Trump is supposedly involved in a war with Iran that is spreading throughout the Middle East, but all he really seems to care about is tearing down the White House to build a giant, garish ballroom, putting his name on buildings, and imposing his ideological views on all of us.
Yesterday, it was the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a building dedicated to an assassinated president.
Simmering turmoil over the future of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts boiled over on Tuesday as the center abruptly closed to the public and President Trump threatened to cancel a planned $257 million renovation if his name was not returned to the front of the building.
Allies of Mr. Trump have been pushing for months to close the center for major renovations and to honor the president by affixing his name to its marble facade. A federal judge has blocked both efforts.
On Tuesday, the center aggressively tested the judge’s order not to close by shutting its doors in what officials called an emergency action designed to protect people from deteriorating conditions inside the building. Shortly after 4:30 p.m., employees heard a sudden notice on the P.A. system: “The center is now closed to the public. Please exit the center by way of the Hall of States.”
A security guard stands in front of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
By the evening, security guards stationed outside entrances to the main lobby were turning people away. One officer said the building had just closed.
The Kennedy Center said in a statement that an immediate temporary closure of the building was necessary for safety reasons but that an extended closure would begin once the court gives its approval. Earlier on Tuesday, the center’s Trump-allied board voted — for a third time — to close the building, citing a recent incident in which a five-foot-long section of ceiling plaster fell amid a storm.
But lawyers for Representative Joyce Beatty, a Democratic ex officio board member whose lawsuit is at the center of the court battle, signaled that they would view any closure as in direct conflict with a court order.
“If true,” the lawyers, Norm Eisen and Nathaniel Zelinsky, said in a statement, “it would appear a direct violation of the court’s order and courting contempt.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Judge Christopher R. Cooper barred the center from honoring Mr. Trump with an inscription on the institution’s exterior. He ruled it would violate his previous order that blocked the board from renaming the center.
“Simply put, defendants cannot install memorials for President Trump or anyone or anything else at the Kennedy Center without Congress’s blessing,” Judge Cooper wrote. “The board resolution bucks a federal court order and a statute Congress enacted.”
A bit more:
For weeks, Mr. Trump’s allies have suggested that the president’s continued commitment to the Kennedy Center was contingent on some conspicuous acknowledgment on the center’s exterior. A recent draft resolution submitted to board members said the center was at risk of bankruptcy but could be saved by fund-raising by Mr. Trump — if he were to receive “appropriate recognition.”
Mr. Trump’s made that quid pro quo even more clear in his social media post on Tuesday. It said that $17 million raised by the president had been put into the center’s account “to keep it afloat.”
The post followed a day of rage directed at those blocking his agenda for the Kennedy Center. Shortly before the judge’s ruling was publicly released, Mr. Trump declared on social media that the center was in a “virtual state of collapse.” He called Judge Cooper “very hostile and conflicted” and predicted that the building was “destined to doom” unless it was allowed to close.
Mr. Trump continued those arguments during a virtual board meeting on Tuesday afternoon, where he got into a bitter argument with Ms. Beatty, according to two people familiar with the meeting. They said that Mr. Trump and Ms. Beatty, who have been at odds in court for months, traded personal attacks: The president said the congresswoman had “never built anything” in her life, while Ms. Beatty called Trump “ignorant” and blamed him for the center’s financial problems.
President Donald Trump threw a “tantrum” during a Kennedy Center board meeting when he learned that a federal judge blocked his administration’s latest effort to put his name on the institution’s building, according to a Democratic congresswoman who serves on the board.
Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio)
Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, the lead plaintiff who the judge sided with in his ruling, recounted the heated Sept. 15 meeting in an appearance on MS NOW. She said it opened with attorneys informing the board ‒ which Trump chairs after he appointed himself ‒ that in the case of Beaty v. Trump, “Beatty had been victorious.”
“And he went into a tantrum,” Beatty said. “I mean, let me just make it simple. It was the most unprofessional thing that I’ve ever witnessed or been a part of. He went into name-calling, everything from trying to say that I was an obstructionist, I was dumb. He said, ‘I think you’re incompetent.’ And I said, ‘I know you’re incompetent.’”
