House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on Tuesday demanded that Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice release all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Comer’s subpoena asks the Justice Department to turn over all its Epstein-related materials by August 19.
The Committee also subpoenaed Bill and Hillary Clinton, two former FBI directors, and multiple former attorneys general, seeking to compel their testimonies related to the panel’s Jeffrey Epstein probe.
The deposition dates range from Aug. 18 to Oct. 14 for the following former officials:
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: October 9
Former President Bill Clinton: October 14
Former U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland: October 2
Former FBI Director James Comey: October 7
Former U.S. Attorney General William Barr: August 18
Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: August 26
Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions: August 28
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller: September 2
Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch: September 9
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder: September 30
Forty-two years ago, a pregnant Guatemalan woman illegally crossed the Rio Grande River and gave birth to a baby who now has “birthright” citizenship. Today, that child sits in Congress — proudly declaring her allegiance to the country her mother left behind. This is the predictable result of a broken immigration system — one that has allowed the mass importation of both legal and illegal aliens regardless of their capacity or willingness to assimilate into the country.
“I am a proud Guatemalan before I am American,” Illinois Democrat Rep. Delia Ramírez said in Spanish during the opening remarks of the second annual Panamerican Congress in Mexico City. Notably, she sits on the House Homeland Security Committee — a committee dedicated to protecting the homeland.
Following backlash, Ramírez said in a statement that she is the “daughter of immigrants. The press release noted how she is “an American citizen by birthright.”
The current line of contact should be the starting point in any talks, the German chancellor has said
Kiev is ready to discuss “territorial issues” with Moscow, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Wednesday after a video conference with US President Donald Trump and European leaders.
The virtual meeting, which involved the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, and the EU, as well as Trump and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, focused on the upcoming summit between Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Kiev’s backers in Europe were determined to ensure the security interests of Ukraine and the EU are “safeguarded in Alaska,” Merz told journalists, adding that they relayed a message to that effect to Trump. The group put forth five “key points,” according to the chancellor.
One of them stated that Kiev is “willing to negotiate on territorial issues” but only if the current line of contact is used as the starting point. “Legal recognition” of Russia’s new regions by the Western nations is “not up for debate,” Merz stated.
BERLIN — The top diplomats of Britain, France, and Germany threatened to reimpose sanctions on Iran as an end-of-the-month deadline nears for the country to resume negotiations with the West over its nuclear program and cooperation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
The three countries, known as the E3, wrote in a letter to the United Nations dated Friday that they were willing to trigger a process known as the “snapback” mechanism, which allows one of the Western parties to reimpose U.N. sanctions, if Tehran doesn’t comply with its requirements.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Nöel Barrot posted the letter Wednesday to X. He co-signed it along with top diplomats from Germany and the United Kingdom.
On Tuesday, August 13, the City Council of Avery, Texas (pop. 462) heard about the opportunity to pass an “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, declaring Avery a Sanctuary City for the Unborn.” The city, located on U.S, Hwy 82 between the cities of Annona (pop. 288) and De Kalb (pop. 1,769), is another strategic location in the fight against abortion trafficking in Texas. The presentation in support of the measure was made by Right to Life Across Texas. The City of Avery is planning on adding the measure to their next city council meeting agenda for a vote.
Since June 11, 2019, over 90 cities and counties across seven different states have passed local ordinances going as far as they can to protect pregnant mothers and their unborn children from the tragedy of abortion. Over 70 of these cities and counties are in the State of Texas.
Located in Red River County, the City of Avery rests in a county where over 80% of voters cast their ballot for President Donald J. Trump in the 2024 presidential election. According to proposition votes cast during the 2018 and 2022 Republican Party Primaries, many of these Republican voters are strongly pro-life. During the Republican Party Primary in 2018, Red River voters had the opportunity to vote on Proposition #7, which stated, “I believe abortion should be abolished in Texas.” Almost 75% of voters voted in favor of this proposition. During the Republican Party Primary in 2022, Red River voters had the opportunity to vote on Proposition #5, which stated, “Texas should enact a state constitutional amendment to defend the sanctity of innocent human life, created in the image of God, from fertilization until natural death.” Over 90% voted in favor of this proposition.
Four Al Jazeera journalists including prominent reporter Anas al-Sharif have been killed in a targeted Israeli strike near Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital.
Sharif and another correspondent, Mohammed Qreiqeh, along with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal were in a tent for journalists at the hospital’s main gate when it was struck, the broadcaster said.
Two other freelance journalists were killed: Moamen Aliwa and Mohammed al-Khaldi.
