Literal Tourist Trap?: 1 Dead, 12 Rescued after Colorado Gold Mine’s Elevator Malfunctions

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Literal Tourist Trap?: 1 Dead, 12 Rescued after Colorado Gold Mine’s Elevator Malfunctions

(Headline USA) One person was killed and 12 people were rescued after being trapped for about six hours at the bottom of a former Colorado gold mine when an elevator malfunctioned at the tourist site, authorities said.

The elevator was descending into the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine near the town of Cripple Creek when it had a mechanical problem around 500 feet beneath the surface, creating a “severe danger for the participants,” Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said.

The cause of the vistor’s death was not immediately provided.

The 12 adults who were trapped about 1,000 feet below ground had access to water and used radios to communicate with authorities, who told them there was an elevator issue, Mikesell said.

Mikesell said during a nighttime briefing that authorities do not know yet what caused the malfunction and an investigation is underway.

Engineers worked to make sure the elevator was working safely again before bringing the stranded visitors back up on it. They had been prepared to bring them up by rope if necessary, had they not been able to get the elevator fixed.

Mikesell declined to reveal the identification of the victim.

The incident, which was reported to authorities at about noon, happened during the final week of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine season before it shuts down for the winter, Mikesell said.

Earlier in the afternoon, while the 12 were stuck at the bottom, 11 other people who were riding the elevator were rescued. Four had minor injuries but the sheriff did not elaborate on how they were injured.

The elevator ride typically takes about two minutes, travelling about 500 feet per minute, according to the mine’s website.

Mikesell said the last time there was an incident was in the 1980s when a couple of people were trapped on the elevator. Nobody died in that incident.

Mines that operate as tourist attractions in Colorado must designate someone to inspect the mines and the transportation systems daily, according to the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. Mikesell said he didn’t know the date of the last inspection. Records of the inspections weren’t immediately available online.

Gov. Jared Polis sent state resources including a mine rescue team.

Cripple Creek is a town of about 1,100 in the Rocky Mountains southwest of Colorado Springs.

The mine opened in the 1800s and closed in 1961, but still operates tours. Its website describes a one-hour tour in which visitors descend 1,000 feet. It says they can see veins of gold in the rock and ride an underground tram.

A woman named Mollie Kathleen Gortner discovered the site of the mine in 1891 when she saw quartz laced with gold, according to the company’s website.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Federal Reserve Losses Top $200 Billion and You’re on the Hook

Money Metals News Service
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Federal Reserve Losses Top $200 Billion and You’re on the Hook

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) Federal Reserve losses have eclipsed $200 billion as the central bank continues to bleed red ink.

Oh, and by the way, you – the taxpayer – are ultimately on the hook. 

According to the latest data from the central bank, the Fed has now lost $201.2 billion over the last two years.

The Fed’s losses are a direct result of its rate hikes, and its financial condition offers a glimpse behind the curtain into the unseen consequences of its war on price inflation. 

The Federal Reserve assures us that these massive paper losses don’t have any effect on its operation and won’t hinder its monetary policy.

That’s because the central bank gets the privilege of operating under rules that no normal business would ever enjoy. 

How Did the World’s Premier Central Bank Lose Over $200 Billion?

Why has the Federal Reserve lost so much money?

In simplest terms, the bank has paid more interest to banks than it has collected on its asset portfolio. This is the direct result of the higher interest rate environment the Fed conjured up in its efforts to tamp down the inflation it created it created after the 2008 financial crisis and during the pandemic.

While most people view central banks as an extension of the government, at their core, they are a business, and they are set up to make money.  

The Fed earns interest income on the bonds it buys and holds on its balance sheet, and it pays interest to banks and financial institutions that park money there.

The problem today is that the bonds the Fed purchased during multiple rounds of quantitative easing (QE) in the aftermath of the financial 2008 crisis and during the pandemic years were relatively low-yielding. The Fed purchased them at a time when interest rates were pushed artificially low by its own monetary policy. Having driven interest rates much higher over the last two years, it is paying interest to banks and money funds that park rates at the Fed a much higher rate. However, it is still collecting lower rates of interest on the paper on its balance sheet.

The St. Louis Fed explained it this way:

“Tightening causes the net interest rate spread to fall; that is, it causes net income to fall for a constant size of the Fed’s balance sheet. This occurs because the Fed runs a maturity mismatch: It owns long-term securities and owes short-term liabilities. 

