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One of my bigger concerns regarding SS is with so many of his fans claiming he improved as the season went along, I had trouble believing that. I remember those last 2 games (Pitt & Cincy) and thinking the offense was very weak.
Some O stats from those games, but focusing on QB stats

Pitt game; Offense had 262 net yards. 184 net yards passing 78 rushing only 3.1 per carry. 1 TD, 2 ints. Defense held the Steelers to 2 FGs Browns won 13-6

Bengals; Offense had exactly 200 yards of offense, 82 net yards passing. team 4.9 YPC rushing, SS fumble giving Bengals ball at Browns 29 leading to a Bengals TD. 0 passing TDs, 0 ints. Browns 2 TDs came on back-to-back series by the D. 90+ year int then a fumble return. These were the 2 plays that both drew unsportsmanlike flags. SS did have a 10 play 40 yard drive in 1:29 for the 49 yard FG for the win. Browns won 20-18

To me, both of those games were won more by the D, more than the O, although SS did direct a GW FG drive to end the game.

I hope Shedeur improves and that he can be the guy. Maybe a rebuilt O-line and more weapons will help.

Lebron informed the Lakers that he is moving on and will play somewhere else.

It would be very cool for him to come back. He will do as he pleases.

But if he comes back. I am watching them play.

I am not a huge basketball fan. It comes and goes with me. Sometimes I get into it. Other times I lose interest.

I will say when the Cavs won it all with Lebron. I lost my mind. I could believe they won.

I saw the old Bird vs Magic games and of course Michael.

But I have never seen a player play like Lebron played in that championship series.

That was something to see.

While certainly not on my personal playlist these songs certainly seems quite appropriate for the current weather conditions..........

WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.

The justices relied on a long-settled understanding of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, and more recent federal laws in ruling that anyone born in the country, with very limited exceptions, is a citizen.

“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land,’” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, citing congressional debate over the amendment, “We keep that promise today.”

Three conservative justices would have allowed the restrictions to take effect.

“The Court today takes the extraordinary step of holding facially unconstitutional the President’s Order excluding from citizenship the children of foreign temporary visitors and illegal aliens,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a 91-page dissent, more than three times as long as Roberts’ opinion. “In doing so, the Court adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.”

The Republican president’s restrictions had been blocked by several lower courts and had not taken effect anywhere in the U.S.

During arguments in April, both conservative and liberal justices questioned the order’s legality in a momentous case that was magnified by Trump’s unprecedented attendance in the courtroom.

The case framed another test of Trump’s assertions of executive power that defy long-standing precedent for a court with a conservative majority and a robust view of presidential power that has largely ruled in his favor. In the notable exceptions when the court has not, Trump has responded with starkly personal criticisms of the justices.

The justices ruled on Trump’s appeal of a lower-court ruling from New Hampshire that struck down the citizenship restrictions.

The birthright citizenship order, which Trump signed on the first day of his second term, is part of his administration’s broad immigration crackdown.

Birthright citizenship was the first Trump immigration-related policy to reach the court for a final ruling. The justices previously struck down global tariffs Trump had imposed under an emergency powers law that had never been used that way.

Trump reacted furiously to the late February tariffs decision, saying he was ashamed of the justices who ruled against him and calling them unpatriotic.

He also seemed to recognize the court was likely to rule against him on birthright citizenship, too, using his Truth Social platform to criticize “dumb judges and justices” and wealthy pregnant women from China and elsewhere who come to the U.S. to give birth so their newborns will have American citizenship.

Trump’s order would have upended widely held views that the 14th Amendment confers citizenship on everyone born in the U.S., excluding only the children of foreign diplomats and those born to a foreign occupying force.

The amendment was intended to ensure that Black people, including former slaves, had citizenship, though the Citizenship Clause is written more broadly. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” it reads.

In a series of decisions, lower courts have struck down Trump’s executive order as illegal. The decisions have invoked the high court’s 1898 ruling in Wong Kim Ark, which held that the U.S.-born child of Chinese nationals was a citizen.

Roberts, joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the three liberal justices, said the amendment’s language, the historical context and the 1898 case make clear that children born to parents illegally or temporarily in the U.S. “are citizens at birth.”

