Biden Deflects Trump’s Debate Challenge: ‘He’s Got Nothing Else to Do’

Contributing Author
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Biden Deflects Trump’s Debate Challenge: ‘He’s Got Nothing Else to Do’

(Headline USA) President Joe Biden dismissed former President Donald Trump’s request for an “immediate” debate, claiming the GOP candidate has “nothing else to do.”

Trump issued the challenge on Monday, arguing a debate between him and Biden, the two frontrunners for their parties’ nominations, would be “good” for the country.

When asked about whether he’d be willing to debate Trump during a campaign stop in Nevada, Biden replied, “Immediately? Well, if I were him, I’d want to debate me, too. He’s got nothing else to do.”

It is unclear whether Trump and Biden will face off in a national debate even if both men clinch their respective nominations. Biden has barely appeared on the campaign trail as it is, and Trump has slammed the organization responsible for the debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates, as “totally corrupt” and incompetent.

“They’re totally Democrat-leaning, that’s being nice when I use the word leaning,” Trump said in December. “They are totally corrupt, and they’re terrible.”

However, Trump said he’d still be willing to agree to the commission’s debates just to see if Biden would show up.

“I would do 20 debates even if it was organized by them. I’ll do as many debates as they want. I’d do a debate every night with this guy. But he’ll never show up to a debate,” Trump added.

Top Democrats have sought to lay cover for the 81-year-old president, who some speculate is in the throes of dementia, by suggesting that a debate with Trump would be to unduly normalize and legitimize him.

“I’ve been physically present at one of [Trump’s] debates with Hillary Clinton, and I watched him do outrageous things and say outrageous things,” claimed Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., according to The Hill. “It’s just an opportunity for him to display his extremism.”

The debate commission has so far scheduled three general election debates, with the first taking place on Sept. 16 at Texas State University. The second is scheduled for Oct. 1 at Virginia State University, and the third for Oct. 9 at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

When asked if Biden would show up to the first debate, Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler told reporters, “To be honest with you, we haven’t had any real substantive conversations about that quite yet.”

There is mounting speculation that Democrats have no intention of running Biden at all. New York Post columnist Cindy Adams and former Fox New host Megyn Kelly have reported that Biden may reveal his plan to drop out of the race as early as next month.

MSNBC’s Interviews w/ Black S.C. Voters Ahead of Primaries Are Bad News for Biden

Contributing Author
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MSNBC’s Interviews w/ Black S.C. Voters Ahead of Primaries Are Bad News for Biden

(Headline USA) Democrats have often touted the importance of minority voters as their chief reason for having South Carolina be the first official state on the Democratic National Committee’s primary calendar. 

But it turns out that overreliance on minorities could spell serious trouble for the Biden campaign as Republican frontrunner Donald Trump continues to chip away at the longtime Democrat voting bloc.

MSNBC interviewed several black men in South Carolina as part of a focus group this week, only to discover that most of them planned to support Trump.

Trymaine Lee, a correspondent for the network, met with the voters at a barber shop in Charleston and asked why support for Trump had started to rise among their demographic.

Several quickly responded, “Money.”

One voter, Thomas Murray, explained that Trump, “in spite of all his craziness,” is someone he can “kind of agree with as far as business-wise because I’m trying to grow my business.”

President Joe Biden, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to “really care about business like that,” Murray added. “And my concern is having my business, so that I can build generational wealth, so my kids can see and have something to take upon when I’m not here.”

Another voter, Anthony Freeman, agreed that Trump “has a reputation of being the money man.”

Especially among younger black voters, Trump has more “appeal,” the voters admitted.

“A lot of my friends—we’ve only voted once, and Trump is kind of all we know, Trump and Biden,” said voter Kinard Givens.

“And they’re like, ‘Well, we were broke with Biden. We weren’t with Trump,'” Givens continued. “And that’s kind of the only thing that I’m hearing over and over again is that ‘with Trump, we had money.'”

