Chinese Nationals Fighting For Russia: Ukrainian President Zelensky's forces capture Chinese nationals fighting for Russia, potentially escalating international tensions as Putin seeks more allies for his war effort. Trump's market-moving social media post and subsequent tariff announcement recover $4 trillion in value, raising questions of timing and ethics.
• House narrowly passes Trump's budget blueprint with 216-214 vote, enabling budget reconciliation for his agenda
• Former NBC host Chuck Todd admits media deliberately downplayed Biden's cognitive decline to avoid helping Trump
• Leadership change at ATF as FBI Director Kash Patel quietly removed from dual role amid possible agency restructuring
• IRS strikes deal to share taxpayer information with federal immigration agents for locating undocumented individuals
• Former Meta executive testifies that the company built censorship tools for Chinese government, raising security concerns
• Taliban morality police detaining citizens for "wrong hairstyles" and missed mosque attendance according to UN report
• Tennis legend Martina Navratilova challenges Democrats on transgender athletes in women's sports, asking what they're willing to sacrifice
• Trump signs executive order to increase water pressure in showerheads, targeting Obama-era regulations
Source Credits:
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/08/europe/ukraine-says-captured-chinese-nationals-russia-intl/index.html https://apnews.com/article/trump-truth-social-djt-tesla-musk-tariffs-pause-fccfa6b06c8f1ec0cd7844641ca52669
https://nypost.com/2025/04/10/us-news/house-approves-senate-blueprint-for-big-beautiful-trump-budget-bill-after-conservative-rebellion/ https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-kim-yo-jong-nuclear-weapons-denuclearization-57d44a455960f7bcc39ffac80b84aa40 https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-nbc-host-chuck-todd-admits-media-feared-covering-bidens-decline-would-help-trump
https://nypost.com/2025/04/09/us-news/kash-patel-removed-as-acting-atf-director-us-officials/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/08/irs-tax-day-ice-deport-migrants/82995772007/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/meta-whistleblower-testimony-senate-judiciary-subcommittee/ https://nypost.com/2025/04/10/world-news/taliban-morality-enforcers-arrest-men-for-having-the-wrong-hairstyle-or-skipping-mosque-un-report/ https://www.foxnews.com/sports/tennis-legend-martina-navratilova-asks-dems-what-theyre-willing-give-up-men-who-identify-trans https://nypost.com/2025/04/09/us-news/trump-signs-executive-order-undoing-obama-biden-showerhead-regulation-makes-americas-showers-great-again/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello America.
Joc here with your rantingpolitics headline updates, and
today we have a special editionweekend super show where we are
diving into today's and thisweek's most explosive political
stories that you need to knowabout Coming up.
We're talking internationalintrigue, with Ukrainian forces
capturing Chinese nationalsfighting for Russia yeah, that's
(00:22):
happening.
Plus Trump's market-movingsocial media posts that sent
Wall Street into a frenzy andrecovered trillions in value.
We've also got the inside scoopon the House narrowly passing
Trump's budget blueprint aftersome serious conservative
pushback, north Korea flat-outrejecting denuclearization as a
daydream and former NBC hostChuck Todd finally admitting
(00:44):
what we all knew about mediacoverage of Biden's decline,
from leadership shakeups at theATF to controversial moves by
the IRS sharing taxpayer datawith immigration authorities.
We're covering it all with theno-nonsense, straight-talking
approach you expect from rantingpolitics.
We'll even dive into Meta'salleged censorship,
collaboration with China,taliban morality, police
cracking down on haircuts,tennis legend Martina
(01:07):
Navratilova challengingDemocrats and Trump's latest
executive order to literallymake America's showers great
again.
Stick around for all this andmore in your daily dose of
unfiltered news and common sensecommentary.
This is Ranting PoliticsHeadline Updates politics
(01:28):
headline updates.
In breaking news that coulddramatically escalate tensions
between the West and China.
Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelensky dropped a bombshell
announcement Tuesday that hisforces have captured two Chinese
(01:49):
nationals fighting alongsideRussian troops in eastern
Ukraine's Donetsk region.
This isn't just some minordiplomatic hiccup, folks.
This is potentially explosive.
Zelensky claims Ukrainianforces recovered their documents
, bank cards and personal dataproving their identities.
And here's the kicker hesuggests this might just be the
tip of the iceberg, stating wehave information that there are
(02:12):
many more Chinese citizens inthe occupiers' units than just
two.
The Ukrainian president didn'tmince words about what this
could mean.
He's instructed his foreignminister to contact Beijing
immediately, demandingexplanations, while
simultaneously calling onUkraine's Western allies to
protest these developments.
(02:33):
Russia's involvement of China inthis war in Europe, directly or
indirectly, is a clear signalthat Putin is going to do
anything except end the war.
Zelensky declared he is lookingfor ways to continue fighting.
(02:57):
Now let's be clear aboutsomething we don't, zelensky
declared, but regardless, theoptics are terrible for Beijing.
This development comes againstthe backdrop of reports that
China has been quietly helpingRussia beef up its defense
industrial base with machinetools, drone engines and
microelectronics essential forweapons manufacturing.
Add in Russia's strengthenedmilitary relationship with North
(03:19):
Korea, who've already senttroops to Ukraine, and you've
got yourself a concerningpattern.
Meanwhile, the situation on theground remains brutal.
Russian attacks killed at leastthree people and injured 19
others across multiple Ukrainianregions in just the last 24
hours, and Russia claims it'srecaptured one of the last
(03:39):
Ukrainian-held villages in theKursk region, where Ukraine
launched its surprisingcross-border incursion last
August.
Ukrainian forces have alsobegun limited attacks in
Russia's northwestern Belgorodregion, with Zelensky confirming
for the first time Monday thathis troops are active there to
protect Ukrainian border towns.
The 225th Separate AssaultRegiment released videos showing
(04:01):
their forces destroying twobridges in the Belgorod region,
confirming their presence onRussian soil.
This Chinese connection, ifsubstantiated, raises the
troubling prospect that Putin'swar is becoming an even broader
international conflict, withmajor powers indirectly involved
.
It's a dangerous escalationthat bears watching closely.
We'll talk about perfect timingor suspicious coincidence,
(04:25):
depending on how you look at it.
Former President Donald Trumpcaused quite a stir last week
with what some are calling amarket-moving social media blitz
that has Wall Street and ethicswatchdogs raising eyebrows.
At 9.37 am Wednesday morning,with markets wavering between
gains and losses, trump postedthis message on his Truth Social
platform this is a great timeto buy DJT.
(04:48):
Just a simple statementfollowed by his initials.
Nothing too unusual for thetypically outspoken former
president right Wrong.
Less than four hours later,trump made a stunning
announcement that he wasimplementing a 90-day pause on
nearly all his recently imposedtariffs.
That he was implementing a90-day pause on nearly all his
recently imposed tariffs.
The market reaction wasimmediate and explosive.
The S&P 500 soared 9.5% by theend of trading, recovering about
(05:14):
$4 trillion in value,approximately 70% of what had
been lost during the previousfour trading days.
Now, anyone who followed Trump'sfinancial advice that morning
made a killing, and that'sprecisely what has Democratic
senators like Adam Schiff andChris Murphy crying foul.
Did anyone buy or sell stocksand profit at the public's
(05:34):
expense, schiff asked on socialmedia.
Murphy went even further,stating an insider trading
scandal is brewing.
The timing raises an obviousquestion Was Trump already
planning the tariff pause whenhe posted his stock buying tip?
When directly asked about whenhe made the decision, trump's
answer only muddied the waters.
Over the last few days.
(05:55):
I've been thinking about it, hesaid, but then added fairly
early this morning, the WhiteHouse, for its part, defended
the post as part of Trump'spresidential duties, with
spokesperson Kush Desai statingit is the responsibility of the
President of the United Statesto reassure the markets and
Americans about their economicsecurity in the face of nonstop
(06:15):
media fear-mongering.
But here's where things get evenmore interesting.
Trump signed his post with DJT,which happens to also be the
stock ticker symbol for TrumpMedia and Technology Group, the
parent company of Truth Social.
Was he suggesting people buystocks generally or specifically
his company's shares?
Either way, trump Media's stockprice rocketed up 22.67% that
(06:39):
day, more than twice the broadermarket's gains.
That's pretty remarkable for acompany that lost $400 million
last year and seems completelyunaffected by tariff policies.
Trump's 53% ownership stake inthe company, now held in a trust
controlled by Donald Trump Jr,increased in value by a cool
$415 million in a single day.