The “targeted assassination” on Sunday was “yet another blatant and premeditated attack on press freedom”, the news outlet said. The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was appalled by the attack.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed it had targeted Sharif, alleging he had “served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas”.
“You guys figure out your elections. I’m going to focus on mine.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) avoided questions on the endorsement of socialist candidate for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, during a recent CNN interview. This comes after some Democrats have thrown their support behind the far-left candidate, and others have refrained from doing so.
In an interview that aired on Sunday on CNN with Booker, the New Jersey Senator was asked if he supported Mamdani, like other Democrats have done in recent weeks after the socialist candidate beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary. “Democratic leaders are not supporting [Mamdani]. Is that a problem? Do you support him?” CNN’s Manu Raju asked.
Booker avoided the question altogether and said that the “lines that divide us in America are not nearly as strong as the ties that bind us.”
“Big corporations, people want to keep our eyes on the screen, want to pit us against each other and tell us how much we should hate each other. I am sorry. The left-right lens is not the right lens to look at this right now,” Booker added. “Right now it is: Can we get back to the pragmatic work of governing?”
After Booker dodged the question, the CNN host pressed him again, asking, “Mamdani, are you going to support him?” Booker declined to endorse the socialist.
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced her support for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani yesterday, suggesting that he is offering solutions and that this is the Democratic message.
None of this is surprising. Warren has always had one foot in the Bernie Sanders/AOC wing of the party. She is also always eager to be out in front of whatever the party’s far left base is embracing at any given time.
‘Talk about affordability’: Warren boosts Mamdani as model for Democratic victory
Elizabeth Warren doesn’t have a problem with Zohran Mamdani being the face of the Democrats. In fact, she wants the rest of the party to follow his example on affordability.
The progressive senator from Massachusetts swung by New York City on Monday to pay homage to Mamdani, who overwhelmingly won the Democratic nomination for mayor in June — but still hasn’t secured endorsements from many of New York’s party leaders.
“Come talk about affordability for families,” Warren said at an affordable childcare event, when asked to respond to the democratic socialist’s many detractors. “This is who Democrats fight for, and Zohran is on the front lines in that fight out there fighting for families.”
The world was outraged at the sight of Israeli hostages, held in Gaza, showing evident signs of starvation. One American network, CBS, persisted in refusing to show these images to the American public when it had the opportunity to immediately do so.
One legacy network that did step up is ABC. Here’s the World News Tonight report in its entirety (click “expand” to view full transcript):
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT
8/4/25
6:44 PM
DAVID MUIR: Overseas tonight, the haunting images of the hostages still being held by Hamas, appearing desperate and frail. The family of one hostage tonight describing him as a living skeleton. Tonight, what Israel is now threatening to do to get the hostages out. Here’s Ian Pannell.
IAN PANNELL: Tonight, the haunting images shocking Israel, prompting international outcry. Emaciated hostages in Gaza on the brink of starvation. The propaganda videos coming after weeks of terrible images of children in Gaza dying of malnutrition. Now, sources telling ABC News Prime Minister Netanyahu threatening to expand the military operation to occupy all of Gaza and get the hostages home. 24-year-old Evyatar David, seen in that disturbing video. His family saying he’s become a living skeleton, buried alive in a Hamas tunnel. We spoke with his brother, Ilay.
What impact has the release of the video had on the family?
FBI Director Kash Patel challenged news media to own who is really “lying” about his discovery of a stash of classified documents connected to the Trump-Russia collusion narrative weaponized against Donald Trump in his first term.
The director’s comments came in the wake of recent reports that “burn bags” filled with thousands of documents dating back to the Trump-Russia probe were discovered in a room in FBI headquarters.
Posting on X Saturday, the director evoked his role as senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence during the first Trump term and wrote:
In 2017/18, I proved the Steele Dossier was fictitious intelligence, weaponized by corrupt FBI officials to deceive a federal judge and unlawfully spy on then presidential candidate Trump’s campaign — all paid for by his opponent.
Months of protests in Serbia reached a new intensity Wednesday night as riot police intervened to separate rival demonstrations of anti-government protesters and supporters of President Aleksandar Vucic. The president once again accused unnamed foreign powers of orchestrating the protests, which first began after the deadly collapse of a subway station sparked accusations of widespread government corruption.
Supporters of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) threw flares and firecrackers at anti-government protesters in Novi Sad on Wednesday evening, prompting police to intervene to end the standoff, a major escalation of nine-month-long protests in Serbia.
