The Guardian reports: Initially, the drinks giant responded with a neutral statement of appreciation for “President Trump’s enthusiasm” for Coke, and a vague message about “new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range” to come. On Thursday, however, the soft drinks company released an additional statement making positive claims about high-fructose corn syrup, a product that some blame for soaring …

Reuters reports: Among the scores of offices the U.S. State Department eliminated last week in its dramatic revamp, the shuttering of one little-known office has raised particular alarm among U.S. diplomats. The small team at the Department’s Office of Casualty Assistance, which supports U.S. diplomats and their families abroad in the event of death or serious injury, received termination notices …

“They have seemed so solid, so wholesome for so long and then this.This really is a satanic Trojan horse where the enemy has commandeered Magnolia as a Trojan horse.  “That’s what this is. Lull to sleep, lull to sleep, wholesome, get it in every single corner of your house, consume it all day long, trust them completely, and then have …

The Washington Post reports: The Interior Department said Thursday that it would add additional layers of review for wind and solar energy projects, following President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending any “preferential treatment” for renewable energy. The new requirement threatens to trip up the approval process as wind and solar projects race to begin construction by a deadline …

Los Angeles’s NBC affiliate reports: Beloved pets are being left behind as more families are being deported due to federal immigration enforcement across Southern California. “They’re very nice, lovable, adoptable pets,” said Sgt. Julie Villegas of the Carson Animal Care Center. “We’re here to offer them the support and care they need.” There are a variety of reasons why their …

NBC News reports: An elite Chinese cyberspy group hacked at least one state’s National Guard network for nearly a year, the Department of Defense has found. The hackers, already responsible for one of the most expansive cyberespionage campaigns against the U.S. to date, are alleged to have burrowed even further than previously known and may have obtained sensitive military or …

“Trump says if you’re not on board with the Epstein cover-up, ‘Oh, I don’t want your support. You’re a weakling,’ Fuck you! Fuck you! You suck. You are fat. You are a joke. You are stupid. You are not funny. You are not as smart as you think you are. If you watch my show, you know I’ve been very …

Gizmodo reports: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a man whose brain was partially eaten by a worm and who once admitted to keeping jars full of roadkill in his freezer, is begging the Canadian government to spare the lives of 400 ostriches who may have been exposed to bird flu. Kennedy, who also happens to be in charge of America’s federal …

The Hill reports: Sen. Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), the Senate Republican deputy whip, on Thursday blocked a request by Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) to demand the Trump administration release files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Gallego, a first-term senator, stood up on the Senate floor to demand that colleagues “show the American people that they deserve the truth” …

The Miami New Times reports: State contracts related to Alligator Alcatraz, the controversial detention facility in the Florida Everglades, appear to have disappeared from the state’s public contract database. On Wednesday, Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani noticed that dozens of Alligator Alcatraz contracts on the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS) website were suddenly gone. Just a day prior, the Orlando state …

CBS News reports: President Trump has been diagnosed with a “benign and common” vein condition known as chronic venous insufficiency after he noticed swelling in his legs, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced today. According to Johns Hopkins and the Cleveland Clinic, chronic venous insufficiency occurs when veins in the legs struggle to allow blood to flow back up …

The Daily Beast reports: President Donald Trump’s former chief of staff claims the president is in the Epstein files — and on a list of the child sex offender’s associates. “He’s in the files. A lot of people are in the files,” Mick Mulvaney said in a forthcoming interview with Al Jazeera, a clip of which was teased online. “But …

“Their crimes against us are so numerous, it is hard to count. But we’ve been taken advantage of by the elites, and it is President Trump who is our hammer. That is why that man, the forgotten man, votes for President Trump. “President Trump built his political dynasty on attacking elite pedophiles. You can check the tape. Some of the …

The Minnesota Star Tribune reports: One of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers went on national television and ridiculed the city of Minneapolis as a crime-ridden haven for undocumented immigrants, comments that drew a swift retort Wednesday from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, during an interview Tuesday on FOX News Channel’s “The Will …

The Associated Press reports: Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press. The information will give ICE officials the ability …

Ken Klippenstein reports at Substack: Pete Hegseth loves to have his picture taken doing jumping jacks, jogging with the troops, and hanging with buff special ops commandos. In fact, the Secretary of Defense is all about appearances, making a constant show of being more virile than anyone who’s ever preceded him. In the name of warfighting and military readiness, Hegseth …

Posted to the Family Research Council’s website: Senate Republicans are determined to keep throwing taxpayer dollars at the Democrats’ woke programs in the name of “foreign aid.” In a blow to Donald Trump’s goal to end government bloat and abuse, moderate senators — led by Susan Collins (R-Maine) — threw a tantrum over the White House’s plan to shave a …

Politico reports: Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought isn’t interested in giving assurances to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the White House will abide by any bipartisan spending agreements made this year. “The appropriations process has to be less bipartisan,” Vought told reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast Thursday. With Republicans in full control of government, he …

From the Diocese Of Nashville: Juan Carlos Garcia, a former associate pastor at St. Philip Catholic Church in Franklin, pleaded guilty Monday in Williamson County Court to charges stemming from a 2024 indictment on multiple counts of sexual misconduct involving both minors and adults. Garcia entered a plea to all the original charges. In making the plea, Garcia admitted his …

NBC News reports: When Emil Bove worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, for example, he earned a reputation as an unprofessional and abusive prosecutor. He parlayed this background into a role as a Trump defense attorney, punctuated by his defeat in the Stormy Daniels case, which paid dividends: Trump rewarded with Bove a …