US NATIONAL NEWS
Donald Trump Announces Ultra-MAGA Loyalist Matt Gaetz as AG Pick After Gaetz Called to Defund Federal Law Enforcement
Published
1 year agoon
In response to Donald Trump tapping Matt Gaetz as his attorney general, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement:
“Donald Trump doesn’t care about the rule of law, he only cares about the rule of Trump – that’s why he’s attempting to elevate an unqualified and unserious loyalist like Matt Gaetz to follow through on his dangerous plans for revenge and retribution. Gaetz’s closest connections to the Justice Department are being the subject of a federal criminal investigation and pushing to defund federal law enforcement. Trump chose Gaetz for one reason: He knows an unfit lackey like him would always put Trump ahead of our justice system and would enact Trump’s extreme and reckless agenda that would leave Americans less safe.”
BREAKING: Donald Trump just chose ultra-MAGA extremist Matt Gaetz as his attorney general because he knows Gaetz is a loyal “warrior” in his dangerous plans for revenge and retribution.
Meridith McGraw, Politico: “Trump names Matt Gaetz as his Attorney General”
Axios: “Gaetz will help lead the implementation of Trump’s agenda and steer any efforts to investigate — and prosecute — the president-elect’s enemies.”
CNN: “Gaetz’s antics have won him praise from Trump […]
“‘They are our warriors,’ Trump said of Gaetz and other House members at a September 2020 rally in Jupiter, Florida. […]”
Gaetz wants to defund federal law enforcement, calling to abolish agencies like the FBI.
NBC News: “An unburdened Rep. Gaetz calls for abolishing the FBI, CDC, ATF”
“Minutes later, Gaetz, now serving on the select committee investigating the so-called weaponization of the federal government, suggested eliminating federal investigative agencies.
“‘I don’t care if it takes every second of our time and every ounce of our energy, we either get this government back on our side or we defund, get rid of, abolish the FBI CDC, ATF,’ Gaetz said to applause.”
USA Today: “At CPAC, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz calls for abolishing FBI, CDC, other federal agencies”
Newsweek: “Matt Gaetz Tweets ‘Defund The FBI’ Then Deletes It Amid FBI Probe”
Washington Examiner: “White House says Republicans want to defund law enforcement”
“Some Republicans, such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), have called to abolish the FBI and Justice Department altogether.”
Daily Beast: “Gaetz and MTG Are Suddenly in Support of the ‘Defund’ Movement”
Gaetz is currently facing numerous investigations over allegations of sexual misconduct, soliciting a minor for sex, and illicit drug use.
New York Times: “Matt Gaetz Is Said to Face Justice Dept. Inquiry Over Sex With an Underage Girl”
Associated Press: “Ethics probe into Matt Gaetz now reviewing allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use”
Politico: “Gaetz says he will no longer voluntarily cooperate with House Ethics probe”
USA Today: “Ethics Committee expands Matt Gaetz investigation as it looks into sexual misconduct, drug use allegations”
Politico: “House Ethics panel subpoenas DOJ for Gaetz records”
CNN: “House ethics probe of Gaetz seeks information from DOJ and woman who allegedly had sex with congressman as a minor”
ABC News: “Gaetz subpoenaed by woman he allegedly had sex with when she was a minor in defamation suit brought by friend”
ABC News: “Witness tells House Ethics Committee that Matt Gaetz paid her for sex: Sources”
Vanity Fair: “GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz Attended Drug-Heavy Sex Party With 17-Year-Old: Legal Docs”
The Guardian: “Matt Gaetz scandal deepens as associate admits paying 17-year-old for sex”
Gaetz is a loyal election denier who voted against certifying the results of the 2020 election and backed a resolution to erase Trump’s role in January 6.
Florida Politics: “A dozen Republican members of Florida’s U.S. House Delegation ultimately voted against certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. Nevertheless, the attempt to block the win hours after pro-Donald Trump rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol failed.
“[M]ost of Florida’s Republican Representatives voted no on certifying slates of electors for both Arizona and Pennsylvania.
“Voting in favor of objections to both slates were … Matt Gaetz …”
Politico: “U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz will hold a press conference at 11:45 a.m. with 25 colleagues on a resolution ‘reaffirming “President Trump did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”’ The resolution has 60 cosponsors.”
When Trump called his MAGA minions to provide emotional support while he was on trial, Gaetz said he was “standing back and standing by” — referencing Trump’s infamous call to the Proud Boys, whose leaders later violently attacked the Capitol on January 6.
The Independent: “Matt Gaetz invokes Trump’s infamous call to Proud Boys at trial: ‘Stand back and stand by’”
CBS News: “‘Stand back and stand by’: Trump declines to condemn white supremacists at debate”
Reuters: “Trump, asked if he would denounce white supremacists and militia groups during Tuesday night’s U.S. presidential debate, told the right-wing group the Proud Boys to ‘stand back and stand by.’”
