While the Senate has almost finished confirming President Trump's Cabinet, his nominees aren't clear of controversy yet - as one of his top aides faces fresh scrutiny over an alleged affair.
According to Politico, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has hired Corey Lewandowski, the longtime Trump operative and former Trump campaign manager. As reported by the Daily Mail, Noem and Lewandowski have an alleged romantic history.
It's a potentially unwelcome distraction for the White House as Noem is tasking with implementing one of Trump's most important missions - the mass deportation of illegal aliens.
A report in Politico said that Lewandowski has quietly joined the DHS as a "special government employee," an informal status also shared by Elon Musk.
"Like Elon Musk and so many other patriots, Mr. Lewandowski volunteers his time as a special government employee (SGE) to help President Trump Make America Great Again," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
The hire is certain to raise eyebrows given Lewandowski's alleged past with his new boss.
The rumors of the affair first emerged in American Greatness in 2021, with Noem dismissing the reports as a "disgusting lie" at the time.
Later reports in Daily Mail and New York Post said their relationship was an open secret, with the pair often seen sharing affection together in public.
Noem was widely seen as a contender to be Trump's vice president in 2024, but her odds fell sharply after comments she made in a book about shooting an aggressive dog. Her alleged affair may also have damaged her political hopes, according to reporter Alex Isenstadt, who writes about the tryst in his upcoming book Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return To Power.
Trump advisers noticed Lewandowski hanging around Noem "like a puppy dog," and Trump would joke that Lewandowski had a "girlfriend."
"Lewandowski, Trump said, knew how to bat out of his league,” Isenstadt writes.
Both Noem and Lewandowski remain married to their respective spouses. Noem has been married to her husband, Bryon, since 1992 and Lewandowski tied the knot with his wife Alison in 2005.
Lewandowski became known in 2016 as Trump's first campaign manager, with Lewandowski coining the mantra "Let Trump Be Trump" in support of Trump's brash political style.
Trump fired Lewandowski a month before the Republican convention, but he remained in the president's orbit and made a shocking return last year, joining Trump's re-election campaign in August as a senior advisor.
While Noem missed out on the VP role, Trump nominated her to one of his most high-profile Cabinet positions, tasking her with overseeing his sweeping crackdown on mass immigration at the DHS.
A federal judge has ordered President Trump to restore government web pages that were taken down in the president's purge of gender ideology.
The ruling from Judge John Bates, a George W. Bush appointee, is the latest example of courts micromanaging the White House to block Trump's "common sense" agenda.
Bates commanded the White House to bring back public web pages that were taken down after Trump signed an executive order declaring there are only two sexes. A left-wing nonprofit, Doctors for America, sued over Trump's changes, while condemning his executive order as "medically inaccurate" and rooted in "transphobia."
Doctors for America champions "access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity." The advocacy group supported Barack Obama when he was running for president.
Consistent with Trump's executive order on gender ideology, the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) ordered all federal agencies to remove references to gender ideology from their public-facing websites. Health agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed certain web pages to comply with Trump's directive.
Some of the deleted information covered topics like HIV prevention and the mental health of high school students, particularly young people with gender dysphoria. Doctors for America sued, arguing the administration arbitrarily deprived doctors and researchers of critical health information in violation of federal laws.
The organization submitted declarations from two doctors who said they relied on CDC data to treat sexually transmitted infections. One doctor who works at a clinic serving "predominately low-income immigrant families in southwest Chicago" said she would have used the CDC's information to monitor a recent chlamydia outbreak at a local high school.
"These doctors’ time and effort are valuable, scarce resources, and being forced to spend them elsewhere makes their jobs harder and their treatment less effective," Doctors for America said.
The judge agreed that the administration's actions are "arbitrary and capricious" and would result in "irreparable harm."
"Finally, it bears emphasizing who ultimately bears the harm of defendants’ actions: everyday Americans, and most acutely, underprivileged Americans, seeking healthcare," Bates wrote.