(07:00):
Tesla also experienced asimilar windfall, with Elon
Musk's fortune increasing byabout $20 billion.
Just last month, trump held anews conference praising Tesla
and its cars, followed by hisCommerce Secretary encouraging
Fox viewers to buy the stock.
Kathleen Clark, a governmentethics law expert at Washington
University, summed it up thisway he's sending the message
(07:23):
that he can effectively and withimpunity manipulate the market
as in.
Watch this space for futurestock tips.
Whether this constitutes actualillegal insider trading remains
to be seen, but one thing'scertain Trump's market-moving
powers appear as strong as ever,and he seems more than willing
to use them.
The House of Representatives hasfinally approved a compromise
(07:46):
budget resolution after anail-biting vote that came down
to the wire.
The measure squeaked throughwith a 216-214 margin, with just
two Republicans RepresentativesThomas Massey of Kentucky and
Victoria Spartz of Indianavoting against it.
This crucial step allowsRepublicans to begin drafting
(08:06):
President Trump's self-describedbig, beautiful agenda package.
The budget resolution has beena contentious battleground,
particularly for fiscal hawks inthe House, who had been holding
out for deeper spending cuts.
Their main demand Mandatoryreductions of at least $1.5
trillion, far more than the fewbillion dollars in cuts proposed
(08:28):
by the Senate version.
Speaker Mike Johnson, clearlyrelieved after securing the
votes, told reporters it was agood day in the House.
I told you not to doubt us, weget the job done.
He added.
There's a lot of work ahead ofus and we're really excited
about that.
With this hurdle cleared,republican lawmakers can now use
a legislative process known asbudget reconciliation to advance
(08:50):
President Trump's priorities.
This procedural maneuver iscritical because it allows
legislation to pass the Senatewith a simple majority,
bypassing the 60-vote thresholdtypically needed to overcome a
Democratic filibuster thresholdtypically needed to overcome a
Democratic filibuster.
The reconciliation packagecould raise the nation's debt
ceiling by as much as $5trillion, extend Trump's tax
(09:12):
cuts and add hundreds ofbillions in defense and border
security spending.
House Freedom Caucus ChairmanAndy Harris, who had previously
been on the fence, ultimatelysupported the measure, but with
clear conditions.
After meeting with PresidentTrump at the White House, I am
(09:32):
assured that he will not sign abill that does not produce the
spending reforms necessary toput our country back on the path
toward balancing the federalbudget, harris said, adding that
spending cuts must approach $2trillion in the final bill to
win his vote.
Several key differences remainbetween the House and Senate
versions.
The Senate blueprint makes roomfor Trump's campaign pledges of
no tax on tips, social Securityor overtime pay, plus an
(09:56):
increased state and local taxdeduction, with a price tag of
about $5.3 trillion.
The House version allocates only$4.5 trillion for tax cuts.
On border security, the Senateinstructs $350 billion in new
funding, while the House callsfor $200 billion.
Defense spending also differs,with the Senate boosting it by
(10:17):
$150 billion compared to theHouse's $100 billion increase.
Even the debt ceiling hikevaries, with the Senate
proposing $5 trillion versus theHouse's $4 trillion.
Despite these differences,president Trump celebrated the
vote, posting on Truth SocialCongratulations to the House on
the passage of a bill that setsthe stage for one of the
(10:38):
greatest and most importantsignings in the history of our
country.
Gop leaders are optimistic theycan reconcile these differences
and get a final bill to Trump'sdesk by Memorial Day, with
Congress breaking for a two-weekPassover and Easter recess.
The real work of hammering outthe details begins when they
return.
Stay with us as we take a quickbreak to hear from our lead
(10:59):
sponsor, whose support helpsmake this show possible.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
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Speaker 1 (12:14):
The war of words over North Korea's nuclear program
has intensified this week, withKim Yo-jong, the powerful sister
of North Korean leader KimJong-un, forcefully rejecting
any notion that the hermitkingdom would give up its
nuclear arsenal.
In a statement dripping withdefiance, kim Yo-jong mocked
Washington and its Asian alliesfor what she called their
daydream of denuclearizing NorthKorea.
(12:36):
She pointedly reminded theworld that the country's nuclear
ambitions are now enshrined inits constitution, making any
external discussions ofdenuclearization the most
hostile act and equivalent todenying North Korea's
sovereignty.
If the US and its vassal forcescontinue to insist on
anachronistic denuclearization,she warned, it will only give
(12:59):
unlimited justness andjustification to the DPRK
aspiring after the building ofthe strongest nuclear force for
self-defense.
Her message was crystal clearNorth Korea's nuclear status can
never be reversed by anyphysical strength or sly
artifice.
This hardline stance comes astensions in the region continue
to escalate.
Kim Jong-un has beenincreasingly flaunting his
(13:22):
military nuclear capabilities,while simultaneously
strengthening ties with Russiaover President Vladimir Putin's
war in Ukraine.
Despite President Trump'sstated intention to reach out to
Kim again to revive thediplomacy they began during his
first term, north Korea hasremained conspicuously silent on
the offer.
Those earlier talks collapsedwhen the two sides couldn't
(13:45):
agree on ending US-led sanctionsin exchange for North Korea
taking steps to wind down itsnuclear and missile programs.
The geopolitical landscape hasshifted dramatically since then.
Kim's foreign policy priorityis now clearly Russia, which he
has supplied with both weaponsand troops to support Putin's
war effort in Ukraine.
(14:05):
This alarming development hasSeoul deeply concerned that Kim
may receive economic assistanceand advanced technology to
develop his arsenal in exchangefor North Korea's military
support.
The timing of Kim Yo-jong'sstatement is particularly
troubling, coming just a dayafter South Korea fired warning
shots to repel North Koreansoldiers who had crossed the
(14:25):
border.
According to South Korea'sJoint Chiefs of Staff, about 10
North Korean soldiers, somearmed, violated the military
demarcation line in the easternsection of the border before
retreating after warning shotswere fired.
With North Korea doubling downon its nuclear ambitions and
forging closer ties with Russia,the prospects for diplomatic
breakthroughs appearincreasingly remote.
(14:46):
The question now becomes howthe United States and its allies
will respond to this hardeningstance and whether alternative
approaches to regional securitycan be developed in the absence
of denuclearization.
In a region already fraughtwith tension, north Korea's
unambiguous rejection ofdenuclearization talks
represents yet another challengeto stability in Northeast Asia,
with potential ripple effectsacross the global security
(15:09):
landscape.
In a stunning admission that'ssending shockwaves through media
circles, former NBC host ChuckTodd has finally acknowledged
what many Americans suspected.
Throughout the 2024presidential campaign, the
mainstream media deliberatelyheld back on covering President
Biden's cognitive decline out offear it would benefit Donald
(15:30):
Trump.
Speaking with Piers Morgan onPiers Morgan Uncensored, todd
initially tried to defend themedia's approach, suggesting
they had been subtle aboutBiden's deteriorating condition.
Look, we were subtle.
He's using the back staircase.
He's not using the backstaircase.
He's not using the frontstaircase.
Hey, he's not doing anyinterviews, todd explained,
(15:51):
implying reporters had hinted atthe issue without directly
addressing it.
But then came the bombshelladmission there was this
reluctance to draw theconclusion that was held back
held back a lot by themainstream media.
When pressed on why, toddconfessed.
The only thing I can chalk itup to is this, whatever you want
to call it, this fear that somemembers of the media had
sometimes that they would beperceived as helping Trump if
(16:15):
they somehow diminished Biden.
This revelation comes on theheels of two explosive new books
that detail how Democraticleaders, including former House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wereprivately alarmed about Biden's
mental acuity, while publiclydismissing such concerns.
According to Chris Whipple'sbook Uncharted how Trump Beat
(16:36):
Biden, harris and the Odds inthe Wildest Campaign in History.
Pelosi told a friend she wasstartled by Biden's appearance
after a White House meeting inMay 2024.
He was not the same Joe Biden,pelosi reportedly said, adding
that she couldn't shake therealization that Joe Biden was a
shadow of himself.
Yet just one month later,pelosi took to social media to
(16:57):
bash a Wall Street Journalarticle as a hit piece for
reporting claims that mirroredwhat she herself had privately
observed.
The implications of this doublestandard are profound for media
credibility.
If news organizations aremaking editorial decisions based
on preferred electoral outcomesrather than journalistic
integrity, what other storiesare being shaped by political
(17:20):
considerations?
