Author: Press Room

President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post depicting Venezuela overlaid with an American flag and labeled the 51st state followed a Fox News report that Trump said he was “seriously considering” such a move. President Donald Trump posted a graphic on Truth Social on Tuesday, May 12, showing Venezuela’s outline filled with the American flag and the words “51st State” above it. The post came one day after Fox News’s John Roberts wrote on X: “Just got off the phone with @realDonaldTrump … he told me he is seriously considering a move to make Venezuela the 51st state…”  Trump’s post follows…

Thursday on MS NOW’s “All In,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) made the startling statement that Democrats needed to take back the democracy because the Trump administration was “criminals.” Raskin said, “Corruption is not, an occasional weekend excursion for them, corruption is all they do. It’s like watching The Sopranos and waking up in what is the scam of the day? What is the rip off in the caper we’re going to do today? They don’t have a plan to get health care to the American people, or lower inflation on day one, or bring down the price of groceries or…

During an interview aired on Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” President Donald Trump said that he doesn’t love Chinese nationals buying up farmland and land near military bases, but “you want to see farm prices drop, you want to see farmers lose a lot of money? Just take that out of the market.” He also stated that a lot of the land purchases took place during the Obama administration, and Obama didn’t do anything about it. Host Sean Hannity said, [relevant exchange begins around 8:20] “[T]he issue of Chinese students in our universities, more importantly, in my…

Republicans are redrafting a provision in their immigration enforcement bill that would direct security funding toward parts of President Donald Trump’s ballroom project, according to four people granted anonymity to report details of the talks. The decision comes after a bipartisan meeting Friday with the Senate parliamentarian on the portion of the bill that could inject taxpayer funding into the controversial project. Republicans and Democrats made their respective cases for and against $1 billion in Secret Service funding — roughly $220 million of which, according to administration estimates, could go toward the East Wing “hardening.” Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough hasn’t yet…

Demand for Sharia-compliant financial products is growing, according to Russia’s largest lender, Sber. Russia is seeking to expand a pilot Islamic banking program as demand for Sharia-compliant financial products continues to grow, according to the country’s largest lender, Sber.Islamic banking, also known as partner financing, follows Sharia principles that prohibit interest-based lending and speculative transactions. Instead, it relies on mechanisms such as leasing, installment sales, profit-sharing arrangements, and asset-backed financing. It also restricts financing for sectors such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, and weapons production. Russia launched the pilot initiative in 2023 in four predominantly Muslim regions, including the Republic of…

Mike Waltz said Washington maintains its policy of “strategic ambiguity” regarding tensions with China over the island US President Donald Trump reaffirmed during his recent talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping that he would not change US policy toward Taiwan, US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz has said.Beijing has long opposed US arms sales to the self-governing island and any diplomatic recognition of the government in Taipei. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said during Trump’s trip to China on Thursday that “Taiwan independence” and peace in the region were “as irreconcilable as fire and water.”“At the end…

NEW YORK (AP) — Claudine Longet, the French singer and actor who was at the center of a highly publicized manslaughter trial after she was charged with the fatal shooting of her boyfriend, Olympic skier Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, has died at age 84. Longet’s nephew, Bryan Longet, announced her death in a social media post on Thursday. “You have been a true inspiration in my life and you will always be,” he wrote. “Another star in the sky. Thank you for everything, my aunt.” Reached by phone by The Associated Press, he confirmed Longet had died but did not reveal…

During an interview aired on Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Hannity,” President Donald Trump argued that refusing Chinese students would be “a very insulting thing to say to a country.” And would harm the American university system. Trump said, [relevant remarks begin around 8:20] “As far as the students, it’s 500,000 students that come, good students. I could tell them I don’t want any students. It’s a very insulting thing to say to a country. They would then immediately go out and start building universities all over China. … But if you want to see a university system…

The US-mediated truce between Israel and Lebanon has been extended by 45 days, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said on Friday.Pigott said the sides had agreed to extend the ceasefire reached on April 16 following “highly productive talks.” He added that the Pentagon would host discussions with military delegations on May 29, while the State Department would hold another meeting focused on political matters on June 2-3.“We hope these discussions will advance lasting peace between the two countries, full recognition of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the establishment of genuine security along their shared border,” Pigott said. The…

(UPI) — Bad weather was hampering a major operation Friday in the Maldives to recover the bodies of five Italians killed in a scuba diving incident while exploring underwater caves at a depth of more than 160 feet in the Vaavu Atoll area of the Indian Ocean archipelago. The Italian Foreign Ministry said in a news release that Maldivian Coast Guard vessels had arrived at the scene, about 50 miles south of the capital, Male, with dive rescue teams on board who were being assisted by an expert Italian diver, and were preparing to make a reconnaissance dive. “At present,…