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- Trump’s Acting Intel Chief Kicks Off New Role by Eyeing Hundreds of Firings: R...
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) President Donald Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, kicked off his first day on the job by eyeing hundreds of potential firings, according to a new report. Pulte showed up to his new job early on Thursday and asked for a list of every employee at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) so he could assess whether to fire them, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Pulte is remaining at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, where he faced accusations of targeting political opponents of the president through mortgage fraud investigations. “President Trump wanted someone in that position who is a true loyalist, who will do what he wants him to do. He has that in Bill,” a source “close” to Pulte told CNN about the businessman, who has no intelligence experience moving into Gabbard’s role. Pulte also reportedly surprised employees with his Thursday appearance, as many expected that he wouldn’t start in the role until Friday. Pulte is taking over for outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard, who was reportedly shocked to hear from Pulte recently about taking over sooner rather than later. Gabbard reportedly thought she’d officially be in the role until the end of the month until a conversation with Trump, where they settled on June 19. Gabbard said she was departing her role to focus on her family. Her husband, Abraham Williams, was recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Pulte reportedly met with staffers and lawyers and has made inquiries about his security clearance and whether he has access to a government plane in his new role. One of the sources speaking to CNN said Pulte raised “alarm bells” when he asked last week during a briefing whether he could bring the classified President’s Daily Briefing home.The post Trump’s Acting Intel Chief Kicks Off New Role by Eyeing Hundreds of Firings: Report first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.4 hours ago - Fox Host Brian Kilmeade ‘Shocked’ Over JD Vance’s Israel Comments: ‘I Wi...
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade chided Vice President JD Vance on Friday over his remarks about Israel, hours after Vance’s trip to Switzerland to formalize President Donald Trump’s latest Iran deal was postponed. During the White House press briefing on Thursday, Vance had strong words when asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “fuming” reaction to the 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran. “If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world,“ Vance said. He added: “The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump, and anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the president of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.” Reacting to those remarks on Friday morning’s Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said: “Kind of shocked to see JD Vance go after Israel yesterday. I wish he would be that tough with Iran. Israel, if this is the reason they put these talks on hold, Israel had four idf soldiers killed. What do you expect them to do? And if you want them to go along with the plan you should tell them what is in the plan. They were not even in the talks. All of a sudden they are roped into it. It’s up to Iran to tell Hezbollah who does whatever you tell them to knock it off. And then Israel will knock it off. The postponement of Vance’s trip to Switzerland came on what was technically the first day of a 60-day ceasefire that is part of the deal. The agreement has received bipartisan backlash, with even some of the president’s vocal supporters blasting it as too beneficial to Iran. Watch above via Fox News.The post Fox Host Brian Kilmeade ‘Shocked’ Over JD Vance’s Israel Comments: ‘I Wish He Would Be That Tough With Iran’ first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.4 hours ago - US-Iran Talks Postponed Amid Israeli Strikes as White House Blames ‘Logistical...Vice President JD Vance’s trip to formally sign a deal with Iran was postponed amid fresh Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Vance was meant to travel to Switzerland on Thursday night to sign the 14-point agreement, which President Donald Trump signed earlier this week. “The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the Vice President is not departing tonight. We will let you know as soon as we have a concrete update about next steps. We look forward to beginning technical talks as soon as possible,” a White House spokesperson said on Thursday. The postponement came on what is technically the first day of a 60-day ceasefire that is part of the agreement. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) also includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a reconstruction fund, and more. The deal has received bipartisan backlash, with even some of the president’s vocal supporters blasting it as too beneficial to Iran. Vance’s trip was canceled as Israel struck targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said 18 were killed in the airstrikes. Israel has been fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, and their military said it lost four soldiers in the country this week. The new US-Iran deal calls for an end to military operations “on all fronts, including in Lebanon.” CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson reported on the strikes in Lebanon on Friday and noted it could be a bad sign for US-Iran peace talks. “Day 60 of talks yesterday, now we’re down to 59 days and no talks. That does not seem to have been a success so far,” he reported. Vance warned Israel this week that “you can’t kill your way” out of conflict after noting a “weird panic almost in the Israeli system” over the US-Iran deal. “I find this whole freakout in Israel a little bit odd because I think that it comes from a place of mistrust, and I think that America has earned the trust of that region of the world. We’ve done a very good job by that particular country and that particular government, and I think that the idea that we’ve made a terrible deal is not supported by the facts, but just doesn’t make any sense if you consider the broad length of the relationship,” he said. Watch above via CNN.The post US-Iran Talks Postponed Amid Israeli Strikes as White House Blames ‘Logistical Issues’ first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.5 hours ago
- Owner of Company Responsible for Part of Trump’s Reflecting Pool Renovation Pl...