“Specifically, when the Fed raises the policy rate, it is immediately paying more interest on bank reserves and reverse repos—a large portion of the Fed’s liabilities: 42.5 percent and 17.0 percent, respectively, as of Nov. 8, 2023. However, the Fed’s assets are longer-term and often pay a fixed interest rate. Therefore, when the Fed raises the policy rate, its net interest rate spread falls.”

It’s also interesting to note that, like many commercial banks, the Fed has substantial unrealized losses. If you mark all the bonds held by the Fed to market value, the loss on paper is over $1 trillion. That’s more around 23 times the value of the central bank’s stated capital.

Many commercial banks face a similar situation. In fact, this phenomenon was the root of the mini-financial crisis back in March 2022. 

WolfStreet offered a good explanation of how banks got into this situation:

“During the pandemic money-printing era, banks, flush with cash from depositors, loaded up on securities to put this cash to work, and they loaded up primarily on longer-term securities because they still had a yield visibly above zero, unlike short-term Treasury bills which were yielding zero or close to zero and sometimes below zero at the time. During that time, banks’ securities holdings soared by $2.5 trillion, or by 57 percent, to $6.2 trillion at the peak in Q1 2022.” 

In other words, the Federal Reserve incentivized the bond-buying spree. 

With the Fed keeping interest rates artificially low for more than a decade in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and slamming rates to zero again during the pandemic, most people just assumed the era of easy money would never end. 

But what the Fed giveth, the Fed taketh away. 

The easy money had to end when price inflation reared its ugly head thanks to the stimulus mania during the pandemic, and the Fed could no longer plausibly claim it was “transitory.”

Conventional wisdom tells us unrealized losses aren’t a big deal. They only become actual losses if banks try to sell the bonds. If they hold the bonds to maturity, they won’t lose a dime.

But there is no guarantee that things will play out that way, as we saw when four banks, including Silicon Valley Bank, went under. 

As WolfStreet put it, “Unrealized losses don’t matter until they suddenly do.” 

“In reality, they [unrealized losses] matter a lot, as we saw with the above four banks after depositors figured out what’s on their balance sheets and yanked their money out, which forced the banks to try to sell those securities, which would have forced them to take those losses, at which point there wasn’t enough capital to absorb the losses, and the banks collapsed.”

This is exactly what happened to Silicon Valley Bank. The bank needed cash. The plan was to sell the longer-term, lower-interest-rate bonds and reinvest the money into shorter-duration bonds with a higher yield. Instead, the sale dented the bank’s balance sheet with a $1.8 billion loss, driving worried depositors to pull funds out of the bank.

The Fed managed to paper over the problem with a bailout program, but unrealized losses are still sloshing around under the surface. Who knows if or when it will matter again?

Fed Losses? So What?

But when it comes to the Fed, unrealized losses don’t matter – at least not to the central bankers running the show.

Generally, businesses experience pain when they lose money. But when the Federal Reserve loses money, the U.S. government feels the pain.

And that means you will ultimately feel the pain because you (the taxpayer) are going to foot the bill.

Under the Federal Reserve charter, the central bank remits net operating profits to the U.S. Treasury. This serves as an income source for the federal government and lowers the budget deficit. According to the St. Louis Fed, the central bank returned nearly $1 trillion to the U.S. Treasury between 2011 and 2021.

But when the Fed loses money, the Treasury loses its payday. That results in even bigger budget deficits.

And who pays for federal budget deficits?

Taxpayers. 

Bigger deficits mean Congress either has to raise taxes to cover the shortfall or the Treasury has to borrow even more money. Either way, taxpayers pay. They either get a bigger tax bill, or they pay for the borrowing via the inflation tax when the Fed prints money to monetize the debt. 

Meanwhile, it’s business as usual over at the Eccles Building.

Typically, managers have to take drastic measures when their companies suffer big losses. They generally try to slash costs. Sometimes, they lay off employees. If losses mount high enough, they might have to borrow money or sell assets. If they can’t stop the business from bleeding red ink, the company will ultimately face bankruptcy.

When the Fed loses money, the central bankers don’t have to do anything other than some creative accounting.

Their Rules Aren’t Your Rules! 

As George Orwell put it in Animal Farm, “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” 

And in the U.S., central banks get to play by different rules. 

We live in a universe where the Fed gets to make its own special accounting rules, and according to its own special accounting rules, a net loss magically transforms into a “deferred asset.”

You read that right. Losses become an “asset” on the Fed’s balance sheet.

The Fed explains the “deferred asset” like this:

“[I]n the unlikely scenario in which realized losses were sufficiently large enough to result in an overall net income loss for the Reserve Banks, the Federal Reserve would still meet its financial obligations to cover operating expenses. In that case, remittances to the Treasury would be suspended, and a deferred asset would be recorded on the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet.”

Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, operating losses reduce a business’s reported capital or surplus. But in Fed accounting, the central bank gets to create an “asset” on its balance sheet out of thin air equal to the loss. Business goes on as usual. If losses mount, the size of this “asset” grows.

In an article published by the Mises Wire last year, Alex Pollock noted that without this accounting trick, the Fed would have negative capital.

Here are the combined Fed’s correct capital accounts as of June 30, based on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. They result in a capital of negative $32 billion: 

  • Paid-in capital            $36 billion
  • Retained earnings   ($68 billion)
  • Total capital               ($32 billion)

As The Hill reported, “Among other things, this accounting ‘innovation’ ensures that the Fed can keep paying dividends on its stock.”

Don’t you wish the IRS would let you use “innovative” accounting on your tax returns?

This “differed asset” has no upper limit. The Fed can keep losing money into perpetuity, and it won’t matter – at least as far as the central bank is concerned. The “asset” will just continue to grow.

Once the Fed starts making money again, it will reduce the amount of this imaginary asset. That means the U.S. Treasury won’t see another dime from the Fed until this “asset” is zeroed out. 

How long will it be before the Fed starts making money again? 

That remains unclear.

According to an analysis by the St. Louis Fed in November 2023, it won’t likely occur until 2027. An independent analyst told Reuters the life of this mythical “deferred asset” could extend into 2028.

This means as long as the Fed continues to lose money and during the time it pays down its “deferred asset,” the federal government will experience a reduction in revenue, resulting in budget deficits higher than they otherwise would have been.

A revenue cut is less than ideal when Uncle Sam is already buried in over $35 trillion in debt and continues to run massive budget deficits every single month. It means the U.S. government will have to borrow even more money that the Fed will ultimately have to monetize. 

And it’s less than ideal for the U.S. taxpayer how will ultimately foot the bill for higher interest expense and the price inflation created as the Fed ultimately monetizes the debt.

Continue

9 Months after Headline USA Investigation, Senator Finally Questions Departure of FBI’s 3rd-in-Charge

Ken Silva
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9 Months after Headline USA Investigation, Senator Finally Questions Departure of FBI’s 3rd-in-Charge

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Sen. Chuck Grassley has demanded answers from FBI Director Christopher Wray about the abrupt departure of his former third-in-command, Jeffrey Sallet, who retired from the bureau amidst a DOJ Inspector General investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct.

Grassley’s questions about Sallet were included in a letter that blasted the FBI for failing to provide information about how hundreds of FBI officials have voluntarily retired or resigned to evade accountability for sexual misconduct allegations. Grassley noted the “supreme irony” of how Sallet commissioned an investigation into this matter, while he was under investigation himself for similar conduct.

“Apparently, one of the reasons DOJ and its component agencies can’t straighten out their problems of workplace harassment is that the fox is guarding the hen house,” Grassley wrote.

“The supreme irony of [then-Executive Assistant Director of the Human Resources Branch, Jeffrey] Sallet requesting the [Office of Disciplinary Appeals] review of senior officials retiring or resigning to avoid disciplinary action is that ‘Sallet left the FBI and federal service while this investigation was ongoing.’”

Sallet’s alleged misconduct was first publicly exposed by Headline USA in January—thanks to the work of an FBI whistleblower named Michael Zummer, who was suing the Justice Department for records about Sallet’s alleged misconduct. As this publication reported, Sallet was promoted to the FBI’s third-highest position in February 2021, only to abruptly leave less than a year later—amidst the DOJ-OIG investigation into his conduct.

“After learning about Sallet’s retirement, I heard from various current and former FBI employees that allegations of sexual impropriety against Sallet had caused him to retire,” Zummer said in a sworn declaration accompanying his lawsuit.

In August, Headline USA exclusively obtained a DOJ-OIG report about Sallet’s allegations, which the DOJ was forced to disclose as a result of Zummer’s lawsuit. The report was later released on the DOJ-OIG’s website, which is presumably how Grassley found it.

The conduct described in the DOJ-OIG report was damning.

For instance, Sallet bragged to a female colleague about having a Texas oil billionaire friend with a private jet. The heavily redacted report, which investigated sexual-misconduct allegations against Sallet, further states that Sallet invited the female colleague to join his jet-setting billionaire friend’s “harem” in June 2020.

In another instance, Sallet flirted with a colleague as the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Hill uprising was unfolding—suggesting that the bureau wasn’t taking the incident as seriously as it would later claim.

