(AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

Donald Trump’s Department of Justice has erased hundreds of press releases from its website that detailed the charges against January 6 Capitol rioters — information the DOJ deemed “partisan propaganda.”

“We are proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes. This includes stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda,” the DOJ Rapid Response X account declared Friday.

The move came just days after the DOJ announced it was creating a $1.8 billion taxpayer-backed “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to pay restitution to anyone who felt they were wronged by the federal government. Critics, including congressional Republicans, have called it a “slush fund” for Trump allies, including the rioters that he pardoned.

Rioter Brandon Fellows told CNN this week that he was requesting $30 million from the fund for “wrongful imprisonment.” Also seeking compensation were MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who said he lost $400 million from “persecution” while trying to prove the 2020 election results were rigged, as well as former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo, who’s seeking a $2.7 million payout.

NBC News reported that the vast majority of press releases on the defendants had been removed by Friday evening. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has not ruled out paying J6ers over their incarcerations.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) introduced a bill Wednesday to prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to pay anyone claiming money from the fund.

Fitzpatrick said in a statement, “Taxpayer dollars will not become a discretionary payout fund. Transparency is not optional. Accountability is not negotiable.”

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement, “So, the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong — Take your pick.”

Other Republicans who have come out against the “slush fund” are Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA).

The post DOJ Website Erases Detailed Charges Against J6 Rioters In Push To Remove ‘Partisan Propaganda’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday he hopes some major “news” comes out of meetings about the ongoing Iran war, just days after President Donald Trump revealed he postponed an attack.

Rubio spoke to reporters while in India on Saturday amid negotiations between White House and Iran officials about the ongoing Iran conflict. The president changed his schedule on Friday to remain at the White House after saying he was skipping his son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding due to Iran and other situations needing his attention.

Rubio told reporters:

I don’t have news for you at this very moment, but there might be some news a little later today. There may not be. I hope there will be, but I’m not sure yet. The question is about the Iranian issue. And as I said, there’s been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there’s some work being done. There is a chance that whether it’s later today, tomorrow, in a couple of days, we may have something to say. But this issue needs to be solved, as the president has said, one way or the other. Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. The Strait needs to be open without tolls. They need to turn over their enriched uranium. They need to turn over their highly enriched uranium.

Rubio added that the president prefers to deal with Iran in a “diplomatic” way over militarily.

“That’s what we’re working on, and perhaps there’ll be something to talk about on that topic while I’m here on this visit at some point,” he said.

Trump is reportedly speaking with Gulf and other regional leaders on Saturday by phone to discuss the state of the Iran war and proposals to bring it to a close. Iran has continued targeting and charging tolls to ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply moves through.

Trump and other officials have spoken about negotiations being made more difficult thanks to Iran’s fractured leadership structure after strikes from the United States and Iran.

During a press conference this week, the president said he stopped a planned attack on Iran after allies convinced him to give more time to negotiations.

“I was an hour away. We were all set to go. You’re talking about yesterday? We were going to be striking very– it would have been happening right now. Yeah, it was all done. The boats, the ships were all loaded. They were all loaded to the brim and we were all set to start,” he said.

He also took to Truth Social on Saturday to post a map showing Iran with America’s flag. The message above the post read: “The United States of the Middle East?”

He said on Saturday we are “getting a lot closer” to a deal with Iran.

“I will only sign a deal where we get everything we want,” he told CBS News. “We’re going to have a deal, or we’re going have a situation where no country will ever be hit as hard as they’re about to be hit.”

Watch above via MS NOW.

The post Marco Rubio Drops Iran Update as Trump Says We’re ‘Closer’ to a Deal: ‘This Issue Needs To Be Solved’ first appeared on Mediaite.

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Tulsi Gabbard is reportedly resigning as President Donald Trump’s Director of National Intelligence amid her husband’s battle with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” Fox News Digital first reported on Friday.

The exclusive report from Fox’s Brooke Singman and Robert Schmad added that “Gabbard notified President Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office Friday.”

Fox obtained Gabbard’s resignation letter to Trump, which said she was “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026. My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” she wrote in the letter, adding:

At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle. Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns and now my service in this role.

Trump confirmed the news on social media and named her replacement. “Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence,” Trump wrote.