Todd himself acknowledged thispattern has been the fundamental
mistake that many members ofthe traditional press have done.
He cited the post-January 6theffort to de-platform Trump from
social media as another examplewhere media overreach
ultimately backfired.
It looks more obvious today,todd admitted, because what did
he do?
(17:40):
He built his own informationecosystem, and now traditional
media is doing what Showing upon YouTube.
Traditional media, todd argued,doesn't have the influence it
did anymore because it wentalong with this deplatforming
exercise.
The fallout from theserevelations will likely further
erode public trust in mainstreamnews outlets at a time when
(18:01):
media credibility is already athistoric lows.
The question now becomeswhether newsrooms will learn
from this misstep or continuedown the path of partisan
gatekeeping that increasinglyalienates large portions of the
American public.
Another significant shakeup isunderway in federal law
enforcement, as FBI Director,kash Patel has been removed from
(18:25):
his dual role as actingdirector of the Bureau of
Alcohol, tobacco, firearms andExplosives.
Army Secretary Daniel Driscollhas quietly taken over the
position, according to multipleUS officials who confirmed the
leadership change to Reutersyesterday.
What's particularly unusualabout this situation is that the
Justice Department neverpublicly announced the
(18:46):
transition.
In fact, as of Wednesdayafternoon, patel's photo and
title of acting director werestill prominently displayed on
the ATF's website.
This silent shuffle raisesquestions about transparency
within the department.
During the early months ofTrump's second term, patel had
been serving as acting ATFleader since February 24th, just
(19:07):
three days after being sworn inas FBI director.
An unprecedented arrangementwhere one person simultaneously
led two major Justice Departmentagencies.
A Justice Department officialhas insisted the removal had
nothing to do with Patel's jobperformance, though they
declined to explain the actualreasoning behind the decision.
Though they declined to explainthe actual reasoning behind the
(19:28):
decision.
The timing of this leadershipchange is particularly
interesting as it comes amidreports that senior Justice
Department officials areconsidering merging the ATF with
the Drug EnforcementAdministration as part of a
broader cost-cutting initiative.
Additionally, attorney GeneralPam Bondi has recently launched
a task force focused onenforcing the Second Amendment,
with the ATF set to play a keyrole alongside other Justice
(19:49):
Department divisions.
Just this Monday, the ATFformally repealed its Zero
Tolerance Policy, which hadcalled for revoking the licenses
of gun dealers who committedserious violations like failing
to conduct background checks.
The press release announcingthis policy reversal still
included a quote from Patel, asacting director, suggesting the
leadership change happened veryrecently.
(20:11):
The National Shooting SportsFoundation, the firearms
industry's leading tradeassociation, welcomed Driscoll's
appointment, stating it'sindicative of his resolve to
bring reform to ATF and protectthe Second Amendment rights of
law-abiding citizens the SecondAmendment rights of law-abiding
citizens.
However, current and former ATFofficials have expressed
concern about the leadershipvacuum at an agency tasked with
(20:33):
investigating firearm, bomb andarson-related crimes.
Peter Forcelli, a former ATFassistant director, told Reuters
to see them in the situationthey're in now is just really
heartbreaking.
The fact they're getting kickedaround like a soccer ball is,
to me, just incrediblydisrespectful.
This ATF shakeup is just thelatest in a series of whiplash
(20:54):
policy reversals and personnelchanges that have characterized
the early months of Trump'ssecond term, including the
firing and rehiring of largenumbers of federal workers and
yesterday's surprise temporarylowering of tariffs after steep
new import taxes had just kickedin a day earlier.
The question now becomes howthese rapid leadership changes
will affect the ATF's ability toperform its core mission of
(21:17):
protecting public safety whilenavigating the administration's
strong pro-Second Amendmentstance.
In a significant policy shiftthat could affect millions of
immigrants, the IRS has struck adeal with federal immigration
agents to share taxpayerinformation to help locate
individuals in the US illegally.
According to court filingsrevealed this week, the
(21:39):
agreement creates a framework tosupport President Trump's
promised crackdown onundocumented immigration.
The agreement signed Monday byHomeland Security Secretary
Kristi Noem and TreasurySecretary Scott Besant allows
Immigration and CustomsEnforcement to obtain addresses
and other details aboutindividuals targeted for
criminal investigations.
Justice Department lawyersdefending the policy stated
(22:02):
plainly DHS can legally requestreturn information relating to
individuals under criminalinvestigation and the IRS must
provide it.
This is particularlysignificant because millions of
immigrants without SocialSecurity numbers use Individual
Taxpayer Identification Numbers,or ITNs, to pay their taxes
each year.
The IRS has their names,addresses and other personal
(22:26):
information that could nowpotentially be shared with
immigration authorities.
Amid this controversial policyimplementation, acting IRS
Commissioner Melanie Krause hasresigned from her post.
According to administrationofficials.
Speaking on condition ofanonymity, a Treasury Department
spokesperson confirmed Krauseis headed on to a new endeavor,
but provided no further detailsabout the timing or reasons for
(22:48):
her departure.
Immigrant advocacy groups haveresponded with alarm.
Erin Reikland Melnick of theAmerican Immigration Council
warned the policy would likelyhave a chilling effect on
working immigrants, while ThomasKennedy of the Florida
Immigrant Coalition predicted itwould deter immigrants from
paying taxes altogether,ultimately hurting all Americans
(23:08):
.
The potential economic impactis substantial.
The American ImmigrationCouncil estimated that
households of undocumentedimmigrants paid nearly $90
billion in taxes in 2023 alone,including about $56 billion in
federal taxes.
A federal report found therewere over 5.8 million people
(23:28):
with active ITINs at the end of2022.
This move has also drawnpolitical pushback.
The Congressional HispanicCaucus sent a letter to Treasury
Department officials Tuesdayurging them to uphold their
clear legal mandate to protecttaxpayer information and reject
what they called the illegal useof ITTI and data for
immigration enforcement.
The 23 congressionalrepresentatives, all Democrats,
(23:52):
argued that the IRS has no legalauthority to use its data for
immigration enforcement and thatdoing so would violate federal
law.
In early March, twoChicago-area nonprofit
organizations sued the TreasuryDepartment to prevent this very
scenario, arguing that providingsuch information would greatly
facilitate DHS and ICE inidentifying and locating
millions of individuals who arepotentially subject to removal
(24:16):
and expose taxpayers toaggressive immigration
enforcement tactics.
As of Monday, according to adeclaration from the IRS Chief
Privacy Officer, kathleen EvieWalters, neither DHS nor ICE had
yet requested information underthe new agreement.
But with tax day just aroundthe corner, the policy's impact
(24:37):
on tax compliance amongimmigrant communities remains to
be seen.
In a bombshell Senate hearingWednesday, former Metta
executive Sarah Wynne-Williamsdelivered scathing testimony,
alleging that the social mediagiant has been working
hand-in-glove with the Chinesegovernment to censor content on
its platforms, raising seriousnational security concerns.
(25:00):
Wynne-williams, who served asdirector of global public policy
at Meta, then Facebook, from2011 to 2018, told the Senate
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crimeand Counterterrorism that she
witnessed the company providecustom-built censorship tools
for the Chinese Communist Party.
During her tenure, I saw Metaexecutives repeatedly undermine
(25:21):
US national security and betrayAmerican values, wynn Williams
stated.
In her opening remarks.
She detailed how Metaimplemented what she called a
virality counter that flaggedposts with over 10,000 views for
review by a chief editor, asystem Democratic Senator
Richard Blumenthal described asan Orwellian censor.
According to her testimony,these censorship tools were
(25:44):
deployed not only in mainlandChina, but also in Hong Kong and
Taiwan.
Perhaps most concerning forAmerican users, these censorship
tools were deployed not only inmainland China, but also in
Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Perhaps most concerning forAmerican users, wynne Williams
testified that Chinese officialscould potentially access the
data of US users.
When Meta engineers expressedconcerns about data security,
she claimed that leadership,including CEO Mark Zuckerberg,
(26:04):
remained indifferent.
The whistleblower painted apicture of Zuckerberg as
personally invested in Meta'sbusiness relationship with China
, even committing to learningMandarin and scheduling weekly
Mandarin sessions with employees.
She also alleged Meta's AImodel called Lama was used to
help DeepSeek, a Chinese AIcompany that has recently shown
capabilities rivaling ChatGPTT,at a fraction of the cost.
(26:27):
The greatest trick MarkZuckerberg ever pulled was
wrapping the American flagaround himself and calling
himself a patriot and saying hedidn't offer services in China
while he spent the last decadebuilding an $18 billion business
there.
