an additional $29 million," Greenfield reported. "USAID support for Somalia had doubled under the Biden administration and with $3.3 billion from USAID allocated in the last 5 years."
The report noted beneficiaries of the funding included Somalia and "other terrorist entities" of the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza.
USAID dispatched $2.1 billion to Gaza since the terrorists there attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Another $3.7 billion was sent to Afghanistan "since the Taliban took over" in the hours following Biden's catastrophic withdrawal of American troops, a scheme that left behind, under the control of the terrorists, Americans, American allies, and billions of dollars worth of American war machinery.
"The money was so unaccountable that USAID refused to cooperate with SIGAR: the government watchdog tracking spending in Afghanistan intent on blocking money from aiding terrorists," Greenfield reported.
And he said while the U.S. was "at war" with the Houthis, and the Islamic terrorists were firing on U.S. Navy ships, USAID transferred $2.7 billion to Yemen in 2024. Over five years, that total was $3.4 billion.
"Other Islamic terrorist states that have heavily drawn on USAID include Pakistan which harbored Osama bin Laden, but benefited from $600 million in the last five years. While some American towns and cities lacked clean drinking water, USAID labored to build plants for Pakistan's majority Muslim population even while it engaged in the persecution of Christians," he reported.
And the now-disintegrating agency gave over $700 million to Iraq over the last five years despite its being governed by "Iranian puppets whose militias have been firing on American soldiers."
Syria? It got $3.4 billion from USAID, and the agency sent $1.1 billion to Lebanon, which is run by Hezbollah.
"While USAID is unable to function in Iran, between Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, over $8 billion was sent to Iranian puppet regimes aligned with terrorism," he reported.
The listing did not include tax money sent to countries that are "actively in conflict with the U.S."
Greenfield questioned, "Is sending $18 billion to Islamic terror states really helping our national security … ."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President Donald Trump's advocacy for secure American borders, deportation of illegal alien criminals, and support for American citizens was taken to a new level on Wednesday.
The Department of Justice, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, sued New York Attorney General Letitia James, Gov. Kathy Hochul, and Mark Schroeder, the state's chief of its division of motor vehicles.
At issue is the state's support for illegal aliens, to the point they are given privileges American citizens are not.
Bondi confirmed, "We're here today because we have filed charges against the state of New York. We have filed charges against Kathy Hochul, we have filed charges against Letitia James, and Mark Schroeder, who is with DMV."
She said, "This is a new DOJ, and we are taking steps to protect Americans, American citizens, and angel moms, like the mom standing right behind me … ."
She charged, "New York has chosen to prioritize illegal aliens over American citizens. It stops. It stops today."
The announcement came in Bondi's first press conference as U.S. attorney general.
The state and its officials are facing accusations in the legal filing that they have failed to enforce federal immigration law.
The action takes aim at a "green light law" that lets people who are in the United States illegally get driver's licenses in the state.
Bondi also charged that New York officials have limited their state's ability to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
The DOJ only days earlier had sued Illinois over its enforcement of federal immigration law.
"We did it to Illinois. Strike one. Strike two is New York, and if you're a state not complying with federal law? You're next," Bondi said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Kristi Noem, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, has confirmed the return to the federal government of $59 million that workers at the Federal Emergency Management Agency has dispatched to New York City for the benefit of illegal aliens it is housing.
The decision to send the money violated President Donald Trump's orders against fraud and misspending by the federal bureaucracy and four workers at FEMA were fired for their actions.
Fox News reports DHS has confirmed it has "taken back" the money.
"Secretary Noem has clawed back the full payment that FEMA deep state activists unilaterally gave to NYC migrant hotels," a DHS official said.
The $59 million was identified earlier this week by the Department of Government Efficiency, which said the money was improperly sent for payments to luxury hotels for illegal aliens who have flooded into the sanctuary city.
DHS said the workers who issued the "egregious" payment were fired for "for circumventing leadership." They included the organization's chief financial officer, two analysts and a grant operator.
City Comptroller Brad Lander responded with a demand that the money be sent again.
"I call on the mayor to immediately pursue legal action to ensure the tens of millions of dollars stolen by Trump and DOGE are rightfully returned. If instead Mayor Adams continues to be President Trump's pawn, my Office will request to work in partnership with the New York City Law Department to pursue aggressive legal action," he claimed.
Mayor Eric Adams said he's asked for an emergency meeting with FEMA.
FEMA works with Customs and Border Control to dispense money to the Shelter and Services Program, which provides housing and other benefits for illegal aliens released into the United States.
This was an exploding program under Joe Biden's administration, which allowed millions of illegal aliens to cross into America under his open borders agenda.
As part of that, his administration reportedly lost track of hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied children., too.
President Trump already has instituted a number of program changes to crack down on illegal immigration, and to round up known criminal illegal aliens and deport them.
"These funds have been misappropriated going back to the Biden administration and New York City – a sanctuary city – has been wasting billions of dollars of taxpayer money to provide free housing, clothing, food, education and healthcare to illegal immigrants, including criminal aliens that are here illegally," charged, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.
