House Dems Probe Jared Kushner’s War Investments in Gaza

Jose Nino
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House Dems Probe Jared Kushner’s War Investments in Gaza

(José Niño, Headline USA)  House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., has asked Jared Kushner to provide information about whether his private business interests conflict with his role advising President Donald Trump on Middle East diplomacy.

The inquiry centers on Affinity Partners, the investment firm Kushner founded, and its ownership stake in Phoenix Financial, an Israeli financial services company with investments in firms that supply Israel’s military.

Garcia’s letter, released on Monday, notes that Affinity became Phoenix’s largest shareholder after increasing its stake. The letter states that Phoenix held more than $456 million in nine companies connected to Israel’s military supply chain, including a reported $265.1 million stake in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest arms manufacturer.

“Jared Kushner is helping negotiate Middle East policy for his father in law, even as his firm is the top investor in Phoenix Financial. Phoenix Financial holds up to $456 million in companies that supply Israel’s military, including its largest arms manufacturer. Kushner’s apparent conflicts of interest throughout the region pose serious security threats, which must be investigated,” Garcia said in a press release subsequently published by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Tuesday.

In his letter, Garcia wrote, “Oversight Democrats are investigating the unprecedented and dangerous ways in which President Trump and his family have profited directly from their access to power.” He continued, “Your dual role as your father in law’s Middle East and Gaza negotiator while investing in a company that makes profits investing in arms manufacturing presents significant conflicts of interest, all while you avoid disclosing your financial entanglements to Congress or the American people.”

Garcia’s request follows a March inquiry with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., into reports that Kushner sought investment from Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds while helping lead regional negotiations.

The lawmakers asked Affinity to disclose discussions with foreign governments, state-owned entities, intermediaries, and advisers since January 2025. That earlier request highlighted Affinity’s prior receipt of billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund after Kushner left the White House following Trump’s first administration.

José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino 

Republicans Mull Federal Gas Tax Holiday with Price Tag of Millions

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Republicans Mull Federal Gas Tax Holiday with Price Tag of Millions

(Thérèse Boudreaux, The Center Square) With the national average gas price hovering around $4.37 per gallon, some Republicans are pushing for a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax.

Doing so would provide Americans some savings at the pump, but it would also cost billions each month and potentially hasten the depletion of the struggling Highway Trust Fund.

The 18.4 cent per gallon federal gas tax is one of the primary revenue sources – around 58% – of the HTF, which funds the construction, maintenance and repair of U.S. roads, bridges and mass transit systems.

For years, the fund’s reserves have dwindled as the gas tax hasn’t risen since 1993, despite inflation increasing by more than 110% since then. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the HTF will be fully depleted by 2028.

Suspending the federal gas tax for 30 days would cost 2.5 billion (3.5 billion if the federal diesel tax were suspended as well), while suspending it for three months would cost $7 billion, the Committee for a Responsible Budget estimates.

Depending on the length of the tax holiday, it could hasten the HTF insolvency deadline anywhere from one week to 17 months earlier than predicted, according to the CRFB.

Because of this, lawmakers who have introduced legislation to suspend the federal gas tax have also included offsets for the HTF revenue loss. U.S. Rep. Russell Fry’s, R-S.C., EASE Act, introduced Oct. 1, would allow the president to declare a state of emergency and impose an up to 120-day suspension of the federal gas tax.

It would fund the holiday by authorizing the U.S. Treasury to transfer from the general fund and the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund the corresponding amount of revenue lost to the HTF.

Still, the bill would add billions to the national debt while gas prices would fall by only 10 to 16 cents per gallon on average, the Bipartisan Policy Center estimates.

But rising prices due to the U.S.-Iran conflict have become a political flashpoint ahead of the midterm elections, prompting other Republicans to push for suspending the federal gas tax.

Both Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, separately requested last week that Trump signal his approval of Congress authorizing a gas tax holiday. Ohio, Georgia and Indiana have temporarily suspended their own state taxes on gas.

Although President Donald Trump first expressed openness in May to the idea of suspending the federal gas tax, as of Monday he remained noncommittal, telling a reporter that he is “thinking about that.”

Trump did sign an executive order Monday waiving penalty fees for the use of dyed diesel fuel in trucks using public highways.