Shortly before the board met, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that the Kennedy Center’s plan to add an inscription below the building’s sign to honor Trump’s financial contributions violates federal law and the judge’s previous ruling in May ordering the Kennedy Center to remove Trump’s name from the center’s title and signage.
As the president aired his frustrations to her, Beatty said she asked the president, “‘Are we really going to do this? This is really unprofessional.’ But I was not going to let him call me awful things. And he said he was going to hold me responsible if something fell out of the ceiling (of the Kennedy Center) and killed someone.”
One of former President John F. Kennedy’s nieces accused President Donald Trump of taking the Kennedy Center “hostage” after Trump said he wouldn’t spend congressionally approved funding for the center’s renovation unless the building also bears his name.
The comments by Kerry Kennedy, whose father was Robert F. Kennedy, followed a ruling by a federal judge blocking the performing arts center’s board from adding a tribute to Trump on the building or site.
About an hour after that ruling, the board, which is controlled by Trump appointees, voted to close the center immediately for renovations.
Trump, in a social media post following the board’s vote, then said those renovations will not take place unless his name is added onto the building.
Kerry Kennedy
Congress last year appropriated $257 million for the renovation. In a Tuesday interview with CNN, Kennedy described the board’s efforts as “a tragedy,” adding that the center is loved by many and the public “see the corruption of this.”
“President Trump has said they have $250 million ready to hand over tomorrow,” Kennedy said. “He’s just withholding it because he wants his name on the building. So, this is like so many other things that trump has touched. It’s a bankruptcy because he adds his name to it.” [….]
In a direct appeal to the president, Kennedy said, “President Trump, please focus on what’s important. Leave the Kennedy center alone. Allow us to move forward with this great art center, this monument to a slain president, and leave it alone. Focus on your job.”
Kennedy’s comments on CNN on Tuesday followed a similar statement released by another niece, Maria Shriver, who also described Trump’s threat to prevent renovations a “tragedy.” Shriver described Trump as “small minded” and “narcissistic.”
Appealing to Trump to be reasonable is useless. He has the maturity of a 3 year-old child, if that.
Trump is also trying to leave his mark on the Smithsonian.
President Trump remains determined to install warning signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to alert the public that the institution, in his view, does not accurately present U.S. history.
In letters to two senators, the Interior Department outlined a plan for 12 temporary signs to be installed at a total cost of $84,000. The letters did not specify the dimensions or language of the signs, which were originally ordered in July, but it went into considerable detail about the kind of information they plan to convey.
In the letter to Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, dated Sept. 3, Doug Burgum, the interior secretary, said he was responding to questions about Mr. Trump’s March 2025 executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The order described a “revisionist movement” across the country that it said “seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.”
Smithsonian Museam of American History
Americans should enter the National Museum of American History “with relevant information about the curators’ interpretation of history and their stated goal of changing the viewpoints of visitors,” said the letter, which was earlier reported in The Atlantic on Tuesday. Instead, the letter argued, the museum and Smithsonian’s leaders “have altered the museum’s role from accurately and coherently telling America’s story to using the museum as a tool to advance personal, radical ideologies.”
“We believe the public should enter the museum fully equipped with the information needed,” the letter said, “to evaluate whether to invest their time viewing these exhibits and programming.”
The museum’s director, Anthea M. Hartig, has contested the thrust of a July 4 White House report that accused her of “radical activist ideology” and the museum of undermining “faith in American institutions.”
Though the letter said that the language of the signs had not been finalized and gave no installation timeline, it described some of the topics they were intended to address, all of which had been outlined in the White House report.
For example, the letter said the signs should “ensure parents bringing young children to the museum are equipped to protect the well-being of their children” regarding exhibits that “present ideological viewpoints inconsistent with biology, including ideologies that sex is not binary, that biological men can be women and that biological men should be permitted to compete in women’s sports.”
Mr. Burgum’s letter said a copy had also been sent to Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon.
