Report: U.S. Racked Up $2 Trillion Deficit over Past 11 Months

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Report: U.S. Racked Up $2 Trillion Deficit over Past 11 Months

(, The Center Square) A new report from the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the federal budget deficit reached $2 trillion over the past 11 months, painting a dire picture of the U.S.’s fiscal health.

Since fiscal year 2025 began last October, the government spent $6.7 trillion while collecting $4.7 trillion in revenues. That amounts to a 6% and 7% increase, respectively, compared to the same time period a year ago.

Due to upcoming cost-saving changes to federal student loan programs, however, the federal deficit over the entirety of fiscal year 2025 – which ends Sept. 30 – will ultimately total $1.8 trillion.

Outlays for net interest on debt held by the public rose by 8% as well, with the national debt recently topping $37 trillion, as The Center Square reported.

Multiple government departments increased their outlays as well, with the departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Agriculture cumulatively spending $121 billion more than 11 months ago.

The Department of Education, however, slashed its spending by 44%, the $110 billion reduction due to President Donald Trump’s partial dismantling of the department in March. That decrease – paired with higher tax revenues, a $95 billion boost from Trump’s tariff policy, and other revenue sources – ultimately led to CBO’s current deficit estimates falling slightly short of its predictions in January.

CBO’s report, released Tuesday, also reveals that the deficit for the month of August totaled $360 billion, or 5% less than in August 2024.

If the U.S. continues down this fiscal path, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates national debt will surpass $53 trillion by 2035. CRFB has urged Congress to make deficit reduction a major priority in the fiscal year 2026 government funding process, as well as any future budget reconciliation bills.

“The national debt is currently as large as the economy and interest costs are surging to record highs,” CRFB stated Monday. “Failure to stem the growth in our debt will push up interest rates, slow income growth, leave less fiscal space for future emergencies, threaten national security, and increase the risk of a debt spiral and ultimately a debt crisis.”

Charlotte Mayor Wins Democratic Nomination in Wake of Deadly Train Stabbing

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Charlotte Mayor Wins Democratic Nomination in Wake of Deadly Train Stabbing

(Headline USA) A Democratic mayor secured a comfortable win in a primary election despite days of intense backlash following the deadly stabbing of a young Ukrainian woman on a commuter train in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mayor Vi Lyles is seeking a fifth term but is coming under criticism after images of the attack sparked widespread outrage from the nation. Many observers say the killing of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska shows how Democrats are too soft on people with criminal records. Democrats who challenged her in the primary also said the mayor’s response has been insufficient.

The stabber, homeless schizophrenic man DeCarlos Brown Jr., had a slew of prior convictions. His most recent arrest came in January for misusing 911, and a judge let him remain out of jail with no bail.

Despite the attack and its fallout, Lyles remains the front-runner for reelection. She will take on Republican Terrie Donovan, a real estate agent who faced no primary opposition in the heavily Democratic city.

Donovan released a statement on the case.

“This tragedy must serve as a wake up call for all of us to demand better from our elected officials,” Donovan said in a statement.

Headline USA was the first to obtain and publish the full video of the deadly train stabbing.

The footage shows what’s described in a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department affidavit: Brown, totally unprovoked, stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska three times. He cut his own hand in the process before walking off. Bystanders didn’t react at first, but soon rushed to Zarutska’s side as her life slipped away.

Brown was arrested shortly thereafter. Judge Roy Wiggins signed an order Friday to send Brown to Central Regional Hospital – Butner Campus for 60 days to “determine the defendant’s capacity to proceed.” Judge Wiggins’s order is heavily redacted, making his reasoning for the move unclear.

The DOJ announced federal charges against Brown on Tuesday.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

 

 

Tucker Carlson Exposes Mark Cuban’s Hypocrisy on Ukraine Aid

Luis Cornelio
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Tucker Carlson Exposes Mark Cuban’s Hypocrisy on Ukraine Aid

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Tucker Carlson confronted billionaire Mark Cuban over his hypocrisy on Ukraine, blasting him for backing taxpayer funding while refusing to spend any of his own fortune.

The viral clash took place Monday at the 2025 All-In Summit during a seminar titled “How to Save America,” hosted by David Sacks and others.

When asked about U.S. funding for Ukraine, Cuban voiced partial support, saying: “Half my family is Ukrainian … and so, you know, personally, I think we should help. But I don’t have a studied answer for you.”

That prompted Carlson to ask bluntly: “How much money have you sent to Ukraine?”

“None,” Cuban admitted.

“Oh, so what do you mean by we? You’re the one whose family’s from Ukraine. Why don’t you send them a billion dollars?” Carlson shot back.