Unearthed Comments Reveal El-Sayed Once Savaged Obama. Now He’s Campaigning With Him

Luis Cornelio
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Unearthed Comments Reveal El-Sayed Once Savaged Obama. Now He’s Campaigning With Him

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Barack Hussein Obama is headed to Michigan to campaign for Abdul El-Sayed, a man who, in newly unearthed social media posts and past writings, appeared to have nothing but harsh things to say about the former president.

El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, has faced questions about a growing list of controversies, including ties to accused anti-Semitic figures and his long record of left-wing policy views. But now he attempts to present himself as a more moderate version of himself to voters.

That apparent transformation extends to his views on Obama, as seen in a Wednesday report by CNN. A series of remarks spanning 2012 to 2020 reveal a dramatically different attitude toward the former president.

For instance, El-Sayed penned a 2012 essay for the Huffington Post in which he said Obama failed to deliver on “the hope and change” behind his 2008 campaign.

El-Sayed wrote that Obama “perpetuated war, violated our civil liberties, deported more people from our shores than any other president before him, and the list of his failures goes on.”

El-Sayed also targeted the Affordable Care Act, or so-called Obamacare, calling it a “watered-down reform that kowtows to the interests of health care lobbies.”

Speaking to Vox in 2017, El-Sayed said Obama’s economic policies “largely benefited corporations and has not really benefited people like them.” At the time, El-Sayed was running for the Democratic nomination for governor.

In the same Vox interview, El-Sayed blasted Obama for not being strong enough on a series of other issues, including health care, financial regulation and immigration.

He even credited Obama with helping to create conditions that prompted voters to back President Donald Trump in 2016.

“When Democrats buy into an ideology that says that we all ought to focus on the well-being of corporations rather than the well-being of real people, when we forget what suffering looks like, then we make mistakes,” El-Sayed said, as quoted by CNN.

And in 2020, he said that America was not “better off” after Obama left office.

“We are going to continue to make the same mistakes of the past eight years under Barack Obama,” he stated. “We are not, as a country, better off eight years after Obama was elected in 2008 than we were when he was elected. And I say this as somebody who loves him deeply.”

In the same speech, he added: “Look at where we are right now. Look at where we are right now. We are debating how we beat the most dangerous president in American history.”

El-Sayed is set to face Republican nominee Mike Rogers in the general election for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3. Obama is expected to campaign alongside El-Sayed on Oct. 24 in Detroit.

LA Blocks Release of Murder Video of Beloved Grandmother Slain by Career Criminal

Luis Cornelio
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LA Blocks Release of Murder Video of Beloved Grandmother Slain by Career Criminal

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The 2024 killing of Mirna Arauz Soza, a 67-year-old grandmother, shocked Los Angeles and caused national outrage over soft-on-crime policies in the metro system. Now, two years after Soza was brutally attacked aboard a train, local officials are fighting to prevent the release of footage of the harrowing murder.

Elliot Tramel Nowden, 47, is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole after several run-ins with police. A jury convicted him of murder after he stabbed and robbed Soza while she was riding the Metro at 5 a.m. following an overnight shift.

City Journal contributing editor Chris Rufo said Wednesday that the Manhattan Institute, City Journal’s publisher, has filed a lawsuit to force the release of footage documenting the killing.

According to Rufo, the footage could provide a fuller picture of Soza’s final moments. Some details of her injuries are known. Soza suffered a fatal stab wound to her neck and reportedly tried to stop the bleeding with her hands. Her family said she collapsed near the train platform and bled to death roughly an hour later near a set of stairs.

LA Metro has declined to release the video, citing apparent family privacy, despite Soza’s three surviving children reportedly petitioning for its release. Most recently, LA Metro claimed that releasing the footage was not in the “public interest.”

Rufo has argued that LA Metro is attempting to block the release to avoid public scrutiny over conditions on the transit system.

“Between 2020 and 2025, crime in the system more than doubled,” Rufo wrote in his story. “About half of all riders reportedly don’t pay, and more than 90 percent of violent criminals on Metro (including Nowden, according to Mirna’s family) evade fares. Metro could catch criminals like Mirna’s murderer at the gates, if only it tried.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who is facing an uphill battle for reelection against an even more leftist candidate, serves as chair of the Metro Board and oversees the entire transit agency, according to City Journal.

The lawsuit comes as City Journal and Rufo continue to shed light on controversial policies in California, including a taxpayer-funded center that allegedly distributes drug paraphernalia to addicts. In July 2026, Rufo published a report detailing shocking statistics about crime on Los Angeles’ Metro system.

Headline USA has reached out to City Journal for more information about its lawsuit.