A person familiar with the plans described some of the preparations to me. Although the Park Service has an idea of the physical structure of the signs, what the signs will actually say and who is writing the text remains a mystery to people in the agency working on them, said the person, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the record. The letter from Burgum says that the signs are not finalized, but it offers a preview of what they might look like, describing a number of things “visitors should know” before they enter the museum. Burgum, whose department includes the Park Service, extensively quotes the museum’s director, Anthea Hartig, and criticizes outgoing Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch, seeking to frame both as ideologues. The letter also calls out exhibitions and materials that have touched on groups the administration has gone after, such as undocumented immigrants and transgender Americans.
“The informational signage therefore will provide visitors with important context about the exhibits they are about to encounter and the personal viewpoints that the curators of the exhibits are seeking to advance,” the letter says. It goes on to justify the move, echoing a 162-page report on the museum released by the White House and asserting that the museum is pushing “ideologies that distract from a coherent and accurate presentation of America’s story.” Burgum adds, “This may be the first instance in which executive branch intervention of this nature has become Necessary.”
Trump also wants a giant statue of George Washington installed.
The Smithsonian, which is partially federally funded, has historically operated independently, has its own governing body, and is regarded in the wider museum world as measured in its approach. The institution has been heading off threats and criticism from the Trump administration since March 2025. Recently, the administration’s attention has turned to the American-history museum, which Trump made a number of curatorial demands of on social media this past Friday, including insisting that it remove an abstract sculpture and erect a 30-foot-tall George Washington statue in its place. Although the Trump administration has accused the Smithsonian, and specifically the American-history museum, of not being patriotic enough, the museum’s leadership has pointed to the abundance of patriotic material on display inside—368 objects and 340 labels on the founding era; 54 George Washington mentions, according to Hartig—and has maintained that telling the American story in its full complexity is a crucial part of its role.
Use the gift link to read more if you’re interested.
This is breaking news. Speaker Mike Johnson just sent House members home again in order to avoid a vote on impeaching Pete Hegseth. Yesterday Rep. Thomas Massie read articles of impeachment on the House floor. Today he tried to force a vote.
Outgoing Republican Rep. Thomas Massie seized the House floor for more than an hour Tuesday afternoon, launching a long-shot effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stemming from his controversial administration over the Pentagon, including the war in Iran.
Rep Thomas Massie introduces a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 15, 2026.
After sending a news release announcing his intent to impeach Hegseth, Massie quickly appeared on the floor where he stood for more than 67 minutes reading the sweeping 34-page resolution with eight articles of impeachment aloud.
“Secretary Hegseth has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as Secretary of Defense and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America,” Massie read from the resolution, contending that Hegseth will “remain a threat to civilians and the laws of war, the integrity of United States diplomacy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with his duties and the rule of law.”
“Peter Brian Hegseth thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States,” the resolution states….
The articles of impeachment against Hegseth include ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties, administering an “unlawful war” in Yemen, ordering extrajudicial killings, suppressing free speech and kidnapping a sovereign leader — alluding to the U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro early this year.
“Frankly, I was concerned that Mike Johnson would end Congress again, like shorten even our already truncated work period if he found out I was doing.
The House is going home again—this time to avoid a vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s impeachment.
House GOP leadership announced Wednesday morning that they will end their current slate of votes early and head home until the midterms, a nearly two-month break.
“Members are further advised that upon completion of today’s legislative business, votes are no longer expected in the House tomorrow, September 17th,” a message from the office of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer read. “The last votes for the week are expected at approximately 4:45 p.m. this afternoon. This is a change from the previously announced schedule.”
The House will now move up votes on cutting Environmental Protection Agency regulations to Wednesday.
The vote the House GOP is most notably avoiding regards outgoing Republican Representative Thomas Massie’s eight articles of impeachment against Hegseth for his handling of the Iran war and other “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Massie’s impeachment articles focused on Hegseth’s “waging the Iran war despite no declaration of war, statutory authorization, attack on the United States, or imminent threat,” and continuing to attack Iran after the War Powers Resolution expired. They also cited Hegseth’s suppression of Democratic Senator Mark Kelly’s right to free speech, initiating an unlawful war in Yemen, and “ignoring laws that minimize civilian casualties.” Massie said he hid his privileged resolution, which forces a vote within 48 hours, from House leadership.