But there was only a bare majority of five justices on the constitutional question.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh sided with the majority, but only because of a federal law that makes those children citizens.

Kavanaugh joined the dissenters in finding that Trump’s order does not violate the Constitution. His view would enable a future Congress to change the law to restrict birthright citizenship.

The Trump administration had argued that the common view of citizenship is wrong, asserting that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore are not entitled to citizenship.

More than one-quarter of a million babies born in the U.S. each year would have been affected by the executive order, according to research by the Migration Policy Institute and Pennsylvania State University’s Population Research Institute.

While Trump has largely focused on illegal immigration in his rhetoric and actions, the birthright citizenship restrictions also would have applied to people who are legally in the United States, including students and applicants for green cards, or permanent resident status.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-...gration-c73cf0c70bb550ebf0a55fafddbd935c

While I'm happy to see that the SCOTUS upheld the constitution in this case it's also sad that the vote was so close on this issue.

U.S.-Iran Latest: Peace deal efforts inch along, mired by Israel's fight with Hezbollah

6:53 AM
Iran says delegation heading to Qatar won't meet with U.S.

Iran on Monday said a delegation of experts would travel to Qatar's capital of Doha this week for discussions on the implementation of the memorandum of understanding with the U.S., but no meetings would be happening between the two countries.

"An expert delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran will travel to Doha later this week" to discuss the implementation of clauses of the memorandum, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said.

"We have not yet entered the stage of negotiating a final agreement," he said, noting that "over the coming days, we will not have any negotiation meetings with the U.S. side at any level."

6:53 AM
Trump says U.S. efforts in Qatar will be "perhaps important, perhaps not"

President Trump said U.S. officials' planned efforts in Qatar this week would be "perhaps important, perhaps not" after Iran denied that its negotiators would be meeting with Americans in the Middle East.

"The meeting in Doha is going to be perhaps important, perhaps not," Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to Qatar's capital. "We're going to find out."

6:53 AM
Iran war has cost Americans $1,000 per household, economist estimates

The Iran war has cost Americans roughly $1,000 per household in higher fuel, food and other expenses since the start of the conflict in February, according to an estimate shared last week by Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

Zandi's analysis comes as government data shows inflation in May hit its highest level in three years, and with the U.S. and Iran yet to broker a lasting peace deal.

6:53 AM
Expert doubts Strait of Hormuz will return to how it was before war

Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, expressed doubt on CBS News' "The Takeout" that ships would return to moving through the Strait of Hormuz as freely as they were before the war.

"Whether it's the horse has left the barn or the genie's out of the bottle or I don't know what other cliche you could use, we are not going back to Feb. 27, where the straits were free and unfettered," Miller said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another key waterway.

"Iran has their hands all over them," Miller said, "and they're going to seek remuneration to use those straits, weaponizing geography, basically as leverage."

6:53 AM
"Terrorists" shoot dead two Guards members in Iran, says state media

Attackers shot dead two members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards at their home in the western city of Paveh, near the border with Iraq's Kurdistan region, state media reported Tuesday.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the shooting but Tehran has frequently blamed Kurdish separatist groups in the area for previous violence, accusing them of links to the United States and Israel.

The two IRGC members were killed in "a terrorist and cowardly act," state television said, while two other Guards members were wounded.

State television said "exact details of this incident and the measures being taken to identify those responsible are under review."

Separately, "a family's vehicle was sprayed with bullets" on Monday in the southeastern town of Saravan in Sistan-Baluchistan province, killing the father and wounding the mother, state television reported.

The woman later died of her wounds.

Authorities did not immediately identify those responsible or provide further details about the victims.

But state television said the attack "was carried out by Zionist-American mercenaries," a term Iranian officials commonly use for separatist and militant groups.

Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders Pakistan and Afghanistan, has long seen clashes between security forces, insurgents and drug smugglers.

One of Iran's poorest provinces, it is home to a sizable ethnic Baloch population, most of whom are Sunni Muslims in a Shiite-majority nation.

