Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Stevie Wonder, Mya, Madonna, Green Day, Raye, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Dionne Warwick

First off, today is, as PEOPLE notes, Stevie Wonder's birthday.  So happy birthday to Stevie.  AP has a video interview with Mya and they note, "R&B singer Mýa is releasing 'Retrospect,' her tenth studio album and first full-length in eight years. She says the album is about spreading joy, and shares her hopes for a reunion with her 'Lady Marmalade' singing partners."  Madonna's CONFESSIONS II drops in July.  Jazz Tangcay (VARIETY) notes:

Madonna is returning to the Tribeca Festival to present the world premiere of “Confessions II,” a visual film.

Directed by David Toro and Solomon Chase (TORSO), the film is built around the first six tracks of her upcoming studio album, “Confessions II” — a follow-up to her critically acclaimed 2005 dance record “Confessions on a Dance Floor.” The album is set to be released on July 3 via Warner Records.
“Confessions II,” the film, will premiere on June 5 at the Beacon Theatre. Following the screening, she will join the directors for an exclusive conversation with Jimmy Fallon.
The official description reads: “It unfolds as a single, continuous piece, weaving together interconnected, musicdriven sequences into an immersive cinematic experience. A film that gives physicality to the
music, ‘Confessions II’ lives in the tension between control and surrender, between being seen
and disappearing into a crowd. Each song unfolds across six chapters, each one a sexy thriller,
a dance delusion, an epic fever dream. Like the album, it blurs distinction between tracks, building
cosmic narratives that follow a twisted dream logic.”


Staying on the topic of film, Annie Harrigan (BILLBOARD) reports:

We'll be having the time of our lives when this movie comes out.

Inaugural Entertainment announced Tuesday (May 12) that its Green Day-inspired comedy NIMRODS -named after the band's 1997 Billboard 200 top 10 album Nimrod - will hit theaters this summer. Alongside the release date, Inaugural Entertainment also shared that it is partnering with with Legion M, the world's first fan-owned entertainment company.

Directed by Lee Kirk, NIMRODS is a coming-of-age film that follows a group of three friends who embark on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles after mistakenly believing that their band is opening up for Green Day at a New Year's Eve show. The misadventures of the trio are inspired by Green Day's years of living in a tour van.



Baby, where the hell is her Oscar?

Billboard‘s May 2026 cover star RAYE has been cast in new crime thriller Lineage by filmmaker Yann Demange (Top Boy, '71). The British singer-songwriter will star opposite French actors Dali Benssalah, Adam Bessa and Isabelle Huppert in the upcoming film, Variety reports.

Though RAYE has previously made a cameo as herself in the 2025 Netflix limited series Black Rabbit, Lineage will be the star's acting debut. Based on a story written by Demange and penned for the big screen by Edna Walsh, Lineage takes place in modern-day London and follows Tariq, a father looking to rebuild his life after being released from prison. Production for the movie is set to begin in August in London.

RAYE's first acting role comes on the heels of her second studio album This Music May Contain Hope, released in March. The LP peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 and spawned RAYE's highest charting Billboard Hot 100 song to date, "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!," which also peaked at No. 11. 


Dolly Parton's starred in many films -- most famously 9 TO 5 with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, STEEL MAGNOLIAS with Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Daryl Hannah and Julia Roberts and THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS with Burt Reynolds.  As has Willie Nelson -- probably best known for him THE ELECTRIC HORSEMAN with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and HONEYSUCKLE ROSE with Amy Irving and Dyan Cannon.  But Russ Penuell (BILLBOARD) notes the two of them for another reason:


Willie Nelson joins Dolly Parton as the only artists to appear on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in each of the last seven decades, as the iconic performer is featured on Kacey Musgraves' "Uncertain, TX." The track opens at No. 50 on the May 16-dated ranking with 2.4 million official U.S. streams May 1-7, according to Luminate. It's one of 15 songs on Musgraves' Middle of Nowhere, which debuts at No. 2 on Top Country Albums.

Written by Musgraves and longtime creative partner Daniel Tashian, "Uncertain, TX" extends one of country music's longest running chart histories: 64 years and two months after Nelson first reached Hot Country Songs with "Willingly," which hit No. 10 in 1962. He tallied two top 10s that decade, along with 13 in the '70s, 24 in the '80s and one each in the '90s and 2000s. Of those, 21 hit No. 1.


Lastly,  Paul Grein (BILLBOARD) covers another music legend:

Dionne Warwick's final studio album, DWuets, due Aug. 7, is expected to contain pairings with Cynthia Erivo, John Legend, Kehlani, Mya and Saweetie, among others. But Warwick has been recording duets with a wide variety of stars for more than 50 years, since before it was a common practice.
Here's proof of that last point: "Then Came You," Warwick's frisky 1974 collab with The Spinners, was the first Billboard Hot 100-topping collab by two acts who had each landed previous Hot 100 hits since "Somethin' Stupid" by Nancy Sinatra and Frank Sinatra in 1967.

Two songs from DWuets have already been released as singles: "Ocean in the Desert," a teaming with Erivo, and "Where Is Your Heart," a collab with Legend. Legend is an EGOT – and Erivo is just an Oscar away from joining him in that exclusive club. Quite obviously, Warwick's trailblazing efforts, starting in 1962 when she landed her first Hot 100 hit, "Don't Make Me Over," helped make their superstar status possible.

"Mom picked the lock for them, and they paid respect to one of the greatest artists ever" is how Warwick's manager and son Damon Elliott put it in a statement that accompanied the release of the collab with Legend. Elliott produced DWuets, which is billed as Warwick's final studio album. All of the songs on DWuets were written by Diane Warren, which gives the title double meaning. The album is being released via Elliott Entertainment in partnership with Vydia, a gamma. company.

Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Wednesday, May 13, 2026.  Chump gets a chilly reception in China, while Americans are concerned about the rising costs Chump explains that the costs to the American consumers are not part of his focus, turns out that he's also been lying about Iran's military capabilities, he's killed the tourism and hospitality industries in the US, House Oversight Committee Dems hold a hearing in Florida to hear from Epstein survivors, Senator Patty Murray has to explain to Ka$h Patel what his job duties are and suggest that he might want to step down as FBI director and return to podcasting, and much more. 




At MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Ben reports on Donald Chump underwhelming China with his visit.

And in the US?  Americans have other things on their mind, things to be concerned about.  Nia Prater (INTELLIGENCER) reports:

Americans have made it clear for months in survey data that they are struggling with the cost of groceries, housing, and pretty much everything else. President Donald Trump’s war with Iran continues to make those problems worse in very visible ways.
According to new figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on Tuesday, the Consumer Price Index rose by 3.8 percent in April, compared to a year prior, with prices rising by 0.6 percent from just March alone. Per CNBC, this marks the highest rate since May 2023, when Joe Biden was contending with the inflation that irreversibly damaged his presidency. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the Labor Department also reported that the core CPI rose 0.4 percent from last month and 2.8 percent over the course of the year.
The new federal data also noted a rise in typical expenses for the American consumer. In April, energy prices increased by 3.8 percent from the previous month. The cost of groceries is up 0.7 percent from March and by 2.9 percent since last year, likely bolstered by the price of beef, which rose by 2.7 percent over the month. Airline fares also saw a jump in costs, rising by 2.8 percent in April. The rising price of gas is likely bleeding into the higher prices shoppers are seeing at the grocery store because of impacts on the supply chain, as The Wall Street Journal noted in a recent report.
Gasoline prices started to spike after the United States launched joint strikes with Israel against Iran on February 28, marking the start of a monthslong conflict that has interrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which transports a fifth of the global oil supply. As of Tuesday, AAA reports that the national average for a gallon of regular gas is $4.50. 