According to the report, a female FBI employee whose name was redacted stated that she was in Sallet’s office on Jan. 6.

“She looked out the window to see the crowds of people on Pennsylvania Avenue and commented on the large number of people and flags. Sallet allegedly turned to her and said, ‘How many of those guys are you thinking you’d like to date? That’s your type isn’t it?’” the DOJ-OIG report stated.

In response to the newly unearthed report, Sallet’s attorney, Douglas Brooks, told Headline USA in August that his client was not found responsible for sexual harassment. To Brooks’s point, Sallet was found to have violated the DOJ’s “Zero Tolerance Policy,” which does not require that conduct be “severe or pervasive” in order to be deemed actionable.

Grassley now seeks more info on Sallet and the other cases of FBI sexual misconduct.

“What disciplinary action did the FBI take against Jeffery Sallet considering the HHS OIG memo? If none, why none? Is Sallet currently collecting his federal pension or other retirement benefits? Did he receive a monetary bonus while under inquiry or investigation?” Grassley asked, demanding answers to those and other questions by Oct. 24.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Merrick Garland’s DOJ Sued for Siphoning Funds from Terrorism Victims

Ken Silva
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Merrick Garland’s DOJ Sued for Siphoning Funds from Terrorism Victims

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) American victims of terrorist attacks have sued the Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garland for allegedly diverting money that was meant for them.

According to the lawsuit filed last month in federal court, the Victims Act requires funds from certain DOJ cases to be deposited in a fund for terrorist victims. One such DOJ case where this should have happened was against the cryptocurrency firm Binance. Last November, Binance agreed to pay the DOJ more than $2.5 billion as part of a plea deal to settle charges that the company violated U.S. sanctions, as well as laws prohibiting money laundering and terrorist financing.

In May, the DOJ said it would deposit nearly $900,000,000 into the victims fund, but it would direct another $1.5 billion for other purposes—which the terrorist victims said is against the law.

“DOJ stated [in May] that, even though the entire case involved ‘an extensive scheme to operate as a U.S. financial institution while disregarding U.S. law,’ the amount of $1,505,475,575, representing payment for the Criminal Fine, would be directed to a different fund, not the Victims Fund,” the victims said in their Sept. 23 lawsuit.

“DOJ offered no explanation as to why it was not directing this amount— which it expressly acknowledged was derived from a ‘related criminal conspiracy [or] scheme’ to the IEEPA violation—to be deposited into the Victims Fund, as the Victims Act required.”

The victims argued that the DOJ has no authority to decide where the Binance funds should be deposited. By not putting the money into the victims fund, the DOJ is harming terrorist victims and their families, the lawsuit argued.

Victims in the lawsuit include several people injured in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, including Michael Grover Coe, who was serving as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps when he was injured there.

Along with victims, one plaintiff includes the daughter of Richard Twine, who was serving in the U.S. Army when he was killed in the 1983 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

“Ms. Twine was only 14 when her father was killed. When she opened the door that morning to a police officer and an Army official, she knew immediately what it meant. Losing her father at such a young age left Ms. Twine feeling depressed and withdrawn, and severely impacted her personal relationships,” the lawsuit said. “She has continued to struggle with bouts of intense sadness and withdrawal ever since her father’s murder.”

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Harris Gets Donations from Chinese Firm After Her EV Program’s $395k Bus Grant

Luis Cornelio
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Harris Gets Donations from Chinese Firm After Her EV Program’s $395k Bus Grant

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Vice President Kamala Harris received a generous campaign donation from a Chinese national just months after this individual’s company was awarded an even more generous grant under the Harris-led Clean School Bus program. 

On Thursday, the Washington Free Beacon revealed that Stella Li ( Ke Li), the president of BYD America—a subsidiary of BYD Company—donated $50,000 to Harris’s campaign in November 2023. Coincidentally, the EPA had just granted $395,000 to BYD America in May of the same year. 

Harris and EPA Administrator Michael Regan led the creation of the Clean Bus Program as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

According to the Free Beacon, BYD America’s grant was to fund an electric bus for the Princeton Joint Unified School District in northern California, Harris’s hometown. 

EPA spokesperson Remmington Belford claimed the federal agency was unaware whether BYD America was providing its buses to other school districts that applied for the grant program. 

As reported by the outlet, Li donated $25,000 to the Biden Victory Fund and $18,000 to the Democratic National Committee in a donation earmarked for the Biden Victory Fund. She also gave $6,600 to the Biden campaign, which was the maximum allowed. 