6:53 AM
Analysts say Lebanon ceasefire could complicate things, as "Israel won't withdraw" and "Hezbollah won't disarm"

An agreement signed four days ago between the Israeli and Lebanese governments, which links Israel pulling its forces out of southern Lebanon with Hezbollah being disarmed, could effectively keep Israeli troops in the neighboring nation indefinitely, analysts say, and that could make a final peace deal between the U.S. and Iran harder to achieve.

Hezbollah has thus far refused to lay down its weapons, and the Lebanese government has proven unable to make the well-armed Iranian-backed group do so.

"This is ‌not an agreement, it is an imposed settlement," a senior Lebanese politician, who declined to be named, told the Reuters news agency. The lawmaker was quoted as saying Lebanon's army is simply incapable of forcing Hezbollah to disarm.

"This agreement has put all the burden on Lebanon," Michael Young, a Beirut-based analyst, told Reuters. It "creates a structure that allows the Israelis to remain [in southern Lebanon] indefinitely."

Fawaz Gerges, a Lebanese scholar at the London School of Economics and Political Science, said the deal was "born dead."

Gerges told Reuters the agreement was a "gift" to Israel as it could effectively give Israeli officials a pretext to further consolidate and even extend the occupied "security zone" that extends six miles into southern Lebanon.

The deal "won't lead us anywhere except ‌to civil conflict, and ⁠maybe an insurrection by the Shiite [Muslim] community," said Young.

Regional analyst and former Israeli military intelligence officer Danny Citrinowicz told Reuters the dismantling of Hezbollah is "something that would ‌never happen," ⁠and the deal ultimately legitimizes an indefinite Israeli military presence in Lebanon.

He said any Israeli prime minister is unlikely to halt the fight against Hezbollah while the group still poses a threat, so "nothing will happen. Israel won't withdraw, and Hezbollah won't dismantle."

Iran and Hezbollah have both insisted repeatedly that Israel must withdraw its forces from Lebanon as part of any full peace deal between Washington and Tehran.

7:42 AM
Witkoff and Kushner meet mediators in Qatar, but no "direct meetings scheduled" with Iran

U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – the president's son-in-law – met Tuesday with Qatari mediators trying to broker a permanent peace deal with Iran, the Gulf state's foreign ministry spokesman said.

"Mr. Steve Witkoff and Mr. Jared Kushner are here in Doha to meet with mediators, with Qatari officials, and the talks will be around all regional issues," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said.

The talks were expected to include discussions on Iran and Lebanon, the spokesman said, adding: "They are not here for their negotiations with the Iranians."

Both the U.S. and Iran had said they would send officials for meetings in Qatar to discuss the memorandum of understanding signed by President Trump and his Iranian counterpart. Mr. Trump first announced the meeting, claiming Iran had requested it in a social media post on Monday.

"To the best of my knowledge, there are no direct meetings scheduled between the two parties in the coming days," Al Ansari said Tuesday.

He added that an Iranian "technical delegation travels to and from Doha based on the progress of negotiations," and "there is currently no high-level delegation present."

Qatar initially refused to mediate after Tehran launched unprecedented aerial attacks on Gulf states in retaliation for the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes launched on Feb. 28, but the Gulf emirate has played an active role in negotiations in recent weeks after an initial April ceasefire was brokered by Pakistan.

8:14 AM
Ambassador Mike Huckabee says Israel and U.S. "will continue to be partners as long as we exist"

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee again compared the relationship between the two countries to a marriage, saying "we will continue to be partners as long as we exist," in remarks reported by Israeli news site Ynet.

Speaking at an Israeli-American Council (IAC) event commemorating 250 years of American independence, Huckabee said: "When people ask: 'Is it possible that the U.S. and Israel will split and no longer enjoy this extraordinary partnership?', I say: 'No. I hope we will never be that foolish. We will continue to be partners as long as we exist.'"

"It's like a marriage," he added. "If we separate, neither country will be able to afford the alimony."

Huckabee said in February that Israel had a right to much of the Middle East, telling Tucker Carlson "It would be fine if they took it all."

His comments prompted condemnation from the governments of numerous Arab and Muslim majority states.