,
Americans are frustrated and concerned.  Ariana Baio (INDEPENDENT) reports:

With rising gas prices, mortgage rates and consumer prices, most Americans say they blame President Donald Trump for the increased cost of living and worsening economic conditions, according to a new poll.

Between the end of April and early May, roughly 77 percent of respondents to a CNN/SSRS survey said Trump’s policies have driven the cost of living up, with most people blaming his decision to go to war with Iran and the implementation of tariffs as the driving factors.
[. . .]
Roughly 10 percent of CNN/SSRS survey respondents said that the cost of housing and the housing market were the biggest issues facing their families.


The biggest issues facing their families?  

So surely this economic crisis is occupying Chump's time and his mind constantly.  He must stay up late at night trying to figure out how to fix it -- especially since he's the one who caused all of this mess. Right?  

President Donald Trump used the ongoing discourse over his decision to re-paint the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool to hurl criticism against his opponents this week. 

In a post shared to his Truth Social platform early Tuesday, Trump shared an AI-produced image showing former President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) bathing up to their necks in a version of the pool that was filled with human waste. 

Barack, Joe and Nancy?  That's what Chump is focusing on?  Has the dementia taken over completely? 

Do the American people and their concerns not matter at all? 



The president made a stark admission on Tuesday, saying that he does not consider the finances of the American people when negotiating with Iran.

The president paused to speak to reporters before embarking on his historic trip to China. There, Trump will meet with President Xi Jinping, to discuss trade relations and the ongoing war with Iran. On Tuesday afternoon, a reporter questioned whether Trump is fully considering the economic strain that the war has put on everyday Americans.
"When you're negotiating with Iran, Mr. President, to what extent are Americans' financial situations motivating you to make a deal?" a reporter asked.

"Not even a little bit," Trump said firmly. "The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situation, I don't think about anybody."


Wait.  Did he really say that?  Sara Boboltz (HUFFINGTON POST) notes:

Over the roar of Marine One, President Donald Trump made a shocking statement to a reporter who had asked specifically "to what extent ... Americans' financial situations are motivating" him to make a deal with Iran. 

"Not even a little bit," the president said Tuesday. "The only thing that matters when I'm talking about Iran [is] they can't have a nuclear weapon. I don't think about Americans' financial situations — I don't think about anybody.["] 


So the American people don't enter his dementia addled brain?  We are not his concern.  Our economic plight -- created and fostered by him -- is not his concern.  





Consumer prices in the United States rose at the fastest rate since May 2023 last month, as sharp increases in energy costs caused by war in the Middle East made life more expensive for American consumers.

The Consumer Price Index rose 3.8 percent in April from a year earlier, the Labor Department reported on Tuesday, up from a 2.4 percent annual increase before the conflict started in February and a 3.3 percent increase in March.

The increase was driven largely by energy prices, up 3.8 percent just since the previous month and nearly 18 percent from a year earlier. But the “core” index, stripping out volatile food and energy prices, also rose 2.8 percent over the year in April, up from 2.6 percent in March.

“I’m looking for anything where I can say ‘here’s some relief,’ and that’s not very easy to do in this report,” said Michael Reid, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets. “Generally inflation is moving in the wrong direction.”


Other polling is equally as bad for Chump.  For example, Cindi Andrews (USA TODAY) reports, "Two-thirds of Americans say President Donald Trump hasn't made a clear case for going to war with Iran, and almost as many are feeling the financial pinch from rising gas prices caused by the conflict, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released May 11."

Nine or so weeks after he launched his war of choice, 2/3rds of Americans say he hasn't made -- he still hasn't made -- a clear case for going to war with Iran.  



Acting Department of Defense Comptroller Jay Hurst on Tuesday said the cost of the Iran war is now closer to a total of $29 billion.

“The joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking at that estimate, and so now we think it’s closer to 29,” Hurst said as he testified in front of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. 
Almost two weeks ago, Hurst testified during a House Armed Services Committee hearing that the cost of the Iran war was $25 billion in total. The new, updated cost is due to “updated repair and replacement of equipment costs and also just general operational costs to keep people in theater,” Hurst said.

The increased price tag comes as the Trump administration for weeks has been insisting that the Iran war is suspended due to a ceasefire that has been reached between the two countries. 


The increased price tag isn't the only alarming development.  Chump's been 'soothing' reality about the state of Iran's military.  Adam EntousMaggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan (NEW YORK TIMES) report; 


The Trump administration’s public portrayal of a shattered Iranian military is sharply at odds with what U.S. intelligence agencies are telling policymakers behind closed doors, according to classified assessments from early this month that show Iran has regained access to most of its missile sites, launchers and underground facilities.

Most alarming to some senior officials is evidence that Iran has restored operational access to 30 of the 33 missile sites it maintains along the Strait of Hormuz, which could threaten American warships and oil tankers transiting the narrow waterway.

People with knowledge of the assessments said they show — to varying degrees, depending on the level of damage incurred at the different sites — that the Iranians can use mobile launchers that are inside the sites to move missiles to other locations. In some cases they can launch missiles directly from launchpads that are part of the facilities. Only three of the missile sites along the strait remain totally inaccessible, according to the assessments.




Last year, FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailed the upcoming World Cup as the equivalent of “104 Super Bowls,” quantifying just how big the sport known as football worldwide is—or, at least in comparison to America’s football version. With the average Super Bowl getting 125.6 million views annually, Infantino expects the World Cup to attract the equivalent viewership of three Super Bowls a day for all 39 days of the competition. FIFA predicts games would touch six billion viewers globally, and expects the influx of travelers and tourism will help contribute to a projected $30.5 billion economic windfall for the three host countries of the U.S, Mexico and Canada.
The U.S. hospitality industry, however, is skeptical of the event’s money-making promises.

Of more than 200 hotels surveyed across the 11 U.S. host cities, nearly 80% said hotel bookings are tracking below initial forecasts, a new report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) found. Though FIFA data shows more than five million tickets have already been booked for the event, “indicators suggest the anticipated economic lift may fall short of expectations,” the report said. 
[. . .]
The hotels surveyed—in the cities of Kansas City, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, and Atlanta—blamed low international demand, with some saying booking pace was trending below even typical summer expectations. 

Oh, that's right.  As we noted throughout 2025, Chump was killing tourism in the US with his ICE raids and his insults and his threats and his sour face.  Jake Goldstein-Street (WASHINGTON STATE STANDARD) adds: 

Last year, FIFA President Gianni Infantino likened this year’s World Cup to “104 Super Bowls.”

With the soccer tournament a month away, that’s feeling like a stretch. 

In Seattle, which will host six matches, bullish expectations for the local tourism economy have dampened. Many other cities are in the same boat. 

The World Cup will take place between June and July, with 104 games scheduled in 16 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Millions of tickets sold for the U.S. matches haven’t translated to hotel bookings, as domestic travelers outpace those from other countries, according to an analysis from the American Hotel and Lodging Association. 

In Seattle, nearly 80% of respondents to the association’s survey reported bookings below expectations, and behind a typical summer. Many industry professionals across the country called the World Cup a “non-event” for their businesses.


Donald Chump has destroyed the tourism and hospitality industries in the US.  Andrew Stanton (NEWSWEEK) reports:


Cities across the United States have seen up to a 65 percent decrease in Canadian tourism as the relationship between the two countries frayed amid President Donald Trump’s tariffs and talk of making Canada the 51st state, according to a new report from the University of Toronto, whose lead author told Newsweek that the decline spans more than just tourists and snowbirds.
Washington and Ottawa have long been political allies on the global stage, but that relationship has been tested by Trump’s escalated rhetoric toward Canada. His tariffs and annexation threats caused many Canadians to avoid travel to the United States, carrying economic consequences for cities and businesses dependent on tourism from Canadians. The new data reveals which cities have been hit hardest amid the Canadian tourism plunge.

U.S. cities have seen declines in Canadian tourism of up to 65 percent, according to the data. 