Associated Press: “Trump to far-right extremists: ‘Stand back and stand by’”
CNN: “Trump’s debate callout bolsters far-right Proud Boys”
New York Times: “Proud Boys celebrate Trump’s ‘stand by’ remark about them at the debate.”
Washington Post: “At least 10 men wearing the uniform of the Proud Boys, a violent extremist group, appeared outside the entrance of a [Trump] rally.”
NJ.com: “Spotted along the boardwalk were a few people wearing T-shirts that read ‘Proud Boys,’ a right-wing group the Anti-Defamation League has labeled as extremist. Among the crowds gathered at the entrance to the beach awaiting Trump’s arrival were three masked Proud Boys members.”
REMINDER: Trump has repeatedly threatened violence against his political opponents, vowed to go after the “enemy from within,” and pledged to be a dictator on “day one” of his new administration.
Trump: “I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within … totally destroying our country … [I]n terms of Election Day, I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics. And I think they’re the big – and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by [the] National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN: “Many people have lost American presidential elections over the last 230 years – Trump is the only one to say about violence if he loses ‘it depends.’”
The Atlantic: “Trump Says He’ll Be a Dictator on ‘Day One’”
Associated Press: “Trump declines to rule out abusing power to seek retribution if he returns to the White House”
Washington Post: “Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini”
The Guardian: “Donald Trump says he will lock up his political enemies if he is president again.”
CNN: “Trump says ‘war hawk’ Liz Cheney should be fired upon in escalation of violent rhetoric against his opponents”
Trump: “Somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don’t mind that.”
Gaetz is a chaos agent who played games with the debt ceiling, wheeling and dealing while the fate of our economy hung in the balance, and plunged the House GOP into disarray.
Semafor: “Matt Gaetz embraces role as hostage taker as House leaders brace for debt limit fallout”
Semafor: “Republicans have often bristled at accusations that they are resorting to hostage tactics by refusing to raise the federal debt ceiling without securing spending cuts. But on Tuesday, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz leaned into the charge as he explained to reporters that he and his fellow hardline conservatives would likely reject any sort of compromise deal that watered down the party-line bill Republicans passed through the house.”
Politico: “The House GOP Is a Failed State”
The Atlantic: “McCarthy’s defeat was the result of a bitter power struggle within the GOP, and especially due to the efforts of Representative Matt Gaetz, a hard-right rebel, who forced the vote. The House is now without a speaker, and more chaos is sure to follow. The GOP still holds the House majority, but it is a deeply riven and dysfunctional party.”
Gaetz is an anti-choice extremist who endorsed Florida’s cruel law that bans abortion before many women even know they’re pregnant and has mocked women for supporting reproductive freedom.
Gaetz: “I’m not voting for Amendment 4 [to enshrine a right to abortion in the Florida Constitution] and I encourage all of my congressional colleagues to join me in voicing their opposition.”
Salon: “Matt Gaetz says ‘women who look like a thumb’ shouldn’t complain about abortion rights”
WESH: “Florida congressman Matt Gaetz stands by calling pro-choice protesters ugly, overweight”
Gaetz: “How many of the women rallying against overturning Roe are over-educated, under-loved millennials who sadly return from protests to a lonely microwave dinner with their cats, and no Bumble matches?”
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Tech
NASA Rolls Out Massive SLS Rocket Stage for Artemis III Mission to Kennedy Space Center
Published
7 days agoon
April 13, 2026By
Willie David
NEW ORLEANS (FNN) — NASA will roll out the largest section of its Space Launch System rocket on Monday, April 20, marking a major milestone for the Artemis III mission.
The section, representing the top four-fifths of the SLS core stage, is being moved from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. It includes the liquid hydrogen tank, liquid oxygen tank, intertank and forward skirt. The structure will be loaded onto NASA’s Pegasus barge for transport to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
CORE STAGE DELIVERY AND INTEGRATION
Once the core stage arrives at Kennedy Space Center, teams will complete final outfitting and vertical integration. The hardware will then be transferred to NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program for stacking and launch preparation.
The Artemis III engine section and boat-tail, which protects the engines during launch, were previously moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building in July 2025. The four RS-25 engines are scheduled to arrive from Stennis Space Center in Mississippi no later than July 2026 for integration.
POWERING THE ARTEMIS III MISSION
Equipped with four RS-25 engines, the SLS core stage will generate more than 2 million pounds of thrust, enabling the launch of astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft.
Artemis III is currently targeted for launch in 2027, following the successful Artemis II mission, which completed a crewed flight around the Moon on April 10.
NASA’S MOON-TO-MARS STRATEGY
The Artemis III mission is part of NASA’s broader Artemis program, aimed at returning astronauts to the Moon and establishing a sustained human presence.
The mission will test critical capabilities, including rendezvous and docking between the Orion spacecraft and commercial systems needed for future lunar landings, currently planned for 2028.
