Author: Max Rego

Radio Free Asia (RFA) announced Wednesday it is pausing operations for the first time in its history, amid the government shutdown and after the Trump administration cut its funding. In a statement, RFA executive editor Rose Hwang said the stoppage is “due to uncertain funding.” “For RFA journalists who sacrificed so much in defying powerful and malignant forces, it’s an excruciating moment.” RFA, established in 1996 via the International Broadcasting Act, reaches nearly 60 million people weekly in six countries without a free press: China, Myanmar, North Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. In fiscal 2024, RFA had a budget of…

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) said Wednesday that Louisiana State University (LSU) athletics director Scott Woodward will not be involved in picking the university’s next football coach. “I can tell you right now, Scott Woodward is not selecting the next coach,” Landry said at a press conference. “Hell, I’ll let Donald Trump select it before I let him do it.” On Sunday, LSU parted ways with head football coach Brian Kelly. Kelly, hired in November 2021 after 12 seasons at the University of Notre Dame, went 34-14 during his time leading the Tigers, reaching the SEC Championship Game in 2022. …

Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, this week expressed opposition to the Trump administration’s proposal to boost Argentine beef imports. Smith, in a Southeast Missourian op-ed published Monday, said he told President Trump in a recent conversation that “purchasing beef tariff-free from Argentina would be devastating to America’s cattle producers, who are struggling just to get by.”  Last week, the White House confirmed plans to quadruple the tariff rate quota for beef imports from Argentina, days after the president cited rising beef prices in backing the plan. The move comes after the administration…

Mike Donilon, an aide to former President Biden, told the House Oversight Committee that he would have received a roughly $4 million bonus if the former president won reelection last year. In a video released Tuesday by the committee, Donilon said in July that if Biden won the 2024 race, he would have gotten the bonus as part of “a guarantee by the campaign.” That was on top of his roughly $4 million base salary, which Donilon confirmed during his testimony. CNN’s Jake Tapper first reported on Donilon’s testimony in July. The interview was part of the Oversight Committee’s investigation…

The anonymous donor who gave the Defense Department $130 million to partially cover the salaries of military personnel amid the government shutdown was identified as billionaire Timothy Mellon, The New York Times reported. Mellon, an 83-year-old resident of Saratoga, Wyo., has donated frequently to President Trump and Republican groups in recent years. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump, while not naming Mellon, called the anonymous donor a “friend” who “doesn’t really want the recognition.” “That’s what I call a patriot,” the president said. Neither the White House nor Pentagon has publicly acknowledged the Times’s report identifying…

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) said Sunday that President Trump told him that he plans to brief members of Congress on possible military action in Latin America, including potentially shifting attacks targeting Venezuela from the sea to land. Graham, speaking to Margaret Brennan on CBS News’ Face the Nation, said land strikes “a real possibility” and that the president will brief lawmakers on the possible operations in the region when he returns from Asia later this week.  “There will be a congressional briefing about a potential expanding from the sea to the land. I support that idea, but I think…

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that U.S. soybean exports to China were addressed during a meeting between the two sides in Malaysia. “I think we have addressed the farmers’ concerns,” Bessent told Martha Raddatz on ABC News’ This Week, of the meeting with Chinese International Trade Representative Li Chenggang and Vice Premier He Lifeng. American soybean farmers have been impacted by President Trump’s tariff battle with China. While the U.S. is typically the top supplier of soybeans to China, China purchased over 1 million tons of soybeans from Argentina last month after the South American country suspended its 26…

The Trump administration’s plan to boost beef imports from Argentina has caused uncertainty for domestic farmers and ranchers.  The president, citing rising meat prices, told reporters on Air Force One Sunday that the country may increase Argentine beef imports.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average per pound price of ground beef slightly exceeded $6.31 in August, a bump of over 77 cents from January and an increase of 74 cents from August 2024.  The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association pushed back against Trump’s proposal, arguing Wednesday that the administration should not “undercut” American ranchers by boosting Argentine beef…

President Trump on Thursday dismissed the need to ask Congress for a declaration of war as the U.S. military continuously launches strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. “I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” Trump told reporters. “I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them.” Since September, the president has authorized multiple strikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela, killing at least 32 people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also said Wednesday that a total…

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied his state’s appeal for federal disaster relief for flooding in May. Moore (D), in a Thursday release, called the move “deeply frustrating” and said it “leaves Marylanders on their own.” “FEMA has a responsibility to weigh the merits of each emergency request objectively,” Moore added. “Instead, President Trump and his Administration have politicized disaster relief, and our communities are the ones who will pay the price.” The floods occurred over two days, impacting Garrett and Alleghany counties in western Virginia. They resulted in $33.7 million in damages,…