Wynn Williams told senators,republican Senator Josh Hawley
of Missouri didn't mince words,saying Zuckerberg made
censorship his business modeland that the evidence showed a
(26:49):
company and leadership that iswilling to do anything anything
work with America's chiefcompetitor, work with our chief
adversary.
Meta immediately pushed back,calling Wynne Williams'
testimony divorced from realityand riddled with false claims, a
company spokesperson emphasized, while Mark Zuckerberg himself
was public about our interest inoffering our services in China.
(27:12):
The fact is this we do notoperate our services in China.
Today, the allegations come at aparticularly sensitive time as
Washington takes an increasinglyaggressive stance toward China.
Just yesterday, the Trumpadministration increased tariffs
on Chinese goods to 125% andcontinues to pursue the sale of
TikTok to an American buyer oversimilar national security
(27:34):
concerns, detaining men forhaving the wrong hairstyles and
even arresting barbers whoprovide these supposedly
non-compliant cuts and trims,according to a disturbing new UN
report released Thursday.
(27:54):
The report details how theTaliban's notorious vice and
virtue ministry has employedover 3,300 mostly male
inspectors who are arbitrarilydetaining citizens without due
process and legal protections.
The morality police aren't justfocused on appearances.
They're also monitoring mosqueattendance, particularly during
the recent holy month of Ramadan, detaining men who miss
(28:17):
mandatory congregational prayers.
These draconian enforcementactions are having devastating
economic consequences acrossAfghan society.
Small business owners,including private education
centers, barbers, hairdressers,tailors, wedding caterers and
restaurants, have experiencedsevere reductions or complete
loss of income and employmentopportunities.
(28:37):
The UN mission warns thesesocioeconomic effects will
likely compound Afghanistan'salready dire economic situation.
A World Bank study cited in thereport estimates that the
Taliban's ban on women fromeducation and work could cost
the country more than $1.4billion annually, a staggering
figure for a nation alreadysuffering from extreme poverty
(28:59):
and isolation from the globaleconomy.
Despite internationalcondemnation, taliban leader
Hibbatullah Akhundzada hasdoubled down on these policies.
In a recent message issued forthe Eid al-Fitr festival,
marking the end of Ramadan,akhundzada emphasized the
necessity to establish a societyfree from corruption and trials
(29:19):
and to prevent futuregenerations from becoming
victims of misguided beliefs,harmful practices and bad morals
.
The Vice and Virtue Ministry,through spokesman Saif or Rahman
Khyber, defended their actions,claiming they've resolved
thousands of complaints andprotected Afghan women's rights,
in addition to implementingdivine decrees and eliminating
(29:41):
bad customs.
Khyber rejected any criticismas attempts to sabotage or
spread rumors about theministry's activities.
These morality laws, which tookeffect last August, regulate
numerous aspects of everydayAfghan life, including public
transport, music, shavingcelebrations and, most notably,
a ban on women's voices andfaces in public.
(30:02):
A top UN official warned at thetime that these laws provideda
distressing vision forAfghanistan's future by adding
to already severe restrictionson women and girls.
The New York Post reports thatthese regulations represent just
the latest chapter in theTaliban's ongoing effort to
reshape Afghan society accordingto their strict interpretation
(30:24):
of Islamic law, regardless ofthe humanitarian cost.
Strict interpretation ofIslamic law, regardless of the
humanitarian cost.
Coming up a legend in sportschallenges the Democrats to
re-examine the hills they arewilling to die on.
Stay with us and please hitthat follow and like button to
help us out while we take aquick break.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
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Speaker 1 (31:39):
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova is making waves
again, but this time it's not onthe court, it's in the
political arena.
The 18-time Grand Slam championhas publicly challenged
Democratic lawmakers over theirstance on transgender athletes
in women's sports, asking apointed question on social media
that's igniting debate acrossthe country what are the Dems
(32:01):
willing to give up for men whoidentify as trans?
Navratilova posted on XAbortion, the Constitution, rule
of law.
That's just for starters.
Her comments come as severalstates continue to resist
implementing President Trump'sFebruary executive order
designed to keep males out ofgirls' and women's sports.
High school athleticorganizations in Maine,
(32:23):
california and Washington haveall maintained policies allowing
transgender athletes toparticipate in female
competitions, directlycontradicting the federal
directive.
This isn't the first timeNavratilova has criticized
Democrats on this issue.
Earlier this year, shelambasted Democratic lawmakers
for killing the Protection ofWomen and Girls in Sports Act,
(32:45):
urging them to grow a spine onthe matter.
After Trump signed hisexecutive order, she expressed
frustration that Democrats hadfailed to take similar action.
I hate that.
The Democrats totally failedwomen and girls on this very
clear issue of women's sportsbeing for females only.
She wrote on X.
Meanwhile, prominent Democraticrepresentatives like Alexandria
(33:05):
Ocasio Cortez and JasmineCrockett have downplayed
concerns about transgenderathletes in women's sports.
Ocasio-cortez has characterizedthe issue as a distraction and
culture war, even claiming thatlegislation like the Protection
of Women and Girls in Sports Actwould empower child sexual
predators.
Crockett similarly dismissedthe topic in an interview with
(33:26):
the 19th, saying find the littletrans child that is ruining
your life.
I mean, I'm just like what arewe doing?
Like what are we doing?
The controversy has gainedadditional visibility through
incidents like female fencerStephanie Turner taking a knee
in protest of a transgenderopponent during a tournament, an
act that gained widespreadattention when she appeared on
(33:47):
Fox News to discuss herdemonstration.
The debate represents asignificant political divide,
with polls showing the issueresonates with many voters.
Despite Trump soundly defeatingKamala Harris in the general
election after campaigning onthis topic, democratic lawmakers
remain split on how to addressthe growing concerns of women
athletes and their families.
Fox News reports that, as thebattle continues between federal
(34:11):
directives and state-levelresistance, navratilova remains
one of the most outspokenadvocates for keeping women's
sports exclusively forbiological females, a position
that continues to put her atodds with many in the Democratic
Party.
President Trump is turning onthe pressure, water pressure
that is.
The commander-in-chief signedan executive order Wednesday
(34:33):
targeting water flow regulationsimplemented during the Obama
administration and laterreinstated by Biden after Trump
had relaxed them during hisfirst term.
Over-regulation chokes theAmerican economy and stifles
personal freedom.
A small but meaningful exampleis the Obama-Biden War on
Showers.
Trump wrote in the executiveorder taking aim at what he
(34:54):
called multi-thousand wordregulations defining the word
showerhead.
The order specifically directsEnergy Secretary Chris Wright to
immediately rescind the overlycomplicated federal rule on
showerheads, returning waterflow standards to the 2.5
gallons per minute rule that hadbeen in place since 1992.
Trump didn't mince words abouthis personal motivation behind
(35:18):
the change.
In my case, I like to take anice shower, take care of my
beautiful hair, he explainedwhile signing the order.
I have to stand in the showerfor 15 minutes until it gets wet
, comes out drip, drip, drip.
It's ridiculous.
The White House statement framedthe action as restoring sanity
to federal regulations,declaring that no longer will
(35:38):
showerheads be weak andworthless.
Officials argued that theObama-Biden regulation served a
radical green agenda that madelife worse for everyday
Americans and even made somemulti-nozzle showers illegal.
The executive order doesn'tstop at showerheads.
It applies to sinks anddishwashers as well.
The White House statementemphasized consumer choice,
(36:00):
stating Americans pay for theirown water and should be free to
choose their showerheads withoutfederal meddling.
Critics see this as anotherexample of the administration
rolling back environmentalprotections, while supporters
view it as removing unnecessarygovernment intrusion into
everyday life.
Either way, with thecatchphrase make America's
showers great again, trump hasmanaged to turn water pressure
(36:22):
into a political statement.
The New York Post reports thisrepresents one of several
regulatory rollbacks theadministration has undertaken
since returning to office, withthe White House concluding that
Trump is slashing red tape andending Biden's dumb war on
things that work.
And that's a wrap on today'sRanting Politics Headline Update
Special Edition Super Show.
(36:43):
What a news cycle we've had,from Ukrainian forces capturing
Chinese nationals fighting forRussia to Trump's market moving
social posts and plenty ofpolitical drama sandwiched in
between.
We've covered global tensions,with North Korea doubling down
on their nuclear program, metaallegedly working hand-in-glove
with the Chinese government andthe Taliban's morality police
cracking down on everything fromhairstyles to mosque attendance
(37:04):
.