Lee wrapped up the segment by telling MSNBC’s Katy Tur that the voters he talked to in South Carolina ended up in “three buckets”: “Those who are planning on voting for Joe Biden again even though they’re not excited, those who are considering voting for Donald Trump, and those who will sit out all together and take some sort of off ramp out of the process.”

Deep-Fake Scammers Steal $25M w/ Phony AI-Generated Conference Call

Jacob Bruns
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Deep-Fake Scammers Steal $25M w/ Phony AI-Generated Conference Call

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A Hong Kong company lost the equivalent of over $25 million from a sophisticated scam using deep-fake technology, Ars Techinica reported.

The scammers digital replicated the voice of the company’s chief financial officer’s, along with those of other top level employees, during an online meeting. In it, they issued instructions for an employee to transfer the money 200 million Hong Kong dollars in a series of 15 transactions to five local bank accounts.

All participants in the video chat except the victim appeared to have been digitally created.

According to a police statement, the employee was initially skeptical of the order after receiving email instructions to transfer the money, but she was convinced after the video call that the order was real.

“Police received a report from a staff member of a company on 29 January that her company was deceived of some HK$200m after she received video conference calls from someone posing as senior officers of the company requesting to transfer money to designated bank accounts,” said the statement.

Hong Kong police have declined to release further details at this time, electing to withhold the names of both the victim and the company.

Baron Chan Shun-ching, the acting senior superintendent of Hong Kong’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau, noted that artificial intelligence was likely used to pull of the heist.

“[The fraudster] invited the informant [clerk] to a video conference that would have many participants,” Chan said, noting that AI likely served to make the voices of the company’s officials sound realistic.

“Because the people in the video conference looked like the real people, the informant … made 15 transactions as instructed,” Chan added. However, “… it turns out that everyone was fake.”

The prevalence and dangers of AI deep-fakes have been of increasing concern to political authorities in recent months.

From Satanists using AI to try to defame Hobby Lobby to the rise of deepfake “sextortion,” it appears that the new technology may make human life as it has been implausible.

Even music superstar Taylor Swift is not immune. Twitter went into lockdown on searches of Swift’s name last week after AI-generated pornographic images of the 34-year-old warbler began to circulate.

King Charles Diagnosed w/ Cancer

Jacob Bruns
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King Charles Diagnosed w/ Cancer

(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) After undergoing recent prostate surgery, England’s King Charles III revealed doctors had discovered a treatable form of cancer, Breitbart reported.

Charles, 75, who ascended to the thrown a mere 16 months ago following the 70-year reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, will receive treatment in London as an outpatient for the unspecified form of cancer.

The king will be unable to perform his public duties, but he will still be able to engage in his normal administrative tasks.

A statement from Buckingham Palace suggested that the cancer was unrelated to his prostate exam.

“During [t]he [k]ing’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted,” it said. “Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer.”

Reports indicate that he is at least “triple vaccinated” for COVID-19. His daughter-in-law, Princess Kate of Wales, who has also been in the hospital for a serious but yet-undisclosed ailment, is fully vaccinated as well.

After the testing, Charles began a treatment schedule that same day.

Throughout the time of his treatment, “he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties,” said the statement.

Thanks to the discovery and “swift intervention,” the king “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible,” it said.

While the royals during Queen Elizabeth’s reign were often known for keeping their personal troubles under wraps, King Charles wanted to be more transparent, encouraging other men to get prostate exams by publicizing his own.

“His Majesty has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer,” said the statement..

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak wished the King “a full and speedy recovery” in a statement of his own.

“I know the whole country will be wishing him well,” he said.

The King’s youngest son, Prince Harry, who quit his royal duties in 2020 to live in California with his wife, Meghan Markle, was expected to fly to England to visit his father in the coming days.

Control of U.S. House Could Hinge on California’s GOP Districts

Wire Editor
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Control of U.S. House Could Hinge on California’s GOP Districts

(Headline USA) Heavily Democratic California might appear an unlikely national battleground, but a string of competitive U.S. House contests is again poised to play a crucial role in determining control of the chamber as Republicans look to maintain their razor-thin majority—without the organizational support of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

The state that was once home for Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan has become so solidly blue that a GOP presidential candidate hasn’t won a general election in California since Reagan’s vice president, George H.W. Bush, did so in 1988.

