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Political cartoonist Ted Rall and CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, dissect the shocking new deal for Gaza, which appears to hand Hamas a major win over Israel, as well as other stories you need to know about.
- Gaza Deal: Brokered by a Trump increasingly disgusted by Netanyahu, Israel and Hamas negotiate a hostage-prisoner swap that seems to favor the Palestinians, exchanging 20 Israeli captives for 250 life-sentence Palestinians and 1,700 jailed Gazans,. Netanyahu convenes his cabinet today to ratify the deal, risking his fragile coalition. Israel is required to withdraw and finally allow aid—an admission the Jewish state was blocking it—while Hamas still hasn’t agreed to disarm. Palestinians cling to fragile hope, awakening to news of potential truce, even as Trump makes clear Israel’s attack against Qatar pushed Trump to pressure the Israelis to make peace.
- Americans Like Deportations, But Not These Deportations: It’s not what, it’s how. Trump's mass deportation campaign deploys agents to snag immigrants at courthouses and streets, flying them to unfamiliar nations and stripping humanitarian shields, sparking clashes with activists—and angering American voters. A New York Times/Siena poll finds 54% of voters support removals of undocumented arrivals, but 53% decry the process as unfair, ensnaring U.S. citizens, parents of American kids, and vendors in a spectacle of force across Chicago and D.C.
- Corrupt Homan Gets to Keep His Bribe: Echoing Wreckless Eric’s old song, “Take the Kash,” border czar Tom Homan is being allowed to keep $50,000 he collected from FBI undercover agents in a corruption probe—delivered in a Cava bag during a 2024 taped meet—leaving the "buy money" untraced and undeclared. AG Pam Bondi dodges Senate queries, as experts warn commingled funds evade forfeiture, complicating IRS tax pursuits or ethics probes in a Justice Department shielding insiders.
- Sortor Spins His Portland Arrest: Fox News regular Nick Sortor, with 1 million X followers, faces disorderly conduct charges after police swarm a brawl outside Portland's ICE building Thursday night, cuffing him alongside two others amid Antifa clashes. Released Friday, a wildly spinning Sortor blasts Portland PD as "corrupt" puppets of "violent Antifa thugs" on X, vowing the incident spotlights street terror instead of the far more likely possibility that the cops abuse protesters.
- Pentagon Kirk Purge: The Defense Department opens investigations into nearly 300 personnel for online insults about Charlie Kirk, under SecDef Pete Hegseth's edict branding Kirk critics as unfit for service. Disciplinary ripples spread, echoing Hegseth's purge threats against generals opposing Trump's "regressive" military overhauls, while Trumps decries mockery as "domestic terrorism" celebration. This loyalty litmus test subverts constitutional norms.
- Kirk Statue Frenzy: Republicans rally to put up Charlie Kirk monuments all over the place, from Capitol statues to state university mandates in Oklahoma and Texas, with New College of Florida unveiling an AI-rendered effigy amid artist bids. This push—reminiscent of Lincoln!—revives clashes over who merits commemoration in public spaces.
