| Freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has fired back at President Trump after he criticized her apology over her anti-Semitic tweets as “lame” and called for her to resign. The drama began Sunday night, when Omar implied on Twitter that the nonprofit AIPAC was paying politicians to back pro-Israel stances. After facing pushback from both sides of the aisle, the new rep apologized—but that apparently wasn’t enough for Trump, who, no stranger to offending people, said that she should resign from Congress, or at least the House Foreign Affairs Committee. On Wednesday morning, Omar shot back: “You have trafficked in hate your whole life—against Jews, Muslims, Indigenous, immigrants, black people and more. I learned from people impacted by my words. When will you?” View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| Federal Emergency Management Agency Chief Brock Long is stepping down from his position, according to a statement issued by the agency on Wednesday. Long was accused of potentially breaking “multiple laws” when he took frequent trips from Washington, D.C., to his home in Hickory, North Carolina, on the taxpayers’ dime. Long was also criticized over his use of government vehicles for personal travel, as well as his agency’s response to Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017. FEMA issued a statement from Long regarding his abrupt departure: “While this has been the opportunity of the lifetime, it is time for me to go home to my family—my beautiful wife and two incredible boys,” Long wrote. “Upon my departure, Mr. Peter Gaynor, will serve as Acting FEMA administrator.” View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)—the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election—repeatedly denied evidence of Russian meddling on behalf of President Trump even after briefings from the intelligence community proved otherwise, according to a Wednesday report from Just Security. As a member of the Gang of Eight and the Gang of Twelve—a group of top-level lawmakers authorized to receive national-security intelligence—Burr was repeatedly presented with evidence showing that Russian agents had hacked the Democratic National Committee, were working to help Trump win, and were targeting state-level voting systems. Nevertheless, on Oct. 3, 2016, he told Foreign Policy that “I have yet to see anything that would lead me to believe” that Russia was meddling in the election to help Trump. Just Security adds that Burr was also the only person to join the Trump campaign who was privy to intelligence showing that members of the Trump campaign may have been colluding with Russia. |
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| President Donald Trump will put pen to paper on the border-security deal in order to avoid another partial government shutdown, CNN reports. Citing two unnamed sources who the cable network says have spoken directly with the president, Trump will sign the agreement despite saying Tuesday that he was “not happy” about it. The bipartisan pact lawmakers reached Monday night includes just $1.375 billion for about 50 miles of fencing along Texas’ border with Mexico—Trump wanted more than $5 billion for his pet project. To avoid another shutdown, Congress faces a deadline to get a deal passed and signed by Trump before Friday. |
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| NASA has finally declared that the Mars rover Opportunity—the longest-living robot sent to another planet—is dead. NASA initially lost contact with the robot after it was caught in a global dust storm on Mars last June, which likely coated its solar panels in a fatal layer of dust. The agency made repeated attempts to communicate with Opportunity over the last several months, hoping wind might blow the dust off, or the sun would revive the robot. Opportunity leaves behind a surprisingly long and successful legacy. Initially designed to last just three months, it spent 15 years exploring the surface of Mars, sending back footage and crucial information that has shaped how research is done on Mars. Other rovers had only found potential evidence of past life on Mars, but Opportunity discovered ancient lake beds and evidence that flowing water once existed on the Red Planet. |
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| Tom Barrack, a close friend of President Donald Trump, apologized for defending the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in a Wednesday statement. “The killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was atrocious and inexcusable. I apologize for not making this clear in my comments earlier this week,” Barrack wrote. “I feel strongly that the bad acts of a few should not be interpreted as a failure of an entire sovereign kingdom... I have always believed and continue to believe that the United States is the greatest country in the world but our history and our policies in the Middle East have been confusing at times.” According to Talking Points Memo, Barrack defended the murder during a Tuesday panel discussion in Abu Dhabi. “[W]hatever happened in Saudi Arabia, the atrocities in America are equal, or worse,” Barrack reportedly said. “The atrocities in any autocratic country are dictated by the rule of law... So for us to dictate what we think is the moral code there, when we have a young man and regime that is trying to push themselves in to 2030, I think is a mistake.” View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| President Trump has reportedly installed a room-sized “golf simulator” game at the White House, according to two people told about the system, The Washington Post reports. The simulator allows the president to play virtual rounds at courses all over the world by hitting a ball into a large video screen. The system cost about $50,000, which Trump paid for personally, according to a White House official. This simulator replaced a less sophisticated one that had been installed by President Obama, according to two people with knowledge of the previous system. President Trump’s schedule is dominated by “executive time,” large periods in his day where the president’s schedules show no official meetings. Aides have said he often spends this time watching TV, tweeting, holding impromptu meetings, and making phone calls. During three months of Trump’s schedules, “executive time” accounted for 60 percent of his scheduled hours. Trump says that he uses the time productively, tweeting that “when the term Executive Time is used, I am generally working, not relaxing.” View this cheat in a browser to see this embedded tweet. |
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| Roma actor Jorge Antonio Guerrero, who is Mexican, has finally secured a visa to travel to the U.S. to attend this year’s Academy Awards after he was denied three times by immigration officials. NBC News reports Wednesday that Netflix, which distributed Roma, stepped in on the actor’s behalf and helped him obtain a non-immigrant visa. Because of his visa troubles, Guerrero has already missed multiple film screenings and the Golden Globes—but he’ll now be able to watch the film compete in the 10 categories in which it’s been nominated. |
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| The officers who responded to Orlando’s Pulse nightclub massacre fired more than 180 rounds, but only struck the gunman, according to a report from the state attorney for Orange and Osceola counties cited Wednesday by The Miami Herald. The report claims that eight of those shots struck the gunman, Omar Mateen, who murdered 49 people after firing more than 200 rounds, and that no bullets from law enforcement hit civilians. The Herald notes that the reviews are standard practice, and are conducted every time an officer fires a gun. |
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