Taliban's morality policecracking down on everything from
hairstyles to mosque attendance.
On the domestic front, we'veseen the House narrowly pass
Trump's budget blueprint, chuckTodd admitting media bias and
covering Biden's decline,leadership shakeups at the ATF
and the IRS, sharing taxpayerdata with immigration
authorities.
Whether it's MartinaNavratilova challenging
(37:24):
Democrats on transgenderathletes in sports, or Trump
making America's showers greatagain, we've given you the
straight talk on stories thatmatter.
If you enjoyed today's episode,make sure to follow us across
all platforms.
Find us on X at Ranting RP,subscribe on YouTube, spotify,
iheartradio and Apple Podcasts,and don't forget to visit our
(37:45):
website at RantingPoliticscomfor more policy articles and
sign up for our newsletter.
Remember we don't align with apolitical party.
We align with you, the Americancitizen.
This is JOC signing off andthank you, our loyal listeners,
for choosing Ranting PoliticsHeadline Updates.
We'll be back soon with theupdates you need to navigate
these interesting times.
(38:06):
Until then, stay tuned, stayinformed and, as always, stay
free.
Hello America.
Joc here with your rantingpolitics headline updates, and
today we have a special editionweekend super show where we are
diving into today's and thisweek's most explosive political
stories that you need to knowabout Coming up.
We're talking internationalintrigue, with Ukrainian forces
capturing Chinese nationalsfighting for Russia yeah, that's
(00:22):
happening.
Plus Trump's market-movingsocial media posts that sent
Wall Street into a frenzy andrecovered trillions in value.
We've also got the inside scoopon the House narrowly passing
Trump's budget blueprint aftersome serious conservative
pushback, north Korea flat-outrejecting denuclearization as a
daydream and former NBC hostChuck Todd finally admitting
(00:44):
what we all knew about mediacoverage of Biden's decline,
from leadership shakeups at theATF to controversial moves by
the IRS sharing taxpayer datawith immigration authorities.
We're covering it all with theno-nonsense, straight-talking
approach you expect from rantingpolitics.
We'll even dive into Meta'salleged censorship,
collaboration with China,taliban morality, police
cracking down on haircuts,tennis legend Martina
(01:07):
Navratilova challengingDemocrats and Trump's latest
executive order to literallymake America's showers great
again.
Stick around for all this andmore in your daily dose of
unfiltered news and common sensecommentary.
This is Ranting PoliticsHeadline Updates politics
(01:28):
headline updates.
In breaking news that coulddramatically escalate tensions
between the West and China.
Ukrainian President VolodymyrZelensky dropped a bombshell
announcement Tuesday that hisforces have captured two Chinese
(01:49):
nationals fighting alongsideRussian troops in eastern
Ukraine's Donetsk region.
This isn't just some minordiplomatic hiccup, folks.
This is potentially explosive.
Zelensky claims Ukrainianforces recovered their documents
, bank cards and personal dataproving their identities.
And here's the kicker hesuggests this might just be the
tip of the iceberg, stating wehave information that there are
(02:12):
many more Chinese citizens inthe occupiers' units than just
two.
The Ukrainian president didn'tmince words about what this
could mean.
He's instructed his foreignminister to contact Beijing
immediately, demandingexplanations, while
simultaneously calling onUkraine's Western allies to
protest these developments.
(02:33):
Russia's involvement of China inthis war in Europe, directly or
indirectly, is a clear signalthat Putin is going to do
anything except end the war.
Zelensky declared he is lookingfor ways to continue fighting.
(02:57):
Now let's be clear aboutsomething we don't, zelensky
declared, but regardless, theoptics are terrible for Beijing.
This development comes againstthe backdrop of reports that
China has been quietly helpingRussia beef up its defense
industrial base with machinetools, drone engines and
microelectronics essential forweapons manufacturing.
Add in Russia's strengthenedmilitary relationship with North
(03:19):
Korea, who've already senttroops to Ukraine, and you've
got yourself a concerningpattern.
Meanwhile, the situation on theground remains brutal.
Russian attacks killed at leastthree people and injured 19
others across multiple Ukrainianregions in just the last 24
hours, and Russia claims it'srecaptured one of the last
(03:39):
Ukrainian-held villages in theKursk region, where Ukraine
launched its surprisingcross-border incursion last
August.
Ukrainian forces have alsobegun limited attacks in
Russia's northwestern Belgorodregion, with Zelensky confirming
for the first time Monday thathis troops are active there to
protect Ukrainian border towns.
The 225th Separate AssaultRegiment released videos showing
(04:01):
their forces destroying twobridges in the Belgorod region,
confirming their presence onRussian soil.
This Chinese connection, ifsubstantiated, raises the
troubling prospect that Putin'swar is becoming an even broader
international conflict, withmajor powers indirectly involved
.
It's a dangerous escalationthat bears watching closely.
We'll talk about perfect timingor suspicious coincidence,
(04:25):
depending on how you look at it.
Former President Donald Trumpcaused quite a stir last week
with what some are calling amarket-moving social media blitz
that has Wall Street and ethicswatchdogs raising eyebrows.
At 9.37 am Wednesday morning,with markets wavering between
gains and losses, trump postedthis message on his Truth Social
platform this is a great timeto buy DJT.
(04:48):
Just a simple statementfollowed by his initials.
Nothing too unusual for thetypically outspoken former
president right Wrong.
Less than four hours later,trump made a stunning
announcement that he wasimplementing a 90-day pause on
nearly all his recently imposedtariffs.
That he was implementing a90-day pause on nearly all his
recently imposed tariffs.
The market reaction wasimmediate and explosive.
The S&P 500 soared 9.5% by theend of trading, recovering about
(05:14):
$4 trillion in value,approximately 70% of what had
been lost during the previousfour trading days.
Now, anyone who followed Trump'sfinancial advice that morning
made a killing, and that'sprecisely what has Democratic
senators like Adam Schiff andChris Murphy crying foul.
Did anyone buy or sell stocksand profit at the public's
(05:34):
expense, schiff asked on socialmedia.
Murphy went even further,stating an insider trading
scandal is brewing.
The timing raises an obviousquestion Was Trump already
planning the tariff pause whenhe posted his stock buying tip?
When directly asked about whenhe made the decision, trump's
answer only muddied the waters.
Over the last few days.
(05:55):
I've been thinking about it, hesaid, but then added fairly
early this morning, the WhiteHouse, for its part, defended
the post as part of Trump'spresidential duties, with
spokesperson Kush Desai statingit is the responsibility of the
President of the United Statesto reassure the markets and
Americans about their economicsecurity in the face of nonstop
(06:15):
media fear-mongering.
But here's where things get evenmore interesting.
Trump signed his post with DJT,which happens to also be the
stock ticker symbol for TrumpMedia and Technology Group, the
parent company of Truth Social.
Was he suggesting people buystocks generally or specifically
his company's shares?
Either way, trump Media's stockprice rocketed up 22.67% that
(06:39):
day, more than twice the broadermarket's gains.
That's pretty remarkable for acompany that lost $400 million
last year and seems completelyunaffected by tariff policies.
Trump's 53% ownership stake inthe company, now held in a trust
controlled by Donald Trump Jr,increased in value by a cool
$415 million in a single day.
(07:00):
Tesla also experienced asimilar windfall, with Elon
Musk's fortune increasing byabout $20 billion.
Just last month, trump held anews conference praising Tesla
and its cars, followed by hisCommerce Secretary encouraging
Fox viewers to buy the stock.
Kathleen Clark, a governmentethics law expert at Washington
University, summed it up thisway he's sending the message
(07:23):
that he can effectively and withimpunity manipulate the market
as in.
Watch this space for futurestock tips.
Whether this constitutes actualillegal insider trading remains
to be seen, but one thing'scertain Trump's market-moving
powers appear as strong as ever,and he seems more than willing
to use them.
The House of Representatives hasfinally approved a compromise
(07:46):
budget resolution after anail-biting vote that came down
to the wire.
The measure squeaked throughwith a 216-214 margin, with just
two Republicans RepresentativesThomas Massey of Kentucky and
Victoria Spartz of Indianavoting against it.
This crucial step allowsRepublicans to begin drafting
(08:06):
President Trump's self-describedbig, beautiful agenda package.
The budget resolution has beena contentious battleground,
particularly for fiscal hawks inthe House, who had been holding
out for deeper spending cuts.