Democrats hold every statewide office and dominate the Legislature, while Democratic voters outnumber registered Republicans by an overwhelming 2-to-1.

Yet, pockets of conservative strength remain, particularly in the Southern California suburbs and the Central Valley farm belt.

In their most recent round of redistricting, following the 2020 census, Democrats further sought to whittle away at any GOP advantages by dividing up some of the solid-red districts where influential lawmakers like former House Intelligence chair Devin Nunes had drawn steady support.

Yet, despite the gerrymandering, the Californa GOP candidates had a better-than-expected showing in the 2022 midterm election.

As in 2022, the most competitive contests are concentrated in Republican-held districts that were carried by Joe Biden in 2020—although genuinely competitive territory is diminishing nationally.

Leaders in both parties agree that the outcome in California could be the lever that determines who holds the gavel in 2025, after GOP wins in 2022 helped the party gain control. Currently, the House has 219 Republicans, 213 Democrats and three vacancies.

Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom is among those raising money to help his party retake the House. He’s warning of a “disastrous future” if former President Donald Trump wins the White House and Republicans take charge in the Senate, as is expected based on the current political map.

Under that scenario, Democrats must have the House to have any chance of blocking Trump’s agenda, Newsom warned.

If Democrats win four GOP-held districts in the state “we’re going to flip the House in November,” Newsom wrote in a recent fundraising pitch. “And each of them has a very good chance.”

With the state’s Democratic tilt, Republicans hold only 11 of the state’s 52 House seats. In all, about 10 districts appear to be in play statewide, and in some cases the primary election could end up resulting in rematches from two years ago. No incumbents appear in imminent peril.

Voting is about to start, with a Monday deadline for counties to mail ballots.

In the emerging fray, fear of the opposition animates the sales pitch. Democrats are warning about Trump’s possible return to Washington, threats to abortions and unchecked gun rights. Republicans fault the party that dominates state politics for high taxes, inflation, vexing crime rates and an out-of-control homeless crisis.

It’s unknown to what degree the presidential contest will trickle into House races. Turnout could be depressed if President Joe Biden and Trump appear assured of the nominations. Biden’s popularity has faded in the state and nationally, while Trump is widely loathed in California outside his loyal base.

Under California election rules, Democrats and Republicans appear on the same primary ballot and the two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of political party.

THE SURVIVOR: A GOP CONGRESSMAN IN DEMOCRATIC LA COUNTY

Rep. Mike Garcia is the last Republican congressman anchored in heavily Democratic Los Angeles County. The once-conservative 27th District running through suburbs and high desert north of Los Angeles has become one of the country’s most competitive battlefields following the last round of redistricting.

The district has a 12-point Democratic registration edge, but over three elections Garcia has shown an uncanny ability to overcome the odds and confound rivals. It hasn’t been easy—Garcia was reelected in 2020 by 333 votes.

The former Navy fighter pilot and Trump supporter with a reliably conservative voting record was first elected running against California’s left-leaning government: “I don’t want my country to turn into what my state has become.”

Garcia’s military service—he flew over 30 combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom—would play well in a district that is home to defense industries and popular with veterans and Los Angeles police officers and firefighters.

The son of a Mexican immigrant father, his Hispanic surname is likely a benefit in a district with a significant Latino population. He also has displayed a keen ear for local issues, including concerns over crime and illegal marijuana cultivation.

The leading Democrat in the primary is George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff supported by the campaign arm of House Democrats. He’s been stressing the abortion issue and environmental protection, while labeling Garcia as out of step with the district.

A TOSS-UP DISTRICT THAT WAS ONCE THE HEART OF ‘REAGAN COUNTRY’

Orange County’s 47th District runs along the California coast southeast of Los Angeles and was once the heart of “Reagan Country,” a region long synonymous with conservative politics and known for its ties to the former president.