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden exited the 2024 presidential race, leaving Harris with a massive $96 million from the now-defunct Biden re-election campaign. 

The Free Beacon noted that BYD Company identified Li as a Chinese national in its latest annual report and asserted in another document that Li has a “right of abode” in the United States. 

Under federal law, only American citizens or permanent residents can make campaign contributions. 

In September, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party scrutinized BYD over concerns regarding Chinese espionage. In 2020, a provision of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act targeted the company. 

The NDAA blocked federal funding from being granted to any buses manufactured by a company that “is owned or controlled” by a subsidiary or related to a company based in China.

Headline USA contacted Li for comment, but a response was not returned before this piece was published early Friday morning. 

Trump Shares Happy News About Tiffany as Family Heals from Assassination Attempts

Luis Cornelio
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Trump Shares Happy News About Tiffany as Family Heals from Assassination Attempts

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) President Donald Trump announced happy news about his youngest daughter, Tiffany—she’s expecting her first child. 

Trump announced the news during a Thursday speech at the Detroit Economic Club, referring to businessman Massad Boulos, Tiffany’s father-in-law. 

“He happens to be the father of Tiffany’s husband, Michael, who’s a very exceptional young guy,” Trump said, as the New York Post reported first. “She’s an exceptional young woman and she’s going to have a baby. So that’s nice.” 

Tiffany married Michael Boulos, heir to Boulos Enterprises, in 2022 after four years of dating. The couple announced their engagement on Instagram in January 2021. 

Tiffany graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and is the daughter of Marla Maples, who was married to Trump from 1993 to 1999. 

 

View this profile on Instagram

 

Tiffany Ariana Trump (@tiffanytrump) • Instagram photos and videos

Tiffany had not publicly announced her pregnancy before Trump’s revelation. According to the Post, this will be Trump’s 11th grandchild. 

Don Jr. and Eric have five and two children, respectively, while Ivanka has three with her husband, Jared Kushner. 

This joyful news comes as the Trump family continues to grapple with two failed assassination attempts targeting their father and grandfather. 

All of Trump’s children, including Tiffany, have opened up about how difficult the ordeal has been for the family. 

“The outpouring of love and support for my dad is deeply appreciated. Thank you God for keeping my father alive,” she wrote on X. “God bless the secret service and law enforcement who fearlessly intervened. Please include the families of the victims in your prayers.” 

During an interview with WINK News, Eric Trump reflected, “That affects you. It certainly affects you. You can be as numb to a lot of things as you want, but that’s, that’s one of those things that, you certainly don’t want your grandkids to see at such kind of an innocent age.” 

Don Jr. wrote on X that his father will “never stop fighting to save America.”  

Ivanka Trump echoed these remarks, writing, “Thank you for your love and prayers for my father and for the other victims of today’s senseless violence in Butler, Pennsylvania.” 

Don Jr.’s daughter, Kai, shared her thoughts during a moving speech at the Republican National Convention in July. 

“On Saturday, I was shocked when I heard that he has been shot, and I just wanted to know if he was okay,” Kai stated. “It was heartbreaking that someone would do that to another person.” 

Former First Lady Melania Trump said she “couldn’t believe” what she saw during the first shooting onslaught. 

Vance Tells Hero Western N.C. Pilots He and Trump Will Hold DMV-Like FEMA Accountable

Ben Sellers
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Vance Tells Hero Western N.C. Pilots He and Trump Will Hold DMV-Like FEMA Accountable

(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the GOP vice presidential candidate running alongside former President Donald Trump, came loaded with one-liners at a townhall event in Greensboro, N.C., on Wednesday.

The discussion was moderated by former race-car driver and model Danica Patrick—who admitted shockingly that she had never voted before but became politically active last year following Turning Point USA’s AmFest.

“Afterwards, I posted a bunch of photos, and I said ‘I love my country,’ and there was backlash,” she noted. “… And, really, what it did, as a result, was it just really lit a fire, lit a fire in my heart to do whatever I could to make this country the kind of country where I could say, ‘I love my country. I want to fly an American flag if I want to fly one. And I want to say I want to make America great again!'”

Patrick is not alone in her newfound discovery of patriotic American principles, and an appreciation for the values embodied by Trump, after having bore witness to four years of the alternative under the Biden–Harris administration and its radical leftist policies.

Polls this week showed the Trump–Vance ticket pulling ahead in several key swing states, and overall momentum potentially shifting back in favor of the Republicans for the first time since the Biden coup in July, meaning there was a lot to be high-spirited about.