Gabbard has long been believed to be one of the most likely top officials next to leave Trump’s administration, following the high-profile firings of ex-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and ex-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Gabbard, a former progressive, anti-war House Democrat, raised eyebrows in March when she refused to say during a Congressional hearing whether or not she believed Trump’s war in Iran was legal.

“Congressman, thank you for the question. The cost of war weighs very heavily upon me and my colleagues here, especially for those of us who have experienced and seen the cost of war firsthand. My own personal and political views—as I mentioned earlier, I was asked and required by Congress and by the president in this role as the Director of National Intelligence to check those views at the door—to ensure that the intelligence assessments are not colored by my personal views. And that’s exactly what I am responsible to deliver,” Gabbard replied when asked if Trump’s attack on Iran was “illegal and unconstitutional.”

A few weeks later, Trump was asked if he still had “confidence” in Gabbard, to which he replied, “Yeah, sure.”

“I mean, she’s a little bit different in her thought process than me, but that doesn’t make somebody not available to say it, Trump continued, adding, “I would say that I’m very strong in the fact that I don’t want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Because if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it immediately. I think she’s probably a little softer on that issue, but it’s okay.”

This is a developing story and has been updated.

The post BREAKING: Tulsi Gabbard Resigns From Trump’s Cabinet first appeared on Mediaite.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

President Donald Trump’s White House sent a letter Thursday to Senate Republicans on the main talking points in support of the $1.8 billion “weaponization fund.”

The Department of Justice announced the fund as a way to pay back those who were victims of the supposed weaponization of the legal system. The fund came on the heels of Trump — along with his Trump Organization and his sons — reaching a settlement in the president’s highly unusual lawsuit against the IRS. It was widely believed the fund would primarily benefit those who were convicted for their roles in the January 6 Capitol riot.

On Wednesday morning, Punchbowl News reporter Andrew Desiderio obtained a letter sent from the White House to the officers of GOP senators. The letter included multiple benefits explaining who can receive compensation. It read:

What is the Anti-Weaponization Fund?

• The Anti-Weaponization Fund was created to hear and redress claims of Americans who suffered from lawfare and weaponization, defined as the use of government power to target them for “improper and unlawful” reasons.
• The Fund results from the settlement of a case involving unlawfully leaking tax returns, unlawfully searching the President’s home, and improperly targeting/investigating the President.

Who will benefit from the Fund?

• This is about seeking accountability for all Americans who were victims of lawfare and weaponization: millions of Americans whose online speech was censored at the behest of the government, parents silenced at schoolboards, Senators whose records were secretly subpoenaed, churchgoers targeted by the FBI, and so on.
• Submission of a claim is voluntary—nobody is required to do so. That is why court approval was not required.
• There is no partisan restriction: Democrats can submit claims, too.
• As part of the settlement, the President, his sons, and the Trump Organization, LLC will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They cannot receive any money from the Fund, either.

The letter also detailed the structure of the committee that will oversee the fund. The members of the committee will be appointed by Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The post Trump White House Hands Out ‘Weaponization Fund’ Talking Points to GOP Senators first appeared on Mediaite.

Flipper Devices, the company behind the semi-infamous Flipper Zero "hacking" multi-tool, is developing a Linux-powered mini-PC with the goal of creating a "truly open hardware platform." The Flipper One is described as a pocket-sized ARM device for high-performance computing, IP networking, and on-device AI use. The device is in development, so there is no price or release date as yet.

The Flipper One is being built on a Rockchip RK3576 processor and the modular design means it can be expanded. "Flipper Zero taught us how much you can do with a tightly scoped, open product and a community that pushes it further than you can. Flipper One is what happens when we apply the same approach to a much bigger problem—building a fully open ARM Linux device that doesn't go obsolete the moment it ships," Pavel Zhovner, Co-founder and CEO of Flipper Devices, said in a press release.

In keeping with the Flipper "open everything" ethos, the Flipper One is a community developed project, and anyone who wants to can check in and/or help out through the Developer Portal.

What you will be able to do with a Flipper One

Network debugging: The Flipper One will feature high-speed connectivity, including Ethernet, wi-fi 6E, and optional 5G, allowing it to function as an advanced network debugging tool.