The economic effects of President Donald Trump's disruptive approach to foreign policy are coming into sharper focus with a year's worth of data.

As expected, a range of numbers like border crossings and hotel bookings show how Trump's trade war has killed off a large segment of Canadian tourism.

But new analysis from the University of Toronto's School of Cities now shows that other areas of the economy have taken a major hit as well.

Using cell phone data, researchers Karen Chapple, Yihoi Jung, and Jeff Allen documented an average year-over-year decline in Canadian visits to US cities of approximately 42%. That's a much larger hit than the 25% drop previously estimated based on border crossing data.

"The top 20 cities were a number of big metros that aren't exactly known as, you know, big tourist areas," Chapple told Business Insider.



Yesterday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee continued their attempts to deliver justice for those harmed by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.  The Republicans weren't interested in delivering justice.  James Comer and others on the Committee appear to be more interested in covering for Chump than in helping those in need.  House Democrats held a hearing.  After the hearing, they released the following:

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Committee Democrats, and local Democratic Members held a hearing in West Palm Beach, Florida, as part of its Jeffrey Epstein investigation. The hearing included testimony from survivors of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and important voices in the investigation. The footage of the hearing can be found here.

“Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors showed extraordinary courage in Palm Beach by coming forward to share their stories. This investigation is entering a new phase, and we’re publishing a report detailing how Epstein built his global trafficking network. We are focused on justice and ending this White House cover-up,” said Ranking Member Robert Garcia.

In connection with the hearing, Oversight Democrats published an interim staff report titled “The Price of Non-Prosecution: The Evolution of Epstein’s Trafficking Network, from Palm Beach to Paris and Beyond,” using new evidence obtained via subpoena to show how Epstein built a global network to traffic women following the “sweetheart” plea deal he received from former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Alex Acosta, in 2008. The report can be viewed here.

At the hearing, Members of Congress heard from the following witnesses:

Sky and Amanda Roberts: brother and sister-in-law, respectively, of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s international sex trafficking network.

Maria Farmer: the first survivor to report Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse to authorities in 1996. Maria accused Epstein of the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after he stole photos she took of her two younger sisters, who were 12 and 16 years old at the time, and also sexually assaulted her.

Dani Hannah Bensky: an advocate, dance teaching artist, choreographer, and Epstein survivor. She was abused by Epstein in 2004 and 2005, beginning when she was 17 years old and a dancer in New York City. Danielle has spoken out about the Trump Administration’s cover-up and the impact of the mishandled DOJ release. She sued Epstein’s lawyer, Darren Indyke, and his accountant, Richard Kahn, for their roles in enabling her abuse.

Roza: recruited by modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel in her home country of Uzbekistan and brought to the U.S. with promises of support for her modeling career. Roza was introduced to Epstein in Palm Beach while he was on work release in 2009, and he abused her over several years. Epstein and Brunel used Roza’s visa status and her need to support her family to keep her from escaping.

Courtney Wild: a mom, advocate, and survivor. She was abused by Epstein in Palm Beach starting when she was 14 years old and was lured to his home on the pretense of providing a massage to an older man. Courtney sued the federal government for violating the Crime Victims Rights Act by signing the NPA without consulting victims. She will speak about the lasting damage of the NPA and failures of the DOJ to bring justice for Epstein survivors.

Jena-Lisa Jones: a mom, a wife, and a Founding Survivor of the Survivors, Inc. She was abused by Epstein in Florida when she was 14 years old. Jena-Lisa has spoken about how she had supported President Trump because of his promise to release the Epstein files, but was disappointed by his reversal on the files’ release.

Spencer Kuvin: represented the first Florida survivor to come forward, and later represented multiple Epstein survivors. Spencer will address failures of the original Florida prosecution and can discuss the re-traumatization that survivors have experienced as a result of DOJ’s failure to properly safeguard their identifying information.

Lauren Hersh: activist and former prosecutor combatting trafficking, exploitation, and violence against women and girls. Lauren will speak about the work being done by survivors to bring Epstein and co-conspirators to justice. World Without Exploitation (WorldWE) is a nonpartisan organization but can speak to the impact of DOJ's release on survivors.

Palm Beach, Florida is where Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes first came to light, and where prosecutors offered Epstein a sweetheart deal that allowed him to continue his crimes. Palm Beach is also home to Mar-a-lago, President Donald Trump’s primary residence and private club. During the many years of friendship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, multiple women were recruited for Epstein from Mar-a-lago, including Virginia Guiffre. The Wall Street Journal reports that spa employees from Mar-a-Lago, usually young women, were sent to Epstein’s nearby residence for massages, manicures, and other spa services. Epstein referenced Mar-a-lago in a 2019 email to Michael Wolff, released by Oversight Democrats, when he said, “of course Trump knew about the girls.”

 
###











Democrats tore into government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein abuse scandal on Tuesday – revealing new details of the scale of his international sex trafficking ring, and warning Donald Trump not to grant a presidential pardon to the late sex offender’s sidekick Ghislaine Maxwell.

Several survivors of Epstein’s abuse also gave tearful testimony at a congressional field hearing in Florida of their experiences as teenagers in s orbit. Some spoke of being retraumatized after they were “outed” by the justice department’s failure to redact their names from the so-called Epstein files.

Democratic members of the US House oversight committee said they held Tuesday’s event in Palm Beach, where the president lives, and where Epstein had a residence, because it was “the scene of the crime”.

“We’re here because so much of this investigation brings us back to this location,” California Democrat Robert Garcia, ranking member of the oversight committee, told a press conference after the hearing.

“We know that the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the horrible things that happened to so many women and girls, totaling 1,200 could have been stopped and halted.”

Garcia began the hearing by unveiling a new report called “The Price of Non-Prosecution” that he said revealed how Epstein was able to build a substantial and lucrative international sex trafficking ring following his infamous “sweetheart deal” with Florida prosecutors in 2008.
After dodging serious charges and serving only 13 months in prison for a solicitation of prostitution conviction, he said, Epstein and his associates gamed the US immigration system to obtain visas to traffic women into the country from overseas.

“[Our] report uses evidence obtained by our investigation, including and most importantly bank records, that show how [prosecutor] Alex Acosta’s sweetheart deal let Epstein build a global network using enablers to bring in women who he could then exploit and abuse,” Garcia said.


Dani Hannah Bensky said Epstein abused her in 2004 and 2005, eight years after Maria Farmer first reported him to the FBI. When she was first subpoenaed in 2008 at age 20, no one told her she was entitled to a victims’ rights advocate or a lawyer, she told the panel on Tuesday.

“For many parts of my interview, it felt like an interrogation,” she said.

“Our entrenched systemic failures have allowed powerful people like Jeffrey to thrive,” she added. “If we continue down this path, the question isn’t whether abuse will happen again, but who will be the next Jeffrey Epstein?”

Roza, who was recruited by modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel in her home country of Uzbekistan, was introduced to Epstein in Florida.

She said she was raped by the sex offender over three years beginning in 2009 — a period in which he would he was on work release after a controversial plea agreement that avoided a lengthy prison sentence.

Roza alleges Epstein threatened her visa status and financial security to keep her from escaping.

“The fact he could commit those acts made justice feel impossible to me,” she told the panel.

After the Justice Department released millions of documents connected to Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwel, the government published Roza’s name more than 500 times — exposing her name and the names of other survivors while redacting the names of powerful figures with ties to the sex offender.

Asked what justice looks like for her and other survivors, Roza said the onus is on members of Congress and federal law enforcement — not survivors whose lives have been uprooted by what they see as a system that continues to fail them while protecting powerful people.


After the hearing, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Tweeted:


Ghislaine Maxwell must never receive a pardon or clemency.