NASA is working in partnership with Boeing, the SLS core stage lead contractor, and L3Harris Technologies, the lead contractor for the RS-25 engines. The core stage remains the backbone of the SLS rocket and is manufactured at the Michoud Assembly Facilit
Tech
NASA’s Artemis II Astronauts Begin Historic Journey Around the Moon After Key Orion Engine Burn
Published
2 weeks agoon
April 3, 2026By
Willie David
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (FNN) — For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts on a NASA mission are headed around the Moon after successfully completing a critical burn of the Orion spacecraft’s main engine.
The approximately six-minute firing of Orion’s service module engine Thursday — known as the translunar injection burn — accelerated the spacecraft and its crew beyond Earth’s orbit, placing them on a trajectory toward the Moon.
Aboard the spacecraft are NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
“Today, for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, humans have departed Earth orbit,” said Dr. Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “Reid, Victor, Christina and Jeremy now are on a precise trajectory toward the Moon. Orion is operating with crew for the first time in space, and we are gathering critical data and learning from each step.”
NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 p.m. EDT on April 1, beginning a planned 10-day test mission around the Moon and back.
Successful Launch and Spacecraft Activation
Shortly after reaching space, Orion deployed its four solar array wings, allowing the spacecraft to generate power from the Sun. The crew and mission controllers then began transitioning the spacecraft from launch to normal flight operations while checking critical onboard systems.
About 49 minutes into the flight, the rocket’s upper stage fired to place Orion into an elliptical orbit around Earth. A second burn propelled the spacecraft — named “Integrity” by the crew — into a high Earth orbit extending roughly 46,000 miles above the planet for nearly 24 hours of system testing.
Following the maneuver, Orion separated from the upper stage and began flying independently.
System Tests and Crew Operations in Space
During the early phase of the mission, the astronauts conducted a manual piloting demonstration to evaluate Orion’s handling capabilities using the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage as a docking target.
After the test, Orion executed an automated departure burn to safely move away from the stage. The propulsion stage later performed a disposal burn before re-entering Earth’s atmosphere over a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.
Before its re-entry, four small CubeSats were deployed from the rocket’s Orion stage adapter to conduct separate scientific missions.
Mission teams also transitioned communications to NASA’s Deep Space Network while the crew adjusted to the space environment. Astronauts completed their first rest periods, performed onboard exercise routines, restored the spacecraft’s toilet to normal operations and prepared the spacecraft for the translunar injection burn.
Lunar Flyby and Artemis Program Goals
The crew is scheduled to conduct a lunar flyby Monday, April 6, when astronauts will capture high-resolution images and make observations of the Moon’s surface — including portions of the lunar far side rarely seen directly by humans.
Although the far side will only be partially illuminated during the flyby, the lighting conditions are expected to cast long shadows across the terrain, highlighting ridges, slopes and crater rims that are difficult to observe under full sunlight.
After completing the flyby, the astronauts will return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
The mission marks a major milestone for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to send astronauts on increasingly ambitious missions to explore the Moon, advance scientific discovery, stimulate economic growth and prepare for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Politics
Donald Trump Marks Policy Shift on Gender Identity, Education, and Federal Programs
Published
3 weeks agoon
March 31, 2026By
Willie David
WASHINGTON (FNN) — The administration of Donald Trump announced a series of policy changes affecting federal positions on gender identity, education standards, health care funding, and military service. Officials say the actions are intended to redefine federal policy around biological sex and limit government involvement in gender-related medical and educational programs.
The policy changes follow criticism from Republicans of earlier initiatives introduced during the administration of Joe Biden that expanded federal recognition of transgender individuals in several areas of public policy.
Federal Policy Defines Sex as Male or Female
The Trump administration declared that the official policy of the federal government recognizes only two sexes — male and female — based on biological characteristics.
Administration officials say the policy affects federal documents, agency rules and programs across multiple departments. The move also ended the practice of gender self-identification on certain federal records, including passports, according to officials.
Supporters say the change restores clarity to federal policy, while critics argue it removes recognition for transgender Americans in official government documentation.
Funding and Health Care Policies Adjusted
Federal agencies were directed to halt funding, sponsorship or promotion of certain medical procedures related to gender transition for minors. Administration officials say the directive is intended to prevent what they describe as irreversible medical interventions involving children.
Following the policy shift, several major health systems announced reviews, suspensions or changes to pediatric gender-related medical programs. The administration also directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review existing medical evidence surrounding gender-related care for minors.
Changes in Education, Sports, and Military Policies
The administration also ended federal support for gender identity and equity curricula in public education programs receiving federal funds, stating the move reinforces parental rights and state oversight of school content.
Additional directives address athletic competition and military service. The administration announced policies intended to ensure that women’s sports competitions are limited to biological female athletes and reinstated standards for military service based on biological sex through the United States Department of Defense.
Officials say the changes are intended to focus federal programs on what they describe as fairness, safety and readiness across government institutions.
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