I’ll end with some bad news and then good news.
The bad news: It’s no secret that Trump’s economy is struggling.
Global investors are balking at U.S. bonds. Talk of the dollar’s dwindling power is getting louder. Foreign governments are hauling their gold out of American vaults.
Almost two years into President Trump’s second term, the world economy is increasingly looking for ways to distance itself from America. Concerns about a $40 trillion debt burden, the excessive use of sanctions to solve foreign policy problems and Mr. Trump’s penchant for pushing the limits of the rule of law are raising questions about the appeal of the United States as a haven for global investment.
Despite pledges by foreign companies and nations to invest in the United States — in many cases to curry favor with the White House — capital is starting to seek alternative destinations.
“Geopolitical factors and U.S. weaponization of the dollar through financial sanctions are causing central banks and other official investors to attempt to diversify away from dollar assets,” said Eswar Prasad, the former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division.
The United States is not yet an investment pariah. Private investors are still pouring money into American financial markets and stocks, artificial intelligence infrastructure is booming and no rival currency is poised to topple the dollar imminently….
But cracks in America’s economic dominance are starting to show.
The most glaring example has been in the bond market. Yields have been soaring as investors nervous about the mounting national debt demand a higher rate of return for buying Treasury bonds. This week, the yield on the 10-year Treasury topped 5 percent, reaching its highest level since 2007.
A decision to raise rates on Wednesday could help to alleviate concerns about the Fed’s grip on elevated inflation, fears that have injected more jitters into bond markets.
Read more at the NYT link. (The Times is giving subscribers unlimited gift links now.)
How about some good news? There’s a new Times/Sienna poll out that looks good for Democrats.
Today’s New York Times/Siena poll finds that the conditions for a so-called wave in November’s midterm elections might be coming into place. The only question is whether — and where — Democrats will be able to ride it.
Overall, Democrats lead Republicans, 51 percent to 43 percent, among likely voters on the generic ballot question, which asks voters which party they will support for Congress in their district.
That’s “blue wave” territory. At least in terms of the national vote, the Democratic margin in the poll — 8.5 points — would almost exactly match the party’s 8.6-point margin in 2018. And it would exceed the winning margins for the party out of power in other recent wave elections, like in 1994, 2006 and 2010.
If, in the end, this election does prove to be a blue wave, it will be easy to explain. Historically, the party out of power fares well in midterm elections, and especially when the president is unpopular. The poll finds that President Trump’s approval rating is just 38 percent among likely voters — lower than any president heading into a midterm election since George W. Bush in 2006.
As my colleague Carl Hulse recently pointed out, there are a lot of similarities between Mr. Trump’s predicament today and Mr. Bush’s back in 2006. Mr. Bush was in a quagmire in Iraq and dogged by high gas prices. Today, Mr. Trump has just a 31 percent approval rating on the war in Iran, and a 28 percent rating on the cost of living.
Here again, 2006 offers a useful comparison: To flip the Senate, Democrats needed to win at least a few seats in states where Mr. Bush had won by at least eight points in the previous election. In the end, they pulled it off — but only barely, including two extremely narrow victories in Montana and Virginia. Without a fewfortunate breaks in those states, those races could have gone the other way — along with the Senate.
The national environment may have been great for Democrats, but a Senate win was far from inevitable.
There’s still plenty of time for Trump to alienate voters.
That’s all for me today. What’s on your mind?
Did you like this post? Please share it with your friends:
The Trump administration spent an estimated $9.5 billion last year on paid administrative leave for federal workers as it pushed to cut costs by shrinking the government, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday.
Agencies’ use of paid administrative leave jumped by 435% from 2023 to 2025, the report found, and salary costs from such leave rose sixfold. That coincides with President Donald Trump’s decision in 2025 to create the Department of Government Efficiency led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, which enacted mass firings and dissolved the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Much of the increased leave cost — about $6.7 billion — came from salary paid through a DOGE-era “deferred resignation program,” GAO found. Nearly 140,000 federal employees opted into the program, according to the Office of Personnel Management. It allowed for federal workers who agreed to quit in early 2025 to still be paid through September.