Today, at a hearing with Epstein survivors, I made clear that Maxwell has shown no remorse and taken no accountability for her role in Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse network.
12:50 PM · May 12, 2026










Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:

Murray: “We need somebody at this agency who’s focused on solving criminal cases, not passing out branded bourbon, or jetting around the globe. Your job is to be reachable. … If you want to pass out liquor, or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting.”

ICYMI: Senator Murray on President Trump’s FY27 Budget Request

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s full questioning***

Washington, D.C. — Today—at a Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the FY27 budget requests for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the United States Marshals Service (USMS); and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned FBI Director Kash Patel on steps he’s taken that have undermined the Bureau’s mission and on his fitness for the role.

Appearing at the hearing as witnesses were: Kash Patel, Director of the FBI; Robert Cekada, Director of the ATF; Gadyaces S. Serralta, Director of the U.S. Marshals Service; and Terrance C. Cole, Administrator of the DEA.

[PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS UNDERMINE FBI’S WORK]

Senator Murray began by drawing attention to the FBI successfully going after fraud and how Trump’s recent pardons undermine that important work.

MURRAY: Director Patel, I want to start by recognizing important work by the FBI to crack down on fraud. In one case, the FBI helped bring to justice multiple former business owners who orchestrated a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme on the American people.

And those business owners filed nearly a million false claims for services that they never provided to any patients. Literally stealing from American taxpayers and preying on vulnerable people who are suffering from Alzheimer’s, and dementia, and substance abuse. But thanks to the FBI, those crooks were held accountable.

So, I just wanted to ask you today if you would pass along my gratitude to those FBI agents for their tireless work bringing those criminals to justice?

PATEL: I will, ma’am. The fraud work is often overlooked, and I greatly appreciate that.

MURRAY: And very important, but I do have to say unfortunately, President Trump—the guy who says he’s going after fraud—granted this man, Lawrence Duran, clemency last June. He was set free and let off the hook for the $87 million he owed in restitution. And Trump granted clemency to Duran’s business partner last February–cutting well short her 35-year prison term.

He literally undid the important justice work the FBI served and let fraudsters off the hook, and I find that deeply disturbing.

[TAKING FBI AGENTS OFF THE BEAT]

Senator Murray continued by pressing Director Patel on how his efforts to reassign FBI agents en masse to support Trump’s mass deportation agenda have pulled resources away from critical missions and jeopardized public safety.

MURRAY: I want to take a moment to reiterate the important role of DOJ law enforcement in keeping all of us safe. Those agents and deputy marshals are absolutely critical to making sure public safety and solving crime, but I worry that instead of pursuing these child abusers, or terrorists, or drug traffickers, or other criminals, you have our agents spending time carrying out Stephen Miller’s mass deportation agenda and harassing families and children. 

I want to ask you, Director Patel, how many FBI agents have been reassigned to work on immigration enforcement?

PATEL: No one at the FBI has been reassigned to work solely on immigration, ma’am.

MURRAY: Well, I would differ with you because according to the Cato Institute, more than two thousand FBI agents were reassigned to work on immigration enforcement in 2025.

And by the way, it’s not just the FBI. More than 2,000 agents from the DEA, more than 600 from the Marshals Service, and more than 1,000 ATF agents are spending their time on immigration enforcement.

That has, really, pulled critical, highly trained assets off of work to keep our communities safe from drugs, guns, and other threats, and I find that deeply disturbing.

[INVESTIGATING JOURNALISTS]

Senator Murray then addressed grave concerns about Patel’s fitness for the role that have been underscored in recent reports and pressed him on reporting suggesting he is using FBI resources to investigate reporters who’ve covered him.

MURRAY: Now, Director Patel, I want to ask you about a number of extremely troubling stories recently about your leadership and temperament, and what’s happened to the FBI with you at the top.

And in response to all the concerns about your leadership, instead of righting the ship, you’ve taken to polygraphing your employees to scare them and attempt to rat out leakers. There are reports that you are using FBI resources to investigate journalists for reporting what’s going on. That is absolutely not what this committee intended when we funded the Bureau.

So, can you commit to this committee today that no agent-hours have been pulled from other work, like counterterrorism or violent crime investigations, to work on matters related to negative press about you or your personal lawsuit?

PATEL: Senator, I greatly appreciate the question, and I can tell you unequivocally this FBI is targeting and investigating no journalists. This FBI is targeting no journalists. The Obama and Biden administrations targeted dozens of journalists, sent out 1200 interviews—

MURRAY: I didn’t ask you about the Biden administration, I asked if you could commit to this committee that no agent hours have been pulled from other work.

PATEL: We have not done so.

MURRAY: Okay well there are reports that you’re using FBI resources to investigate journalists. You are saying to this committee today that is not true.

PATEL: That’s correct, ma’am.

[PATEL’S FITNESS TO LEAD FBI]

MURRAY: Let me just say, Director Patel. We need a serious budget for the FBI, but we also need serious leadership. And I will say this; there is one clear priority in Trump’s overall budget—and it isn’t law and order. It is war.

Because while Trump is proposing cuts to programs that really do keep people safe, he wants to increase war spending by half a trillion dollars. And I don’t need to tell anyone here: we are not going to bomb our way to safer communities.

So, I intend to help rip that budget up and help write bills that keep families safe.

But beyond that budget, we need serious leadership at the FBI that the American people can trust. And I am deeply concerned about the reports that your leadership has not been serious. We need somebody at this agency who’s focused on solving criminal cases not passing out branded bourbon, or jetting around the globe. Your job is to be reachable.

And I know Senator Van Hollen asked you about this, but I have got to say, if you want to pass out liquor, or pop bottles in a locker room, stick to podcasting. Leave law and order to people who really do care more about justice and appearances, that is really critical. It’s what I am really deeply concerned about and so are many people.

PATEL: Can I respond? This is what real leadership looks like at the FBI. Every one of you was given it. This is what’s happened under my tenure at the FBI and the Trump administration. Twenty-point drop in the homicide rate. 45,000 violent offenders arrested last year, twice as many as 2024. 2,450 criminal gangs disrupted, that’s a 322% increase from 2024. 6,900 child victims have been located since I’ve been in the seat, that’s a 144% increase. 2,900 child predators and human traffickers arrested, that’s a 70% increase and we’ve arrested eight of the top ten want of most wanted fugitives in the world in fourteen months, that’s twice as many in the four years combined. That is what the men and women of the FBI are doing—well-resourced. Everyone should take a look at this, if people want to continue the baseless, fraudulent, false personal attacks at me—that’s great. Keep the target on me as I’ve always said, but the mission has never been better.

MURRAY: I appreciate the work of our FBI agents, but leadership—serious leadership is a concern. And we are seeing the pictures of passing out branded bourbon and what happened at the Olympics, jetting around the globe and all the rest of it—and that, I will say again, Mr. Chairman, is of deep concern to me.

###





Posted by at

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

FKA Twigs, Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson


FKA Twigs is set to bring Josephine Baker back to the big screen, when she portrays the Jazz Age icon in a new biopic.
The Grammy-winning musician and dancer is becoming increasingly well-known as an actress, following supporting roles in films like this year's Anne Hathaway-led pop fantasia Mother Mary and last year's remake of the cult classic The Crow.

But the as-yet-untitled Baker biopic will mark her first leading role as an actress, to be directed by the French filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, best known for her controversial 2020 film Cuties.



According to Variety, singer Twigs (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett), 38, said in a statement, "I am honored to collaborate with the immensely talented Maïmouna Doucouré on this incredible project. Josephine Baker's extraordinary legacy is such an inspiration to me and to so many people around the world. She lives on in our hearts as a visionary, groundbreaking woman whose story is as powerful as it is relevant today. I cannot wait to embody Josephine Baker bringing her fight, her love, her losses, her talent and her heroism to the big screen."
In addition to writing and directing the film, Doucouré will also produce it under his Bien Ou Bien Prods. banner.