The student-led protests in Serbia first started in November after a train station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad, killing 16 people and triggering accusations of corruption in state infrastructure projects.
Protests have since drawn hundreds of thousands of people, shaking President Aleksandar Vucic’s firm grip on power. His supporters have recently started organising counter-demonstrations, fuelling fears of possible violence.
Mexico sends 26 cartel members to U.S. in deal with Trump administration– www.cbsnews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Mexico sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States Tuesday in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks smuggling drugs across the border.
Those handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael González Valencia, a leader of “Los Cuinis,” a group closely aligned with notorious cartel Jalisco New Generation, or CJNG. Another defendant, Roberto Salazar, is wanted in connection to the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy. Other prominent figures have ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and other violent drug trafficking groups.
“These transfers are not only a strategic measure to ensure public safety, but also reflect a firm determination to prevent these criminals from continuing to operate from within prisons and to break up their networks of influence,” Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said in a news conference on Wednesday.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum also said earlier Wednesday that the transfers were “sovereign decisions,” but the move comes as the Mexican leader faces mounting pressure by the Trump administration to crack down on cartels and fentanyl production.
Late last month, Mr. Trump spoke with Sheinbaum and agreed to put off threatened 30% tariffs for another 90 days to allow for negotiations.
The transfers are a milestone for the Trump administration, which has made dismantling dangerous drug cartels a key Justice Department priority. It’s the second time in months that Mexico has expelled cartel figures accused of narcotics smuggling, murder and other crimes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs onto American streets.
“These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We are grateful to Mexico’s National Security team for their collaboration in this matter.”
In February, Mr. Trump signed an executive order designating CJNG, Sinaloa and six other cartels — Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel), and Cárteles Unidos — as foreign terrorist organizations.
The cartel figures were put on planes to the U.S. after the Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty against any of the defendants or against any cartel leaders and members sent to the U.S. in February. That transfer was of 29 cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985.
“This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments stand united against violence and impunity,” U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a statement. “These fugitives will now face justice in U.S. courts, and the citizens of both of our nations will be safer from these common enemies.”
Sheinbaum has shown a willingness to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico’s cartels. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico’s sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Mr. Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military.
Last week, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News that Mr. Trump directed the military to target drug cartels in Latin America. Sheinbaum responded Friday by saying there would be “no invasion of Mexico.”
Also included in the group expelled Tuesday was Servando Gómez Martinez, also known as “La Tuta,” a former school teacher who became one of Mexico’s most-wanted drug lords as head of the Knights Templar cartel. He was captured in 2015 and sentenced to 55 years in a Mexican prison in June 2019.
Mexican federal police escort who they identify as Servando “La Tuta” Gómez, leader of the Knights Templar cartel, as he sits inside a helicopter at a Federal hanger in Mexico City, Feb. 27, 2015.
Eduardo Verdugo / AP
Gomez led the quasi-religious criminal group that once exercised absolute control over Michoacan and he liked to appear in interviews and videos. The cartel orchestrated politics, controlled commerce, dictated rules and preached a code of ethics around devotion to God and family, even as it murdered and plundered.
Abigael González Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, a top target of the U.S. government. Abigael González Valencia was arrested in February 2015 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and had been fighting extradition to the United States since then. The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to “El Mencho’s” arrest or conviction.
Alongside his two brothers, Abigael González Valencia led “Los Cuinis,” which financed the founding and growth of the CJNG, one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Mexico. CJNG traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and other countries and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption.
One of his brothers, José González Valencia, was sentenced in Washington’s federal court in June to 30 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to international cocaine trafficking. Jose González Valencia was arrested in 2017 under the first Trump administration at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name.
Cambodian and Thai officials meet in Malaysia to iron out ceasefire details– abcnews.go.com Source Link Excerpt:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Thai and Cambodia n officials met in Malaysia on Monday for the first round of cross-border committee talks since a tense ceasefire was brokered last week after five days of deadly armed border clashes that killed dozens and displaced over 260,000 people.
The four-day General Border Committee meetings were initially due to be hosted by Cambodia, but both sides later agreed to a neutral venue in Malaysia, the annual chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has mediated the halt in hostilities last month.
The July 28 ceasefire followed economic pressure from President Donald Trump, who had warned the two warring nations that the U.S. would not conclude trade deals with them if the fighting persisted. Washington lowered tariffs on goods from the two countries from 36% to 19% on Aug. 1 following the truce.
Monday’s talks focused on ironing out details to avoid further clashes. Discussions of the decades-long competing territorial claims over the pockets of land near the shared border are not on the agenda.
