I had posted about this fire last month when it was happening, CA. authorities told everyone there was nothing to worry about.
[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/us/california-battery-plant-fire.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wU4.gJlD.Xs12qjDxKAD9&smid=url-share[/URL]
CNN —
President Donald Trump had a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday morning, an official familiar told CNN.
The call, which is the first known conversation between the presidents since Trump assumed office last month, came a day after Russia released an American imprisoned in the country.
Trump administration officials said they hoped the exchange could portend renewed efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, which is about to enter its fourth year.
In a readout of the conversation posted on Truth Social, Trump said, “We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects.”
Trump had been signaling for weeks his desire to speak with Putin as he works to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
“We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s Nations. We have also agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately, and we will begin by calling President Zelenskyy, of Ukraine, to inform him of the conversation, something which I will be doing right now,” Trump wrote.
His predecessor, President Joe Biden, hadn’t spoken to his Russian counterpart in nearly three years.
Oh s***, he ain't playin'!
[URL unfurl="true"]https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/us-news/attorney-general-pam-bondi-announces-doj-lawsuit-against-new-york-hochul-and-state-ag-james-over-sanctuary-status/[/URL]
[HEADING=2]Trump Press Secretary Crashes and Burns When Trying to Prove Fraud[/HEADING]
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling
Wed, February 12, 2025 at 2:19 PM EST
2 min read
After allowing Elon Musk and his college-aged Department of Government Efficiency groupies to root around federal agencies for weeks, the Trump administration apparently still hasn’t uncovered any fraud or abuse.
During a press hearing on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt [waved]('https://x.com/atrupar/status/1889744527222558782') around screenshots of “contracts upon contracts” that she claimed DOGE had “found” in the government. But as she ran through a list of the financial arrangements—some of which had to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts from previous administrations—it became clear that the DOGE-targeted contracts didn’t constitute fraud but instead were simply “against the president’s policies and his America-first agenda.”
“Are all those things you just mentioned fraud? Or are they just contrary to the president’s policies?” [pressed]('https://x.com/atrupar/status/1889745097593368796') CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs.
“I would argue that all of these things are fraudulent,” Leavitt responded. “They are wasteful, and they are an abuse of the American taxpayer’s dollar. This is not what the government should be spending money on. They are contrary to the president’s priorities and agenda.”
Having federal line items that go against the grain of the president’s agenda doesn’t constitute fraud. Yet instead of providing legitimate receipts to back up that claim, Leavitt took the populist route, beckoning the American people to judge the media for daring to question Trump’s agenda. Leavitt further implored journalists to consider the Trump administration’s rationale, even though Musk has been granted free license to shrink federal oversight under the apparently faux banner of uprooting fraud.
“If anybody in here wants to argue that the federal government is not fraudulent, be my guest because I think that the American people at home would beg to differ,” Leavitt said.
So far, Musk’s team has [gained access]('https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/doge-elon-musk-what-federal-agencies-access-lawsuits.html') to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Education, Commerce, Defense, and Energy Departments, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and, among other agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration. (That last one comes during a period in which the U.S. has experienced an unprecedented uptick in critical aviation accidents, with four deadly crashes taking place since Trump took office. Before 2025, the [last deadly crash]('https://www.fox4news.com/news/deadly-plane-crashes-2025-timeline') involving a U.S. airliner was in 2009).
Through all these agencies, Musk has extracted sensitive data on hundreds of millions of Americans, including their Social Security numbers, home addresses, and medical histories.
[HEADING=1]White House blames Biden lol administration for CPI rising 3%[/HEADING]
The White House is reacting to the consumer price index rising 3% from last year as well as food prices increasing -- saying it is "unexpected" and "bad news."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed the Biden administration for not being transparent on the economy and indicated the president has called for lower interest rates. On the other hand, the Federal Reserve has made clear that it is holding interest rates steady to try and tamp down inflation.
who’s gonna read that Bull Shitt…
sorry mikey....forgot my audience,,,try this
[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-105833[/URL]
nothing but Fools they are , the whole stinkin bunch of Fools the Democrats are… cellfish…
If I may digress..........................
They're all a bunch of fools. Democrats. Republicans.
They should all be kicked to the curb.....
They are calling anything not spent in a way that TRUMP and MAGA like as FRAUD!!!!!
You watch none of this will reduce the deficit or the debt. They want to re-direct money to things that line their pockets. Trump wants the debt ceiling raised 4 trillion...WHY if they are saving all that money??
They have MUSK set up as the FALL GUY as he cannot lose an election and is rich. He is the perfect PATSY for them to blame when they go after the HOLY GRAIL....SOCIAL SECURITY....and they will
[HEADING=2]Trump says he now supports elimination of federal debt ceiling[/HEADING]
[HEADING=3]President-elect Donald Trump now wants to eliminate the statutory debt limit entirely after pushing Republicans to hold the nation’s credit hostage under Democratic presidents.
Under Democratic presidents, Donald Trump repeatedly demanded Republicans in Congress use the federal debt ceiling as leverage for their political demands. Now, as he prepares to return to the White House, Trump is calling for the elimination of the cap on government borrowing.