Cuban then tried to pivot, claiming that he was trying to “fix healthcare.”

Carlson swiftly countered: “Why don’t you fix their healthcare? If you’re, like, so deep, if you think we need to help, why don’t you start? How about you first?”

“I noticed that’s never even an option for anybody. It’s like we need to help. That’s not what charity is. Forcing other people to help is not charity,” Carlson added.

The exchange has since gone viral, coming amid ongoing debate over foreign funding while Americans continue to struggle at home.

A growing bloc of Republicans has opposed sending more money to Ukraine, a country long plagued by corruption and mismanagement.

Despite this, the U.S. has spent a staggering $130 billion on the Eastern European country, according to the German Kiel Institute.

Watch the full exchange below:

Jean Carroll Boasts of ‘Trick’ on Jurors by Making Herself Look ‘F***able’ 

Luis Cornelio
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Jean Carroll Boasts of ‘Trick’ on Jurors by Making Herself Look ‘F***able’ 

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll recounted the bizarre “trick” she claimed to have used to convince a jury against President Donald Trump, saying she aimed to make herself look “f***able.” 

A jury in deep-blue New York controversially ruled that Trump had defamed Carroll when he denied her sexual abuse allegations, which she said occurred in either 1995 or 1996. Trump has denied ever meeting Carroll. 

Speaking on The Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller in July, Carroll said she conducted mock trials to prepare for her defamation suit against Trump. 

Some of the mock jurors concluded that Carroll might have seemed to invite Trump’s alleged advances because, by her own admission, she was of old age.  

“I mean … that has to be pretty dispiriting that then you’re like, ‘Well, I got to be hotter to win this case,’” Miller said. 

“Yeah. I got to be f***able, is the word,” Carroll replied. 

She added that she recreated her 1990s look by redoing her hair, hiring the same hairdresser and makeup artists she used then.  

“I wore the exact same clothes I wore in 1996. The exact clothes!” Carroll stated, later adding: “I didn’t look like I looked in ‘96, but I looked like somebody who could have looked like somebody in 1990 and it was enough. It was enough… it was a trick.” 

The self-described “trick” worked as the real jury awarded her a combined $88.3 million in purported damages, though Trump is actively appealing the controversial verdict. 

Dem-Appointed Judge Dismisses Lawfare Against Michigan Alternate Electors

Luis Cornelio
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Dem-Appointed Judge Dismisses Lawfare Against Michigan Alternate Electors

(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA)  The 16 Republicans controversially prosecuted by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel are free after a Democrat-appointed judge dismissed all charges on Tuesday.

Ingham County District Judge Kristen Simmons, appointed by Democrat Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, slammed prosecutors for pursuing the cases despite a lack of evidence of criminal intent.

“This is a fraud case, and we have to prove intent. And I don’t believe there is evidence sufficient to prove intent,” Simmons wrote, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Her ruling followed a series of preliminary hearings before trial. Simmons’s rebuke targeted Nessel’s cases from 2023 against individuals who served as alternate electors in Michigan for the 2020 presidential election.

Each individual faced a staggering 85-year prison sentence—virtually a life sentence comparable to those charged with murder.

The defendants had faced:

  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Forgery (a 14-year felony)
  • Two counts of Forgery (14-year felony)
  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Uttering and Publishing (14-year felony)
  • One count of Uttering and Publishing (14-year felony)
  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Election Law Forgery (5-year felony)
  • Two counts of Election Law Forgery (5-year felony)

The case is part of a wave of lawfare targeting Trump allies after the 2020 election.

Trump himself faced criminal charges from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Georgia and a federal indictment from Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed by Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Similar charges were filed in Arizona, Nevada and Wisconsin by Democratic attorneys general Kris Mayes, Aaron Ford and Josh Paul.

YouTube Censors Headline USA’s Footage of Charlotte Train Stabbing

Ken Silva
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YouTube Censors Headline USA’s Footage of Charlotte Train Stabbing

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In an act of censorship, YouTube has removed footage that Headline USA obtained of the Aug. 22 incident where Charlotte homeless man Decarlos Brown Jr. stabbed a 23-year-old female Ukrainian to death on a public transit.

This publication was the first to obtain and publish the footage of the incident on Tuesday. Despite the fact that we blurred both the stabbing and the face of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska’s as her life slipped away, YouTube still said it violated its content policy. The company denied our appeal, too.

“Violent or graphic content that intends to shock or disgust isn’t allowed on YouTube,” the company said. “We may make limited exceptions for content with educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic context.”

