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Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †
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There was much fake news about the tech and finance leaders traveling with President Trump to China. Moments ago, President Trump corrects the record:
TRUTH SOCIAL – “CNBC incorrectly reported that the Great Jensen Huang, of Nvidia, was not invited to the incredible gathering of the World’s Greatest Businessmen/women proudly going to China. In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC’s reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!
It is an Honor to have Jensen, Elon, Tim Apple, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzmann, Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), Brian Sikes (Cargill), Jane Fraser (Citi), Larry Culp (GE Aerospace), David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron), Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm), and many others journeying to the Great Country of China where I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to “open up” China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People’s Republic to an even higher level! In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request. I have never seen or heard of any idea that would be more beneficial to our incredible Countries!”
“Tim Apple” always cracks me up. lol
As previously noted and discussed by USTR Jamieson Greer, since the original trip to Beijing was announced several months ago, it was very easy to identify this visit was not a customary ‘state visit’ in the formal sense of the term. Instead, this trip was always planned as a trade, finance and economic business trip specifically to engage Chairman Xi with a financial and investment focus.
British monarch King Charles III is scheduled to deliver the annual ‘king’s speech’ to the U.K Parliament on Wednesday, and that was the essential defense position of those who are trying to maintain embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer in power as the Labour Party leader.
The king’s speech is an address to Parliament to outline his legislative priorities and the anticipated support from the political assembly. Without a solid Prime Minister in place, it would seem like an address to a leaderless body. However, once the speech is finished, the struggles for Prime Minister Starmer are soon to resurface.
British pundit Neil Oliver asked the most alarming question on GB News earlier this evening when he pondered who exactly does Keir Starmer work for? Noting very similar issues in both France and Germany with Emanuel Macron and Chancellor Freidrich Merz respectively, Oliver outlines how many EU leaders are pushing national policies while seemingly disconnected from the citizens of their countries. WATCH:
Oliver senses something bigger is afoot with the seismic shift in British electoral politics. The nation is demanding a change in direction away from leftist policies. When President Trump was asked about the dynamic earlier today, he said Keir Starmer needs to decide whether to leave or try and stay in power. Dropping pretenses and speaking pragmatically, President Trump further pointed to the suicidal energy policies that are driving up the costs of living for all European citizens.
Via Daily Mail – […] On a dramatic day at Westminster, four Labour ministers resigned, saying they no longer had confidence in Sir Keir. The number of Labour MPs calling for him to go rose to 90, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood was forced to deny she is on the brink of quitting after telling the PM to set out a timetable for his departure. (more)
President Trump departed the White House today for a long-awaited trip to Beijing, China for a summit with Chairman Xi Jinping. This trip to China is all business with no customary diplomatic venues or state visit festivities planned. This trip is straight to Beijing, business – then depart.
As President Trump departs the White House, he walks the lengthy press pool line to answer questions. The best audio/video is currently this one.
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Andrey Yermak is not just some random high-level government official in Ukraine. Andrey Yermak was President Zelenskyy’s right hand, chief of staff, organizer of the functions of Ukrainian government and the guy who controlled the systems that keep all other government officials working on the agenda of the President.
If you took Susie Wiles and Marco Rubio’s responsibilities and combined them into one job function, that would be the scale of importance and influence that Andrey Yermak controlled inside the Ukrainian government and the office of President Zelenskyy.
Left, Volodymyr Zelenskyy – Right, Andrey Yermak
Today, following an explosive criminal corruption charge that surfaced less than 36 hours ago, Andrey Yermak appears in court to face charges of corruption, theft and money laundering. Yermak was under investigation for his role in theft through the energy sector and now stands accused of using construction projects near Kiev as a tool to launder money to himself and other high-level government officials.
There are three facets to this I find very interesting. First, is the timing. Second, is the often-overlooked admission by National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) about them working closely with FBI investigators in Europe and American intelligence units. Third, is the way they caught him: “The anti-corruption bureau shared part of a wiretapped conversation as part of its case and said six more people had been identified as suspects.”
(Via BBC) – […] For years he was a close friend of Zelensky, and led Ukraine’s talks with the US until an anti-corruption raid on his flat last November prompted his resignation.
Ukraine’s Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) said it was asking the Kyiv court to either place him in preventive detention or give him bail of about $4m (£3m). The head of the National anti-corruption bureau (Nabu) stressed that Zelensky himself was not part of the pre-trial investigation.
