Day: January 8, 2026
TEARS OF A CLOWN: Mamdani’s ‘Tenant Czar’ Cries, Bolts After $1.6M House Hypocrisy Question
Old social media posts come back to haunt the Mamdani pick… Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s newly installed tenant advocate, Cea Weaver, got emotional Wednesday morning as she ducked reporters’ questions about what critics are calling gentrification hypocrisy.
WATCH NOW: Karoline Leavitt, Cabinet Members Brief Amid South America Escalation
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is set to brief reporters Wednesday morning as the administration flexes after the U.
WATCH NOW: House Oversight Hearing on Minnesota Fraud, Misuse of Federal Funds
Minnesota state lawmakers are set to testify Wednesday before the Republican-led House Oversight Committee on allegations of fraud and misuse of federal funds tied to the state.
It’s Time to Rename January After Donald Trump
Historians may quibble over the sequencing, but no serious person can deny that Donald Trump will be remembered—alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln—as one of America’s greatest presidents. Some might argue it’s too early to start naming things after Trump while he’s still alive and in office, but those people are fools.
The post It’s Time to Rename January After Donald Trump appeared first on .
Mamdani’s Communist Housing Official Said Her ‘Goal Is To Have the Housing Actually Be Worth Less’
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D., N.Y.) top housing official, Cea Weaver, openly declared plans to destroy property values in New York City during a May 2021 podcast appearance alongside her new boss.
The post Mamdani’s Communist Housing Official Said Her ‘Goal Is To Have the Housing Actually Be Worth Less’ appeared first on .
Tim Walz Suggests Prosecutor Who Indicted Somali Fraudsters Should Be Fired: ‘We Are Under Assault’
Minnesota governor Tim Walz (D.) suggested the federal prosecutor behind the Somali fraud convictions in the state should be fired, accusing him of “defamation” for providing an estimate of the total amount defrauded from Medicaid programs.
The post Tim Walz Suggests Prosecutor Who Indicted Somali Fraudsters Should Be Fired: ‘We Are Under Assault’ appeared first on .
California Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Steyer Funds Pro-Hamas Group That Calls Cops ‘Pigs’
Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist running for California governor, bankrolls a left-wing nonprofit that refers to police officers as “pigs” and has spouted anti-Semitic tropes in defense of Hamas.
The post California Gubernatorial Candidate Tom Steyer Funds Pro-Hamas Group That Calls Cops ‘Pigs’ appeared first on .
United States Seizes Two Venezuela-Linked Oil Tankers, Including One Escorted by Russian Navy
U.S. forces on Wednesday seized two oil tankers linked to Venezuela in coordinated operations in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean, including one vessel that was traveling under escort from Russian naval ships, according to U.S. officials.
The post United States Seizes Two Venezuela-Linked Oil Tankers, Including One Escorted by Russian Navy appeared first on .
‘Humiliation ritual’: What the FBI did to this whistleblower should terrify EVERY American
Telling the truth inside the federal government now comes with a price — and Steve Friend has paid it over and over again.
“I received news right before Christmas that you had been fired by the FBI,” BlazeTV host Steve Deace tells Steve Friend on the “Steve Deace Show.”
It all started when Friend was assigned to what he calls “the most important, highest-priority case in the history of the FBI” — January 6. This ultimately led to Friend becoming a whistleblower in 2022 when he saw the way the government was weaponizing the law to go after American citizens.
“What I found was that so few people who are currently in the employ of our federal government, in the employ of the FBI, were willing to actually stand by my side when I brought forward my concerns,” Friend tells Deace.
“And that resulted in my ultimate suspension and eventually having my security clearance suspended and permanently revoked,” he explains.
While Friend was promised that things would be different under the Trump administration, it hasn’t changed — and has ended in his termination from the FBI.
“I get a phone call Sunday night, December 7, from the FBI that says I am to report to work the following day. And I did. I reported to work Monday, December 8,” Friend tells Deace. “Was actually driven to Jacksonville. I was not the recipient of a gun because I didn’t have an active security clearance.”
“The FBI, in fact, told me they couldn’t assign me any work, and I had to be escorted around like a prisoner through the facility because they couldn’t allow me to have unfettered access to their facility. I didn’t have access to a computer, a cell phone,” he continues, noting that he did receive credentials and went to work the next few days.
“I had no insurance information, no back pay, and finally was told, ‘You have 400 hours of vacation time. Feel free to use it,’” he adds.
When Friend decided to use the vacation time to take his wife to Tampa for a Christmas event, he got a call asking him to come back to the office — to which he responded that he was out of pocket and couldn’t be there.
“They said, ‘Okay, come back on Monday.’ An hour later, got a text message from Caitlin Doornbos, a journalist from the New York Post, that said she was working on a story about the FBI planning to fire me and wanted a comment,” he tells Deace.
“So, apparently, the plan was in that they were going to bring me back as a sort of humiliation ritual to fire me, but they didn’t execute it properly because they leaked it to the media to besmirch my reputation before they had actually fired me,” he says.