"That money is meant for American disaster relief and instead is being spent on high-end hotels for illegals," Elon Musk, who heads Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, said. "A clawback demand will be made today to recoup those funds."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A member of the Democrats' contingent in Congress stunningly has openly voiced the party's demand for the censorship of American people.
That censorship reached a peak under the Joe Biden administration, when his staff members berated and bullied multiple online social media platforms into censoring ideas they disliked.
It perhaps culminated when the FBI got involved in election interference, demanding publications during the 2020 election suppress scandalous information about the Biden family's overseas influence peddling operations because it was Russian disinformation.
Only it wasn't. It was all accurate. And a survey suggested that alone changed the outcome of that presidential vote.
Now it is Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who has gone public with her demands
"Look, lemme tell you something, I'll take a bit of umbrage here, I'll speak on behalf of my colleagues," she said. "I think I can say we are all willing to work with anyone who's serious about doing the work of censoring the American people and advancing progress. But they are not serious."
A report at BizPacReview explained how Pressley "proudly revealed the very core of the progressive agenda, in turn admitting to how far the left will go to maintain power."
Online commenters pointed out how Pressley clearly doesn't understand the Constitution she has sworn to uphold.
Another commenter said, "If they can't control speech, they can't control the country. With free speech their lies, gaslighting and propaganda is exposed. They're going to do everything to silence opposition. Any politician who advocates stomping on rights should automatically be removed from office."
"'Censoring the American people and advancing progress?' Don't you love it when the Dems tell you exactly who they are?" said another.
And, "Free speech is the enemy to the radical left."
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to formally launch the Department of Government Efficiency's effort to streamline the government, according to a White House Fact Sheet. The initiative will focus on scaling back the federal workforce.
One of Trump's many campaign promises was to slash government waste and root out corruption. He brought in Tesla billionaire Elon Musk to help with the task, a fact which has the left apoplectic.
Reuters reported that Musk and his son, "Lil X," joined Trump in the Oval Office to sign the executive orders. An account for the America PAC run by Musk shared a photo of the occasion to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
BREAKING: President Donald Trump is joined by Elon Musk and his son, ‘Lil X’, in the Oval Office as he signs an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to collaborate with @DOGE. pic.twitter.com/47FtsL5siZ
— America (@america) February 11, 2025
The order promised to make the "federal workforce more efficient and effective" through DOGE. The main priority is slashing the number of people working in the government.
"There are too many federal employees," the fact sheet for the order asserts. It noted that there are some 2.4 million workers spread over at least 400 agencies in the Federal Register.
"In fiscal year 2022, the federal government spent nearly $300 billion on compensation for civilian employees, excluding pensions.
According to a recent congressional report, only 6% of federal workers report to work in-person on a full-time basis," the document went on.
The order includes a roadmap to future hiring after the cuts so they will be more difficult to roll back. "Agency Heads will coordinate and consult with DOGE to shrink the size of the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential positions," it stated.
The order also promised to limit hiring to "no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service." However, that rule included exemptions for law enforcement, public safety, and immigration.
Besides the dollars and cents of it, Trump's executive order also includes employee accountability. "The Office of Personnel Management will initiate a rulemaking to ensure federal employees are held to the highest standards of conduct," the order noted.
The order is "building on past success" that Trump believes will make America great again. "President Trump has made reforming the federal workforce a key priority for his second term," the fact sheet stated.
"President Trump has consistently worked to shrink the administrative state. His first term spurred robust economic growth and innovation through regulatory reform. Workforce reform in his second term will build on these successes," it added.
When fielding questions from the press about this initiative, Trump said that he "couldn't ask for a stronger mandate from ... the public" in terms of his electoral victory. "The people voted for major government reform. There should be no doubt about that," Trump added, according to Reuters.
Trump is proceeding full steam ahead on fulfilling the promises he made during the campaign. With the help of Musk, Trump will cut the fat from the government and leave the swamp-dwellers scurrying for the exits.
A bill that would give Greenland a new name has been filed to the House of Representatives by a Republican congressman from Georgia.
This comes at a time when President Donald Trump is continuing his efforts to acquire the island, Fox News reported.
The measure, which has been given the name "Red, White, and Blueland Act of 2025," was proposed by Representative Earl "Buddy" Carter. The purpose of the bill is to rename the island from Greenland to a more colorful name, red, white, and blueland.
Under the act, the newly appointed Interior Secretary, Doug Burgum, would be given the responsibility of overseeing the transition and ensuring that it is reflected on official papers and maps so that Greenland is referred to by its new name.
“America is back and will soon be bigger than ever with the addition of Red, White, and Blueland,” Carter said in a press release.
“President Trump has correctly identified the purchase of what is now Greenland as a national security priority, and we will proudly welcome its people to join the freest nation to ever exist when our Negotiator-in-Chief inks this monumental deal.”
Despite Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede's repeated statements that the island is not for sale, Trump is pushing for the acquisition of Greenland from Denmark, which is why the bill is being proposed.
Trump has maintained an interest in purchasing the island for what he claims are "national security purposes" since his win in November.
