The interim "president" of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez issued several statements on Wednesday thanking the government of the United States for offering aid following a devastating earthquake in her country — a dramatic reversal from her previous stance of actively discouraging starving Venezuelans from accepting American aid.
The post Times Have Changed: Socialist Venezuela Thanks Trump, Asks Private Sector for Earthquake Aid appeared first on Breitbart.
Democrat Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has made the rising cost of living a centerpiece of his political identity.
"The average Super Bowl ticket now costs $6,773. That's not just a game — it's a luxury bill," he wrote on X in February. "For too many working Americans, seeing the biggest sporting event in person would take ... months of rent just to afford one ticket."
'He's using campaign cash to live a luxury lifestyle.'
Federal campaign finance records reviewed by Politico show donor money has been footing the bill for his travel.
Gallego, who has campaigned as a working-class fighter from Phoenix, has spent liberally across two donor-funded accounts — on luxury resorts, private jet flights, family trips to Disney parks, and repeated personal reimbursements.
Twenty days after launching his Senate campaign, Gallego and then-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) used their joint fundraising committee, Swallego Victory Fund, to attend and host a Super Bowl LVII fundraiser in Glendale, Arizona, Politico reported. Filings show the committee spent $34,700 on "event tickets" and $2,700 at the Henry, a Phoenix restaurant.
The fund raised $56,505 total and dissolved Jan. 1, 2025.
Swalwell later resigned amid sexual assault and harassment allegations from multiple women, which he called "false." Gallego said he did not know about Swalwell's alleged behavior, but the joint committee leaves their finances and names linked in the public record.
RELATED: Democrats close ranks around Graham Platner despite string of scandals
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc./Getty Images
Records show Gallego has tapped his leadership PAC and main campaign committee for more than $18,000 in child care reimbursements since 2019 — including $400 to an individual Politico identified as his wife's mother for babysitting — with his wife, three kids, and au pair joining him on the road at donors' expense.
"He just spends his campaign account like it's his personal slush fund," a person granted anonymity told Politico. "He's using campaign cash to live a luxury lifestyle."
Gallego pushed back. "This is not breaking news," he told Politico.
"Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House alike regularly travel with their wives and children, as is permitted by the FEC." Leadership PACs have broad latitude under FEC rules as long as spending has some fundraising function.
Gallego's JUNTOS PAC records reviewed by Blaze News reveal additional spending: nine payments totaling $115,000 to Wheels Up, a private jet membership company, listed as "fundraising consulting services"; more than $60,000 at the Phoenician, a luxury Scottsdale resort; three payments totaling roughly $10,200 to the Dorado Beach Ritz-Carlton in Puerto Rico; and a single staffer who received more than $54,000 in reimbursements, including a $43,847 payment for "travel and catering."
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) asked Senate leadership in April to investigate Gallego over allegations "sexual in nature" and potential campaign finance violations. His office called them "right-wing conspiracy theories." Senate Majority Leader John Thune confirmed that the matter was referred to the Senate Ethics Committee.
Gallego has since established a legal defense fund in May.
"He is one of the most vetted candidates after his tough 2024 campaign," said Jacques Petit, a spokesperson for Gallego.
The drip of revelations arrives at a delicate moment. Gallego is among Democrats eyeing a potential 2028 presidential bid, alongside Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Sen. Gallego did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.
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Executive compensation records for Giffords, Everytown, and the Brady Campaign show that the gun control lobby's pockets are deep.
The post Executive Compensation Shows Gun Control Lobby’s Deep Pockets appeared first on Breitbart.
Once again, a left-wing radical has gone to unhinged lengths to prove his hatred for conservatives.
On May 6, Ohio leftist blogger Donald “D.J.” Byrnes allegedly texted state Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland) a picture of a nude Shrek “pleasuring himself” following Cirino’s public announcement that he was withdrawing from the race for Ohio Senate president.
In addition to the digitally altered image, Byrnes allegedly sent a message that read: “Good to see you finally made your final humiliation public, young Mussolini!”
According to reports, Byrnes later posted on Bluesky, “Jerry Cirino has seen Shrek’s dong,” with a screenshot of the text.
On June 1, Byrnes was arrested on a misdemeanor telecommunications harassment warrant after Cirino complained about the lewd text. He spent roughly 23 hours in jail before release and now faces up to 180 days in jail plus a fine if convicted.
BlazeTV hosts Stu Burguiere and Dave Landau broke down the absurd incident on their show "Stu and Dave Do America."
Dave notes Byrnes’ failed political career. Before writing confrontational progressive blog posts became his full-time endeavor, he ran as a Democrat for the Ohio House of Representatives in District 80 in the 2018 general election and lost badly to a Republican.
“He wanted to be a lawmaker, but he didn't consider this might be illegal,” Dave chuckles.
Stu then reads Cirino’s response to Byrnes’ explicit text message: “I don’t know who this is, but I am certain you’re a moron.”
“I like that response,” he laughs.
Dave agrees with Cirino’s “moron” insult, emphasizing the stupidity of sending a pornographic image from your personal phone number.
“Just by watching ‘Breaking Bad’ that came out in '08, I can tell you there's burner phones,” he laughs. “And you used your phone.”
“I mean, it's almost like he wanted him to know who it was,” adds Stu. “He wanted to say, like, ‘I'm dancing on your grave,’ or whatever the equivalent of Shrek's penis would be in that analogy.”
Byrnes, he notes, only had to pay “$350” to get out of jail — just 10% of his $3,500 bail.
“I feel like $350 is more than they've ever made as a writer,” Dave quips.