Twigs, who can be seen in theaters now in the Anne Hathaway/Michela Cole musical drama Mother Mary, will take on the challenging role of the St. Louis-born singer, dancer, actress and activist who found fame in France and was the first Black woman to star in a major movie, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics. Known for her high-energy performances and envelope-pushing stage costumes, Baker was a French Resistance spy during WWII, during which she smuggled coded messages to France from opposing forces hidden inside her lyrics. She was also the only female speaker at the 1968 Poor People's March for civil rights in Washington, D.C. in 1968.

The singer, nicknamed "Black Venus," took time away from the stage to raise what she called her "Rainbow Tribe" of 12 adopted children from a variety of countries and backgrounds and died in April 1975 at age 68 following a show at the Bobino Theater in Paris. According to Variety, the project is in development with support from Baker's sons, Jean-Claude Bouillon Baker and Brian Bouillon Baker, as well as the other members of the Rainbow Tribe.

They have tried to make a film about Josephine Baker for years.  In the 80s, for example, Diana Ross worked on bring that to fruition.  In 1991, a TV movie (starring Lynn Whitfield) was made but that was the closest until now.  



On February 9, 1964, 13-year-old Ann Wilson and her 9-year-old sister Nancy were at their grandmother 'Maudie' Wilson's house in La Jolla, California, when The Beatles made their US television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show for an audience of approximately 73 million Americans.

Long before the Liverpool band finished their five-song appearance - performing All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want to Hold Your Hand - the lives of the Wilson sisters were changed forever.
"We didn't want to be Beatle girlfriends," Nancy recalled in the sisters' autobiography Kicking and Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul, and Rock and Roll. "We wanted to be Beatles."

Ten years on, the Wilson sisters were playing together in Heart.

But as Ann Wilson recalls in a new interview with Rolling Stone, men in the hard rock community weren't always supportive of the sisters' dreams.

“This phenomenon would happen where you would build yourself up and do something really great, and you’d feel really good about it," she recalls. "Then you could get put down and squashed down very easily by the rest of the men. They could make you feel like you were really silly for even trying. We were lucky enough to have great people around us, but I know other women who were starting up close to our time that had to rebel as hard as they could to get anything happening at all."




In 2012, Heart presented their fifteenth studio album, Fanatic, at a show at New York's iconic Beacon Theatre. After the show, Classic Rock were granted an audience with Ann and Nancy Wilson, a discussion that took in the new album, love, sobriety, politics and the changing face of the band.

"Everybody in? Yes? Good.”

It’s October, and Classic Rock is jammed into a tiny lift backstage at New York City’s Beacon Theatre. And with those words, we begin our ascent. We’ve just witnessed Heart deliver a blinding show to a rapturous audience, and now a coterie of record company types, bigwigs from publishing house Harper Collins, random friends and well-wishers are being shuttled up several stories to say hello to Heart. The Art Deco venue is a stunner, but behind the scenes it’s beginning to show its age, and we’re not entirely sure the machinery will take us all the way to the sixth floor.
Thankfully, however, the trip is mercifully short and in a small, unpretentious room, Ann and Nancy Wilson hold court to the assembled throng. It’s crazy scenes in a tiny space, Nancy waves across the room as she and her sister smile and pose for photos, shake hands and make nice. Classic Rock moves aside as John McEnroe and wife Patty Smyth squeeze by and head down the stairs.

The Wilsons are used to scenes like this. They’ve been doing it a long time. “We’ve had a lot of things happening,” smiles Ann Wilson later. ”They’re all sort of intertwined and we’re doing shows at the same time, so it’s been very busy.”

Busy? Ever the lady of understatement, 2012 has been an incredible one for the Seattle band. In fact, in terms of eventful happenings, it’s probably one of the most intense times in Heart’s four-decade career.
So let’s just define “busy” for a moment. Ann and Nancy were speakers at Austin’s SXSW in early March; in June, they released Strange Euphoria, a personally curated, career-spanning box set, stuffed with demos, live recordings and other rarities alongside their monster hits; the sisters published their autobiography in September, the same month they were bestowed a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. We’re not finished yet.
A new studio album, Fanatic, was released in October, and they were nominated again (for the second year in a row) for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame alongside Rush and Deep Purple.

Oh, and in between all that, the six-piece has spent most of its time traversing the US playing show after show. They’re even sticking an extra day on this brief New York stopover to make a last-minute appearance at Radio City Music Hall at Paul Simon’s Children’s Benefit Concert, joining a roster that includes Simon, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Aaron Neville, Amy Grant and presenters Oprah, Tom Hanks, Hillary Clinton and Spike Lee.

Looking at that schedule, you might think that it was a carefully timed media plan, making hay while the sun is shining. Get Heart in everyone’s faces. A Heart attack, if you will. But if it was, Wilson’s not buying it.

“I don’t know if you could say there’s a reason,” says Ann, simply. “Just the new album was ready, the book was done, the box set was done… All those projects wrapped up at the same time. There was no real human way we could have made that happen on purpose. It was a culmination of a lot of things. And we have this tour so we’re very lucky this year. But we’re tired, y’know?”


If Heart are tired, they’re not showing it. Especially not tonight. It’s a different experience seeing them play on their home turf rather than on one of their sporadic visits to the UK – something which is “in our plan for 2013, definitely,” says Ann. In the US, they’re conquering heroes, blasting through songs that have soundtracked their crowd’s lives – from the 70s hits (Barracuda,

Crazy On You, Magic Man, Heartless) to the glossy 80s anthems (What About Love, These Dreams, Alone) through to today’s more rootsy, but no less vital material.
The audience goes nuts at every note, and the fervour isn’t only for the old stuff. Fanatic is the new baby and may have only reached the shop shelves today, but songs have been previewed online and Heart have been playing them round the country for a while already.

The Heart of 2012 – that’s the Wilsons, guitarist Craig Bartock, drummer Ben Smith, bassist Dan Rothchild and Debbie Shair on keyboards – is a powerful force on stage, as Ann acknowledges.

“There are different eras and the band has played different ways in different times with different line-ups,” she says. “The line-up we have now – we have a new bass player in Dan – but everyone else has been together for at least 10 years, and it is without a doubt the finest line-up because we really, really know each other.
 

And let me wrap up with Nancy Wilson.  This is from Richard Milner article for GRUNGE about five female guitarists from the 80s who are criminally underrated: 

One listen to Heart's Nancy Wilson playing the extended acoustic opener to "Crazy on You," and you'll wonder why she's so underrated or why anyone ever doubted her. Her fingerpicking technique is practically flawless, as is her sense of rhythm, note articulation, and overall feel. But people did doubt her, including producer Mike Flicker, who loved vocalist Ann Wilson but wasn't so sure about her sister, Nancy. However, thanks to a lot of work from Nancy to prove herself, plus Ann refusing to form Heart without her sister — as Nancy told Billy Corgan in a YouTube interview — we got the sibling-led, dual-vocal attack of Heart. 

Heart crossed over from the '70s to '80s without issue, and in fact were more popular in the '80s, when they released both of their No. 1 tracks on the Billboard Hot 100, "Alone" and "These Dreams." Nancy didn't just back "Heart" this entire time, she fronted it, taking the vocal lead on songs like one of those No. 1s, "These Dreams," in addition to her guitar playing. 
It took a lot of pushing and striving to reach that point, going all the way back to Nancy and Ann's childhood. The Wilson family neighbors said Nancy should stop playing guitar because "it'll ruin her nails" (per Louder Sound). Thankfully, her parents disregarded such nonsense and supplied their daughter with whatever instruments they could. At the same time, the musical world had few female guitarists for Nancy to emulate, but that didn't matter. She took inspiration from songwriting greats like Elton John, Paul McCartney, and Neil Young. That's how she became not only an early female rock guitarist, but a superb player that no one should underrate in any way.