Their main demand Mandatoryreductions of at least $1.5
trillion, far more than the fewbillion dollars in cuts proposed
(08:28):
by the Senate version.
Speaker Mike Johnson, clearlyrelieved after securing the
votes, told reporters it was agood day in the House.
I told you not to doubt us, weget the job done.
He added.
There's a lot of work ahead ofus and we're really excited
about that.
With this hurdle cleared,republican lawmakers can now use
a legislative process known asbudget reconciliation to advance
(08:50):
President Trump's priorities.
This procedural maneuver iscritical because it allows
legislation to pass the Senatewith a simple majority,
bypassing the 60-vote thresholdtypically needed to overcome a
Democratic filibuster thresholdtypically needed to overcome a
Democratic filibuster.
The reconciliation packagecould raise the nation's debt
ceiling by as much as $5trillion, extend Trump's tax
(09:12):
cuts and add hundreds ofbillions in defense and border
security spending.
House Freedom Caucus ChairmanAndy Harris, who had previously
been on the fence, ultimatelysupported the measure, but with
clear conditions.
After meeting with PresidentTrump at the White House, I am
(09:32):
assured that he will not sign abill that does not produce the
spending reforms necessary toput our country back on the path
toward balancing the federalbudget, harris said, adding that
spending cuts must approach $2trillion in the final bill to
win his vote.
Several key differences remainbetween the House and Senate
versions.
The Senate blueprint makes roomfor Trump's campaign pledges of
no tax on tips, social Securityor overtime pay, plus an
(09:56):
increased state and local taxdeduction, with a price tag of
about $5.3 trillion.
The House version allocates only$4.5 trillion for tax cuts.
On border security, the Senateinstructs $350 billion in new
funding, while the House callsfor $200 billion.
Defense spending also differs,with the Senate boosting it by
(10:17):
$150 billion compared to theHouse's $100 billion increase.
Even the debt ceiling hikevaries, with the Senate
proposing $5 trillion versus theHouse's $4 trillion.
Despite these differences,president Trump celebrated the
vote, posting on Truth SocialCongratulations to the House on
the passage of a bill that setsthe stage for one of the
(10:38):
greatest and most importantsignings in the history of our
country.
Gop leaders are optimistic theycan reconcile these differences
and get a final bill to Trump'sdesk by Memorial Day, with
Congress breaking for a two-weekPassover and Easter recess.
The real work of hammering outthe details begins when they
return.
Stay with us as we take a quickbreak to hear from our lead
(10:59):
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Speaker 1 (12:14):
The war of words over North Korea's nuclear program
has intensified this week, withKim Yo-jong, the powerful sister
of North Korean leader KimJong-un, forcefully rejecting
any notion that the hermitkingdom would give up its
nuclear arsenal.
In a statement dripping withdefiance, kim Yo-jong mocked
Washington and its Asian alliesfor what she called their
daydream of denuclearizing NorthKorea.
(12:36):
She pointedly reminded theworld that the country's nuclear
ambitions are now enshrined inits constitution, making any
external discussions ofdenuclearization the most
hostile act and equivalent todenying North Korea's
sovereignty.
If the US and its vassal forcescontinue to insist on
anachronistic denuclearization,she warned, it will only give
(12:59):
unlimited justness andjustification to the DPRK
aspiring after the building ofthe strongest nuclear force for
self-defense.
Her message was crystal clearNorth Korea's nuclear status can
never be reversed by anyphysical strength or sly
artifice.
This hardline stance comes astensions in the region continue
to escalate.
Kim Jong-un has beenincreasingly flaunting his
(13:22):
military nuclear capabilities,while simultaneously
strengthening ties with Russiaover President Vladimir Putin's
war in Ukraine.
Despite President Trump'sstated intention to reach out to
Kim again to revive thediplomacy they began during his
first term, north Korea hasremained conspicuously silent on
the offer.
Those earlier talks collapsedwhen the two sides couldn't
(13:45):
agree on ending US-led sanctionsin exchange for North Korea
taking steps to wind down itsnuclear and missile programs.
The geopolitical landscape hasshifted dramatically since then.
Kim's foreign policy priorityis now clearly Russia, which he
has supplied with both weaponsand troops to support Putin's
war effort in Ukraine.
(14:05):
This alarming development hasSeoul deeply concerned that Kim
may receive economic assistanceand advanced technology to
develop his arsenal in exchangefor North Korea's military
support.
The timing of Kim Yo-jong'sstatement is particularly
troubling, coming just a dayafter South Korea fired warning
shots to repel North Koreansoldiers who had crossed the
(14:25):
border.
According to South Korea'sJoint Chiefs of Staff, about 10
North Korean soldiers, somearmed, violated the military
demarcation line in the easternsection of the border before
retreating after warning shotswere fired.
With North Korea doubling downon its nuclear ambitions and
forging closer ties with Russia,the prospects for diplomatic
breakthroughs appearincreasingly remote.
(14:46):
The question now becomes howthe United States and its allies
will respond to this hardeningstance and whether alternative
approaches to regional securitycan be developed in the absence
of denuclearization.
In a region already fraughtwith tension, north Korea's
unambiguous rejection ofdenuclearization talks
represents yet another challengeto stability in Northeast Asia,
with potential ripple effectsacross the global security
(15:09):
landscape.
In a stunning admission that'ssending shockwaves through media
circles, former NBC host ChuckTodd has finally acknowledged
what many Americans suspected.
Throughout the 2024presidential campaign, the
mainstream media deliberatelyheld back on covering President
Biden's cognitive decline out offear it would benefit Donald
(15:30):
Trump.
Speaking with Piers Morgan onPiers Morgan Uncensored, todd
initially tried to defend themedia's approach, suggesting
they had been subtle aboutBiden's deteriorating condition.
Look, we were subtle.
He's using the back staircase.
He's not using the backstaircase.
He's not using the frontstaircase.
Hey, he's not doing anyinterviews, todd explained,
(15:51):
implying reporters had hinted atthe issue without directly
addressing it.
But then came the bombshelladmission there was this
reluctance to draw theconclusion that was held back
held back a lot by themainstream media.
When pressed on why, toddconfessed.
The only thing I can chalk itup to is this, whatever you want
to call it, this fear that somemembers of the media had
sometimes that they would beperceived as helping Trump if
(16:15):
they somehow diminished Biden.
This revelation comes on theheels of two explosive new books
that detail how Democraticleaders, including former House
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wereprivately alarmed about Biden's
mental acuity, while publiclydismissing such concerns.
According to Chris Whipple'sbook Uncharted how Trump Beat
(16:36):
Biden, harris and the Odds inthe Wildest Campaign in History.
Pelosi told a friend she wasstartled by Biden's appearance
after a White House meeting inMay 2024.
He was not the same Joe Biden,pelosi reportedly said, adding
that she couldn't shake therealization that Joe Biden was a
shadow of himself.
Yet just one month later,pelosi took to social media to
(16:57):
bash a Wall Street Journalarticle as a hit piece for
reporting claims that mirroredwhat she herself had privately
observed.
The implications of this doublestandard are profound for media
credibility.
If news organizations aremaking editorial decisions based
on preferred electoral outcomesrather than journalistic
integrity, what other storiesare being shaped by political
(17:20):
considerations?
Todd himself acknowledged thispattern has been the fundamental
mistake that many members ofthe traditional press have done.
He cited the post-January 6theffort to de-platform Trump from
social media as another examplewhere media overreach
ultimately backfired.
It looks more obvious today,todd admitted, because what did
he do?
(17:40):
He built his own informationecosystem, and now traditional
media is doing what Showing upon YouTube.
Traditional media, todd argued,doesn't have the influence it
did anymore because it wentalong with this deplatforming
exercise.
The fallout from theserevelations will likely further
erode public trust in mainstreamnews outlets at a time when
(18:01):
media credibility is already athistoric lows.
The question now becomeswhether newsrooms will learn
from this misstep or continuedown the path of partisan
gatekeeping that increasinglyalienates large portions of the
American public.
Another significant shakeup isunderway in federal law
enforcement, as FBI Director,kash Patel has been removed from
(18:25):
his dual role as actingdirector of the Bureau of
Alcohol, tobacco, firearms andExplosives.
Army Secretary Daniel Driscollhas quietly taken over the
position, according to multipleUS officials who confirmed the
leadership change to Reutersyesterday.
What's particularly unusualabout this situation is that the
Justice Department neverpublicly announced the
(18:46):
transition.
In fact, as of Wednesdayafternoon, patel's photo and
title of acting director werestill prominently displayed on
the ATF's website.