Wow, what a post, BB! Disturbing but so very informative. Why doesn’t this jerk just die already? He’s not governing, he’s careening through everything that means anything to this country and its past.
Thank goodness for judges, but who sends the sheriff to arrest him when he ignores an order?
he Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.
The $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 of the bombs, made up of 20,000 Mk84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final.
Congress has been informally notified about the pending deal, most of which is to be paid for with foreign military financing — in which U.S. taxpayer dollars are given to Israel to turn around and buy the weapons from the United States.
The proposed sale is just the latest in a series of Trump administration steps to improve Israeli’s military capacity. The conflict in Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and has decimated the enclave. The U.S. brokered a fragile ceasefire, but violence has continued.
And then there’s this. I guess he’s worrying what high gas prices are doing to US Voters.
Trump calls on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel, citing a global shortage
President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average.
Ukraine has for months been targeting Russia’s oil and gas industry with long-range strikes, prompting fuel rationing across the country and causing Moscow to ban diesel exports in July, removing supplies from the already tight global market.
Russia and Ukraine launch new attacks on energy despite Trump’s ceasefire claim
The president’s statement that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to pause strikes against each other’s energy infrastructure was followed by a night of strikes on energy infrastructure.
Looks like there’ll be no peace in his time. ANYWHERE!
“WE HAVE TO SHOVE ACCOUNTABILITY DOWN THEIR F***ING THROATS.” 🔥🔥Katie Phang delivers a fiery sign-off on today’s episode of Sidebar with Katie Phang: “I don’t want any of you to ever think that we can’t get through this. But I want us to thrive, not just survive.”
JUST IN: The House Oversight Committee voted unanimously to recommend that billionaire financier Leon Black be held in contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with subpoenas issued as part of the committee’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
No established news organization, official White House photographer or photo agency has been identified as the source of either image. Searches of White House material and photographs published by AP, Reuters and Getty Images did not locate a corresponding image from the purported encounter.
The two circulating pictures appear to be versions of the same scene rather than independent photographs corroborating one another. One is clearer, while the other is blurred and contains fewer details that can be examined.
The higher-resolution version contains several visual irregularities associated with AI-generated imagery. Harp’s visible hand appears to have six fingers, while parts of the golf equipment and background lack consistent shapes and detail. The lower-resolution image is too degraded for some of those anomalies to be seen clearly, but blurring an image does not establish that the underlying scene is authentic.
Newsweek also submitted both versions to Grok, the AI assistant developed by xAI. Its assessment was consistent with the anomalies outlined above. Grok said no single irregularity proved fabrication but concluded that the combined evidence was characteristic of an AI-generated image that had subsequently been blurred or compressed.
Newsweek further asked ChatGPT to assess the files. It said the irregularities described above were consistent with AI generation or substantial digital manipulation and found no useful camera, date, location or editing metadata embedded in either image. ChatGPT cautioned that metadata is often removed during online sharing and therefore cannot settle the question alone, but assessed fabrication as the more likely explanation.
“Members are further advised that upon completion of today’s legislative business, votes are no longer expected in the House tomorrow, September 17th,” a message from the office of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer read. “The last votes for the week are expected at approximately 4:45 p.m. this afternoon. This is a change from the previously announced schedule.”
Despite pledges by foreign companies and nations to invest in the United States — in many cases to curry favor with the White House — capital is starting to seek alternative destinations.
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Have a nice Wednesday everyone!
NBC News: Trump administration spent $9.5 billion last year on employee leave, driven by DOGE-era cuts.
The Trump administration spent an estimated $9.5 billion last year on paid administrative leave for federal workers as it pushed to cut costs by shrinking the government, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday.