8:48 AM
No frozen assets have been transferred to Iran, says Qatar

No frozen assets have been transferred to Iran, Qatar said Tuesday, after Iran's president said $6 billion would be released under the memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the U.S. about two weeks ago .

"So far, no funds have been transferred," foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari said Tuesday.

"Qatar is not the owner of these funds," Al Ansari added. "It only plays the role of a financial mediator managing these accounts within the framework of this agreement between the parties."

"The matter of transferring funds or not is carried out according to mutual agreement between the two parties and according to the progress of negotiations, which has not yet taken place," he said.

On Monday, Iranian state media quoted President Masoud Pezeshkian as saying the country was set to receive $6 billion in frozen assets currently held in Qatar. The unfreezing of Iran's financial assets is one of the conditions in the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding.

Vice President JD Vance said last week that Washington would ensure any Iranian funds released as a result of the ongoing negotiations would not finance terrorism.

"If we ever unfreeze Iranian assets, we can ensure that ... Iranian money goes to help the people of Iran and not to fund terrorism," he told reporters a day after the first, and so far only, round of direct talks with Iran were held as a result of the MoU.

9:38 AM
Iran to hold talks with Qatar on frozen assets Wednesday, says foreign ministry

Iran will hold talks with mediator Qatar on Wednesday regarding its frozen assets, the Iranian foreign ministry said, denying that any meeting with the U.S. was planned in the Gulf state, where delegations from both sides were expected.

"What is expected to take place in Doha, probably tomorrow, will be discussions regarding the implementation of provisions of the memorandum of understanding, including the provision concerning the release of Iran's restricted assets, and these discussions will be held with the Qatari side," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters at a weekly press conference.

10:15 AM
UNESCO shared coordinates of heritage sites in Iran with "all parties to the conflict"

Eleven historical buildings in Iran have been damaged in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, according to the Reuters news agency, despite UNESCO sharing coordinates of heritage sites in the country with "all parties to the conflict."

The world body told Reuters it had not been consulted about which cultural sites to avoid during the war, adding "UNESCO calls all parties to conflicts to respect international law, including the protection of cultural property, and to take all necessary measures to prevent damage to cultural heritage."

President Trump has pulled the U.S. out of UNESCO twice, in 2017 and – after President Biden reversed the decision – again in 2025, decrying what he described as "woke, divisive cultural and social causes."

49m ago
U.S. stocks open mixed in last session of winning quarter

Wall Street stocks were mixed early Tuesday in a cautious open to the concluding session of a buoyant semester for U.S. equities.

The broad-based S&P 500 has gained nearly 9% in the first half of 2026, reflecting confidence in the AI boom that has offset concerns about the U.S.-Iran war and the surge in oil prices.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2% at 52,075.80.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.1% at 7,449.12, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3% to 25,890.09.

"For the most part the equity market shrugged off the war and focused primarily on earnings, and estimates continued to rise through the quarter," said Jack Ablin of Cresset Capital.

Oil prices edged higher early Tuesday after strikes over the weekend between the U.S. and Iran added to questions about the durability of their memorandum of understanding.

6m ago
U.S.-Iran communication line "not a military-to-military hotline," says Iran

The line of communication between the U.S. and Iran is "not a military-to-military hotline," an Iranian official said Tuesday.

"Rather, it is a communication channel between the political authorities of the two countries," foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a press briefing.

Pakistani and Qatari mediators said Monday that Iran and the U.S. had agreed to establish the line of communication following their first round of direct talks, held Sunday in Switzerland.

In a joint statement, the mediators said the line would be established "to avoid incidents and miscommunication with the aim of safe passage for commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz."

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/us-iran-war-israel-hezbollah-lebanon-trump-peace-deal/

A great day of drama ... love watching penalty shoot outs unless the team I am rooting or is taking part!

I've had one person in my life suffer from ALS. It is an experience I hope I never have to relive and I wouldn't wish that disease on anyone. There is nothing I know of that quite compares to it.

When it arrives, just start in on it at the correct dosage. Feel free to eat up the other stuff as well; some folks take in as much as 20g per day when doing a fast load saturation. If you're over 200 lbs, you could be taking 5-10 grams per day just fine, but I'm currently 240 lbs and still only do 5g, for now.