With a decisive win in the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate having positively impacted the perceptions of many about Trump’s running mate, Vance’s confidence seemed to have blossomed since a series of trips to the Tar Heel State last month. He was more at ease and jocular—although the casual format and a recent half-day off may have helped too.

Vance made reference to what has been largely seen as a disastrous PR media blitz by Vice President Kamala Harris this week, during which she has bombed several softball interviews at friendly outlets including The View and 60 Minutes.

“So, The View asks Kamala Harris a total softball: ‘Would you have done anything differently from Joe Biden over the last four years?’ and Kamala Harris says, ‘Nothing comes to mind,'” Vance recounted.

“It blew up the whole lie at the heart of her campaign in one interview answer,” he continued. “I will say though, I will say—when she says nothing comes to mind, that’s probably true… maybe she was just being honest about her state of mind.”

Of course, since Vance’s last visit to North Carolina, his own political fortunes were not the only thing that had changed dramatically.

The devastating effects of Hurricane Helene caught the western part of the state off-guard in the final week of September, leaving a path of destruction and a death toll that may prove worse than 2005’s Hurricane Katrina when all is said and done.

Adding insult to injury, many have reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other government groups responsible for providing relief had been altogether absent.

Outrageously, in areas where they did respond, FEMA and government officials were reportedly interfering with the constructive efforts by community members, putting up blockades and administrative red tape, even threatening to arrest pilots on rescue and recovery missions.

In the first question of the night, one of the pilots involved in those operations, Adam, was in no laughing mood but noted he was “exhausted” before asking Vance about “revamping the national disaster strategy in the United States so that we can make it more effective.”

The question came as Harris, President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas, FEMA Director Deanne Criswell and others in the inept leftist administration have all repugnantly attempted to gaslight the public about their failed response, accusing the hurricane victims of spreading disinformation and worse for daring to call attention to the issue.

However, Vance cut to the quick of it, offering equal measures of empathy for those suffering from the devastating impacts of the natural disaster and outrage over the man-made government disaster that has has exacerbated it under the stewardship (or lack thereof) of his political adversaries.

“We’re never gonna let the people of that region of our country—the region that really built our country—we’re never gonna let them be left behind or forgotten, I promise that to you, man,” said Vance, who wrote of his Kentucky roots in his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy.

After thanking Adam and the other pilots in attendance, Vance also touched on the failed disaster response.

“I know we’re still recovering a little bit, and that’s an unfortunate tragedy here, but I think once we get past that—hopefully in the next few days, where we’ve gotten everybody, saved everybody that we can save, then it’s time to focus on the disastrous federal response to this incredible crisis,” he began.

Vance said that Biden and Harris should have immediately dispatched the Army’s 82nd Airborne division out of Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) to lead the rescue operations, said Vance, a U.S. Marine veteran.

“Instead, of course, we had a president at the beach and a vice president at a fundraiser in San Francisco—what you need, in times like this, is you just need leadership,” he said.

“Because I think, sir, you put it so well—it’s not any one agency,” Vance continued, addressing the pilot, Adam. “And there are a lot of people working on the federal effort who are doing a good job—or at least are doing as good as they can—the problem is all the bureaucratic incompetence.”

Vance recounted that he was talking with billionaire Elon Musk about the problem, likely at the past weekend’s rally in Butler, Pa.—where Musk, who has volunteered to oversee a government efficiency commission if Trump is reelected, was a featured speaker.

“I think what happened was, look, you’ve got the [Federal Aviation Administration], you’ve got FEMA, you’ve got all these relief agencies, and you’ve got people who have been trained by the government bureaucracy that their job is not to cut the B.S. and help people, it’s to basically act like the DMV,” Vance said, suggesting that the notoriously inefficient Department of Motor Vehicles existed to actively create Kafkaesque barriers and obstacles.

“And unfortunately, what that means in this case is you’ve got a lot of people that could have been helped, a lot of lives that could have been saved that weren’t,” he continued. “And there’s a lot of details to figure out—I’m sure that we’re gonna learn a lot about how corrupt and incompetent our government is, but I think the most important thing here is we try to get to the bottom of how we had such a massive failure.”

Vance concluded by saying that the only way to restore the government after the stunning erosion of standards had played out on such an epic scale was to work at reinstating the same consequences for bureaucrats and civil servants who have become callously indifferent as to whom they work for.

“The only way to fix this is by accountability,” Vance said. “It’s true in the private sector, it’s true in the public sector. If you don’t have accountability—in other words, if you don’t fire the people who screwed up—it’s never going to get better.”

