Trump tried to clean up Wilbur Ross' tone-deaf comments on unpaid federal workers, didn't succeed
On Thursday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross weighed in on the 800,000 federal workers who haven't been paid in over a month, and his comments were not widely viewed as emanating empathy. That's true even if you don't picture Ross as fictional fellow billionaire Mr. Burns from The Simpsons:
The idea that a Walmart or Kroger or Safeway would give people food on personal credit (not credit cards) baffled a lot of people. Most of us "do not inhabit the world of Little House on the Prairie," noted New York's Sarah Jones. "Half Pint cannot go to the general store and place a dozen eggs on store credit until Pa's farm starts to make money."
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Also, "who thinks grocery stores and mortgage banks are going to go easy on folks?" asked CNN's Chris Cuomo. "The president is confusing the treatment he got from banks because of his ability to have family millions prop him up as collateral. That's not the real world." Cuomo also lit into Lara Trump's feigned ignorance and explained why Trump won't win his wall, only cause more pain. Watch below. Peter Weber
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The ‘ravenous’ demand for Cornish mineralsUnder the Radar Growing need for critical minerals to power tech has intensified ‘appetite’ for lithium, which could be a ‘huge boon’ for local economy
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Why are election experts taking Trump’s midterm threats seriously?IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the president muses about polling place deployments and a centralized electoral system aimed at one-party control, lawmakers are taking this administration at its word
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‘Restaurateurs have become millionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
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NIH director Bhattacharya tapped as acting CDC headSpeed Read Jay Bhattacharya, a critic of the CDC’s Covid-19 response, will now lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Witkoff and Kushner tackle Ukraine, Iran in GenevaSpeed Read Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held negotiations aimed at securing a nuclear deal with Iran and an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine
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Pentagon spokesperson forced out as DHS’s resignsSpeed Read Senior military adviser Col. David Butler was fired by Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin is resigning
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Judge orders Washington slavery exhibit restoredSpeed Read The Trump administration took down displays about slavery at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia
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Hyatt chair joins growing list of Epstein files losersSpeed Read Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chair of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation over his ties with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
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Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
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Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
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House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