The Justice Department argued that the inconvenience of looking up alternative sources of information does not meet the legal standard of "irreparable harm," and the data that was removed is still accessible through internet archives.
"A potential impingement upon the President’s Article II authority over the operations of the Executive Branch is always grounds for caution," the DOJ wrote.
The ruling is the latest example of federal judges pushing back on Trump's efforts to rein in a bloated, politicized federal bureaucracy. Trump and his allies have accused the courts of overreach, with Elon Musk blasting Bates' ruling as "absurd."
"Truly absurd. Judges as website editors!?" Musk wrote. "We should at least ATTEMPT to fire this junky jurist. The notion of having a judge job for life, no matter how bad the judgments, is ridiculous! Enough is enough.
Truly absurd. Judges as website editors!?
We should at least ATTEMPT to fire this junky jurist.
The notion of having a judge job for life, no matter how bad the judgments, is ridiculous!
Enough is enough. https://t.co/lMPq6zWOj5
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2025
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.”
The Biden administration "quietly" sent over $3 million to the Palestinian Authority to support training for its security forces shortly before President Trump took office.
The controversial payments, reported by the Washington Free Beacon, came after a watchdog group accused the Palestinian Authority of waging attacks on Israelis.
While the United States has backed the Palestinian Authority for decades, the organization has been accused of harboring covert ties to terrorists.
President Trump cut funding to the Palestinian government during his first term, but Biden instead prioritized building up the Palestinian Authority to play a role in Gaza's future following the end of Israel's war with Hamas.
Indeed, the Biden administration sent $3 million to the Palestinian Authority Security Forces (PASF) for "firearms and ammunition" training on January 3, according to the Free Beacon. The funding was part of a $20 million expenditure to support regional security in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and Jordan.
It comes as the Palestinian Authority, following a rare crackdown on militants in the West Bank, seeks a $680 million four-year commitment from the United States to build up its security forces.
Despite the Palestinian Authority's moderate image, a report from Palestinian Media Watch, a non-governmental organization associated with Israel's right-wing, found that members of the PASF were behind dozens of attacks on Israelis.
Some PASF forces have been glorified as "martyrs" by terror groups like the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the report found.
While the U.S. has provided security assistance to the Palestinian Authority since the 1990s, its alleged softness toward terrorism has led some to question if it can maintain regional stability.
"The PASF have demonstrated an ongoing inability to maintain order in the West Bank, a fact made more concerning by emerging reports of the group’s ties to terrorism in the region," Republican Michael McCaul (Tx.), former chair of the Foreign Affairs panel, told the Free Beacon. "As everyone knows, money is fungible."
The Trump administration has pressed pause on all foreign aid, as part of a wider effort to cut waste in government spending.
"The Department and USAID take their role as stewards of taxpayer dollars very seriously," a State Department spokesman told the Free Beacon.
In an overture to Trump, the Palestinian Authority has ended its so-called "pay-to-slay" program, which supports the families of Palestinian terrorists.
Trump and Biden both claimed credit for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that was announced in January, shortly before Trump's inauguration. Trump has cast doubt on the cease-fire's longevity, however, as he floats a plan for the U.S. to take control of war-torn Gaza.
President Donald Trump ran the bulk of his campaign on fixing the southern U.S. border, and part of that problem includes detaining and deporting millions of illegal immigrants currently roaming the streets of cities and towns across the country.
According to JustTheNews, at its current pace, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is on track to arrest a staggering 1 million illegals by the end of Trump's second term in the White House.
The estimates were released at the same time the House of Representatives and the Senate work overtime to pass Trump's budget bill, which includes significant boosts for border security issues.
The extra funds could ramp up the ICE arrests to even higher numbers, which would help Trump fulfill his promise to deport all illegal aliens from the United States during his term.
While ICE has stopped posting daily arrest and detainer figures for the public, Border Czar Tom Homan assured the public that the number of arrests are still on pace.