Arkansas Gov. Huckabee Sanders Takes Fire for Anti-Gamer Bigotry

Headline USA Editor
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Arkansas Gov. Huckabee Sanders Takes Fire for Anti-Gamer Bigotry

(Headline USA) A new video from Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’s decision to portray an unemployed moocher as a young, white, cheeseball-chomping gamer named Brad upset some conservative commentators last week.

Conservatives slammed Sanders for essentially attacking her own constituents.

“Republicans don’t have the balls to do this ad with ‘Shaniqua’ as the villain,” posted Matt Walsh, a conservative writer. “Even though that would actually be an accurate portrayal of the problem at hand.”

Sean Davis, co-founder of the Federalist website, wrote that “our government has systematically discriminated against white men for decades now, and yet now has the audacity to dishonestly mock young white men as welfare queens.”

Sanders, who is running for reelection this year, “stands by the ad,” said Jordan Powell, her campaign manager.

“We should never confiscate money from hard-working Arkansans to give it away to those who simply choose not to work at all,” Powell reportedly said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Protestors Disrupt Trump Rally in Texas

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Protestors Disrupt Trump Rally in Texas

(Headline USA) President Donald Trump, facing protesters and a poor political climate, fought to rally Texas voters behind embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton on Wednesday night in a bid to stave off a blue wave in the nation’s most populous red state.

Speaking to a packed Freeman Coliseum, Trump also clarified recent comments in which he appeared to suggest the bombing of an American city would be “a small price to pay” for the war in Iran. He said Wednesday that Iran might try to hit an American city with a missile.

“You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego, let them in Los Angeles,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let that happen. We protect our cities. We protect our country.”

The president’s message was interrupted repeatedly by protesters, including by one who appeared to be close to the stage. In all, at least a dozen demonstrators interrupted the president. Some were led away by police.

Trump stepped away from the microphone briefly after one interruption.

“He’s going back home to mom,” Trump said. “But what he doesn’t know is his mom voted for Trump.”

The Republican Party did not plan to devote so much money and manpower to Texas this midterm season.

Texas is the nation’s most populous reliably Republican state, where Trump won in 2024 by almost 14 percentage points. But with Election Day less than a month away, Trump’s poor approval ratings, the Iran war and soaring gas prices have threatened Republicans in virtually every state.

Wednesday’s appearance marked Trump’s third trip to Texas in less than a month, and party officials have devoted more than $300 million to elections in the state so far.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott did not attend the evening rally. A three-term Republican governor who won reelection in 2022 by roughly 11 percentage points, even Abbott has been caught in the turbulent national currents.

He’s locked in a competitive reelection race against Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.

Instead of appearing with Trump, Abbott was scheduled to headline the dedication of a hospital about 330 miles away. Democrats seized on the governor’s absence.

“For years, Greg Abbott has never been shy about embracing Donald Trump, calling Trump a ‘great friend’ and championing his agenda every step of the way,” said Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Jacob Long. “But now, as Texas families get crushed by record-high prices driven by Trump’s tariffs and war with Iran, suddenly Greg Abbott has somewhere else to be.”

While the race for governor has drawn a sudden influx of cash from Democrats, the state’s U.S. Senate race has drawn the most attention as Democrats fight for the chamber’s majority. The state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, but candidate James Talarico’s fundraising, Trump’s low approval rating and nagging concerns about Paxton’s character have put the race squarely in play.

Trump spent most of his remarks focused on the Texas Senate contest, describing Paxton as “perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America.”

“He was tough and he was with us all the way,” Trump said of Paxton. “He’s a fantastic man.”

Trump made no mention of the recently leaked recording of Paxton lamenting the war in Iran and rising fuel prices, while also complaining his campaign was being run by operatives in Washington.

And while Trump praised Paxton briefly at the beginning of his remarks, he spent far more time attacking Talarico, whom he referred to repeatedly as “Tala-freako.”

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Report Details 81 US Aircraft Lost or Damaged in Iran War

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Report Details 81 US Aircraft Lost or Damaged in Iran War

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) A new report from the Congressional Research Service has found that at least 81 US military aircraft have been damaged or lost in the Iran war since it was launched by the US and Israel on February 28.

The report’s authors said the tally was compiled from statements by the Pentagon, US Central Command, the Pentagon Inspector General, and news reports, and that the “number of aircraft may remain subject to revision due to multiple factors.” The CRS published a similar report in May that put the number of aircraft damaged or lost at 42.