However, the county that was once largely white and Republican has grown demographically diverse and increasingly Democratic, and the seat being vacated by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, a U.S. Senate candidate, is up for grabs.

Republicans consider it a top target.

Former legislator Scott Baugh, who narrowly lost to Porter in 2022, is the leading Republican, while two Democrats are dueling to get on the November ballot: state Sen. David Min and Joanna Weiss, who founded an organization that promotes progressive candidates.

A STRONGLY DEMOCRATIC DISTRICT THAT VOTES REPUBLICAN

The Central Valley farm belt is a political conundrum. Districts in the sprawling region sometimes called America’s salad bowl typically have significant Democratic registration edges, but those seats are often held by Republicans.

A case in point is Rep. David Valadao, a Republican who has endured despite facing steep registration deficits. Democrats hold a 16-point advantage in his 22nd District. He held his seat from 2013 until January 2019, lost it for a term, then won it back in a 2020 rematch with Democrat T.J. Cox.

He might be headed toward a rematch in November with Rudy Salas, the Democrat he defeated in 2022 ,who is backed by the campaign arm of House Democrats.

Valadao has stressed an independent streak, while spotlighting his efforts to secure more water for farmers, a perennial issue in the Central Valley. Salas has depicted Valadao as a Trump acolyte masquerading as a centrist.

Both Salas and Valadao are facing rivals from within their own party on the primary ballot. Republican rancher Chris Mathys is looking to surprise Valadao, and state Sen. Melissa Hurtado is competing for Democratic votes with Salas.

ROUND TWO IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY

Republican John Duarte defeated Democrat Adam Gray in 2022 in what was then a new House district in the Central Valley. He won by only 564 votes, the closest congressional contest in the state that year.

They are the only candidates on the March 5 primary election ballot, setting up a rematch in the 13th District, which has a prominent Democratic tilt and a large Latino population. But the most likely voters tend to be white, older, more affluent homeowners, as is the case statewide.

Gray, who is backed by the campaign arm of House Democrats, argues that his party can’t reclaim the House majority without winning his district.

ANOTHER POTENTIAL REMATCH EAST OF LOS ANGELES

Rep. Ken Calvert, the longest-serving Republican in the California congressional delegation, held off Democrat Will Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, in a district east of Los Angeles by about 5 points in 2022. That district, the 41st, is about equally divided between Republicans and Democrats.

This year could see a rematch.

Calvert brings the advantages of incumbency, but his conservative credentials and support from Trump could be liabilities in a district that includes many transplanted Los Angeles residents—and the city of Palm Springs, which has a large concentration of LGBT voters. Rollins is gay.

Rollins, who is backed by the campaign arm of House Democrats, says it’s time for new leadership and has depicted Calvert as an extremist.

SOUTH KOREAN IMMIGRANT SEEKS ANOTHER TERM IN ASIAN-HEAVY DISTRICT 

Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, a South Korean immigrant, is looking for another term in a Southern California district specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill.

Asian Americans make up the largest group in the 45th District, anchored in Orange County. Democrats hold a modest registration edge.

Steel first won the seat in 2020, then prevailed in 2022 with a 5-point win in the district, which includes the nation’s largest Vietnamese community.

Four Democrats are competing this year, including Kim Nguyen–Penaloza, the daughter of a Vietnamese refugee father and a Mexican immigrant mother who was endorsed by the state Democratic Party; and lawyer and labor activist Derek Tran, the son of Vietnamese refugees.

In Congress, Steel has been outspoken in resistance to tax increases, says she stands strongly with Israel in its war with Hamas and sponsored a bill that would expand oversight related to foreign money in higher education, which passed the House last year.

The race will be watched nationally for hints about the preferences of Asian–American voters.

DEMOCRAT DEFENDS COASTAL DISTRICT WITH STRONG MILITARY TIES

Four Republicans are on the ballot in the 49th District running through Orange and San Diego counties, where Democratic Rep. Mike Levin is looking for another term.