Trump advisors warned him he is losing the war against algae. Immediately after being told this he requested 300 billion dollars from congress to fight the war in Algaeria.

Governor Blasts Great American State Fair Over Confederate Flag in NC Booth

North Carolina Democratic Governor Josh Stein's office has condemned a display at the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., which included altered versions of the state flag featuring the Confederate's "Southern Cross."

The controversy erupted after journalist Reuben Jones posted footage from the North Carolina exhibit featuring two versions of the state flag with the Confederate battle emblem superimposed over the design.

A spokesperson for Stein said the video display of the flags misrepresented North Carolina and called on organizers to remove it.

"This display does not reflect the North Carolina that we love. America 250 is about unity and bringing our nation together. Glorifying this divisive Confederate symbol does the exact opposite. We demand the organizers stop dishonoring the flag of North Carolina," they said.

The exhibit is part of the Great American State Fair, an event celebrating the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary.

Newsweek has reached out to Freedom 250, the organizers of the fair, via email for comment.

A spokesperson for the North Carolina booth told Spectrum News that it had become aware of an "unapproved image in a video displayed inside the North Carolina Pavilion" on Friday. "As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the video and began reviewing how it occurred. Our focus remains on celebrating America’s 250th birthday and North Carolina’s role in our nation’s history.”

The video display, which showed the current North Carolina flag split with the Confederate flag, has since been removed.

The videos prompted criticism from historians, political figures and businesses participating in the North Carolina exhibit.

Stephen Jackson, a historian who specializes in North Carolina's past, wrote on X: "Unlike former flags from Georgia and Mississippi, the official flag of NC has NEVER incorporated the Confederate Battle Flag in its design. Shame on whoever is running this booth."

Democratic advocacy group Carolina Forward also criticized the display, posting: "So the privately-sponsored North Carolina booth at Trump's fair features not one, but two altered versions of the state flag with a big stars-and-bars on it. Disgusting."

Meanwhile, one of the exhibit's corporate sponsors, Mt. Olive Pickle Company, announced it was withdrawing after learning about the display.

In a statement shared by Jones, the company said: "Mt. Olive Pickle Company was invited to participate in the North Carolina exhibit for the Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., as part of America's 250th celebration. We are proud of our North Carolina roots, and we agreed to be a part of an exhibit, as presented to us, that would represent the best of our great state.

"We were unaware that an image of the Confederate flag was included in a video as part of this exhibit, and we have withdrawn our participation. Our company stands on values of human dignity, opportunity, and freedom."

https://www.newsweek.com/gov-blasts...r-confederate-flag-in-ncs-booth-12129414



We're sorry. We didn't even know it was there until you said something and have no idea how it got there!

What a petty little man. But at least you are willing to admit it.


No, it was someone searching for anything and everything negative they could come up with to go after Myles. Pay attention next time.


Allow me to point out just what you have taken issue with. First something I never said. I didn't say it was okay to speed. What I simply said is that in the grand scheme of things it isn't a huge issue.

Domestic violence is something that runs rampant in the NFL. Lions CB Terrion Arnold was arrested just this past week on eight felony counts that carry possible life sentence. There is a very long list of NFL players that have committed felonies including many violent felonies.

And then of course there's that NFL policy on speeding tickets. No, wait....

In comparison speeding is pretty trivial. Anyone can see that and only someone like you would take the opposite position and claim it's the fault of someone else for comprehending that.

Look at the laws themselves. Look at what level of crimes they are. Felonies verses misdemeanors verses traffic violations. Even the penalties and severity of the laws as they are categorized shows plainly you are doing nothing but being ridiculous. But hey, if that's your game let's play some more. I'm ready and so far you have shown you have no comprehension of even by legal standards speeding pales in comparison to conduct of many players.

Then why O why is the republican led congress allowing it?

Can't wait to hear their excuse for this.

This will be interesting to watch over the next couple of years between moderate democrats and the younger socialist-leaning members. It has been trending in a negative direction already but now more and more of these younger socialists are winning seats and positions across governments--federal, state, and local municipalities.