The list from the new report includes both unmanned and manned aircraft that were damaged or destroyed by Iranian attacks on US bases, shot down or damaged by Iranian fire, or lost in accidents, friendly-fire incidents, or other unspecified incidents. The majority were MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are extremely vulnerable to air defenses. Of the 81 aircraft listed in the report, 45 were MQ-9s.

The full list includes:

  • 45 MQ-9 Reapers
  • 12 F-15E Strike Eagles
  • 7 KC-135 Stratotankers
  • 4 AH-6 Little Birds
  • 3 MQ-1 drones
  • 2 A-10 Thunderbolt IIs
  • 2 MC-130J Commando IIs
  • 1 F-35A Lightning II
  • 1 E-3 Sentry
  • 1 HH-60W Jolly Green II
  • 1 MQ-4C Triton
  • 1 AH-64 Apache
  • 1 MH-60 Sea Hawk

The report said that in September, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the cost of equipment losses as of August 1 at between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, but the actual cost to replace the aircraft would be much higher. The Washington Times estimated that, based on calculations using federal unit costs for 73 of the 81 aircraft, replacing them would cost $5.1 billion.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.  

Mamdani Blasted for Calling Israel’s Gaza War ‘Genocide’ on Oct. 7 Anniversary

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Mamdani Blasted for Calling Israel’s Gaza War ‘Genocide’ on Oct. 7 Anniversary

(Chris Wade, The Center Square) New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed criticism after releasing a statement on the third anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that condemns the “horrific war crimes” while also accusing the Israeli government of committing “genocide” in response. 

Mamdani released a short statement Wednesday marking the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 people and resulted in 251 hostages being taken, saying the “suffering did not begin nor end” on Oct. 7 and that “it has continued through Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza.”

“Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment,” he said. “To honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity.”

Mamdani’s statement included figures saying more than 74,000 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive. He also accused the Israeli military of bombing ambulances, striking residential buildings and journalists, and blocking food aid at border crossings.

His remarks drew swift condemnation from Jewish groups, who accused the young Muslim mayor of politicizing the solemn commemorations and playing to far-left activists. 

The New York-based Anti Defamation League blasted Mamdani’s statement and accused him of “weaponizing a day meant for mourning” and for failing to acknowledge that “Hamas-led attackers murdered civilians, committed sexual violence, mutilated bodies, and took hostages.” 

“You are weaponizing a day meant for mourning the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust to recycle your usual anti-zionist talking points,” the ADL said in a statement. “The city with the largest Jewish population outside Israel deserves a mayor who can honor the dead without exploiting them.”

Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon accused Mamdani of trying to “hijack” a day meant for victims and survivors to criticize Israel and spread propaganda about Palestinians. 

“It is like turning September 11 into a day of mourning for al-Qaeda terrorists,” he posted on X. “We will not let this happen. We will remember those who were murdered, and we will never forget who was behind this massacre.’ 

The statement is likely to increase already strained relations between Mamdani and New York City’s Jewish leaders over his support for the Palestinian state and criticism of Israel, which has drawn claims that he is antisemitic. That mayor has denied any bias towards Jewish people.  Mamdani has also pushed for the arrest of Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes over his military actions in Gaza. 

Mamdani is expected to attend an official city “Vigil in Remembrance of October 7th” on Wednesday night, followed immediately by a meeting with Palestinian New Yorkers, which is closed to the media. 

Democrat Holds Narrow Lead in Minnesota U.S. Senate Race

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Democrat Holds Narrow Lead in Minnesota U.S. Senate Race

(Elyse Apel, The Center Square) Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya are neck and neck in the most-recent polling of Minnesota’s U.S. Senate race.

Peggy Flanagan, a Democrat, leads Michele Tafoya 44.8% to 43.3%, according to the average of the four most-recent polls compiled by 270toWin.

There is a wider gap in the Minnesota gubernatorial race, with Democrat U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar leading Republican state House Speaker Lisa Demuth by two to seven percentage points in recent polling.

Minnesota voters have already begun casting absentee ballots for the 2026 general election across a wide slate of races.

This year, the entire Legislature is on the ballot, along with races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and state auditor. There is also one ballot measure on the ballot.

According to the Cook Political Report, the Minnesota U.S. Senate race is predicted to be likely Democrat. It is expected to be one of the bellwether races set to determine the balance of congressional power.