“Wound up getting a termination letter signed, autographed by Kash Patel himself dismissing me as an FBI agent,” he continues, adding, “and then 90 minutes later, the New York Post dropped their story, and then MAGA Inc. influencer crowd went to work to try to besmirch me and say that I had issued some sort of a veiled threat to the director but somehow got a credential and badge 72 hours later.”
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Nick Reiner’s high-powered attorney withdraws from case — but insists former client ‘is not guilty of murder. Print that!’
High-powered attorney Alan Jackson on Wednesday said he “had to withdraw” from the murder case focusing on his now-former client Nick Reiner, who is accused of murdering his parents — Hollywood icon Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70 — last month.
Jackson told reporters that “circumstances beyond our control — but more importantly beyond Nick’s control — have dictated that sadly it’s made it impossible for us to continue our representation of Nick.”
Prosecutors have said they have not yet decided if they will seek the death penalty.
Jackson added that he’s “legally and ethically prohibited from explaining all the reasons why” he withdrew from the case but noted that he and his team “remain deeply, deeply committed to Nick Reiner and his best interests.”
The attorney also told reporters that “we’re not just convinced — we know — that the legal process will reveal the true facts of the circumstances surrounding this case, Nick’s case” and that “we’ve investigated this matter top to bottom, back to front. What we’ve learned — and you can take this to the bank — is that pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder. Print that! Print that!”
Nick Reiner did not enter a plea when he returned to court Wednesday and is now assigned a public defender, Kimberly Green, KABC-TV reported, adding that he will return to court Feb. 23 and remains in jail on no bail.
The New York Times said Jackson withdrawing from the case “may suggest that the Reiner family — Nick has two siblings — has distanced itself from [Nick] Reiner and his legal case, at least financially.
Nick Reiner, 32 — who faces two counts of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of multiple murders — in court spoke only when the judge asked if he waives his right to a speedy trial, saying, “Yes, I agree, your honor,” KABC reported.
Reiner was ordered to remain behind bars at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles without bail following his first court appearance on Dec. 17, when he wore shackles and a suicide prevention smock, the station said.
Reiner reportedly was removed from suicide watch ahead of his arraignment, KABC reported, adding that he could enter a not guilty plea by reason of insanity.
More from the station:
If Nick Reiner pleads not guilty next month, the case would normally head toward a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for him to stand trial. His mental competence for trial could also be a factor.
A decade ago, Nick Reiner publicly discussed his severe struggles with addiction and mental health after making a movie with his father, “Being Charlie,” that was very loosely based on their lives.
The Reiners were killed early in the morning of Dec. 14 and were found in the late afternoon the same day, authorities said, according to KABC.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said in initial findings that the couple died from “multiple sharp force injuries” but released no other details, the station said, adding that police have said nothing about possible motives.
The counts against Reiner come with special circumstances of multiple murders and an allegation that he used a dangerous weapon, a knife, KABC said, adding that the additions could mean a more severe sentence.
Prosecutors have said they have not yet decided if they will seek the death penalty, the station added.
Blood allegedly was found in a hotel room Nick Reiner checked into hours after arguing with his famed moviemaker father at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party, which took place Dec. 13.
Nick Reiner’s behavior alarmed guests at the party, the New York Times reported in a separate story, citing two attendees who asked not to be named in order to maintain relationships.
More from the Times:
Rob and Nick Reiner got into a shouting match at the party in West Los Angeles, said one of the attendees, who recalled Rob Reiner telling his son that his behavior was inappropriate. The attendee, who did not speak to the Reiners at the party, said that people seemed to be very aware of Nick Reiner’s history with drug abuse, which the family has discussed publicly.
Another attendee said that he did not witness the dispute, but he recognized Rob Reiner in the crowd and noticed the younger Reiner hovering at the fringes of the informal gathering. The guest said that he and other attendees were worried and that several people commented to him on Nick Reiner’s behavior, saying he looked anxious and uncomfortable in a way that deeply unsettled them.
The Reiners were upset and embarrassed about their son’s behavior at the party and expressed worries about his health, NBC News reported, citing another person.
What’s more, Nick Reiner was alleged to have interrupted a conversation involving comedian Bill Hader, NBC News added. When Hader told Nick Reiner that the conversation was private, the source told the news network that Nick Reiner appeared to pause and stare before “storming off.” Hader did not return a request for comment, NBC News also said.
Nick Reiner hours later used his credit card to check into the Pierside Santa Monica hotel around 4 a.m. Dec. 14, TMZ reported, citing sources with direct knowledge.
Eyewitnesses who saw Nick Reiner check into the hotel told TMZ he seemed “tweaked out,” but there were no visible signs that he had been in a violent confrontation, and there were no bloodstains or cuts on his body.
TMZ added that Nick Reiner’s reservation was for one day, but he never formally checked out.
When hotel staff entered Nick Reiner’s room later on the morning of Dec. 14, they found the shower “full of blood” and blood on the bed, TMZ reported, adding that the room’s window was covered by bedsheets.
TMZ said Nick Reiner was located and arrested about 20 miles away in Exposition Park, near downtown Los Angeles, around 9:15 p.m. Dec. 14; authorities were called for medical aid to the Reiner home around 3:30 p.m. Dec. 14, after which the bodies of the Reiner couple were found.
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