He pointed out that the contrasting views on accountability marked a fundamental difference between the Trump and Harris philosophies on leadership.

“Donald Trump—I mean, hell, he got famous saying ‘You’re fired.’ He believes in accountability in our government,” Vance said.

“Kamala Harris just doesn’t,” he added. “I think it’s this attitude of go along to get along, of ‘yeah, you screwed up and maybe even you got people killed, but we’re not gonna fire ya.’ That’s not gonna do good for our people in the 21st century.”

Vance the Marine capped it off with one final thanks to Adam and the hero pilots who had stepped up to do the job that the Biden–Harris administration had been derelict in doing.

“I just want to say, man, I want to be the kind of vice president where you feel like I have your back and that I haven’t left you behind,” he said.

“And I know that Donald Trump wants to be the kind of president that will always have your back and never leave you behind,” he continued. “We are so proud of you, we’re so grateful for you, and we’re gonna fight for you when we’re in the White House.”

Ben Sellers is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.

Catholics Slam Whitmer’s ‘Blasphemous’ Dorito Communion Stunt

Luis Cornelio
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Catholics Slam Whitmer’s ‘Blasphemous’ Dorito Communion Stunt

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer came under fire on Thursday after appearing in a video that many interpreted as her mockingly recreating a Holy Communion. 

The clip showed Whitmer standing before podcaster Liz Planker, who knelt before the governor as she fed a Dorito chip into Planker’s mouth, resembling a communion ritual.

Planker uploaded the video to her Instagram page to bizarrely bring attention to the “CHIPS Act” while jabbing former President Donald Trump. Coincidentally, Whitmer wore a Harris-Walz cameo hat.

“Chips aren’t just delicious, the CHIPS Act is a game-changer for U.S. tech and manufacturing, boosting domestic production of semiconductors to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers! Donald Trump would put that at risk,” Planker captioned the video. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Liz Plank (@feministabulous)

On X, several Republicans and conservative commentators reposted the clip to scold Whitmer for her apparent parody of the communion, which many viewed as blasphemous and sexually suggestive. 

Catholic Vote, one of the nation’s largest Catholic advocacy groups, fiercely Whitmer of promoting “anti-Catholic bigotry.” 

“Gretchen Whitmer is only the latest example of the gross anti-Catholic bigotry festering inside the Democratic Party,” the group wrote.

Trump campaign senior advisor Tim Murtaugh echoed these comments, asking, “Do they want ZERO Catholic votes for Harris?” 

Michael Knowles, a podcast host at the Daily Wire, said, “More decadent-empire behavior from Democrats, this time via Governor Nero of Michigan.” 

Conservative personality and podcast host Jack Posobiec minced no words either, commenting, “She’s committing a Dorito Eucharist. This is blatantly anti-Catholic bigotry.”

Whitmer’s press office did not respond to Headline USA’s request for comment before publication.

AI-Generated Video of Tim Walz in Leather Goes Viral: The Next Beyoncé?

Luis Cornelio
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AI-Generated Video of Tim Walz in Leather Goes Viral: The Next Beyoncé?

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A video that some claim shows Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, decked out in leather and dancing to Beyoncé has gone viral on X, racking up over 2.5 million views.

The video features an endomorph-shaped individual sporting a pink cowboy hat, a leather crop top, and leather pants while recreating a TikTok dance based on Beyoncé’s song Texas Hold Em. 

The video, shared by the fictional X user “Dr. Jebra Faushay” on Thursday, showed Walz’s face—including his signature glasses—on the body of the dancing individual.

“Dr. Jebra Faushay,” who boasts over 188,000 followers, is a parody account that mocks the “woke” left through its satirical Substack, The Woke Observer. 

“Sometimes when I’m having a bad day, I watch this video of Tim Walz dancing to Beyonce, and my mood is lifted immediately,” wrote Faushay on X, who also shared the video. “Does it have the same effect on you?”

The post has since received over 3,000 replies, 8,000 reposts, 15,000 likes and millions of views. Despite its popularity, an X community note flagged the clip as AI-generated or “deep fake.”

The original video features dancer and drag performer Matthew Krumpe, who shared it via Instagram on Feb. 19.

The video appears to be part of a viral dance trend tied to Beyoncé’s country-inspired song. Krumpe’s original clip has over 3.6 million views. 

“This ain’t Texas, and if anyone walks into my shot again im [sic] quitting making content and jumping off this boat,” the dancer captioned his Instagram post, seemingly in response to the individuals who walked past his recording camera. 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Matthew Krumpe (@krumpmasterkrump)

The viral video and its AI-generated face-swap come as Walz faces mounting questions about his erratic public behavior. 