Closing with C.I.'s "The Snapshot:"


Tuesday, May 12, 2026.  Chump loses it overnight posting one crazed conspiracy theory after another, he continues his war on Iran and on the economy, Petey at the Defense Dept continues to lament the fact that he'll never measure up to Senator Mark Kelly, and much more. 


As Ben notes this morning on MEIDASTOUCH NEWS, Donald Chump went crazy last night posting whack job conspiracy theories.





He makes a fool of himself and a fool of the country.  He really needs to be removed from office.  The 25th Amendment should have been implemented long, long ago.  

He is not safe to the country or for the world.  He goes on these nutso benders where he screeches lies and just looks like a raving loon.  

In a less crazed moment, Donald Chump chortled, "Buy American!" on Sunday.  Daniel Hampton (RAW STORY) is left to point out the problem with Donald's screech:


The combative tirade comes as independent analyses have repeatedly found that Trump's broader economic agenda has failed to deliver on its promises for American workers.

The U.S. has shed roughly 80,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office last year, according to employment data, with economists pointing to the administration's own tariff policies as one driver of rising input costs and factory uncertainty.

The gap has widened between Trump's manufacturing promises and economic reality, with his "Liberation Day" tariff promise — that he would bring jobs and factories "roaring back" — has instead coincided with steady job losses.

A separate analysis found that Trump's tariffs have functioned as a regressive tax costing American households an average of $1,300 last year, with working-class families bearing the heaviest burden.


And then there are the farmers.  John T. Bennett (ROLL CALL) notes:

Democratic National Committee Deputy Executive Director Libby Schneider said in a Thursday statement that “America’s farmers were already struggling to get by under Donald Trump and Brooke Rollins and now Trump’s war with Iran has pushed farmers to a breaking point.”

“Trump tanked the agricultural economy with his reckless trade war, causing family farms to go bankrupt at record levels, and now his deadly and costly war with Iran has caused prices on everything from diesel to fertilizer to skyrocket,” Schneider added. “Farmers are scraping by to make ends meet under Trump — and Trump and Rollins have done nothing but turn their backs on them.”

Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat from farm-heavy Minnesota, said “the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has made energy prices go up globally, and it’s increased the cost of living,” adding: “Everything from what my farmers are paying for fertilizer, to the fuel that they’re putting in their tractors as they go out to the field, let alone what everyday Americans are doing gassing up.”

“The president says we can’t afford to help American families with daycare or funding of Medicaid or Medicare because we’re fighting wars,” she said during an April 30 House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing. “Well, I strongly disagree with the president on this analysis.”

Another Democrat from a farming-rich Midwest state, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, said during an April 30 Armed Services Committee hearing that “the number one question I get when I’m back home from people is, basically, very simply: ‘When will this war end?’”

“Our farmers are paying because of fertilizer costs. We know that the whole world economy is paying a great deal for this war,” Peters said.


It's an interesting economic climate, one where those who just a couple of years ago were decrying the high cost of gasoline now duck their heads and try to stay silent.  Travis Gettys (RAW STORY) reports:

Congressional Republicans are struggling to defend rising gas prices after years of using fuel costs as a political weapon against Democrats, with some lawmakers reversing previous messaging while others remain silent on the issue.

Gas prices have surged nearly 50 percent since President Donald Trump launched the war with Iran on Feb. 28, and the spike presents a sharp reversal for Republicans who spent years blaming former President Joe Biden for rising fuel costs, reported NOTUS.
“Isn’t that the only argument you can have right now?” said one Republican operative involved in midterm contests. “It affects our voters more than their voters. We live farther apart from each other ... You hope and pray it’s temporary.”

Some Republicans have attempted to minimize the current price increases by comparing them to higher prices under Biden. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) claimed on CNBC that gas prices under Biden reached "almost $6 a gallon," a figure that even conservative host Joe Kernen disputed as inaccurate.
Vulnerable Republicans facing reelection are employing various strategies. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI), who previously warned Michigan families about high gas prices, now redirects questions about current prices to Iran's nuclear program.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) shifted from 2024 campaign messaging about cost-of-living crises to claiming Washington brought prices down, later telling CNN that higher prices were "absolutely worth it" for the Iran war.

Other lawmakers have opted for silence. Reps. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and David Valadao (R-CA) have largely avoided public comments on the issue despite running 2024 campaigns emphasizing gas and grocery costs.


But the White House has a plan!!!!!  Ty Roush (FORBES) reports:

President Donald Trump on Monday said he planned to suspend the federal gas tax to provide some economic relief as fuel prices have soared since the start of the Iran war, CBS News reported, though the move would be a drop in the bucket for consumers given the historic surge in gas prices lately.
[. . .]
Removing the federal taxes—totaling 18.3 cents per gallon of gasoline and 24.3 cents per gallon of diesel—would reduce the average price for a gallon of gas to about $4.33, down from $4.52, according to the latest gas price stats from AAA.
The cost for a gallon of diesel would drop to roughly $5.38, down from $5.63.


18 cents a gallon.  And still well above the cost prior to Chump starting the Iran War.  Remember, Chump didn't have to declare war on Iran.  Bankole Thompson (DETROIT NEWS) observes:


No matter what side you sit on in the war with Iran, the skyrocketing gas prices, which have hit $6 in some parts of the country, are affecting everyone. They are not merely an energy crisis but an economic inequality question facing families across the nation, including Michigan. 

If the cost of fuel continues to rise astronomically, it could interrupt the summer vacations of many families, especially those who love to take long road trips because it is more convenient and reasonable than any airfare. 
Those on fixed incomes and communities that are struggling to get by, as well as families taking their children to school, are feeling the pain the most. That includes the single mother in Detroit or the Upper Peninsula who has to balance rent, utilities and childcare because the spike in gas prices is exposing them to more financial hardship. 

Republican candidates running for office in the midterm cannot escape the fact that such economic instability is being presided over by President Donald Trump, the cornerstone of whose 2024 campaign was about bringing down the inflation that took place under former President Joe Biden. 

Instead of concretely addressing the economic pressure that many are facing from an unstable oil market, and as a result of the war, Trump seems more focused on his new White House ballroom than anything else. 







Florence Tan and Siyi Liu (REUTERS) note, "Oil prices rallied on Monday, a day after President Donald Trump said Iran's response to a U.S. proposal was "unacceptable," raising supply fears as the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely closed, which kept the global market tight. Brent crude futures climbed $4.04 or 3.99% to $105.33 a barrel at 0614 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was at $99.85 a barrel, up $4.43, or 4.64%."  Sara Dorn (FORBES) adds, "President Donald Trump’s approval rating hasn’t risen above 36% in Reuters/Ipsos weekly polling since the start of the Iran war, as Americans on both sides of the aisle blame him for rising gas prices and 80% expect gas to become more expensive. [. . .]  Three-quarters of respondents, including half of Republicans, said his administration is at least partly to blame for high gas prices, which have gone up 50% since the start of the conflict, while 65% said they believe Republicans are more responsible for the rise in gas prices versus Democrats, and 80% said they expect gas prices to go up more."  And  John-Paul Ford Rojas (THIS IS MONEY) delivers this bad news that Chump's not just destroying the US economy, he's destroying the economies all over the world such as in the UK:

Consumer sentiment has seen its fastest slump in four years as 'Trumpflation' fears grip shoppers, a poll reveals.

The quarterly survey by PwC revealed 90 per cent of UK consumers worry about the cost of living as the Iran war stokes inflation.

The accountant's barometer of spending intentions was at minus-13 for April, down from minus-1 at the start of the year.

That was its lowest since autumn 2023 and the sharpest fall since summer 2022 – a time when inflation was spiralling in the wake of Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Now inflation is on the rise again after Donald Trump's war on Iran choked off oil and gas supplies from the Middle East, driving fuel prices higher.