Coastal California typically leans Democratic, but the race is seen as competitive. In 2022, Levin got a late-hour visit from Biden in hopes of boosting his chances and notched a 5-point win.

In Congress, Levin has focused on veterans affairs, as well as climate change and the environment, in a district that straddles Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Key issues in the race have included immigration, housing and inflation.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Trump Sees Possibility of Flipping All 50 States

Molly Bruns
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Trump Sees Possibility of Flipping All 50 States

(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) Former President Donald Trump said Sunday that he saw an opportunity to flip New York and several other states red, while teasing the possibility of rallies in New York City, Fox News reported.

After Sunday Morning Futures host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump if he believed the deep blue state could flip, Trump said that failures of the Democrat leadership during the Biden administration had set the stage for a political revolution and potential landslide like none seen since Ronald Reagan’s 1980 defeat of incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter.

“Nobody can believe what’s happened to New York. The people of New York are angry—people that would have never voted for me because I’m a Republican,” Trump said, noting New Yorkers’ frustration with rising crime rates across the city and the ongoing immigration crisis.

“I mean, they’re Democrats. Their parents were Democrats. They would vote for Democrats,” he continued. “I think they’re going to vote for me. So I think we’re going to give New York a heavy shot.”

Trump—who is poised to potentially lose all of his New York real-estate holdings based on the caprices of leftist judge Arthur Engoron in the civil trial brought by state Attorney General Letitia James—said he might try to host rallies at Madison Square Garden and an undecided venue in the South Bronx.

Trump also expressed hope for a new wave of Republican voters in New Jersey, Virginia, New Mexico and Minnesota.

“I’m not even sure that everything can’t be flipped,” he said.

Recent polls showed Trump ahead of Biden in several key swing states, including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona.

 

Richard Baris, director of Big Data Poll research group, said that Trump’s victories over the attempted sham trials will continue to bolster his public image.

“Everyone’s argument against Donald Trump has fallen away,” Baris said in an interview with Jack Posobiec’s Human Events.

“The electability argument… has evaporated, Baris added. “The illegal case… is failing, it’s collapsing. If you’re a Trump supporter, you have a lot to be happy about… It’s hard to get Donald Trump; this is the real Teflon Don.”

Country Legend Toby Keith Dies at 62 after Bout w/ Stomach Cancer

Ben Sellers
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Country Legend Toby Keith Dies at 62 after Bout w/ Stomach Cancer

(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) Country superstar Toby Keith—who refused to cave to media pressure at President Donald Trump’s inaugural ball and helped launch the career of Taylor Swift, only to throw her under the bus for $330 million—died Monday following a more than two-year bout with stomach cancer that had weakened but not waylaid the prolific hitmaker. 

Keith “passed away peacefully … surrounded by his family,” a message posted on his website said. “He fought his fight with grace and courage.”

Keith kept performing until the end, playing three sold out shows in Las Vegas in December, which he later described via Instagram as a “damn good way to end the year.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Toby Keith (@tobykeith)

He received his cancer diagnosis in Fall 2021 but did not go public with it until the following June, after undergoing six months of intensive treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

“I need time to breathe, recover and relax,” he tweeted. “I’m looking forward to spending this time with my family. But I will see fans sooner than later. I can’t wait.”

In September 2023, Keith was honored at the People’s Choice Country Awards, where he given the first Country Music Icon Award, People magazine reported.

Receiving the award from Blake Shelton, Keith maintained his keen sense of ironic humor while remarking on his physical transformation.

“Bet you thought you’d never see me in skinny jeans,” he quipped.

“I want to thank the almighty for allowing me to be here tonight,” he added. “You’ve been riding shotgun with me for a little while.”

It was one of the last in a long list of accolades for Keith, whose 19 studio releases yielded 20 No. 1 singles and some 40 million album sales.

In January 2021, a week before leaving office, then-President Donald Trump awarded the  National Medal of Arts to Keith, who was one of just a handful of popular recording artists who had performed four years earlier at Trump’s inauguration ceremonies.

