August 5, 2025 at 10:06 PM EDT
Top Trump officials call emergency meeting to 'craft unified response' to Epstein: report

As the Jeffrey Epstein controversy continues to drag on, President Donald Trump's administration is now scrambling to find a way out. And according to a new report, top White House officials will soon meet to assemble a game plan on how to put the Epstein fallout behind them. CNN reported Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance will host a Wednesday night dinner at his official residence, which will be attended by White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel. According to the network's three unnamed sources, the "main focus" of the dinner will be primarily to "craft a unified response" to the administration's handling of the Epstein case.

August 5, 2025 at 9:27 PM EDT
'Going to come to blows': Georgia GOP fears MAGA infighting will cost them Senate race

The long-standing tension between President Donald Trump and Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp is well-documented. And at least one Republican strategist in the Peach State fears it's just a matter of time until their uneasy truce turns into a bitter intra-party battle. Politico reported Tuesday that the high-profile U.S. Senate race in Georgia -- in which Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) will be battling for another six-year term in a state Trump narrowly won in 2024 -- is expected to feature a highly competitive Republican primary between the Trump and Kemp wings of the Georgia GOP. Republican strategist Harrison Lance, who has not yet endorsed a primary candidate, said the temporary truce Trump struck with Georgia's term-limited governor in order to win the Peach State will almost certainly fall apart.

August 5, 2025 at 8:51 PM EDT
'Let's not go down this path': GOP congressman condemns Texas Republicans' gerrymandering

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R"'Calif.) openly opposed Tuesday his own party's effort to redraw Texas's congressional map mid"'decade, calling it "not a good thing." Kiley, one of five California Republicans who could be targeted if Democrats redraw California's map arbitrarily in the middle of the census cycle, is introducing legislation that would prohibit both parties from engaging in such mid"'decade redistricting and would render any maps adopted before the 2030 census invalid.

August 5, 2025 at 8:06 PM EDT
'Too early': Trump refuses to fully throw his weight behind JD Vance as his successor

President Donald Trump refrained Tuesday from fully endorsing Vice President JD Vance as his anointed successor for the 2028 race, only saying he would "probably" emerge as the favorite to carry forward the MAGA brand. When asked during a conversation with reporters Tuesday evening whether Vance would become the next leader of MAGA, Trump responded "most likely, in all fairness. He's the vice president." However, he added that it was "too early" to make that call.

August 5, 2025 at 7:57 PM EDT
South Park gives profane 5-word response to Trump administration after it embraces cartoon

President Donald Trump's administration is seizing on the upcoming episode of the hit cartoon series "South Park" to recruit new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The show's official social media account didn't allow the moment to pass without offering its input. Variety reported Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used a still from the newest South Park episode -- which is reportedly going to satirize the Trump administration's immigration raids -- to promote its ICE recruitment efforts. The South Park X account quote-posted the DHS' tweet with the text: "Wait, so we ARE relevant?" The show then added the hashtag "#eatabagofd----" to its post.

August 5, 2025 at 5:59 PM EDT
'Highly damaging': How Trump's latest firing is 'destructive' to his own administration

President Donald Trump's abrupt dismissal of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, immediately after the release of a weak July jobs report, has prompted fierce backlash from economists, former career civil servants and democracy advocates. In an editorial published Tuesday, The New York Times Editorial Board condemned Trump's actions as "highly damaging," arguing that firing the country's top labor statistician for issuing data that conflicted with his agenda undermines the integrity of federal information and fuels public distrust.

August 5, 2025 at 5:41 PM EDT
Trump threatens federal takeover of DC after DOGE staffer 'beat up by a bunch of thugs'

Claiming crime in Washington, D.C is "totally out of control," President Donald Trump threatened to bring the nation's capital city under federal control, and called for prosecuting minors fourteen and older as adults. Violent crime dropped last year by more than one third""hitting the lowest levels in decades""and this year violent crime is likewise down by double digits. Posting a photo of a nameless, bruised and bloodied young man who he suggested was "beaten mercilessly by local thugs," President Trump claimed local youths and gang members, "some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent Citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released."

August 5, 2025 at 5:14 PM EDT
'Major stress': One of my monthly bills is sending me into panic mode -- and I'm not alone

Recently, I overhauled my expenses. All that could be cut got cut. Car insurance, internet provider, phone service. Everything I could. But at the rate things are going, whatever savings I gain will be out the window soon enough, as the price of groceries keeps going up. I'm worried and apparently, I'm not alone.

August 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM EDT
'Weird moves': Nicolle Wallace blasts 'flailing' Trump

Despite his best efforts, President Donald Trump continues to be dogged by questions about his handling of the unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files. And according to MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace, he's only digging himself into a deeper hole. On Tuesday, Wallace opened her "Deadline: White House" show with a segment explaining how Trump is "flailing" to swim out of the Epstein news cycle, saying his efforts are doing "precious little to paper over the gaping questions" about Epstein. She began by playing a clip of Breakfast Club co-host Charlamagne Tha God shrugging off Trump's latest attack against him and urging listeners to remain focused on asking "two simple questions: What about the economy? What about the Epstein files?"

August 5, 2025 at 4:43 PM EDT
'Way out of line': Texas Republican slammed for 'racist' comment about Democratic lawmaker

A Republican Texas state senator is facing accusations of racism due to a social media remark about a colleague who left the state to foil Republican plans to redraw congressional districts before next year's midterm elections. State Sen. Mayes Middleton, a GOP senator from Galveston campaigning for Texas attorney general, posted on the social platform X on Monday: "Is Gene Wu back in China?"

August 5, 2025 at 11:58 AM EDT
'MAGA's culture of cruelty': Trump has a plan to 'cement' his 'rule forever'

According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures released on Friday, August 1, U.S. employment was at 4.2 percent in July. The U.S., according to economists, still isn't in a recession, but the BLS report was a disappointment in terms of job creation. According to BLS data, "Among the unemployed, the number of new entrants increased by 275,000 in July to 985,000. New entrants are unemployed people who are looking for their first job". In July, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 179,000 to 1.8 million. The long-term unemployed accounted for 24.9 percent of all unemployed people."

August 5, 2025 at 10:52 AM EDT
'Pure propaganda': Conservative warns 'whole government works for Donald Trump'

Neoconservative writer Bill Kristol says President Donald Trump's firing of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics over her department's accurately reported numbers was moving the U.S. into "third world" territory. "My alarm scale is pretty high," Kristol told podcaster Tim Miller. "It's been pretty high for quite a while, but it's ticking higher."