To hear more, watch the episode above.
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Establishment liberals are fighting a rearguard action against radical socialists inside the Democratic Party.
They lost more ground on Tuesday when a troop of democratic socialist candidates endorsed by fellow traveler New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani knocked off a pair of incumbents in New York's Democratic primary elections — Rep. Daniel Goldman and five-term Rep. Adriano Espaillat.
'Seize the means of production.'
As more comes out about the character of the victorious socialists for whom Mamdani held the door open, it seems that the ascendant radicals may be more radical than even the mayor.
In a softball interview Wednesday on MS NOW, talking head Ali Velshi pressed Darializa Avila Chevalier — the Muslim convert who beat Espaillat 49.4% to 45.9% and previously helped lead the destructive 2023-2024 Columbia University encampment — about President Donald Trump's characterization of her and other candidates in Tuesday's primary races as "communists."
"Donald Trump talked about communists being elected last night. There were three of you in the congressional races, and there were five people who Zohran Mamdani supported in state races. All eight of you won," said Velshi. "How do avoid becoming the ad for Republicans?"
RELATED: CNN data analyst stunned by Democratic Party's takeover by Mamdani's fellow travelers
Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images
"You will be a member of the Democrat delegation, and you're going appear in all sorts of people's ads," continued Velshi. "All sorts of Republicans' ads [will] say, 'This is what you're going to get if you vote for the Democrats — a communist.'"
Avila Chevalier — the co-founder of a group that posted "death to America" on social media earlier this year and called for the "total eradication of Western civilization" — did not bother challenging her characterization as a communist but instead expressed pride in dodging the question and tossed Velshi a word salad.
"That framing is one that I've been very proud to be able to say I don't respond to, one in which I have been very intentional to say I won't be reactive," said the radical who identifies as an "Afro-Latina" Dominican daughter of immigrants. "We are presenting a vision of what we're fighting for, and I think for far too long we have had politics that is reactive to what Republicans are doing. What we need is Democrats who are actually going to present a positive vision."
Despite talking around whether she is a communist, Avila Chevalier told Velshi, "I will always be honest about my position on things."
Before she apparently deleted her X account, thousands of Avila Chevalier's posts were archived. If as honest in recent years about her views as she purportedly is now, then it appears Trump's "communist" characterization is more than fair.
In addition to sharing a post that called for the state takeover of parts of the economy; the nationalization of utilities, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies; the suspension of rent payments; and the seizure of "all properties from landlords," CNN reported that Avila Chevalier tweeted or retweeted the following messages:
Earlier this month, Avila Chevalier said in a statement to CNN, "I have grown considerably since in the years since these tweets, and I am focused on our community and our community’s future."
Some of the tweets were as recent as 2022.
In her victory speech on Tuesday night, Chevalier — who, according to the Guardian, was recruited to run for Congress by Justice Democrats, the same outfit that backed democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — said that her primary success signaled "a new dawn" for the district.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!Rep. James Comer (R-KY) is demanding documents from the ATF related to alleged Biden-era communications with Mike Bloomberg-affiliated Everytown for Gun Safety.
The post Rep. Comer Investigates Alleged Ties Between Biden ATF and Everytown appeared first on Breitbart.
A company in Greensboro, North Carolina, is looking to make sure nothing in your car goes unnoticed.
Automated license plate recognition cameras are already a widespread issue across the country, and they are about to get a lot smarter.
'SignalTrace correlates each digital fingerprint with a plate number.'
ALPR company Flock already has over 100,000 cameras installed throughout the United States, and with a simple upgrade, they could be capable of capturing every signal being put out from your car.
Enter North Carolina company Leonardo. Its product SignalTrace is designed to capture "the unique signals emitted from each device," which then "creates a digital fingerprint for devices that routinely travel together."
Examples are cell phones, smart watches, Bluetooth devices, earbuds, and Wi-Fi signals.
"SignalTrace correlates each digital fingerprint with a plate number, through common time stamps," meaning all the additional signals are attached to the same profile of the license plate at that time.
The data "indicates where and when a suspect is traveling and if multiple suspects are traveling together," the company says.
RELATED: Traffic cones and barrels are spying on you — what are they hiding?
Leonardo boasts that it already works with more than 5,000 law enforcement agencies across the globe and specifically holds contracts in New York, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, New Mexico, and Ohio.
The scope of the company's work relies on its data amalgamation. The company creates profiles based not just on license plate numbers, but through a complex network of all its products, including video cameras, license plate readers, parking enforcement, and SignalTrace.
The information is all stored in a database, where it can be "queried and analyzed to aid investigations."
SignalTrace is even effective in "off-road areas such as in subways and malls," the company writes.
RELATED: This new tech defeats license plate cameras 'ethically and legally'
RJ Sangosti/Denver Post/Getty Images
The correlated signals from devices are meant to match a license plate to a person in the event of a stolen vehicle, but can work even more directly in tracking a wanted individual or potentially just a person of interest.
If certain signals are matched to the legal owner of license plate, then those signals could be used to identify a person even if he is not in his car, working as an unofficial and nonconsensual form of digital ID.
Leonardo says it respects "individuals' privacy rights" and does not decrypt or read content from devices, but simply reveals signatures that are frequently traveling together within a vehicle.
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The U.S. economy grew at a significantly swifter pace than previously estimated during the first three months of the year. Gross domestic product, the government’s broad economic scorecard, rose at a 2.1 percent annual rate in the January through March
The post GDP Growth Unexpectedly Revised Higher for First Quarter appeared first on Breitbart.