Keith—who also performed for presidents Bush and Obama, and did more than 200 shows for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan—stood steadfast by the new president as leftist media waged a campaign to get him and other artists to back out.

“I don’t apologize for performing for our country or military,” he told Entertainment Weekly.

Keith’s patriotic streak, however, was no mystery to his fans. In 2001’s “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American),” written in reaction to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as the personal grief of losing his father, Keith uncharacteristically cast aside his wry turns of phrase for raw and unfiltered emotional grit:

“Oh, justice will be served and the battle will rage / This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage / And you’ll be sorry that you messed with The U.S. of A / ‘Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass. It’s the American way.”  

If country music’s golden age came a generation earlier—with the self-destructive rebellion of figures like Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard and George Jones—Keith was a major figure in its platinum age, when a group of talented artists like chart-toppers Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw brought the same twang and Southern sensibilities, but with a greater business savvy.

The Oklahoma native’s offbeat observations about life’s adversities—both big and small—often preserved a sort of wistful longing for bygone times.

Whether in the opening strains of 1993’s “Should Have Been a Cowboy,” off his self-titled debut album, which found him idealizing the lifestyle of old TV westerns like Gunsmoke; or in “As Good As I Once Was,” off 2005’s Honkytonk University—which found Keith, entering into his mid-40s, reflecting back on his youthful prime—his songs echoed his determination to make the most of what life had bestowed.

Yet, Keith also took time to rejoice in the simple pleasures—as in the  iconic ode he recorded to everyone’s favorite party accessory, the “Red Solo Cup,” off 2011’s Clancy’s Tavern, or the sense of camaraderie and community found at a favorite watering hole in 2003’s “I Love This Bar.”

Unfortunately for Keith, an offer to turn the latter song into a restaurant chain similar to Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurants proved too good to be true.

The I Love This Bar & Grill chain, launched in 2005 saw many of its restaurants closing by 2015 amid financial turmoil.

It was subsequently discovered that the man behind the chain, ex-Mobster Frank Capri, who was supposed to be in the Federal Witness Protection Program, was using the restaurants as a front to commit wire fraud and to bilk investors out of millions for restaurants that never opened.

Keith denied having any business involvement with the venture beyond licensing his name.

However, he is estimated to have a net worth of around $400 million for his wife, Tricia Lucus, and their three adult children.

In addition to owning his own liquor brand, Wild Shot mezcal liquor, Keith was an early investor in Big Machine Records. Its biggest success story was Taylor Swift, who was 15 when she released her first album on the label in 2006.

“You’re in the room with him and you can feel it, there’s a power there,” a starstruck Swift told Nashville’s WSMV4 about Keith, as reported by Rolling Stone. “And you’re just like ‘oh my God.’ I don’t think I’ll ever get to a point where I don’t see him and are just like, ‘Oh my God that’s Toby Keith.’”

Keith, in turn, stood in awe of Swift’s meteoric rise, telling the Chicago Tribune in 2016 that she had left him financially secure—and then some.

“If I just took the royalties I had off of that, I wouldn’t have to do anything else,” he said. “A bunch of people could live off that.”

Much to Swift’s chagrin, the label was sold to notorious producer Scooter Braun for a reported $330 million in June 2019.

His investment partners in the company Ithaca Holdings, according to Swift herself, included leftist billionaire George Soros and the globalist Carlyle Group, whose co-founder (and new Baltimore Orioles co-owner) David Rubenstein hosted Biden last year for Thanksgiving.

Although Swift, as of Tuesday afternoon, had yet to offer any public condolences on Twitter, several other A-list celebrities took to social media to convey their grief, Fox News reported.

“Even though I knew about your battle these last few months I still never imagined this day,” Shelton wrote on his Instagram.

“Anyone who knew you knows what I mean,” he added. “You were the toughest man I ever met.”

Billy Ray Cyrus recalled touring “several times around the globe” with Keith.

“He was always the kindest… sweetest gentle giant of an outlaw one could ever hope to entertain and make music with,” Cyrus said in a statement.