JustTheNews noted:
Prior to Feb. 1, U.S. ICE posted its daily nationwide figures for the arrest of illegal aliens as well as the number of detainers it lodged that day. The agency’s X account notably stopped posting that daily update this week and has instead opted to emphasize the arrest of the most dangerous criminal figures.
Prior to the agency stopping the posting of daily numbers, the number of arrests and detainments per day ranged anywhere from a few hundred to as high as nearly 1,200.
On Thursday, Homan insisted that the numbers are still on pace, saying, "I think the arrest numbers I looked at, I just talked about this morning. I think the arrests are right around over 11,000 so far since day one."
The outlet noted:
Counting Jan. 20 and excluding any Thursday numbers, that 11,000 figure would present an average of nearly 650 arrests per day. Should arrests continue at that rate, however, Trump would be on pace to arrest just under 1 million illegal immigrants over his remaining four years in office.
While the number is no doubt impressive, Trump had vowed to deport many more.
Other factors come into play, including the reduced rate of arrests due to less illegals trying to cross at the border.
"I mean yesterday, at 24 hours, it was less than 50 border arrests. It wasn't too long ago we had 11,000 arrests a day under the Biden administration. We got less than 500," Homan said.
Whether or not Trump hits his original goal really doesn't matter. He's obviously going all out, and the results will likely be profound.
The ball is largely in the court of congress at the moment, as he spending bill will undoubtedly increase capacity to make those arrests.
In the wake of President Donald Trump's victory in November, the liberal media continues their laughable attempts to amplify even the tiniest sliver of drama within the Trump family.
According to a piece published by TheList, reports say Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donal Trump Jr.'s ex-girlfriend, isn't taking the breakup well, and could also be irritated by his new girlfriend's bragging on social media.
Bettina Anderson, Don Jr.'s new girlfriend, is apparently fond of showing off her lavish lifestyle, especially in the form of Instagram posts.
The outlet noted:
On February 6, Anderson posted an Instagram story showing off a delivery box full of luxe items with the caption "Ready for Valentine's Day." The tasty goods in the snap were from high end grocery retailer Portage Foods, which specializes in caviar as well as smoked and cured fish.
It was noted that it appeared Anderson went for the high-end caviar and salmon selections from the luxury grocery store.
Anderson has also shown off her new relationship in previous social media posts, including one that showed her holding a massive bouquet of flowers that she said at the time were from a mystery suitor.
It didn't take long for it to be revealed that it was Donald Trump Jr. who sent them, as the new couple quickly crushed any speculation and were spotted in public on multiple occasions.
Trump Jr. and his new girlfriend were also spotted at a Fanatics pre-Super Bowl 2025 party on Saturday, with pictures showing the couple very much together.
Nerd Raven wrote on X:
Donald Trump Jr., girlfriend Bettina Anderson enjoy date at pre-Super Bowl party ahead of POTUS attending big game
Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Bettina Anderson are sill going strong.
The happy couple was spotted holding hands as they walked the red carpet at the Fanatics pre-Super Bowl 2025 party on Saturday, after it was confirmed President Donald Trump will attend Sunday’s big game.
The businessman, 47, led Anderson past the reporters while wearing a loose-fitted long sleeved black shirt and a pair of khaki-colored pants. Meanwhile, the socialite wore a dark denim-on-denim ensemble.
The two received plenty of well wishes from social media users.
🚨#BREAKING: Donald Trump Jr., girlfriend Bettina Anderson enjoy date at pre-Super Bowl party ahead of POTUS attending big game
Donald Trump Jr. and girlfriend Bettina Anderson are sill going strong.
The happy couple was spotted holding hands as they walked the red carpet at… pic.twitter.com/34xQmqckL5
— Nerd Raven (@nerdraven_) February 9, 2025
According to sources quoted by Page Six, Anderson and DJT are reportedly living together.
While it's unclear how Guilfoyle truly feels about the new relationship, it really doesn't matter in the big picture.
People, even celebrities, break up and enter into new relationships all the time, and as long as everyone's happy, who cares?