The United States government has accumulated more than [$36 trillion]('https://www.usdebtclock.org/') in debt, about [$8 trillion]('https://www.crfb.org/blogs/how-much-did-president-trump-add-debt') of which came during Trump’s first term in office. To pay interest on that and for current spending obligations, the Treasury must take on more debt each year. Rather than increase revenues or cut spending to eliminate the annual budget deficit and pay off the debt, Congress sets a [cap]('https://wisconsinindependent.com/economy/explainer-house-republicans-dangerous-debt-limit-gambit-2/') on how much the government may borrow.
“The debt limit does not authorize new spending commitments,” the Treasury Department [explains]('https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-markets-financial-institutions-and-fiscal-service/debt-limit') on its website. “It simply allows the government to finance existing legal obligations that Congresses and presidents of both parties have made in the past.”
Congressional Republicans have frequently used the cap as a bargaining chip, threatening to let the government default on its debts if Democrats do not agree to such demands as [cuts]('https://mailchi.mp/budgetgop.housecommunications.gov/chairman-arrington-announces-budget-committee-roster-461535?e=b701fcfbb6') to health care subsidies and climate infrastructure programs. The standoffs have [caused]('https://wisconsinindependent.com/economy/explainer-house-republicans-dangerous-debt-limit-gambit-2/') market uncertainty and scared credit rating agencies, increasing government borrowing costs by billions of dollars and leading Standard & Poor’s and Fitch to downgrade the nation’s long-term debt rating.
In a telephone interview with NBC News on Dec. 19, 2024, the president-elect [called for]('https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-calls-abolishing-debt-ceiling-rcna184820') Congress to eliminate the statutory cap on how much debt the Treasury Department can accumulate, saying it was “the “smartest thing it could do. I would support that entirely. The Democrats have said they want to get rid of it. If they want to get rid of it, I would lead the charge.”
The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In December 2021, Congress set the debt limit at [$31.381 trillion]('https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Debt-Limit-Letter-to-Congress-McCarthy-20230113.pdf'). A bipartisan [law]('https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/3746') enacted in June 2023 suspended that limit until January 2025. With that freeze set to expire, Trump [unsuccessfully]('https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/rejecting-trumps-demands-congress-averts-government-shutdown-just-after-midnight') pushed Congress to attach [another increase]('https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5047382-trump-government-spending-deal/') in December 2024, before President Joe Biden leaves office, to a must-pass stopgap spending agreement. “The Democrats must be forced to take a vote on this treacherous issue NOW, during the Biden Administration, and not in June,” he [posted]('https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-extension-debt-ceiling-will-go-down-one-dumbest-political-decisions-2024-12-29/') on social media. “They should be blamed for this potential disaster, not the Republicans!”
In the past, however, Trump has egged on the GOP’s harmful debt limit showdowns under Democratic presidents.
“With the debt limit approaching, @GOP has even more leverage,” he [tweeted]('https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/387317129181032448') in 2013. “If they stay united and on message they can win.”
“REPUBLICANS CAN GET ALMOST EVERYTHING BACK THAT ‘THE OLD BROKEN CROW,’ MITCH McCONNELL, AND THE REAL ‘LEADER,’ CHINA CENTRIC COCO CHOW, STUPIDLY GAVE UP TO THE DEMOCRATS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, BY SIMPLY PLAYING TOUGH IN THE UPCOMING DEBT CEILING NEGOTIATIONS,” he [wrote]('https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/109661077684281362') in January 2023 on Truth Social, misspelling the name of McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who had served in Trump’s Cabinet. “WITH THE ‘RIGHT’ NEGOTIATORS, LIKE ALL OF THOSE INVOLVED THE OTHER NIGHT (ON BOTH SIDES!) FOR SPEAKER, IT WILL BE A BEAUTIFUL AND JOYOUS THING FOR THE PEOPLE OF OUR COUNTRY TO WATCH. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Though Trump ran in 2016 on a [promise]('https://americanjournalnews.com/donald-trump-campaign-promises-broken-mexico-wall-economy-immigration-health-care/') to quickly balance the budget and pay off the national debt, he did not accomplish those things as president. According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the tax cuts and tariffs he promised in his [2024 campaign]('https://www.crfb.org/papers/fiscal-impact-harris-and-trump-campaign-plans') would add between $1.65 trillion and $15.55 trillion more to the national debt over the next decade.
Not all Republicans in Congress are lining up behind Trump’s latest strategy. Newsweek [reported]('https://www.newsweek.com/senator-ron-johnson-vows-vote-against-key-donald-trump-demand-debt-ceiling-2009930') on Jan. 5 that, asked on Fox News whether he would back elimination of the debt limit, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said: “No, we absolutely need a debt ceiling limit. I’ll negotiate in terms of how far we increase that. There are all kinds of things we could do, but it starts with, again, going back to a baseline spending this reasonable amount as part of the negotiation on increasing debt limit. But we absolutely need that debt limit, or there’s no control over out-of-control government spending.”[/HEADING]
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