Here is a good example-- Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Democratic nominee for Congress in New York's 13th Congressional District, was identified as the co-founder of the campus group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which stated in a 2024 social media post that it was "fighting for the total eradication of Western civilization". She has also quoted many Marxist slogans:

"Seize the means of production" — A direct quote from a deleted post she published using the fundamental slogan of Marxism and communism."Seize all properties from landlords" — Part of her broader rhetoric advocating for the nationalization of housing and private real estate.

She clarified her position on defunding the police by stating her goal "means ending policing full stop. Period. No more police at all ever," while advocating for a "world without prisons."

This isn't a democratic socialist. Using the word democratic is putting lipstick on a very ugly pig. She is wavering between socialism and communism and there is a growing population of younger Americans who are subscribing to this dangerous ideology.

Anecdotally, I work with someone who is a self-described "Leninist" and believes in the Leninism ideology associated with Communism. It's unbelievable to hear the things this person subscribes to regarding one-party government control as if it is the answer to all the world's issues. Absolutely, asinine.

The SPLC pays for the hate to get keep themselves relevant. What a joke and anyone who follows them are a joke.

Trump has a tendency to cheapen everything he touches.... I guess awarding the Medal of Honor is no exception.

Federal prosecutors are continuing to dismiss charges initially brought against people in Minnesota for allegedly assaulting federal officers during the winter.

WCCO dug through court filings and identified at least 18 people whose cases are now dropped. A federal judge officially dismissed the charges for 15 of them; three are pending a judge's approval after prosecutors filed motions to dismiss the charges. At least 17 cases are still pending, with judges denying defense dismissal motions in several of them.

Richard Painter, a legal expert with the University of Minnesota and former chief White House ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush, said that it's clear to him that federal prosecutors brought several cases forward without sufficient evidence.

"It appears that the United States Attorney's Office in Minnesota is bringing some weak cases against protestors," Painter said, adding that he believes that there was pressure from the Trump administration to charge people.

According to court records, defense and government attorneys alike asked for case dismissals for a variety of reasons.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez Romero was accused in December of ramming into ICE vehicles in St. Paul, prompting an ICE agent to fire his weapon, hitting no one. On June 8, United States Attorney Daniel Rosen signed off on a dismissal motion based in part because prosecutors "thoroughly reassessed the evidence" and concluded that they were not confident that they could obtain and sustain a conviction against Rodriguez Romero.

In January, ICE leadership acknowledged that ICE agent Christian Castro may have lied under oath about what happened the night he shot Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in north Minneapolis. This led to the assault charges against Sosa-Celis and another man being dropped; Castro is now facing charges in Hennepin County for the shooting and for falsely reporting a crime.

Just a week after that incident, federal officers said Paul Johnson violently resisted arrest in north Minneapolis. On Thursday, Rosen signed a motion to dismiss the charges against Johnson. The U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota acknowledged issues raised by Johnson and his legal team, including allegations that agents shackled him to a bed at HCMC without access to his phone for days.

"Based on newly received discovery, the government intends to pursue an investigation into allegations raised in Mr. Johnson's filings; therefore the interests of justice support dismissal of this case," Rosen's motion reads in Johnson's case.

In the more than 30 cases WCCO reviewed, one name appeared across a variety of different cases. HSI Special Agent Richard Berger submitted sworn affidavits prompting probable cause for the arrest of Johnson and nine others, whose charges were ultimately dismissed. Berger submitted affidavits in at least 12 cases that are still ongoing.

In a hearing in Gillian Etherington's case in April, which is still ongoing, U.S. District Court Magistrate David Schultz said that he became "concerned with the veracity" of multiple affidavits related to federal officer assault cases that came from Berger. Schultz said that in multiple instances, Berger "did not have any personal knowledge of the events described in the affidavits that he has submitted to this court as sworn affidavits."

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security ignored questions from WCCO about whether there has been an internal review of incident reports or legal filings. The spokesperson instead provided a statement describing Johnson, who prosecutors are dropping the federal case against, as an "anti-ICE rioter."