A popular South Korean bodybuilder has died suddenly in a mysterious "accident," leaving his fans and loved ones in shock.
Kim Woong Seo, 38, was killed on February 3, his family announced, although the details of what led to the tragedy remain unclear.
Adding to the mystery, a scheduled post was published on Kim's YouTube channel - then deleted - that suggested he took his own life.
In the statement, reported by Maeil Business Newspaper, Kim alluded to being defrauded by a "sex offender scammer."
"I probably am not a person in this world at the time this post is released. My feelings are infinitely heavy as I am writing this article now," he said.
"While standing, I feel all kinds of joy, anger, sorrow and pleasure. I will smile and shake at the end because it was a pretty good life. Funerals are not necessary and there is no one to leave behind. I hope you all have a happy and daily life. Goodbye," he said.
The note was deleted minutes later, leaving Kim's large social media following with more questions.
The health and fitness influencer had 122,000 YouTube subscribers and over 40,000 Instagram followers.
Kim's funeral was held on February 5 at Gimhae Citizen's Funeral Hall in South Korea. A relative, Kim Ji Hyun, shared a statement about the tragic "accident."
"Kim Woong-Seo, who was always full of energy, passed away due to an accident. And went on a long journey to heaven where we can never hold hands again," the statement said.
"Our brother, who seemed strong, but was more delicate than anyone else."
"I would appreciate it if you could remember him deeply in your hearts for a long time so that his final journey is not lonely."
The heartbreaking incident comes weeks after another young bodybuilder, 35-year-old Park Seung-hyun, died from undisclosed health issues in January.
Park had admitted to using anabolic steroids in the past, and he became an advocate against the drugs before his untimely death.
"On January 5, 2025, 15:51 my brother Seung Hyun went to heaven due to health reasons,' the post said. 'The parents' feelings are not accepted, we don't take advice. May you rest in peace with a heart of comfort," Park's brother wrote.
South Korean culture is known for its rigorous beauty standards, and numerous celebrities have been driven to suicide by extreme pressure to perform. In Kim's case, it appears there may have been a legal issue that played a role in his tragic death.
Michelle Obama has made her first public statement since facing whispers of divorce.
The former First Lady got tongues wagging with her recent absences from official events, but she ignored the rumors in a new Instagram video about education.
The speculation began last month when Obama failed to appear at President Jimmy Carter's funeral. It was a conspicuous break from protocol, as former presidents and first ladies usually attend such events.
Obama also was a no-show at President Trump's January 20th inauguration. While it was an obvious snub of the president, it also fed the perception that all is not well in the Obama household.
In her first Instagram video since vanishing from the public eye, Michelle Obama discussed a new partnership between her education initiative Reach Higher and The American School Counselor Association.
"This critical work often gets unnoticed and that's why for so many years I have been working to make sure that they get the shine they deserve" Michelle said in the video.
Obama is also promoting a new self-help book, Overcoming, which she has described as "timely" as many of her own followers cope with Kamala Harris' brutal election loss to President Trump.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama appeared to dismiss the speculation of a rift with a gushing birthday tribute to his wife in January. The post showed the two awkwardly posed on either side of a wide dining table.
"I’m so lucky to be able to take on life's adventures with you. Love you!" President Obama wrote.
The former president also sought to allay suspicions in his response to last week's plane crash in Washington D.C.
"Our hearts break for the families who lost loved ones in the tragic plane and helicopter crash at DCA. Michelle and I send our prayers and condolences to everyone who is mourning today, and we’re grateful to the first responders who are doing everything they can to help under extremely difficult circumstances," he wrote.
Meanwhile, donors for the Obama Presidential Center are reportedly cutting support for the library, which has been tied up in lawsuits.
With the Obama brand having lost its shine, some may be wondering if the changing political winds are having an effect on the marriage.
As of now, the Obamas are not making any public moves to either confirm or deny.
A Republican lawmaker from Iowa has died of a heart attack, leaving the state's Republicans in shock.
