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Mar 13, 2026 - World

Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson on Friday had a scathing response after President Donald Trump's new attempt to fundraise for his MAGA coalition. The co-founder of The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump organization, revealed in his Substack why Trump's use of a photo showing the dignified transfer of a fallen soldier killed in Kuwait was so troubling. "They’re using a photo from the return of dead soldiers to Dover AFB," Wilson wrote. "In his dumb hat. To raise money. A million suns could not contain the heat of my hatred for this loathsome piece of human s---. I will be the first to piss on his miserable grave."The president sent an email to his mailing list advertising the final few spots on his National Security Briefing council. The image attached to the email is from an appearance Trump made — wearing his baseball hat — at the transfer of the Iran war dead, with 13 US soldiers now killed in the conflict.The email from Trump read, "VERY FEW SPOTS REMAINING! CLAIM YOUR SPOT. These final spots are reserved for my strongest supporters (YOU'RE ONE OF THEM!). This is no ordinary membership."Wilson wasn't alone in criticizing Trump's fundraising effort.California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a frequent Trump foe and vocal critic, Thursday evening also pointed out why the president's message was problematic. His team denounced the use of the image as a tool for fundraising and wrote on X, "Donald Trump is fundraising off of dead soldiers. He is a deeply SICK and DISGUSTING MAN!"

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Campaigners welcome Keir Starmer’s backing of ‘Philomena’s law’ to protect payments for those who accept compensationSurvivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes can continue to receive benefits in the UK after Downing Street agreed to protect payments.Keir Starmer bowed to pressure from campaigners to back a bill known as Philomena’s law, which would ringfence survivors’ benefits if they accepted compensation from Dublin. Continue reading...

Mar 13, 2026 - World

White nationalist January 6 participant Jacob Lang was reportedly caught trying to flirt with a 15-year-old girl days after he led an anti-Muslim protest outside Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home in New York City.According to The Bulwark, the alleged communications occurred over several months with a "15-year-old decoy" deployed by a pedophile-hunter who goes by the name "The Zerggg."Lang, 30, acknowledged participating in the "fake set up.""I wouldn't even allow this person to attend my protests until they were 16," he insisted. "Obvious phishing scam that my team caught right away & deterred."In the conversation, texts show Lang referring to the fake girl as "baby" and "sweetie.""I might be too young for u lol," Zerggg's decoy told Lang at one point."How old are you bby?" Lang replied, asserting that "unless you are under 18 I don't care haha.""i'm 15 lol," the fake girl wrote back. "When do you turn 16?" Lang wondered."In 6 months," the reply said, adding, "I won't get u introuble [sic] if that's what u r worried about I can keep a secret."After Lang "hearted" the message, he asked: "What state do you live in?""I can't see you til your 16," the right-wing influencer lamented.

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's "manly act" and posturing have prompted even his MAGA allies to question his leadership, an analyst reported Friday. Salon's Amanda Marcotte described Hegseth as obsessed over his appearance — even pushing out photographers who take photos he deems unflattering — and his efforts to be a "big man" have started to reveal who he really is amid the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. "His efforts to butch himself up are so grasping that they inevitably backfire, revealing his vanity, insecurity and weakness — qualities that are very much the opposite of the John Wayne ideal of masculinity to which MAGA aspires," Marcotte wrote."Liberals have always laughed at Hegseth and his self-owning, try-hard energy," Marcotte explained. "But with the Iran war, even his fellow travelers in overcompensation, the MAGA bros, are starting to worry about the vicarious emasculation that is likely to come with his embarrassing failure to live up to his vaunted — and frequently espoused — 'warrior ethos.'"As the war with Iran drags on to its 14th day, questions have mounted over Hegseth's comments. "Hegseth’s rhetoric is so alarming that it sometimes eclipses how he also can come across like an eight-year-old boy inventing dialogue for the villain in his G.I. Joe game," Marcotte wrote. "He likes to say things like, 'maximum lethality, not tepid legality' and 'violent effect, not politically correct.' It’s impossible to hear the secretary spout these rhymes and not picture how he must have practiced them in front of the mirror in his rumored makeup studio at the Pentagon, imagining himself the hero of an action movie, unable to realize that he’s making most listeners feel embarrassed on his behalf."But Hegseth may have underestimated what would be required to wage this war. "As long as Hegseth keeps his chest-thumping and pull-up contests in the land of make-believe, these men are happy," Marcotte wrote. "Like their hero, the only masculine strength they seem interested in is the kind performed for cameras, far away from real-world challenges that might easily defeat their self-image as the mightiest of men. Hegseth, however, had to ruin it all by leading the U.S. into a real war with Iran. Unlike the imaginary wars conducted in right-wing rhetoric, which are won by yelling 'no homo,' real wars are hard. They require planning, foresight and smart people, including women and minorities, to win — and even then, only if you’re quite lucky. War is not for clowns and fake tough guys."He has continued trying to align himself with MAGA."Hegseth talks about how he’s 'politically incorrect,' as if that makes him tough," Marcotte added. "But there is no man that is weaker than one who revels in harming others in a pathetic bid to feel bigger. In the abstract, it’s easy to convince a lot of people that it’s the height of manly fortitude to extol your own sadism as loudly as he does. In practice, it looks not just immoral but pathetic: killing little girls and then not even having the guts to admit that you did."

Mar 13, 2026 - World

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s combative press conference at the Pentagon on Friday morning was on the mind of MS NOW contributor Sam Stein hours later when he made an appearance to discuss Donald Trump’s next overseas target.Hegseth spent a great portion of his thirty-minute-plus appearance attacking reporters and dictating what headlines he thinks they should be reporting, while accusing them of a lack of patriotism.Stein admitted he was still reeling from what he witnessed.Asked by host Jonathan Lemire about Donald Trump’s military adventurism in Iran and Venezuela, and threats aimed at Cuba, Stein took an off-ramp instead."Yeah, and I just want to take a moment to talk about the defense secretary's claims, because I watched this morning's press conference and it was flabbergasting, honestly,” the grimacing Stein told the “Morning Joe” host. “I mean, there's a few things that he said that just jump out. He called the new ayatollah the quote, ‘new so-called not-so-supreme leader.’ I mean, what are we doing here?” he asked. “He outlined plans to intensify the bombing of Iran and then simultaneously criticized news networks for running banners saying that the Middle East war is intensifying — totally contradictory. He urged CNN to get new ownership.”“I mean, this is a serious moment,” he lamented. “Obviously, an incredible human suffering, global economic ramifications. And we have someone in charge who is using these press briefings in a very unserious way, not trying to be moral about it, but it's just weird.” - YouTube youtu.be