Author: Press Room

U.S. consumers spent far more at American retail stores, gas stations, and online than economists had forecast, showing no signs that the household sector pulled back due to higher gas prices or concerns over the conflict with Iran. Retail sales rose 1.7 percent in March, an acceleration from the previous month’s 0.7 percent gain, data from the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau showed Tuesday. Economists had forecast a 1.4 percent increase. Compared with a year ago, sales are up four percent.   Read the full article here

Marvel movie star Mark Ruffalo will be leading a protest of Paramount CEO David Ellison honoring President Donald Trump at a swanky dinner in D.C. this week. On April 23, David Ellison will be hosting a dinner for the president along with several White House correspondents from CBS News. The dinner comes as Ellison’s Paramount seeks regulatory approval for its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery – a move several Hollywood elites, including Ruffalo, have strongly opposed. The protest will take place outside the United States Institute of Peace building on Thursday, April 23. “In a blatant conflict of interest, Ellison…

A bitter spat is set to dominate Kevin Warsh’s confirmation hearing Tuesday morning. It’s not the economic outlook or bank regulation. The real focus for Senate Banking members vetting Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chair will be President Donald Trump, his yearslong campaign to oust Jerome Powell and whether his DOJ will drop a Fed probe that threatens to derail Warsh’s confirmation indefinitely. “The president’s current nominee will be ultimately confirmed,” Sen. John Kennedy said Monday. “In what decade that happens, I’m not sure.” Sen. Thom Tillis, who is single-handedly holding up Warsh until the DOJ matter is…

More than 3,000 victims of sexual abuse and over 1,600 suspects have been identified in an eight-year-long probe by El Pais More than 3,000 people have reportedly suffered sexual abuse as minors within the Spanish Catholic Church, according to a eight-year investigation by the El Pais newspaper which published its latest findings on Monday.The outlet began collecting data on sex crimes within the church in 2018, when only 34 cases were officially known. Since then, through public testimonies, judicial records, and church admissions, the number of victims of pedophilia has risen to 3,084 with the earliest incidents dating back to…

Israel on Monday exposed the global terror network operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) through its covert “Unit 4000,” detailing how the apparatus directed plots against Israeli officials, embassies, and strategic infrastructure worldwide while key commanders were killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran. In a rare joint statement, the Mossad, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and Israel Defense Forces said the exposure of the network followed a series of operational breakthroughs during the campaign — known in Israel as Operation Rising Lion and in the United States as Operation Epic Fury — which began on February 28…

An indignant Nancy Sinatra snapped at Donald Trump for sharing one of her father’s most iconic songs, remonstrating Sunday it is “sacrilege” for Frank Sinatra to be associated with the president. The octogenarian daughter of the fabled crooner was moved to make public her disdain after Trump shared a video on his Truth Social platform of her father singing his 1969 song My Way. Her response and indignation were both immediatelty apparent. “This is a sacrilege,” she wrote on X, after a follower brought Trump’s post to her attention. Entertainment Weekly notes another fan asked if there was anything she could…

The conservative commentator says he will be “tormented for a long time” by his role in promoting the president Prominent conservative commentator Tucker Carlson has issued a public apology for his role in getting US President Donald Trump into the White House, saying in a podcast published on Monday that he will be “tormented for a long time” by the damage he helped cause.Speaking on his podcast with his brother Buckley Carlson, a former speechwriter for Trump’s 2016 campaign, Tucker Carlson said he and millions of other supporters had ignored “signs of low character” in their enthusiasm for Trump.“You and…

On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) said that the U.S. has lost leverage in negotiations with Iran and there’s a lack of trust because “every time Iran has come to the negotiating table before, Trump has bombed them. The one time they signed an agreement with the United States, Trump ripped it up. So, he’s starting off in a terrible place to actually get a negotiated agreement.” Moulton said that “we’re stalled in the negotiations, because [President Donald Trump’s] not really showing up with any trust or any leverage. There [are] two things you fundamentally…

HBO late-night host Bill Maher admitted that he always thought former California Rep. Eric Swalwell (D) was a “fucking creep” following the sexual assault allegations being lodged against him. Maher, who previously had Swalwell as a guest on his show, even went as far to say that he “never liked” Swalwell. “I’ve always thought this guy was a fucking creep,” Maher said. “I never liked him, and yet so many Democrats stood by him.” Swalwell appeared on Maher’s HBO show on his 38th birthday, while running for president in November 2018. Swalwell announced his resignation from Congress in the U.S.…

Miss Universe Puerto Rico has announced its second biological male contestant since 2023 — revealing on Wednesday that transgender model Gabriel Rodríguez Velázquez is among this year’s competitors vying for the crown. Gabriel Rodríguez Velázquez — representing the town of Cidra — is the second male to compete for the crown in Miss Universe Puerto Rico, according to a report by Hola!. Notably, Rodríguez Velázquez’s participation in Miss Universe Puerto Rico makes for the second transgender model to compete for the crown — after Daniela Arroyo González, who became the first trans contestant in 2023. “Transgender man competing to become Miss Universe Puerto…