This silent shuffle raisesquestions about transparency
within the department.
During the early months ofTrump's second term, patel had
been serving as acting ATFleader since February 24th, just
(19:07):
three days after being sworn inas FBI director.
An unprecedented arrangementwhere one person simultaneously
led two major Justice Departmentagencies.
A Justice Department officialhas insisted the removal had
nothing to do with Patel's jobperformance, though they
declined to explain the actualreasoning behind the decision.
Though they declined to explainthe actual reasoning behind the
(19:28):
decision.
The timing of this leadershipchange is particularly
interesting as it comes amidreports that senior Justice
Department officials areconsidering merging the ATF with
the Drug EnforcementAdministration as part of a
broader cost-cutting initiative.
Additionally, attorney GeneralPam Bondi has recently launched
a task force focused onenforcing the Second Amendment,
with the ATF set to play a keyrole alongside other Justice
(19:49):
Department divisions.
Just this Monday, the ATFformally repealed its Zero
Tolerance Policy, which hadcalled for revoking the licenses
of gun dealers who committedserious violations like failing
to conduct background checks.
The press release announcingthis policy reversal still
included a quote from Patel, asacting director, suggesting the
leadership change happened veryrecently.
(20:11):
The National Shooting SportsFoundation, the firearms
industry's leading tradeassociation, welcomed Driscoll's
appointment, stating it'sindicative of his resolve to
bring reform to ATF and protectthe Second Amendment rights of
law-abiding citizens the SecondAmendment rights of law-abiding
citizens.
However, current and former ATFofficials have expressed
concern about the leadershipvacuum at an agency tasked with
(20:33):
investigating firearm, bomb andarson-related crimes.
Peter Forcelli, a former ATFassistant director, told Reuters
to see them in the situationthey're in now is just really
heartbreaking.
The fact they're getting kickedaround like a soccer ball is,
to me, just incrediblydisrespectful.
This ATF shakeup is just thelatest in a series of whiplash
(20:54):
policy reversals and personnelchanges that have characterized
the early months of Trump'ssecond term, including the
firing and rehiring of largenumbers of federal workers and
yesterday's surprise temporarylowering of tariffs after steep
new import taxes had just kickedin a day earlier.
The question now becomes howthese rapid leadership changes
will affect the ATF's ability toperform its core mission of
(21:17):
protecting public safety whilenavigating the administration's
strong pro-Second Amendmentstance.
In a significant policy shiftthat could affect millions of
immigrants, the IRS has struck adeal with federal immigration
agents to share taxpayerinformation to help locate
individuals in the US illegally.
According to court filingsrevealed this week, the
(21:39):
agreement creates a framework tosupport President Trump's
promised crackdown onundocumented immigration.
The agreement signed Monday byHomeland Security Secretary
Kristi Noem and TreasurySecretary Scott Besant allows
Immigration and CustomsEnforcement to obtain addresses
and other details aboutindividuals targeted for
criminal investigations.
Justice Department lawyersdefending the policy stated
(22:02):
plainly DHS can legally requestreturn information relating to
individuals under criminalinvestigation and the IRS must
provide it.
This is particularlysignificant because millions of
immigrants without SocialSecurity numbers use Individual
Taxpayer Identification Numbers,or ITNs, to pay their taxes
each year.
The IRS has their names,addresses and other personal
(22:26):
information that could nowpotentially be shared with
immigration authorities.
Amid this controversial policyimplementation, acting IRS
Commissioner Melanie Krause hasresigned from her post.
According to administrationofficials.
Speaking on condition ofanonymity, a Treasury Department
spokesperson confirmed Krauseis headed on to a new endeavor,
but provided no further detailsabout the timing or reasons for
(22:48):
her departure.
Immigrant advocacy groups haveresponded with alarm.
Erin Reikland Melnick of theAmerican Immigration Council
warned the policy would likelyhave a chilling effect on
working immigrants, while ThomasKennedy of the Florida
Immigrant Coalition predicted itwould deter immigrants from
paying taxes altogether,ultimately hurting all Americans
(23:08):
.
The potential economic impactis substantial.
The American ImmigrationCouncil estimated that
households of undocumentedimmigrants paid nearly $90
billion in taxes in 2023 alone,including about $56 billion in
federal taxes.
A federal report found therewere over 5.8 million people
(23:28):
with active ITINs at the end of2022.
This move has also drawnpolitical pushback.
The Congressional HispanicCaucus sent a letter to Treasury
Department officials Tuesdayurging them to uphold their
clear legal mandate to protecttaxpayer information and reject
what they called the illegal useof ITTI and data for
immigration enforcement.
The 23 congressionalrepresentatives, all Democrats,
(23:52):
argued that the IRS has no legalauthority to use its data for
immigration enforcement and thatdoing so would violate federal
law.
In early March, twoChicago-area nonprofit
organizations sued the TreasuryDepartment to prevent this very
scenario, arguing that providingsuch information would greatly
facilitate DHS and ICE inidentifying and locating
millions of individuals who arepotentially subject to removal
(24:16):
and expose taxpayers toaggressive immigration
enforcement tactics.
As of Monday, according to adeclaration from the IRS Chief
Privacy Officer, kathleen EvieWalters, neither DHS nor ICE had
yet requested information underthe new agreement.
But with tax day just aroundthe corner, the policy's impact
(24:37):
on tax compliance amongimmigrant communities remains to
be seen.
In a bombshell Senate hearingWednesday, former Metta
executive Sarah Wynne-Williamsdelivered scathing testimony,
alleging that the social mediagiant has been working
hand-in-glove with the Chinesegovernment to censor content on
its platforms, raising seriousnational security concerns.
(25:00):
Wynne-williams, who served asdirector of global public policy
at Meta, then Facebook, from2011 to 2018, told the Senate
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crimeand Counterterrorism that she
witnessed the company providecustom-built censorship tools
for the Chinese Communist Party.
During her tenure, I saw Metaexecutives repeatedly undermine
(25:21):
US national security and betrayAmerican values, wynn Williams
stated.
In her opening remarks.
She detailed how Metaimplemented what she called a
virality counter that flaggedposts with over 10,000 views for
review by a chief editor, asystem Democratic Senator
Richard Blumenthal described asan Orwellian censor.
According to her testimony,these censorship tools were
(25:44):
deployed not only in mainlandChina, but also in Hong Kong and
Taiwan.
Perhaps most concerning forAmerican users, these censorship
tools were deployed not only inmainland China, but also in
Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Perhaps most concerning forAmerican users, wynne Williams
testified that Chinese officialscould potentially access the
data of US users.
When Meta engineers expressedconcerns about data security,
she claimed that leadership,including CEO Mark Zuckerberg,
(26:04):
remained indifferent.
The whistleblower painted apicture of Zuckerberg as
personally invested in Meta'sbusiness relationship with China
, even committing to learningMandarin and scheduling weekly
Mandarin sessions with employees.
She also alleged Meta's AImodel called Lama was used to
help DeepSeek, a Chinese AIcompany that has recently shown
capabilities rivaling ChatGPTT,at a fraction of the cost.
(26:27):
The greatest trick MarkZuckerberg ever pulled was
wrapping the American flagaround himself and calling
himself a patriot and saying hedidn't offer services in China
while he spent the last decadebuilding an $18 billion business
there.
Wynn Williams told senators,republican Senator Josh Hawley
of Missouri didn't mince words,saying Zuckerberg made
censorship his business modeland that the evidence showed a
(26:49):
company and leadership that iswilling to do anything anything
work with America's chiefcompetitor, work with our chief
adversary.
Meta immediately pushed back,calling Wynne Williams'
testimony divorced from realityand riddled with false claims, a
company spokesperson emphasized, while Mark Zuckerberg himself
was public about our interest inoffering our services in China.
(27:12):
The fact is this we do notoperate our services in China.
Today, the allegations come at aparticularly sensitive time as
Washington takes an increasinglyaggressive stance toward China.
Just yesterday, the Trumpadministration increased tariffs
on Chinese goods to 125% andcontinues to pursue the sale of
TikTok to an American buyer oversimilar national security
(27:34):
concerns, detaining men forhaving the wrong hairstyles and
even arresting barbers whoprovide these supposedly
non-compliant cuts and trims,according to a disturbing new UN
report released Thursday.
(27:54):
The report details how theTaliban's notorious vice and
virtue ministry has employedover 3,300 mostly male
inspectors who are arbitrarilydetaining citizens without due
process and legal protections.