Sam Waller, consumer markets spokesman at PwC UK, said: 'Rising costs are prompting shoppers to pull back spend across the board, and it's expected sentiment will get worse before it gets better, as consumers face higher energy and food costs later in the year.'


And as the economy crashes, Chump wants to spend more on ballrooms, on the Eisenhower Executive Office building, etc.  Emily Burack (TOWN & COUNTRY) reports that the estimate to slap some paint over the granite building will cost an estimated $7.5 million:


“The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is a National Historic Landmark. Its distinctive granite exterior isn't just beautiful, it's historically significant. Painting over it would trap moisture, damage the stone, and create a costly, irreversible cycle of maintenance at taxpayer expense,” the National Trust for Historic Preservation said in a statement.

Rob Nieweg of the Trust testified before the National Capital Planning Commission in opposition to the proposal to paint the EEOB. “The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is a contributing element of the Lafayette Square Historic District and, importantly, this architecturally significant building is a National Historic Landmark,” he said. “That is our nation’s most coveted historic designation. It serves as permanent notice to all that the EEOB occupies an important place in our collective story as Americans. Accordingly, the EEOB’s federal steward should respect the aesthetic characteristics that qualify the landmark for NHL designation.” He added, “The historic EEOB has been preserved, un-painted, since its completion in 1888.”

The building, built in the 1870s and 1880s as the State, War, and Navy Department Building, is now the base for federal workers. Trump’s desire to repaint it has been ongoing; in November, he showed a rendering of a painted building on Fox News, “Look at that, how beautiful that is with a coat of paint.” He complained, “It was always considered an ugly building” and added “gray is for funerals.”







Amna Nawaz:

A nonprofit group trying to stop President Trump's reflecting pool renovation on the National Mall claims the project breaks federal law.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation filed a lawsuit today, saying the National Park Service violated an historic preservation act by repainting the pool -- quote -- "American flag blue." The complaint says the new color -- quote -- "will fundamentally alter the visual and experiential character of the pool."

The president announced the project last month and drove through the pool's construction site just last week. The New York Times is also reporting that its initial cost of less than $2 million has now ballooned to seven times that figure.

For more on the project, I'm joined now by one of the reporters covering that story. That's David Fahrenthold of The New York Times.

David, welcome back.

Let's begin with your reporting on this that shows that initial cost estimate from the president of $1.8 million now up to $13.1 million. What happened there?

David Fahrenthold, The New York Times:

Well, the -- President Trump has said multiple times that this project is only going to cost $1.8 million or less than $2 million. That's never been right.

From the beginning, the federal government had expected to pay $6.9 million for this contract. And then, on Friday, that cost jumped again by another 88 percent. So now we're talking about $13.1 million.

Amna Nawaz:

And the contractor for this project, your reporting also showed, had no previous federal contracts. How unusual is that for a renovation like this?

David Fahrenthold:

It's quite unusual for a renovation of this size and this sort of importance.

Remember, this is not a swimming pool. This is a pool that's about 2,000 feet long. It's been around since the 1920s. It has a lot of complicated problems that come from both its age and its size. And the contractor they chose to do it, not only is this their first federal contract, but it's not clear this is a swimming pool contractor at all.

Their Web site is more about lining pipes and culverts and fuel tanks. It's clear this is a very different project than the ones that they appear to be used to.

Amna Nawaz:

So folks will remember the images from last week that showed the president and his motorcade driving through that pool area. When we saw those, I know a lot of folks had the same question was, is that going to impact the pool in any way? What does your reporting show you on that?

David Fahrenthold:

Well, from folks we have talked to, it will not probably make the pool look any different in terms of reflectivity. If you're standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, you're standing at the World War II Monument on the other end, and you're looking across the pond at a low angle, it'll probably still be reflective.

The difference, though, may come when you see it from a higher angle, from an airplane or the top of the Washington Monument. This is a space that's meant to sort of be invisible. It's supposed to reflect back the gray stone and the trees all around it.

If what you see instead is kind of an artificial blue, like a -- the water hazard at a mini golf course, that could stand out in a very jarring way on the National Mall.

Amna Nawaz:

We know that the president has framed some of these renovations as part of a broader beautification effort ahead of those America 250 celebrations. What do we know about what that means about who's paying for much of this?

David Fahrenthold:

Well, in the cases -- in this case and in the case we wrote about recently about changes to the fountains around D.C., the government is paying for it.

It's not private donors. And the money they're using in this case is coming from people that go to national parks. If you go to a national park and pay an entrance fee, some of that money goes to the Park Service to pay for renovations. And that's the fund they're using here.

Amna Nawaz:

I know as we reported earlier that at least one nonprofit is trying to block this project. But this is one of several renovation projects that we know the Trump administration is looking to at least partially fund with taxpayer money.

We have seen the Kennedy Center renovation, the White House ballroom, and others. As you track this, as ethics watchdogs and other track this, what are some of the concerns that are coming up here?

David Fahrenthold:

One of the biggest concerns about this project and others around the area is that these are no-bid contracts. The government is supposed to let multiple vendors bid on jobs like this so the taxpayers get their best bang for the buck.

In this case, the Trump administration used sort of a special power to block out all competition and hand this job directly to a firm that President Trump says is close to him. He says, this is a company that worked on the swimming pools at his golf club in Northern Virginia.

And so what happens when you give a contract directly to somebody with no competition, you don't really know you're getting the best deal. You don't know that you're getting the best person for the job. And so it raises questions about why they're circumventing the normal contracting process and what we're losing in the process in terms of quality or maybe overpaying.



Ann covered this topic last night in "Chump wants to be a fabulous decorator."  This splurge -- that's tacky and will make the building an eye store -- comes while families who were on food stamp assistance this time last year have been cut off.  Shannon Pettypiece (NBC NEWS) reports:


The line outside a suburban office building was already 15 people long when Tiffany Hudson showed up with her 7-year-old son cradling his blanket. It was 7 a.m. At the front of the line was a woman hooked up to an oxygen tank who had arrived 90 minutes before the building opened.

Like others there, Husdon had come to the Arizona Department of Economic Security office in Surprise, a Phoenix suburb, to find out why the food stamp benefits for her and her two children were cut off after the state began implementing new eligibility requirements under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

“It’s been really hard. We’ve been going to food banks every week,” Hudson said. She’s a single mom who had received about $600 a month in food assistance to supplement her income as a part-time caretaker. Her benefits stopped without warning three months ago. “We’re eating less, we’re eating more frozen stuff.”
Hudson and her children have been swept up in a wave of new restrictions and bureaucratic hurdles that have begun to ripple across the country as a result of Trump’s marquee legislation, which he signed into law with great fanfare nearly a year ago during a Fourth of July celebration. The law extends tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations while cutting $187 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, often referred to as food stamps, over the next decade. Now, the consequences of those cuts are showing up on Americans’ kitchen tables.
Since the law was enacted last summer, about 3.5 million people have fallen off the SNAP rolls nationwide as of January, according to federal data. No state has seen a more dramatic drop than Arizona, which offers a window into what may be in store for other states.

“It’s a frightening time for the folks we serve,” said Natalie Jayroe, CEO of the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, which has already been struggling with limited food after the federal funding cuts from the early days of the second Trump administration. “The overwhelming uncertainty and anxiety that the folks we serve are facing — it’s hard to describe.”



Turning to Petey Hegseth, Secretary of Defense.  William Shoukri (BIG) reports on an April 29th hearing before the House Armed Service Committee:

New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander was one of the most effective Democratic critics in the room, asking Hegseth multiple questions that he fumbled. After Hegseth had bragged about his ‘crack economic team’ earlier in the hearing, Goodlander tested him, asking whether he knew the average cost of gas on February 28. Hegseth (who clearly did not know the answer) replied snarkily: ‘If you lived in California, it was 8 bucks’ (this is not true; the average price of gas in California was $4.44 at that point). Goodlander ignored Hegseth, stating the national average was $2.83. She then asked him if he knew the average gas price today, to which Hegseth made another crack at California prices. Goodlander smirked and told him the price of gas on April 29 ($4.23).