Agencies’ use of paid administrative leave jumped by 435% from 2023 to 2025, the report found, and salary costs from such leave rose sixfold. That coincides with President Donald Trump’s decision in 2025 to create the Department of Government Efficiency led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, which enacted mass firings and dissolved the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Much of the increased leave cost — about $6.7 billion — came from salary paid through a DOGE-era “deferred resignation program,” GAO found. Nearly 140,000 federal employees opted into the program, according to the Office of Personnel Management. It allowed for federal workers who agreed to quit in early 2025 to still be paid through September.
Wow, what a post, BB! Disturbing but so very informative. Why doesn’t this jerk just die already? He’s not governing, he’s careening through everything that means anything to this country and its past.
Thank goodness for judges, but who sends the sheriff to arrest him when he ignores an order?
Trump administration plans to send powerful bombs to Israel in $2.8 billion weapons sale
he Trump administration is planning to deliver powerful 2,000-pound bombs to Israel as part of an upcoming arms deal, weapons that prompted such concerns about the possibility of mass casualties in Gaza that the Biden administration paused their delivery two years ago.
The $2.8 billion package includes 40,000 of the bombs, made up of 20,000 Mk84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to two U.S. officials and a person familiar with the plan who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to discuss the package, which is not yet final.
Congress has been informally notified about the pending deal, most of which is to be paid for with foreign military financing — in which U.S. taxpayer dollars are given to Israel to turn around and buy the weapons from the United States.
The proposed sale is just the latest in a series of Trump administration steps to improve Israeli’s military capacity. The conflict in Gaza has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and has decimated the enclave. The U.S. brokered a fragile ceasefire, but violence has continued.
And then there’s this. I guess he’s worrying what high gas prices are doing to US Voters.
Trump calls on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel, citing a global shortage
“Mr. Zelenskyy has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump told reporters Sunday.
President Donald Trump on Sunday called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries and other infrastructure used to produce and distribute diesel, saying the attacks are causing a global shortage. He spoke after diesel prices in the U.S. hit a record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average.
Ukraine has for months been targeting Russia’s oil and gas industry with long-range strikes, prompting fuel rationing across the country and causing Moscow to ban diesel exports in July, removing supplies from the already tight global market.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/russia-ukraine-new-energy-attacks-trumps-ceasefire-claim-rcna597873
Russia and Ukraine launch new attacks on energy despite Trump’s ceasefire claim
The president’s statement that Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to pause strikes against each other’s energy infrastructure was followed by a night of strikes on energy infrastructure.
Looks like there’ll be no peace in his time. ANYWHERE!
I’m with her.
Cheat if you have to …
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-leave-early-punting-hegseth-impeachment-vote-november-elections-rcna598147
House to leave early, punting Hegseth impeachment vote until after November elections
House Republican leaders canceled votes planned for Thursday. Members won’t return to Washington until Nov. 9.
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Fact Check: Is Photo of Trump Kissing Natalie Harp on Golf Course Real?
No established news organization, official White House photographer or photo agency has been identified as the source of either image. Searches of White House material and photographs published by AP, Reuters and Getty Images did not locate a corresponding image from the purported encounter.
The two circulating pictures appear to be versions of the same scene rather than independent photographs corroborating one another. One is clearer, while the other is blurred and contains fewer details that can be examined.
The higher-resolution version contains several visual irregularities associated with AI-generated imagery. Harp’s visible hand appears to have six fingers, while parts of the golf equipment and background lack consistent shapes and detail. The lower-resolution image is too degraded for some of those anomalies to be seen clearly, but blurring an image does not establish that the underlying scene is authentic.
Newsweek also submitted both versions to Grok, the AI assistant developed by xAI. Its assessment was consistent with the anomalies outlined above. Grok said no single irregularity proved fabrication but concluded that the combined evidence was characteristic of an AI-generated image that had subsequently been blurred or compressed.
Newsweek further asked ChatGPT to assess the files. It said the irregularities described above were consistent with AI generation or substantial digital manipulation and found no useful camera, date, location or editing metadata embedded in either image. ChatGPT cautioned that metadata is often removed during online sharing and therefore cannot settle the question alone, but assessed fabrication as the more likely explanation.