“Raising a Red Cup this morning and saying a prayer,” he added. “Heaven’s a honkytonk tonight.”

Military veterans, including Army Infantryman Joshua Stanley, also weighed in among the chorus of bereaved performers and other public figures, recalling Keith’s determination to put on a good show for his audience no matter what.

“I saw him perform at Kandahar Air Field, just him and one backup singer,” Stanley tweeted. “He was clearly exhausted from traveling all the bases but still wanted to give us a good show, which he did. God bless you, sir. Thank you for caring. Rest easy.”

 

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

11-Month FBI Op w/ 3 Undercover Agents Yields 1 Measly Arrest

Ken Silva
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11-Month FBI Op w/ 3 Undercover Agents Yields 1 Measly Arrest

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The FBI used at least three undercover employees and untold other resources to investigate a Tennessee firearms and militia enthusiast for nearly the last year, only to arrest him Monday on a sole charge of having an unregistered silencer.

But the FBI’s arrest of Tennessee man Paul Faye Sr. for having an unmarked silencer does reveal a bureau investigation into militias—specifically, those concerned with border security.

According to charging documents, the FBI first began probing Faye after the October 2022 arrest of Bryan Perry, a man charged with plotting to kill federal agents and illegal immigrants crossing the border. Faye was allegedly a contact in Perry’s cellphone.

In March 2023, an FBI undercover employee, or UCE, began communicating with Faye on TikTok. On April 1, 2023, three FBI undercover employees met with Faye and his two sons.

“During the meeting, FAYE inquired if the UCEs were federal law enforcement. After confirming the UCEs were not law enforcement, FAYE discussed his belief that the government was training to take on its citizens, and more specifically, that the federal government was allowing illegal immigrants to enter the United States to help the government,” the FBI’s criminal complaint said.

“FAYE went on to discuss his tactical training and weapons he had in his possession. During this interaction, which was audio recorded, UCE2 observed a photograph on FAYE’s phone which showed a 6.5 Creedmoor rifle with what appeared to be a suppressor affixed to the end.”

Faye and the undercover agents continued talking throughout 2023. In November, Faye said he was planning to go to the border at Eagle Pass, Texas on Jan. 20 with someone from the NC Patriot Party, a militia in North Carolina. Eagle Pass is the town where the so-called Take Our Border Back convoy held protests against the open border.

On December 14, Faye again met in person with the initial undercover employee.

“During the meeting, FAYE discussed coordinating with militia groups from Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee,” the FBI’s complaint said. “FAYE discussed plans for traveling to the border and how he planned to transport explosive devices to the border without law enforcement detection.”

During that same meeting, the undercover agent asked about a suppressor for an AK47, and Faye allegedly stated he would provide one to the agent, and that it did not have a “tax stamp” on it.

Three days later, the undercover agent showed FAYE the AK-47 rifle they previously discussed. FAYE then produced the suppressor he had previously described to the agent, who purchased the suppressor from FAYE for $100.

Faye apparently never had explosives, as he wasn’t hit with any charges other than having the silencer. Nor is it clear whether he actually went to the border last month, as he had allegedly planned.

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

Fed Chair Powell Channels Ben Bernanke, Assures Us Everything Is Fine!

Money Metals News Service
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Fed Chair Powell Channels Ben Bernanke, Assures Us Everything Is Fine!

(Mike Maharrey, Money Metals News Service) I have written that the commercial real estate market could be the next thing to pop in this bubble economy and that could lead to the next major financial crisis.

But you don’t need to worry. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell assured us that everything is fine.

During a 60 Minutes interview aired Sunday, Feb. 4, Powell conceded some smaller and regional banks with “concentrated exposures” in commercial real estate “are challenged.”  But he said he wasn’t concerned about these problems spreading into the broader banking system as the subprime crisis did in 2008.

“I don’t think there’s much risk of a repeat of 2008,” he said, adding, “I do think it’s a manageable problem.”