Trump reaffirms support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara – Vanguard News Source Link Excerpt:
US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara, saying a Moroccan autonomy plan for the territory was the sole solution to the disputed region, Reuters quoted state news agency MAP on Saturday.
According to MAP, in a felicitation message to HM King Mohammed VI in commemoration of the Throne Day of the Kingdom of Morocco, President Trump reiterates US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, adding that support for Moroccan autonomy proposal is the only basis for a just and lasting solution to the dispute.
New US plan for Gaza starting to emerge despite sanitised tour for Trump peace envoy | World News– news.sky.com Source Link Excerpt:
We’ve seen this many times before.
Highly anticipated talks and meetings with America, Israel’s closest ally and the one country with the power to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change course, then nothing changes.
We need to give Steve Witkoff time to report his assessments back to the White House before we can give a complete verdict on this visit but what we’ve seen and heard so far has offered little hope.
The pressure on Donald Trump to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Gazais mounting after a small but vocal contingent of his base expressed outrage.
Even one of his biggest supporters in Congress, Marjorie Taylor Green, has referred to it as a genocide.
EXTORTION: Crooked Chuck Schumer Holding Trump’s Judicial Nominees Hostage for a Billion in Foreign Aid– gellerreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
Schumer reportedly asked the White House to unfreeze about $1 billion of foreign aid and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in exchange for allowing the confirmation process for additional Trump nominees to move faster.
Donald Trump: Senator Cryin’ Chuck Schumer is demanding over One Billion Dollars in order to approve a small number of our highly qualified nominees, who should right now be helping to run our Country. This demand is egregious and unprecedented, and would be embarrassing to the Republican Party if it were accepted. It is political extortion, by any other name. Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL! Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
Schumer reportedly asked the White House to unfreeze about $1 billion of foreign aid and National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in exchange for allowing the confirmation process for additional Trump nominees to move faster.
China Limits Critical Mineral Supplies to Western Defense Manufacturers– legalinsurrection.com Source Link Excerpt:
Our amazing Leslie Eastman has been reporting on this subject since January:
Defense manufacturers must “stop buying rare-earth magnets that contain China-sourced minerals by 2027.”
Well…it looks like China will make that happen before 2027.
The Wall Street Journalreported that China is now limiting the flow of critical minerals to Western defense manufacturers:
Earlier this year, as U.S.-China trade tensions soared, Beijing tightened the controls it places on the export of rare earths. While Beijing allowed them to start flowing after the Trump administration agreed in June to a series of trade concessions, China has maintained a lock on critical minerals for defense purposes. China supplies around 90% of the world’s rare earths and dominates the production of many other critical minerals.
As a result, one drone-parts manufacturer that supplies the U.S. military was forced to delay orders by up to two months while it searched for a non-Chinese source of magnets, which are assembled from rare earths.
Certain materials needed by the defense industry now go for five or more times what was typical before China’s recent mineral restrictions, according to industry traders. One company said it was recently offered samarium—an element needed to make magnets that can withstand the extreme temperatures of a jet-fighter engine—for 60 times the standard price. That is already driving the cost of defense systems higher, say suppliers and defense executives.
Trump Confirms 2 US Nuke Subs Sent to Counter ‘Highly Provocative’ Russia Ahead of Special Envoy Visit – RedState– redstate.com Source Link Excerpt:
President Donald Trump confirmed to reporters on Sunday that two nuclear submarines he ordered to “face Russia” are now “in the region” ahead of U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff’s planned visit to Moscow, this week.
Trump previously said on Truth Social he ordered the subs “to be positioned in the appropriate regions” in response to what he considered “highly provocative statements” from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev about potential war with the United States.
It should be noted that Medvedev is one Putin’s mouthpieces, so it’s a safe assumption that anything he says has the Russian dictator’s approval.
When asked if there’s anything Russia can do to ward off his latest announced tariffs on Russian products imported to the U.S., Trump replied, “Yeah, get a deal where people stop getting killed.”
The president added:
Well, there’ll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions. You know, they’re wily characters, and they’re pretty good at avoiding sanctions. So we’ll see what happens.
A tremendous number of Russian soldiers have been killed. And likewise Ukraine, a lower number, but still thousands and thousands of people. And now we’re adding towns where they’re being hit by missiles. So it’s a lot of people being killed in that ridiculous war.
We stopped a lot of countries from war, India and Pakistan, we stopped a lot of countries. And we’re going to get that one stopped too. Somehow. We’re going to get that one stopped. That’s a really horrible war.