U.S. prosecutors in Minnesota on Tuesday announced charges against 15 people they say conspired to "violently oppose immigration law enforcement," though Rosen failed to describe a single example of injuries to federal agents when repeatedly questioned.

When asked what makes the latest slate of indictments different than other cases that have been dropped, Rosen said he doesn't think any cases have "failed in any way."

"Read the indictment and you'll understand the magnitude of this case," Rosen said. "You watch how this case plays out, you watch how the evidence plays out and the evidence will prove it all out."

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/minnesota-protester-assault-cases-dismissed-minnesota/

They have same dudes running same systems. OTAs aren't going to make or break their season.

I've addressed are they just supposed to let them already. No they aren't. But we both know that there are other choices than simply carpet bombing civilian neighborhoods which is choosing to intentionally wipe out tens of thousands of innocent civilian lives. I'm not opposing Israel taking actions to protect themselves. I'm pointing out that first of all Netanyahu playing The Boy Who Cried wolf for three decades trying everything he can to get a partner to invade Iran combined with making the choice to defend his nation by intentionally slaughtering all of those civilians is not justifiable by you or anyone else. Nobody forced him to make that decision.

You totally dismissed that point as well as Israel being Iran's neighbor and how they already have nuclear weapons. When you combine that with Netanyahu's war cries which he has been espousing for decades now it only makes sense that Iran would want to be able to respond in kind should the need arise.

That doesn't mean I want them to have a nuclear weapon. It simply means I understand why they want one. None of that means I'm against Israel defending themselves. But look at some of the comments you have made in describing Iran as terrorists. One of those points was slaughtering their own innocent civilians. I'm not sure how you can justify when someone else does it for them.

I watched the Browns Jets double overtime playoff game in a large apartment with a bunch of Jets fans. That was fun.

I think in general knowledge was power. With pretty much all knowledge at our finger tips I think reasoning will be more powerful. All the knowledge in the world means nothing if you don't know what to do with it.

Trump's allies have another plan to pay 'weaponization' victims

WASHINGTON, June 12 (Reuters) - While the Justice Department has said it hasabandoned plans for President Donald Trump's ⁠proposed $1.8 billion "weaponization" fund, some of his allies are shifting focus to a different way to make payouts to his supporters, including those who took part in the January 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol.

The most viable path, according to Trump allies and legal ⁠experts, may involve compensating these loyalists under a 1946 law called the Federal Tort Claims Act. That measure lets people file administrative claims - and subsequent lawsuits - against the U.S. government for alleged wrongdoing, which can then be settled out of court.

"At my ‌level, the fund is dead," Stanley Woodward, the third-ranking official at the Justice Department, said in an interview with Reuters. "If somebody wants to submit a claim against the government and sue us, they can still do that."

The Republican president repeatedly has expressed support for federal payouts to supporters whom he has portrayed as being targeted by a "weaponized" U.S. government under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

But the "anti-weaponization" fund, crafted as part of a legal settlement between Trump and the Justice Department to resolve his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over allegedly mishandling his tax records, was put on hold amid fierce opposition from Republicans in Congress. Trump critics derided it as a slush fund to reward supporters with taxpayer money.

Hundreds of people who were prosecuted after taking ​part in the Capitol attack, which was a failed bid by Trump supporters to prevent Congress from certifying his 2020 election loss to Biden, already have filed claims, and at ⁠least 10 have sued the government for damages - so far with little response.

The strategy has long been in the ⁠works. Conservative lawyers debated the plan during a previously unreported strategy session at the 2024 Republican National Convention, according to longtime Trump ally Michael Caputo, who attended the meeting.

Other payout options are still being explored, according to Caputo, who helped lead "anti-weaponization" efforts in Trump's 2024 election campaign and ⁠filed ‌the first known claim under the now-abandoned "weaponization" fund.

"I've heard no indication that they've slowed down on trying to get victims paid," Caputo said, adding that administration officials have told him to "watch this space."

Caputo, who served as a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson during Trump's first term, asked acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for $2.7 million in "restitution" over investigations by the Biden administration and former special counsel Robert Mueller.

"It's the most logistically feasible method," said Patrick Jaicomo, a senior attorney at the libertarian legal group Institute for Justice who specializes in Federal Tort Claims Act cases. "The government would have a ⁠lot of flexibility."