YouTube still has countless other videos of graphic deaths, including politically charged ones such as those of George Floyd and LaVoy Finicum.

Headline USA’s footage can still be found on Twitter/X.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department on Tuesday announced federal charges against Brown.

He is charged federally with causing death on a mass transportation system, which carries up to life in prison or the death penalty. Russ Ferguson, the U.S. attorney for the western district of North Carolina, said additional charges could be brought as the investigation continues.

The federal case will run parallel with the state case charging Brown with first-degree murder.

https://twitter.com/HeadlineUSA/status/1965545388812972459

Brown had cycled through the criminal justice system for more than a decade including serving five years for robbery with a dangerous weapon in Mecklenburg County, according to court records. He was arrested earlier this year after repeatedly calling 911 from a hospital, claiming people were trying to control him. A judge released him without bail.

His mother told local television she sought an involuntary psychiatric commitment this year after he became violent at home. Doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia.

Court records show a judge ordered a psychological exam in July at the request of his public defender to determine whether he was capable of contributing to his own defense. It wasn’t clear if the exam was scheduled or why it didn’t happen before the late August attack.

Zarutska, for her part, had been living in a bomb shelter in Ukraine before coming to the U.S. to escape the war, according to relatives, who described her as determined to build a safer life.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Headline Geopolitics: Adam Fitzgerald on 9/11’s Lasting Impact

Jose Nino
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Headline Geopolitics: Adam Fitzgerald on 9/11’s Lasting Impact

(José Niño, Headline USA) In this Headline Geopolitics episode, José Niño interviews Adam Fitzgerald, independent 9/11 researcher and host of The Darkened Hour podcast.

Fitzgerald discusses what first drew him to investigate the September 11th attacks, the geopolitical impact of 9/11, the flaws in the establishment narrative, where popular 9/11 truthers often go wrong, and why the attacks remain relevant to American politics 24 years later.

Listen now for a measured, evidence-based perspective on one of the most consequential events in modern history.

 

Follow Adam Fitzgerald’s work below:

Substack: https://adamfitzgerald.substack.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@adamfitzgerald911

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

EXCLUSIVE: Headline USA Obtains Raw Footage of Charlotte Train Stabbing

Ken Silva
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EXCLUSIVE: Headline USA Obtains Raw Footage of Charlotte Train Stabbing

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Headline USA has obtained the raw surveillance footage of the Aug. 22 incident where Charlotte homeless man Decarlos Brown stabbed a 23-year-old female Ukrainian to death. The footage is horrifically graphic, but can be viewed here for the first time in full.

The footage shows what’s described in a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department affidavit: Brown, totally unprovoked, stabbed 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska three times. He cut his own hand in the process before walking off. Bystanders didn’t react at first, but soon rushed to Zarutska’s side as her life slipped away.

Brown was arrested shortly thereafter. Judge Roy Wiggins signed an order Friday to send Brown to Central Regional Hospital – Butner Campus for 60 days to “determine the defendant’s capacity to proceed.” Judge Wiggins’s order is heavily redacted, making his reasoning for the move unclear.

Headline USA first requested the footage from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department last Tuesday. The police denied the open records request a day later, telling this publication that a court order would be required for its release.

Then, days later, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) released the footage to local media, which didn’t show the full sequence of events. Headline USA then requested the same footage from CATS, and was told that someone would need to pick up a CD from the authority’s office in downtown Charlotte.

On Tuesday morning, this reporter drove to the CATS office and picked up the CD. Headline USA has blurred out the actual stabbing, as well as Zarutska’s face in the aftermath, out of respect for her and her family.

Zarutska’s death has inflamed racial tensions and sparked a nationwide debate over crime in America. According to local reports, Brown, 34, has a slew of convictions for armed robbery, felony larceny, breaking and entering, and other offenses. Before he allegedly committed murder, his latest crime was misusing 911.

Ken Silva is the editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

Israeli Airstrikes Target Hamas Leadership in Qatar

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Israeli Airstrikes Target Hamas Leadership in Qatar

(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) The Israeli military launched airstrikes in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday in an attempt to target Hamas political leadership, marking a major Israeli escalation in the region that dims any hope of a ceasefire in Gaza.

A source told Al Jazeera that the attack occurred while Hamas officials were gathered to discuss a ceasefire proposal from the US. Suhail al-Hindi, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said that Hamas’s leadership survived the attack, while the son of acting Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya was killed, along with several of his aides. Qatar’s Interior Ministry said that a Qatari security officer was also killed in the attack.

Hamas later issued a statement that said none of its political leaders were killed in the attack. It said a total of six people were killed, including al-Hayya’s son, four office staff, and the Qatari officer.