72-year-old Martin Graber entered politics later in life, winning election to the state House in 2020. His sudden death on Friday morning cut short his third term in the legislature.
A resident of Fort Madison, a city hugging the Mississippi, Graber represented most of Lee County in Iowa's southeastern corner, including Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Donnellson.
Speaker Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford), the grandson of Senator Chuck Grassley (R), led the House in prayer Monday as lawmakers returned to the Iowa Capitol.
"If there’s one thing that I think we can all say about Rep. Graber — and this doesn’t happen too often in this business — is there’s not a lot of people, if anyone, that’s ever had a bad thing to say about Martin Graber," Speaker Grassley said. "And so he’s going to be deeply missed from this body. Please think about Coni and his family in the upcoming days."
The Iowa House was not in session Tuesday to allow lawmakers to attend Graber's funeral.
In 2020, Graber made his first run for public office, unseating Democratic incumbent Jeff Kurtz.
"The time is right. I’m a conservative conservative, meaning I’m conservative on fiscal issues, on social issues, just about everything,” Graber said at the time. “And, I’m a firm believer that if there is something you don’t like, you need to step up and try to change it.”
Before entering the state House, Graber was the chair of Lee County Republicans. He worked as a financial adviser for Ameriprise Financial in Fort Madison.
Beyond politics, Graber was a decorated veteran. The retired brigadier general served in the Iowa National Guard for 32 years, earning numerous honors and distinctions for his service, including the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Superior Unit Award, and the prestigious Bronze and Silver Order of the de Fleury Medals from the Corps of Engineers Regiment.
Graber is survived by his wife, Coni, two daughters, two grandchildren, and six siblings.
Iowa governor Kim Reynolds (R) must call a special election to fill Graber's seat in Iowa's House District 100.
The election must be held "at the earliest practical time, giving at least 18 days' notice of the special election," the law states.
William Jelks Cabaniss, Jr., a former Alabama GOP legislator who later served as a U.S. ambassador for President George W. Bush, has died. He was 86.
"His life was based on love of family, community and country, and he lived it with honor and dignity every step of the way,” an obituary read.
Over the course of his long career in politics, Cabaniss helped turn Alabama Republicans into a political force and became good friends with the Bushes.
Born on July 11, 1938, Cabaniss graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University and served in the Army as an Airborne Ranger for three years' active duty in Germany. He received the Army Commendation Medal in 1964.
Returning home to Alabama after his service, he started a family with his wife, Catherine, and started a successful steel plate processing and metal machining company, Precision Grinding, Inc, before launching his career in politics.
He won election to the Alabama House in 1978 as a Republican, at a time when Alabama was still solidly Democratic. In 1982, he won a seat in the state Senate, where he served until 1990.
During this time, he helped build Republicans into the state's majority party for the first time since Reconstruction. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 1990 and lost to Democrat Howell Heflin; then-president George H.W. Bush came to Birmingham to campaign for Cabaniss at the time. Heflin would become the last Democrat to win and serve a full U.S. Senate term from the state.
From 2004 to 2006, Cabaniss was President George W. Bush's ambassador to the Czech Republic. Cabaniss and his wife Catherine became good friends of the Bush family.
“Their legacy will live forever really. This country was very lucky to have them,” Bill said after the deaths of George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara in 2018. “And people like us were very lucky to have them as friends.”
Cabaniss was predeceased by his son, William Jelks Cabaniss, III, his sister, Joan Cabaniss Harrison, and his wife of 58 years, Catherine Caldwell Cabaniss. He is survived by his two daughters, Mary Cabaniss Ballard and Frances Cabaniss Johnson (Kenny), his sister, Florence Cabaniss Parnegg, his five grandchildren, and his fiancé Linda Parker Johnson.
“Bill loved tennis, golf (especially with long-time friends) and supporting Catherine, a talented artist, in her artistic endeavors,” reads his obituary.
"Bill has left behind a legacy of a life well lived. He gave back more than he was given and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.”