Trump's repeated support for compensating supporters he paints as victims of "weaponization" has raised the question of what avenue he may now pursue to make ​such payments.

Asked if there are alternative plans to provide such compensation, the White House pointed to previous ‌comments by Trump and Blanche that the weaponization fund would not go forward.

"We have no additional announcements at this time and any speculation about potential future actions is just that - speculation," a White House official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "President Trump ⁠remains committed to addressing Biden-era weaponization."

A Justice Department official, ​speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is no effort to encourage people to submit these claims.

'PEOPLE SHOULD BE COMPENSATED'

Trump has accused the Biden administration and other political opponents of improperly using law enforcement, intelligence and regulatory agencies to target him and his allies. Critics have said these efforts were legally justified by actual or suspected wrongdoing by Trump and others.

Trump, for instance, gave executive clemency to his supporters who were prosecuted for their roles in the January 6 riot.

"The people were destroyed by dirty cops and by weaponization," Trump said on NBC's "Meet the Press" program aired on Sunday. "Many of those people should be compensated."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham in a social media post backed the idea of pursuing ⁠payouts through the Federal Tort Claims Act, prompting the Justice Department's Woodward to respond with what looked like an endorsement in a since-deleted post.

"We're working on it," ​Woodward wrote.

Woodward later told Reuters he was trying to send a message that people who believe they were victims of government abuse continue to have a path for compensation even without the $1.8 billion fund.

FROM FRINGE IDEA TO MAINSTREAM

Financially compensating Trump allies has moved from the political fringe closer to mainstream Republican strategy.

Caputo said he was involved in conversations about finding ways to pay victims of "weaponization" dating back to October 2023.

In 1956, Congress created a permanent Judgment Fund for paying settlements of lawsuits against the federal government.

Caputo said that allies of the president and conservative lawyers discussed using this fund for payouts under the Federal Tort Claims Act "ad ⁠nauseam" during the 2024 Republican National Convention. Attendees at these discussions opposed paying violent felons, including those who assaulted police officers, according to Caputo.

The attendees viewed the Judgment Fund as a "limitless" pot of money that would avoid the political hurdles of creating a new administrative fund, Caputo said, though they acknowledged these payouts could be controversial.

Some high-profile Trump allies already have received payouts under the Federal Tort Claims Act. Michael Flynn, who briefly served as Trump's national security adviser during his first term, received a $1.25 million settlement under the statute.

Attorney Peter Ticktin said his office is representing more than 400 people who took part in the Capitol riot who have submitted Federal Tort Claims Act claims. Ticktin said he hopes the government will settle the cases before they go to court, but has not been told of any plans to do so.

"We're asking for restitution in the millions of dollars," Ticktin said, adding that he trusts that ​Trump and the Justice Department will ensure that his clients get paid.

'A TRAVESTY'

The administrative process for a Federal Tort Claims Act claim begins when a person files a form, known as an SF-95, alleging government wrongdoing and ⁠demanding damages.

Claims typically must be filed within two years of the incident, but January 6 defendants are arguing that the alleged wrongdoing against them constitutes ongoing harm. It remains unclear how courts or the Justice Department will treat that interpretation.

If the government agrees to the amount requested, officials can authorize payment before a judge ​is assigned, Jaicomo said, meaning no judge would review the payment.

If the government does not settle, claimants can file a lawsuit, at which point a judge would begin overseeing the case. Ticktin ‌has already filed 10 lawsuits and said he plans to file hundreds more.

Rupa Bhattacharyya, a former Justice Department official who oversaw the compensation fund ​for victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, said department attorneys typically settle only when they face a high risk of losing at trial, though they retain broad discretion on settlements including in January 6 cases.

"That would be a travesty because these are very defensible lawsuits," said Bhattacharyya, who served under presidents of both parties. "It would violate the purpose and spirit of the judgment fund - but it is unlikely it would violate the text of the law."

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/wor...r-way-to-pay-039weaponization039-victims

He will be missed.
It's the true end of the Joe & Joel era; and that's very saddening.