According to Israeli media, Israeli warplanes dropped more than 10 bombs on a residential building where Israel believed Hamas leaders were gathering, an area of Doha near schools and embassies. Qatar has hosted a Hamas office since 2012, a step it took at the request of the US.

Sources told Middle East Eye President Trump “blessed” the attack on Qatar, which his a major non-NATO ally of the US and hosts about 10,000 US troops. A White House official told AFP that the US was informed ahead of the attack.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later commented on the attack, saying it doesn’t advance US and Israeli goals while also backing the idea of targeting Hamas officials. “The Trump administration was notified by the United States military that Israel was attacking Hamas, which very unfortunately, was located in a section of Doha, the capital of Qatar,” she said.

“Unilaterally bombing inside Qatar, a sovereign nation and close ally of the United States that is working very hard and bravely taking risks with us to broker peace does not advance Israel or America’s goals. However, eliminating Hamas, who have profited off the misery of those living in Gaza is a worthy goal,” Leavitt added.

She said that Trump “believes this unfortunate incident could serve as an opportunity for peace.”

Israeli Prime Minister claimed the attack was “a wholly independent Israeli operation. Israel initiated it, Israel conducted it, and Israel takes full responsibility.”

Trump recently issued a statement demanding Hamas accept his ceasefire proposal, which he said was his “last warning” for the group. Hamas responded to Trump’s statement by saying it was ready to immediately enter negotiations. The proposal that the US put forward called for Hamas to release all remaining Israeli captives without a guarantee for an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire.

If the US and Israel coordinated on the strike in Doha, it would mark the second time this year the two countries used negotiations as a cover for an attack. Israel launched the 12-Day War on Iran on June 13 amid US and Iran nuclear negotiations, two days before the US and Iran were set to hold another round of talks.

The attack on Doha also has implications for the US relationship with its Gulf Arab allies, although the fact that Israeli warplanes would have had to use Arab airspace to launch the strikes suggests there may have been some cooperation. Qatar said it condemned “in the strongest terms the cowardly Israeli attack” and said it was a “blatant violation of all international laws and norms.”

“The State of Qatar affirms that it will not tolerate this reckless Israeli behavior and its continued tampering with regional security, as well as any action targeting its security and sovereignty,” the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.

 

Maine Rejects DOJ’s ‘Fishing Expedition’ for Voter Data

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Maine Rejects DOJ’s ‘Fishing Expedition’ for Voter Data

(Chris Wade, The Center Square) Maine’s top election official has rejected another request from the Trump administration to turn over the state’s voter registration data, criticizing the demands as a “fishing expedition” that would compromise voters’ personal information.

Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat running for governor in 2026, said her office has rebuffed new demands in an Aug. 18 letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over information on Maine’s nearly one million voters. She said the requested data included “highly sensitive” information such as state drivers’ license numbers, partial social security numbers, and dates of birth.

“If DOJ is willing to provide additional information addressing my concerns … I will carefully consider that information,” Bellows wrote in the three-page letter. “At this time, however, I am unable to comply with the DOJ’s requests for unredacted information concerning all Maine voters.”

In a separate statement, Bellows said she rejected the demands because the DOJ “hasn’t shown any good reason for its fishing expedition for sensitive voter information on every American.”

“The federal government has a terrible track record keeping private data safe,” she said. “Their data demands appear to violate federal privacy laws and complying would put the privacy and data security of nearly 1 million Mainers at risk.”

Bellows previously rejected a request from the DOJ for voter registration data, telling the federal agency to “go jump in the Gulf of Maine” and saying she will not comply with demands.

Maine is the latest state targeted by the Trump administration as it investigates state election policies as part of broader efforts to prevent voter fraud. Other states include New York, New Hampshire, Florida and Wisconsin.

In July, New Hampshire’s Republican Secretary of State David Scanlan, a Republican, rejected a similar DOJ request for a voter registration list, citing a state law declaring the data “private and confidential” and not subject to public records requests.

Maine will be voting on a referendum in the Nov. 4 elections that would require people to present a valid state ID or driver’s license to vote or request an absentee ballot for federal, state and local elections. The proposal was recently cleared for the ballot after Maine’s highest court rejected a legal challenge over its wording.

Republicans have called on Bellows to resign over her “refusal to cooperate” with the Trump administration by turning over state voter registration rolls. GOP lawmakers pushed unsuccessfully to impeach Bellows for trying to remove Donald Trump’s name from the 2024 presidential primary ballot over his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots. That plan fizzled after Democrats rejected it.

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