On-Device AI: The Flipper One will have local AI hardware acceleration, so it will be able to handle compute-heavy tasks without needing a cloud connection.

Wireless analysis: The device will capture and analyze wireless traffic and network signals in real time.

Who is the Flipper One for?

If you work in network administration, you probably already know why you need or don't need a Flipper One, but if you're just a casual tech enthusiast or tinkerer, it might provide a powerful sandbox. Here are some potential uses:

• As a retro console: Presumably, it will have enough power to run Linux video game emulation software, so you could connect a Bluetooth controller, plug into a TV, and have a powerful portable gaming rig in your pocket.

• As a home server: You could use this to run a network-wide ad-blocker, or use it as a portable media server that could be accessed by any device on your wifi.

• As private AI: Since it can run artificial intelligence, you can experiment with LLMs in complete privacy.

• To learn about the devices around you: We are surrounded by Bluetooth beacons, wifi probes, and radio signals we never think about. This will give you some insight into that invisible world.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) danced around the question of whether the January 6 rioters who assaulted police officers would be eligible for President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” as he appeared before reporters on Wednesday.

Johnson was giving a press briefing on Capitol Hill when CNN’s chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju asked him if he was OK with “the ones who attacked police” collecting on the $1.776 billion fund.

“Would you be OK if January 6 rioters, the ones who were convicted, even some of the ones who attacked police, had access to these taxpayer dollars, $1.8 billion settlement that the DOJ has created the settlement fund. Would it be OK if they had access to that money?” Raju asked.

Johnson — sighing, rolling his eyes, and shaking his head at the question — replied, “We don’t know any of the details of that settlement fund. The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche testified yesterday, and he got a lot of detail. And I’ll just defer to what he said. Because he obviously knows a lot more about it than I do.”

When Raju tried to interrupt, Johnson cut in, saying, “Let me tell you what he said. He said they are setting up a fund to compensate all Americans who have been the subject, the target, of lawfare or weaponization of the federal government.

Johnson added, “Again, that’s not a partisan proposition either. Everybody should support that. He did not say who would be eligible — there’s many details to be filled on that. I’m not going to comment on that ’til it comes out.”

The controversial settlement with the Department of Justice, which came after Trump dropped a lawsuit against the IRS, has been denounced by critics as a “slush fund.”

Also on Wednesday, Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, two police officers, filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from giving a dime to the rioters who faced off against cops during the Capitol riot.

“Although Trump and his cronies have been secretive about the fund’s ends, reporting leaves no doubt that it will be used, among other purposes, to pay the nearly 1,600 people charged with attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,” the lawsuit says.

Watch above via C-SPAN.

The post Mike Johnson Grilled on Whether J6 Rioters Who Assaulted Cops Can Cash In on $1.8B ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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The Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are the most recent entry in Sony's 1000X series, which has been around since 2016. They're the best over-ear headphones in terms of audio quality currently on the market—but not everyone can (or needs to) drop nearly half a grand on headphones (though they're currently at their lowest price right now with an additional $30 gift card).

The WH-1000XM5 are a generation older, and were at the top of their class until they were supplanted by the XM6. On the plus side, by virtue of being older, they're currently discounted to $248 (down from the original $399.99). That's $5 off the lowest price they've ever reached, according to price-tracking tools, a good deal for cans that still sound incredible, even in 2026.

Sony WH-1000XM5

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$248.00 at Amazon

$399.99 Save $151.99

I have been a loyal customer of the 1000X line for many years; they're my go-to headphones for most activities. The WH-1000XM5 came out to an "outstanding" review from PCMag for their top-notch audio quality and exceptional audio when using the best-in-class active noise-canceling. The headphones are also well-designed to be comfortable for long listening sessions. The ear controls use tapping and swiping, which isn't my favorite, but it's what all modern headphones are moving toward. There's a companion app that lets you adjust your EQ settings to your liking, including what the swiping and tapping functions do.

These headphones also have a stereo 3.5mm connection, which is perfect for those who want to use a cable and not worry about battery life. And speaking of battery life, Sony says you can expect about 30 hours, but it will vary depending on your use of ANC. They are compatible with AAC, LDAC and SBC codecs and have multipoint connection, meaning you can pair them with more than one device at the same time.