Walz has been frequently seen randomly jumping or getting overly hyped at campaign events, leaving many Americans and critics online scratching their heads  

‘Quite a Bit of Chutzpah’: WSJ Editor-in-Chief Brushes Off MSNBC ‘Lecturing’ Him for JD Vance Op-Ed

Julianna Frieman
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‘Quite a Bit of Chutzpah’: WSJ Editor-in-Chief Brushes Off MSNBC ‘Lecturing’ Him for JD Vance Op-Ed

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Wall Street Journal Editor-in-Chief Gerry Baker brushed off MSNBC hosts “lecturing” his publication for carrying an op-ed by Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Donald Trump’s running mate, on Tuesday.

Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough accused the WSJ of “running lies” and publishing “disinformation” Wednesday in reference to Vance’s piece criticizing the Federal Emergency Management Relief for rerouting millions of dollars into nongovernmental organizations working to facilitate illegal migration into the U.S.

“The Wall Street Journal is publishing disinformation that might as well be in The Epoch Times. The fact that it’s from a vice presidential candidate matters not. This is the same man who lied about cats and dogs being eaten when the governor of his own state said stop. When you said there are no standards, this is a perfect example of it,” Scarborough said on his show.

WSJ’s Baker took to Fox News’ America Reports later that morning and blasted the Morning Joe host for daring to criticize the WSJ’s factual credibility, especially after Scarborough insisted relentlessly that President Joe Biden was more than well-equipped to run for president again prior to his July 21 withdrawal.

“To be lectured by MSNBC on disinformation is quite a bit of a chutzpah on their part. Remember, this is the same Joe Scarborough that told us, I think, days or weeks before that infamous presidential debate that saw Joe Biden pull out of the race, that Biden was in incredible shape,” Baker said.

Trump exposed Biden’s cognitive decline during a June CNN debate that sent left-leaning media outlet in a frenzy over the president’s ability to serve a second term.

Prominent Democrats including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reportedly worked behind the scenes to convince Biden to drop out, citing down-ballot congressional races as their primary concern.

“He also attacked the Wall Street Journal article which had just said Joe Biden was slipping. ‘He is as sharp as he’s ever been. He’s brilliant.’ And of course, weeks later, we saw what Biden was like, and another month later, he pulled out of the race,” Baker told Fox News co-hosts. “We don’t need that kind of lecturing.”

Axios revealed in February that Biden has a personal relationship with Scarborough, who he reportedly communicates with to “vent about media coverage,” people familiar with the relationship claimed.

The President was reported by Axios to be a frequent viewer of Morning Joe. Biden has “consorted” with the program’s regular guests, including foreign policy expert Mike Barnacle and historian John Meacham. The outlet noted that Meacham has “assisted on several Biden speeches.”

Vice President Kamala Harris also watches Morning Joe, according to Axios’ report. She hosted a dinner with Scarborough and Mika Brzezenski, his co-host and wife, in January.

Baker said on America Reports that it is too early to know for sure whether FEMA “messed up.” He added that “interesting questions” have emerged relating to FEMA’s priorities.

“I remember such weather in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans particularly hard, and I was down there for a week afterwards. And initial reactions, especially from the media because George W. Bush was president was ‘oh, my God, this is a disaster and FEMA is a disaster and the federal government has failed.’ We learned actually afterwards, you know, there were many more problems on the ground there, that FEMA actually did a great job,” Baker said.

“It certainly wasn’t that bad, so I think it is too soon to say FEMA has messed up.”

Vance’s op-ed noted that the Biden-Harris administration has prioritized allowing illegal migrants into the U.S. since the Democratic duo entered the White House in 2021. He cited examples of the agency’s prioritization of LGBT panels granting “some groups special treatment” and called on the federal government to “[get] its act together.”

“The effort stems from a White House directive to reorient FEMA’s institutional focus away from U.S. citizens and toward aliens who either have no legal right to be here or whose legal status depends on the say-so of the Biden-Harris administration,” Vance wrote of FEMA’s lackluster funding for Hurricane Helene victims.

Baker concluded, “It may not be actually true that FEMA resources that could have been available in North Carolina had been given to migrants. But there’s no question about the broader orientation of FEMA under the Biden-Harris administration, which is to channel huge amounts of money to communities and to non-government organizations to help with the massive influx of migrants that they themselves have created.”

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer also published by the Daily Caller and The Federalist. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

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