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein The head of the company that owns the firm responsible for part of the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool pleaded guilty to bribing a congressman, The New York Times reported on Thursday night. President Donald Trump fixated on the Reflecting Pool in recent months, taking a personal interest in seeing to its renovation. He frequently brought up the topic during press gaggles, even when reporters had not asked him about it. Since the job was completed, the pool has been plagued by algae blooms. This week, passersby at the pool began to notice paint starting to peel away from the bottom. Rather than reflect the color Trump chose for the bottom – American flag blue – the algae has given the pool a distinct green hue. As part of the renovation, Trump awarded a $1,7 million no-bid contract to an Ohio company to install a water purification system. The name of the company is – and this is true – Greenwater Services. The Times reported that the company is owned by the J.J. Cafaro Trust, helmed by John J. Cafaro, a Trump donor and one of the president’s Mar-a-Lago neighbors. His water purification company lists Cafaro’s mansion in Palm Beach as its address in Florida corporate records. The report added that Cafaro’s daughter served as a Democratic Ohio state senator from 2007 to 2016, and said he has donated money to Republicans and Democrats. One of the Democrats Cafaro “donated” money to was former Rep. James Traficant (D-OH) – by bribing him: Mr. Cafaro’s family business was in developing shopping centers, but he branched into other industries, including aerospace. He pleaded guilty in 2001 to conspiracy to bribe Representative James A. Traficant Jr., Democrat of Ohio, and later testified against Mr. Traficant. In 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives expelled Traficant, who, until former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) in 2023, was the most recent member to be expelled. Traficant was convicted of bribery and racketeering in 2002 and was released in 2009 before dying in 2014. Traficant was infamous for his ridiculous hairdo and one-minute floor speeches that had nothing to do with House business. And also the crimes.The post Owner of Company Responsible for Part of Trump’s Reflecting Pool Renovation Pleaded Guilty to Bribing Congressman first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.11 hours ago - John Kruk Suggests He’d Been Drinking Before Comically Horrendous At Bat Again...Philadelphia Phillies play-by-play man John Kruk suggested on Thursday that he had been drinking before his comically inept at bat against Randy Johnson in the 1993 MLB All-Star Game. During the game at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Kruk, a left-handed batter, faced the flame-throwing southpaw for the first time in his career. On the first pitch, Johnson whizzed the ball over the head of Kruk, who strolled away from the batter’s box, tapped on his heart, and breathed a heavy sigh. On the next pitch, Kruk took a fastball for strike one. On pitches three and four, he waved at two sliders on the outside part of the plate, doing so half-heartedly with one hand while spinning around in some sort of poor man’s pirouette. During Thursday’s NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast of the Phillies-Mets game, Kruk and play-by-play man Tom McCarthy spoke with Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt and George Brett, the latter of whom brought up Johnson and told Kruk, “I saw your at bat against him. I had to face him.” “I could’ve been a little tipsy that day,” Kruk replied. “You could’ve called in sick,” Schmidt replied. “I thought I was gonna call in dead,” Kruk deadpanned, suggesting he had been partying the night before the game. “I could have been a little tipsy that day” – John Kruk on his infamous All-Star Game at-bat against Randy Johnson [image or embed] — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing.bsky.social) June 18, 2026 at 7:36 PM Not surprisingly, Johnson, a lefty who stood 6’10 and regularly hit 100 miles per hour, was extremely difficult to hit against, especially for left-handed batters. Four years after the 1993 All-Star Game, Larry Walker, another left-handed batter, faced Johnson. During the plate appearance, Walker put his helmet on backward and switched around to bat right-handed. He ended up walking.The post John Kruk Suggests He’d Been Drinking Before Comically Horrendous At Bat Against Randy Johnson first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.12 hours ago
- Mike Florio Says GOP Official Was ‘Only Off by 117.4 Million’ With White Hou...
AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson In a Thursday Pro Football Talk article, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio noted that RNC Chair Joe Gruters was “only off by 117.4 million” in his prediction that President Donald Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 event was more watched than the Super Bowl. Per Paramount stats released on Thursday, 8.2 million watched Sunday’s event, in commemoration of both the 250th anniversary of the United States and Trump’s own 80th birthday, on Paramount+, making it the company’s largest live exclusive event to date. Seven million viewers hailed from the U.S., and 1.2 million from Latin America, with the UFC releasing stats from outside the U.S. and Latin America next week. As Variety explained, the event reached 17 million total viewers, “which refers to the number of unique people who tuned in for at least a minute at any point in the broadcast.” Puck’s Matthew Belloni wrote on X of the figures, “A good number for a Par+ exclusive but a fraction of marquee sports and less than half of what MARSHALS or TRACKER rates on CBS/Par+.” Paramount says UFC Freedom 250 averaged 8.2M viewers. A good number for a Par+ exclusive but a fraction of marquee sports and less than half of what MARSHALS or TRACKER rates on CBS/Par+. — Matthew Belloni (@MattBelloni) June 18, 2026 However, during an appearance this week on Fox News, Gruters, also a Florida state senator, outlandishly claimed that more viewers tuned in than to this year’s Super Bowl. As Florio noted, Super Bowl LX had an audience of 125.6 million. Additionally, during an early June interview with TNT, UFC President Dana White shared a similar prediction, saying, “For UFC fans all over the world, this is a very unique experience for everybody; and, you know, we’re expecting Super Bowl-type numbers for this fight.” “Joe Gruters was only off by 117.4 million,” wrote Pro Football Talk editor-in-chief Florio in his piece. He continued, “But who cares about the truth? The truth is an annoyance. An impediment. A pesky little thing that gets in the way of preferred narratives. No matter how outlandish those narratives may be.”The post Mike Florio Says GOP Official Was ‘Only Off by 117.4 Million’ With White House UFC Viewership Claim first appeared on Mediaite. [TheTopNews] Read More.13 hours ago
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