Of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate, 33 are up for regular election in 2026, along with two special elections. Democrats currently hold 13 of the seats on the ballot, while Republicans hold 22. That means this election cycle will determine which party controls the 120th Congress.

A Republican candidate has not won a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota since 2002. Tafoya hopes to be the first, labeling herself a political outsider.

“Minnesotans are rejecting Peggy Flanagan’s record of failure,” she said. “Gang violence. Rampant fraud. Declining test scores. All on her watch as lieutenant governor. It’s time for an outsider.”

Flanagan, who has served alongside Gov. Tim Walz since 2018, is running amid ongoing concerns over fraud in the state.

“Peggy Flanagan stood beside Tim Walz for eight years while Minnesota suffered billions in taxpayer dollars lost to fraud, a free-fall in academic performance, and rising crime,” Tafoya said. “Now she wants a promotion to the U.S. Senate. Eight years of failure doesn’t deserve a promotion.”

Flanagan has called out Tafoya for supporting President Donald Trump, calling her a “yes vote” for him if elected.

“We have a choice, Minnesota,” Flanagan said. “Do you want a senator who will work for you to lower costs, end the illegal war in Iran, and hold ICE accountable? Or do you want another senator for Trump?”

Healthcare access is another priority for Flanagan.

“Michele Tafoya said she’ll ‘protect’ Trump’s big, ugly bill in the Senate,” Flanagan said. “I’m going to fight to restore the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP – the same programs that saved my life as a kid.”

Christa Pike’s First Words After Surviving Execution: ‘Where am I?’ Attorney Says

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Christa Pike’s First Words After Surviving Execution: ‘Where am I?’ Attorney Says

(Headline USA) Christa Pike, who regained consciousness almost six days after Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute her, is aware of what happened and “angry and confused,” one of her attorneys said Wednesday.

Pike, 50, survived despite receiving two lethal doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer.

“She is very aware of what they did to her up to a point,” attorney Randy Spivey said following a court hearing in Nashville where a judge told the state to save evidence from the execution attempt.

“On Monday night, it was our understanding that Christa was brain dead and that life support would be removed the next day,” Spivey said. “But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone … Christa woke up and began talking.”

Spivey, who was not with Pike when she woke up, said he was told her first words were, “Where am I?” and “Who are you?”

The Death Penalty Information Center says Pike is the only person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution.

Her lawyers said she still can’t move her arms or swallow, her prognosis remains unclear and that she has a long road to recovery. Her arms were burned and blistered by the attempted execution and she is handcuffed to the hospital bed, they said.

The failed execution has renewed scrutiny of how states carry out the death penalty, in particular the use of lethal injection. Texas was set to carry out Wednesday the first execution in the U.S. since Tennessee attempted to put Pike to death.

At the hearing Wednesday, Pike’s attorneys asked the court to order the Tennessee Department of Correction to save evidence in the case and provide more information about what went wrong. A judge told the state to preserve “anything that was in the actual room.”

“Part of the issue that we are facing is up until yesterday, our client was unconscious, unable to communicate with counsel, unable to communicate with medical providers, and without her consent” a new lawsuit cannot be filed, Luke Ihnen, a federal public defender, told the court.

Pike’s attorneys wanted a court order to require the prison system to preserve information from the attempted execution, including drug lot numbers, needles, execution logs and other information.

Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles indicated that her order to save the evidence would be sweeping, saying the state should maintain recordings, witness accounts, emails along with drugs, syringes, IV lines and other medical items.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office said a court order was unnecessary. John W. Ayers, assistant attorney general, said evidence from the death chamber already had been collected and logged.

Republican Gov. Bill Lee ordered a review, calling what happened “deeply disturbing.” Lee postponed the state’s only other execution scheduled for this year.

The state’s prison chief resigned in the wake of the failed execution.

Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on the possibility that a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in her tissue rather than entering her bloodstream. 

Pike’s attorneys wrote in their court filing that “apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown.”

The attempted execution got underway around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 30 when Pike was given a chance to make a final statement. About five minutes later, Pike raised her head and said her arm was hurting. At some point she appeared to lose consciousness, but she could be heard audibly breathing until media were escorted from the witness room at 8:53 p.m. An ambulance arrived at the prison at 9:14 p.m. to take Pike to a hospital.

Dr. Joel Zivot, a professor of anesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta who consulted as an expert for Pike’s legal team, said it could be weeks or months before anyone knows exactly what her recovery might look like, and whether her competency could be restored so the state can try again to execute her.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press. 

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