Yermak had been the president’s closest adviser throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion, until he became caught up in a broader inquiry by Sapo and Nabu into an alleged $100m (£74m) embezzlement scheme in Ukraine’s nuclear energy sector.
Today, at 2:00pm FBI Director Kash Patel and Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terrance Cole will join other federal law enforcement officials to testify on the president’s 2027 budget request before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. Democrats are poised to push a narrative about Kash Patel’s personal habits driven by an Atlantic article accusing him of drunkenness and misbehavior.
While the focus of the appropriations testimony is the budget request, undoubtedly much of the questioning will surround ongoing matters and priorities of the FBI and DEA. Recent events in Mexico related to indictments of government officials involved in drug trafficking may also be the subject of inquiry. Could be interesting. Testimony begins at 2:00pm ET.
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Bumped and Updated as THE FULL the transcript is now available. Segment #4 of the Transcript is exceptionally interesting!
Reports are beginning to surface about Russian President Vladimir Putin saying the end to the special military operation in Ukraine is close. I am embedding the full press conference video below as only part of his remarks has been translated and transcribed.
President Putin is asked for his overall impressions of the Victory Day events, and the context of the ceasefire against the backdrop of a request by U.S. President Donald Trump. As with most things Russian, the nuance is often between the lines.
[RU Transcript] – “President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good evening. Happy holiday once again, happy Victory Day.
Question: Let me start with today and the way you view it, if I may. Today is a great and momentous day. Earlier, US President Donald Trump came up with an initiative to declare a three-day ceasefire. You supported it, so did Zelensky. However, on the eve of May 9, there were still a number of grave and provocative statements coming from Kiev.
How would you assess today and the way events unfolded? Even the military parade was held in a somewhat reduced format due to security concerns. Could you share your overall assessment of the day? Were there any provocations?
Vladimir Putin: As for provocations, as you can see, I am here, and so far, the Defence Ministry has not reported anything of that nature to me, so I cannot comment on it.
Regarding the parade. You know that this year – which is not an anniversary year but nevertheless it is Victory Day – we decided that the celebrations would go ahead in any case but without a display of military hardware, and not for security concerns but primarily because the Armed Forces should focus on the decisive defeat of the enemy within the framework of the special military operation.”
Barbara Boyd argues Barack Obama helped politicize U.S. justice and led a “British intelligence-instigated” anti-Trump coup, then outlines three developments she says undercut his project: (1) UK local elections in which Keir Starmer’s Labour Party lost about 1,800 races and power in Wales and Scotland as Nigel Farage’s Reform Party surged on anti–open borders and anti–Net Zero messaging; (2) a 4–3 Virginia Supreme Court decision striking down Democrats’ fast-tracked redistricting referendum, keeping existing 2026 districts, alongside the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 29 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais against race-based gerrymandering; and (3) examples of “authentic” politics, citing J.D. Vance’s Iowa speech about deindustrialization and military sacrifice and viral AI ads boosting LA mayoral outsider Spencer Pratt’s critique of California leadership.
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To encapsulate for those who requested, we first start with the recent statement by the former President. Listen closely:
Obama: “The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the AG to go around prosecuting whoever the president wants prosecuted. You can’t have a situation where whoever is in charge of the government starts using that to go after their political enemies or reward their friends.” pic.twitter.com/zqkV1vPdfq
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 6, 2026
On May 19, 2020, Acting DNI Richard Grenell declassified the hidden paragraph of the Susan Rice memo that was hidden for three years. This enabled us to put a full context to the ‘memo to file‘ that was published by Susan Rice on January 20, 2017; an event that was timed to happen during President Trump’s inauguration.
The context was President Obama and Susan Rice holding a meeting with FBI Director James Comey during the transition period approximately two weeks before President Trump took office. On January 5, 2017, President Obama and Susan Rice were discussing incoming National Security Advisor Michael Flynn with FBI Director James Comey.
When you understand the context, you understand exactly why the Intelligence Community tried to keep this paragraph hidden. The motive to write the January 20, 2017, memo is clear. Also, the IC did not ever expect this to be released. Here’s the formerly hidden paragraph:
Within this paragraph we find the motive for Susan Rice writing it (emphasis mine):