The morality police aren't justfocused on appearances.
They're also monitoring mosqueattendance, particularly during
the recent holy month of Ramadan, detaining men who miss
(28:17):
mandatory congregational prayers.
These draconian enforcementactions are having devastating
economic consequences acrossAfghan society.
Small business owners,including private education
centers, barbers, hairdressers,tailors, wedding caterers and
restaurants, have experiencedsevere reductions or complete
loss of income and employmentopportunities.
(28:37):
The UN mission warns thesesocioeconomic effects will
likely compound Afghanistan'salready dire economic situation.
A World Bank study cited in thereport estimates that the
Taliban's ban on women fromeducation and work could cost
the country more than $1.4billion annually, a staggering
figure for a nation alreadysuffering from extreme poverty
(28:59):
and isolation from the globaleconomy.
Despite internationalcondemnation, taliban leader
Hibbatullah Akhundzada hasdoubled down on these policies.
In a recent message issued forthe Eid al-Fitr festival,
marking the end of Ramadan,akhundzada emphasized the
necessity to establish a societyfree from corruption and trials
(29:19):
and to prevent futuregenerations from becoming
victims of misguided beliefs,harmful practices and bad morals
.
The Vice and Virtue Ministry,through spokesman Saif or Rahman
Khyber, defended their actions,claiming they've resolved
thousands of complaints andprotected Afghan women's rights,
in addition to implementingdivine decrees and eliminating
(29:41):
bad customs.
Khyber rejected any criticismas attempts to sabotage or
spread rumors about theministry's activities.
These morality laws, which tookeffect last August, regulate
numerous aspects of everydayAfghan life, including public
transport, music, shavingcelebrations and, most notably,
a ban on women's voices andfaces in public.
(30:02):
A top UN official warned at thetime that these laws provideda
distressing vision forAfghanistan's future by adding
to already severe restrictionson women and girls.
The New York Post reports thatthese regulations represent just
the latest chapter in theTaliban's ongoing effort to
reshape Afghan society accordingto their strict interpretation
(30:24):
of Islamic law, regardless ofthe humanitarian cost.
Strict interpretation ofIslamic law, regardless of the
humanitarian cost.
Coming up a legend in sportschallenges the Democrats to
re-examine the hills they arewilling to die on.
Stay with us and please hitthat follow and like button to
help us out while we take aquick break.
Speaker 3 (30:39):
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Speaker 1 (31:39):
Tennis legend Martina Navratilova is making waves
again, but this time it's not onthe court, it's in the
political arena.
The 18-time Grand Slam championhas publicly challenged
Democratic lawmakers over theirstance on transgender athletes
in women's sports, asking apointed question on social media
that's igniting debate acrossthe country what are the Dems
(32:01):
willing to give up for men whoidentify as trans?
Navratilova posted on XAbortion, the Constitution, rule
of law.
That's just for starters.
Her comments come as severalstates continue to resist
implementing President Trump'sFebruary executive order
designed to keep males out ofgirls' and women's sports.
High school athleticorganizations in Maine,
(32:23):
california and Washington haveall maintained policies allowing
transgender athletes toparticipate in female
competitions, directlycontradicting the federal
directive.
This isn't the first timeNavratilova has criticized
Democrats on this issue.
Earlier this year, shelambasted Democratic lawmakers
for killing the Protection ofWomen and Girls in Sports Act,
(32:45):
urging them to grow a spine onthe matter.
After Trump signed hisexecutive order, she expressed
frustration that Democrats hadfailed to take similar action.
I hate that.
The Democrats totally failedwomen and girls on this very
clear issue of women's sportsbeing for females only.
She wrote on X.
Meanwhile, prominent Democraticrepresentatives like Alexandria
(33:05):
Ocasio Cortez and JasmineCrockett have downplayed
concerns about transgenderathletes in women's sports.
Ocasio-cortez has characterizedthe issue as a distraction and
culture war, even claiming thatlegislation like the Protection
of Women and Girls in Sports Actwould empower child sexual
predators.
Crockett similarly dismissedthe topic in an interview with
(33:26):
the 19th, saying find the littletrans child that is ruining
your life.
I mean, I'm just like what arewe doing?
Like what are we doing?
The controversy has gainedadditional visibility through
incidents like female fencerStephanie Turner taking a knee
in protest of a transgenderopponent during a tournament, an
act that gained widespreadattention when she appeared on
(33:47):
Fox News to discuss herdemonstration.
The debate represents asignificant political divide,
with polls showing the issueresonates with many voters.
Despite Trump soundly defeatingKamala Harris in the general
election after campaigning onthis topic, democratic lawmakers
remain split on how to addressthe growing concerns of women
athletes and their families.
Fox News reports that, as thebattle continues between federal
(34:11):
directives and state-levelresistance, navratilova remains
one of the most outspokenadvocates for keeping women's
sports exclusively forbiological females, a position
that continues to put her atodds with many in the Democratic
Party.
President Trump is turning onthe pressure, water pressure
that is.
The commander-in-chief signedan executive order Wednesday
(34:33):
targeting water flow regulationsimplemented during the Obama
administration and laterreinstated by Biden after Trump
had relaxed them during hisfirst term.
Over-regulation chokes theAmerican economy and stifles
personal freedom.
A small but meaningful exampleis the Obama-Biden War on
Showers.
Trump wrote in the executiveorder taking aim at what he
(34:54):
called multi-thousand wordregulations defining the word
showerhead.
The order specifically directsEnergy Secretary Chris Wright to
immediately rescind the overlycomplicated federal rule on
showerheads, returning waterflow standards to the 2.5
gallons per minute rule that hadbeen in place since 1992.
Trump didn't mince words abouthis personal motivation behind
(35:18):
the change.
In my case, I like to take anice shower, take care of my
beautiful hair, he explainedwhile signing the order.
I have to stand in the showerfor 15 minutes until it gets wet
, comes out drip, drip, drip.
It's ridiculous.
The White House statement framedthe action as restoring sanity
to federal regulations,declaring that no longer will
(35:38):
showerheads be weak andworthless.
Officials argued that theObama-Biden regulation served a
radical green agenda that madelife worse for everyday
Americans and even made somemulti-nozzle showers illegal.
The executive order doesn'tstop at showerheads.
It applies to sinks anddishwashers as well.
The White House statementemphasized consumer choice,
(36:00):
stating Americans pay for theirown water and should be free to
choose their showerheads withoutfederal meddling.
Critics see this as anotherexample of the administration
rolling back environmentalprotections, while supporters
view it as removing unnecessarygovernment intrusion into
everyday life.
Either way, with thecatchphrase make America's
showers great again, trump hasmanaged to turn water pressure
(36:22):
into a political statement.
The New York Post reports thisrepresents one of several
regulatory rollbacks theadministration has undertaken
since returning to office, withthe White House concluding that
Trump is slashing red tape andending Biden's dumb war on
things that work.
And that's a wrap on today'sRanting Politics Headline Update
Special Edition Super Show.
(36:43):
What a news cycle we've had,from Ukrainian forces capturing
Chinese nationals fighting forRussia to Trump's market moving
social posts and plenty ofpolitical drama sandwiched in
between.
We've covered global tensions,with North Korea doubling down
on their nuclear program, metaallegedly working hand-in-glove
with the Chinese government andthe Taliban's morality police
cracking down on everything fromhairstyles to mosque attendance
(37:04):
.
Taliban's morality policecracking down on everything from
hairstyles to mosque attendance.
On the domestic front, we'veseen the House narrowly pass
Trump's budget blueprint, chuckTodd admitting media bias and
covering Biden's decline,leadership shakeups at the ATF
and the IRS, sharing taxpayerdata with immigration
authorities.
Whether it's MartinaNavratilova challenging
(37:24):
Democrats on transgenderathletes in sports, or Trump
making America's showers greatagain, we've given you the
straight talk on stories thatmatter.
If you enjoyed today's episode,make sure to follow us across
all platforms.
Find us on X at Ranting RP,subscribe on YouTube, spotify,
iheartradio and Apple Podcasts,and don't forget to visit our
(37:45):
website at RantingPoliticscomfor more policy articles and
sign up for our newsletter.
Remember we don't align with apolitical party.
We align with you, the Americancitizen.
This is JOC signing off andthank you, our loyal listeners,
for choosing Ranting PoliticsHeadline Updates.
We'll be back soon with theupdates you need to navigate
these interesting times.
(38:06):
Until then, stay tuned, stayinformed and, as always, stay
free.
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