"Mr. Hegseth, you said you’ve got a crack economic team that’s looking at the impact of this war on the American taxpayer, and you can’t answer this basic question – that should shock the conscience of every American."
At the end of her time, New Hampshire Rep. Maggie Goodlander asked Hegseth whether he agrees with the statement “the military won’t follow unlawful orders.” Hegseth immediately showed his annoyance with the question, snapping, “I do but understand what you’re insinuating at a partisan point.” Goodlander replied with a smile and revealed that she was actually quoting Hegseth, not a Democrat talking point. Luckily for Hegseth, her time was over after the question. Goodlander took to X to criticize Hegseth after the hearing

Yes, Hegseth did say that.  On TV.  On FOX "NEWS" and it wasn't a big deal because that's what the US military is trained on: Don't follow unlawful orders.  

But when Senator Mark Kelly and others do the same, Petey pisses his diaper and loses it in front of everyone. 

Petey has already lost in one court.  It appears that he will lose in the court that heard arguments last week as well.  But Petey can't let his penis envy go.  He's suffering from p.e. every time he looks at Senator Mark Kelly.

Kelly appeared on CBS' FACE THE NATION Sunday.  In the appearance, Kelly noted the shortage of weapons as a result of the Iran War.  Back in early March, that was rarely noted.  By the end of March, the media was beginning to note it more often and by April?  It was hard to miss stories on this topic.  Kelly raised this issue on Sunday. 

Petey had a fit, threw his legs up in the air and squealed and kicked while he wet his diaper. Falyn Stempler (INDEPENDENT) explains:


U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon is investigating Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) after accusing him of speaking about classified information connected to the Iran war on cable news.

Hegseth's threats come after a federal appeals court signaled Thursday that it would turn down his efforts to punish Kelly and a handful of other Democratic lawmakers for urging troops to refuse illegal orders. The blow comes after a court blocked Hegseth's attempt to censure and demote Kelly, a 62-year-old retired Navy captain and NASA astronaut, in February.
The latest feud came to fruition after Kelly warned about dwindling U.S. weapons stockpiles following the U.S.-Israeli offensive against Iran, criticizing the Trump administration's war strategy in the Middle East.
“Because this president got our country into this without a strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline... because of that, we’ve expended a lot of munitions. And that means the American people are less safe,” Kelly told CBS News’ Face the Nation.

This is where Petey wets his diaper and becomes fussy and cranky.  Eric Garcia (INDEPENDENT) notes:

The latest outburst from Hegseth came after Kelly spoke Sunday to CBS News’ Face the Nation about a classified briefing on the Iran War and U.S. weapons stockpiles.

Kelly said it was “shocking how deep we have gone into these magazines” amid the war in Iran and that it would take years to replenish the stockpiles of Tomahawks, Army Tactical Missile System weapons, Patriot missiles and other missile systems. The U.S. spent weeks sending missiles and other munitions into Iran before a ceasefire in the attacks.

In response, Hegseth lashed out.

“Captain’ Mark Kelly strikes again,” Hegseth posted on X. “Now he’s blabbing on TV (falsely & dumbly) about a *CLASSIFIED* Pentagon briefing he received. Did he violate his oath…again? @DeptofWar legal counsel will review.”

Kelly immediately shot back on social media, saying Kelly and Hegseth had this discussion in an open committee hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee.


The threat of a new probe comes as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit appears likely to affirm that Hegseth's disciplinary action against Kelly for telling service members they "can refuse illegal orders" will fail.

President Donald Trump accused Kelly and five other Democrats — Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. — of engaging in "SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!" when they appeared in a video in November and condemned lethal military strikes on alleged drug smugglers' boats in international waters.



Kelly himself replied to Hegseth with the video below and wrote: “We had this conversation in a public hearing a week ago and you said it would take ‘years’ to replenish some of these stockpiles. That's not classified, it's a quote from you. This war is coming at a serious cost and you and the president still haven't explained to the American people what the goal is.”

Washington Post military affairs correspondent Dan Lamothe also joined the discussion, writing: “Secretary Hegseth is again threatening Sen. Mark Kelly with legal action here. In this case, the comments from Kelly that Hegseth is claiming are an issue do not address specific munition numbers. That’s generally where classification comes into play. No sign of that here.”


Let's wind down with this from Senator Patty Murray's office:


Washington, D.C. – Today—as Trump proposes to slash domestic investments to help pay for a defense spending increase of roughly half a trillion dollars—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after a new report found the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program saves participating Washington state families over $19,000 a year on child care.

“Trump is asking Congress to increase his war budget by $500 billion dollars and even said: ‘’We’re fighting wars. We can’t take care of day care.’ Well, as a former preschool teacher and mom, I think that is just absurd,” said Senator Murray. “This is not a question of what’s possible—it’s a question of priorities. President Trump and congressional Republicans want to spend your taxpayer dollars on costly wars and golden ballrooms, and I’d like to help more families afford child care. Instead of dumping trillions of dollars into Trump’s reckless wars, we could be expanding crucial programs like CCDBG—we could be saving families thousands of dollars a year on child care. Half a trillion dollars would make high-quality child care affordable for every family that needs it, and it would mean employers wouldn’t have to worry about their employees missing work because they couldn’t find child care. The child care crisis is holding back families and holding back our economy. But putting the kind of money Trump is talking about for war into child care instead would make a world of change for all families.”

A new report has detailed how CCDBG subsidies help families in Washington state afford child care for kids under the age of five. The average cost of child care in Washington state is over $21,000 a year, or almost $1,800 per month. For families who qualify, CCDBG brings the cost of child care down to a maximum of $1,980 a year, or $165 per month for a family of three in Washington state. But, of the over 118,000 children who are eligible in Washington state to be served by CCDBG, only 15,435 kids are being served at the current funding levels—that means only 13% of kids who have families who are struggling to afford child care, are receiving support. Senator Murray has long pushed to change that and played a critical role in securing historic funding increases for the CCDBG program to help serve more families.

As Trump proposes spending $1.5 trillion on the defense budget—roughly half a trillion more than this year—raising costs on everyday essentials for working families, Senator Murray is leading Democrats in Congress to continue their push to help working people make ends meet—including by tackling the child care crisis. In the FY26 appropriations bills Senator Murray secured $8.8 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program (CCDBG)—an $85 million or increase over fiscal year 2025—and $12.36 billion for Head Start, an $85 million increase over last year’s funding level. Sustained annual increases of federal investments in child care and Head Start are critical in tackling the child care crisis and helping to ensure more families can find and afford the quality, affordable child care and early childhood education options they need. Senator Murray also protected funding for Preschool Development Grants, which President Trump and House Republicans pushed to eliminate.

Senator Murray is Congress’ top advocate for child care, and her Child Care for Working Families Act would tackle the child care crisis head-on: ensuring families can afford the child care they need, expanding access to more high-quality options, stabilizing the child care sector, and helping ensure child care workers taking care of our nation’s kids are paid livable wages. The legislation will also dramatically expand access to pre-K, and support full-day, full-year Head Start programs and increased wages for Head Start workers. Under the legislation, which Senator Murray has introduced every Congress since 2017, the typical family in America will pay no more than $15 a day for child care—with many families paying nothing at all—and no eligible family will pay more than 7% of their income on child care.

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The following sites -- plus Ann's "Chump wants to be a fabulous decorator," Trina's "Shrimp and Corn Salad in the Kitchen," Stan's "Weekend Box Office" and Mike's "Chump, the fool on the world stage" -- updated:




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