Powell sounds a lot like former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who insisted in 2007 that problems in the subprime mortgage sector were “contained.”

On March 28, 2007, Bernanke told Congress everything was fine. 

The ongoing tightening of lending standards, although an appropriate market response, will reduce somewhat the effective demand for housing, and foreclosed properties will add to the inventories of unsold homes,” Bernanke said. “At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained.

He repeated this mantra on May 17 during a financial conference.

We believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will be limited and we do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system.

Bernanke’s remarks were reflected in the August 2007 FOMC statement.

Financial markets have been volatile in recent weeks, credit conditions have become tighter for some households and businesses, and the housing correction is ongoing. Nevertheless, the economy seems likely to continue to expand at a moderate pace over the coming quarters, supported by solid growth in employment and incomes and a robust global economy.

Sounds a lot like Powell and Company today, doesn’t it? Of course, we all know what happened in the year after Bernanke’s assurances.

I sure do hope Powell’s promises aren’t equally empty.

Biden Gov’t Agency Financing AI-Powered Censorship Complex, Committee Finds

Ken Silva
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Biden Gov’t Agency Financing AI-Powered Censorship Complex, Committee Finds

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Instead of using agencies such as the FBI to pressure social media companies to censor politically inconvenient content, the Biden administration is financing the creation of artificial intelligence programs that would automate such censorship efforts, according to a new report from the House Weaponization Subcommittee.

Citing non-public documents and other records, the subcommittee’s Tuesday report found that the National Science Foundation launched a $21 million initiative to create censorship programs powered by artificial intelligence.

According to the report, the NSF launched an initiative in March 2021 called “Track F: Trust & Authenticity in Communication Systems”—a bureaucratic term that amounts to censorship.

“The euphemistic ‘trust and authenticity in communication systems,’ in fact, means combatting so-called ‘misinformation,’ i.e., censorship. In an early draft solicitation, NSF indicated that Track F projects will ‘address issues of trust and authenticity in communication systems, including predicting, preventing, detecting, correcting, and mitigating the spread of inaccurate information that harms people and society,’” the report said.

“As NSF’s Track F program manager, Michael Pozmantier, explained more plainly in a June 2021 email, Track F is the NSF ‘Accelerator track focused on combatting mis/disinformation.’”

In September 2021, the NSF publicly awarded 12 Track F teams $750,000 apiece (a total of $9 million) to develop their project ideas.

According to the report, one research team, led by researchers at the University of Michigan, used the $750,000 it received from NSF to examine how AI could help Big Tech handle and outsource the “responsibility of censorship” on social media.

The subcommittee said that the University of Michigan intended to use the federal funding to develop its tool “WiseDex,” which could use AI technology to assess the veracity of content on social media and assist large social media platforms with what content should be removed or otherwise censored.

Another recipient, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, received $5.75 million to develop a tool to “empower efforts by journalists, developers, and citizens to fact-check” “delegitimizing information” about “election integrity and vaccine efficacy” on social media, the report said.

“Like Michigan’s WiseDex, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s CourseCorrect project harnessed AI and machine learning techniques to address misinformation on social media,” the report said.

“Unlike WiseDex, the University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers made clear that their project was specifically focused on ‘address[ing] two democratic and public health crises facing the U.S.: skepticism regarding the integrity of U.S. elections and hesitancy related to COVID-19 vaccines.’”

Massachusetts Institute of Technology also received $750,000 to develop “effective interventions” to educate Americans—specifically, those that the MIT researchers alleged “may be more vulnerable to misinformation campaigns,” the report added.

“In particular, the MIT team believed that conservatives, minorities, and veterans were uniquely incapable of assessing the veracity of content online,” the report said.

The report gave several other examples of NSF-funded censorship initiatives, and the subcommittee had a hearing about the matter Tuesday.

The subcommittee’s work follows a similar report by Headline USA on the issue of government-funded censorship. In December, this publication reported that the Department of Homeland Security is funding a group that uses targeted advertising to drive internet traffic towards DHS-approved social media influencers.

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

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