Trump has also questioned whether Denmark, which has controlled Greenland since 1814, has a "legal right" to the territory and predicted that Greenland's people will vote to join the U.S. He warned that if Denmark does not give up Greenland, the U.S. will "tariff Denmark at a very high level."
Additionally, Trump has not explicitly said that acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal via military means is not an option.
"No, I can't assure you of either of those two. But I can say this: We need them for economic security. The Panama Canal was built for our military,” Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago home.
A majority of Greenlanders, as much as 85%, do not want their Arctic island, which is a semi-autonomous Danish colony, to join the United States. Almost half of those Greenlanders consider Trump's interest in the island as a danger.
According to a poll conducted by pollster Verian and funded by the Danish newspaper Berlingske and the Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq, just 6% of Greenlanders are in favor of their island becoming a U.S. territory, while 9% are still uncertain.
According to the results, 45% of respondents saw Trump's interest in Greenland negatively, 43% positively, and 13% were unsure.
In the wake of the Los Angeles wildfires, Jennifer Aniston is holing up far away from Hollywood - and from persistent rumors of an affair with Barack Obama.
The 56-year-old actress is fleeing to Santa Barbara for a "fresh start" after a series of heartbreaks, sources told RadarOnline.
“She’s hopeful that a fresh start might make it easier to find love again,” a source said. “It’s been so long since she’s had a relationship – she really misses that companionship.”
Aniston's $15 million Tuscan-style farmhouse, purchased from Oprah in 2022, is located along California's Central Coast in Montecito, a wealthy town in Santa Barbara County.
Known as the American Riviera, Santa Barbara is famous for its affluent residents, beautiful architecture and comfortable distance from Hollywood. The town is not without drama, being the home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
According to insiders, Aniston is embracing her new surroundings as rumors swirl of a romance with former President Obama.
“Jen was going to have her people either not respond or give a ‘no comment’, but she thought that would add fuel to the fire,” sources said, per RadarOnline.
"She decided to shut it down before it could get even more out of hand.”
Beneath the juicy gossip about an affair with a U.S. president is a sad reality: one of the most successful actors of her generation is lonely. While the 56-year-old star has a vibrant social life, her home feels empty when her friends aren't around.
“Jen does her best to fill up her world. She’s got a lot of wonderful friends, dotes on her precious fur babies and even fosters others, but there are only so many dinner parties or girls’ nights she can throw,” an insider said. “The sad reality is that she is alone a lot of the time. She has her staff around during the day, which helps because they’ve become like family to her.”
The former Friends actress has been luckless in love, having gone through two divorces to Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux.
Apart from her struggles to find companionship, Aniston has been caught up in a bizarre rumor about an affair with President Obama, who has faced his own share of gossip about trouble in his marriage to Michelle Obama.
Aniston dismissed the speculation in good humor when she was asked about it by Jimmy Kimmel last year.
“Of all the calls you get from your publicist where you’re just like, ‘Oh, no, what’s it gonna be?’ or you get an email saying some cheesy tabloid is gonna make up a story—and then it’s that,” Aniston told Kimmel. "I was not mad at it,” she continued, but, added, “That is absolutely untrue.”
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Elon Musk joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office Tuesday to discuss "mind-blowing" amounts of fraud and abuse they're discovering through deep dives by DOGE, including people "150 years old" receiving Social Security.
"We had no idea we were going to find this much," Trump said. "We have already found billions of dollars of abuse, incompetence, and corruption."
"Could be close to a trillion dollars that we're gonna find."
Musk explained: "We do find it sort of rather odd that there are quite a few people in bureaucracy who have ostensibly a salary of a few hundred thousand dollars but somehow managed to accrue tens of millions of dollars in net worth while they are in that position, which is what happened at USAID.
"We are just curious as to where it came from. Maybe it was very good investing? In which case we should take their investment advice perhaps. But there seems to be mysteriously they get wealthy. We do not know why. Where does it come from?
"I think the reality is they are getting wealthy at taxpayers expense. That's the honest truth of it."
"It is mind-blowing," Musk continued. "We are really just talking about adding common sense controls that should be present that have not been present."
"If money is spent badly, if your taxpayer dollars are not spent in a sensible manner that is not OK. Your tax dollars need to be spent wisely on the things that matter to the people. These things, it is just common sense. It is not draconian or radical I think.
"It is really just saying let's look at these ventures and say is this actually in the best interest of the people? If it is let's approve it if not we should not think about it."
"There's crazy things," Musk explained. "Like just a cursory examination of Social Security, we've got people in there that are150 years old. Now do you know anybody who's 150? I don't. They should be in 'The Guinness Book of World Records.' They are missing out.
"So that is the case like I think they are probably dead is my guess. Or they should be very famous. One of the two. And then a whole bunch of Social Security payments where there is no identifying information? Why is there not identifying information?"
Musk also said terrorists have been funded by U.S. tax dollars.
"We are talking about terrorist organizations. We are talking about known fraudsters, known aspects of waste, no things that do not match any congressional appropriation."
Musk also said millions of dollars in fraudulent spending were discovered going to foreigners.
"If there's going to be fraud, it should at least go to Americans," he quipped.