Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened that he would weaponize a government shutdown against Democrats by having his White House budget director, Russell Vought, slash “things they like.”

The shutdown came overnight, and on Wednesday morning, Vought announced plans to freeze funds appropriated toward infrastructure projects in the state represented by the two top-ranking congressional Democrats.

On X, Vought said that “roughly $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects have been put on hold,” specifically naming the Hudson Tunnel project and Second Avenue subway.

The Hudson Tunnel project is a plan to construct new and improved rail tunnels connecting New York City and New Jersey, expanding service along the country’s busiest rail route. The Second Avenue subway is planned to connect a station in East Harlem, in an area that has been a “subway desert” for more than 85 years, to one in Lower Manhattan.

Vought said the funds are being withheld to ensure they are not being used for diversity, equity, and inclusion purposes, though he did not immediately elaborate on the purported relationship between the two key transit infrastructure projects and the right-wing bugbear that is DEI.

It’s difficult to interpret Vought’s choice as anything but an attempt to punish Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, both of New York, who are the minority leaders in the House and Senate, respectively.

Oracle CEO Safra Catz—who is currently leading the acquisition of TikTok’s U.S. assets—told former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2015 that they had to “embed the love and respect for Israel in the American culture.” Now, as Oracle moves to take control of TikTok’s algorithm, Catz and Oracle chief technology officer (and avowed Zionist) Larry Ellison will seek to do just that. 

Catz’s message, first reported on by Responsible Statecraft and obtained in a hack of Barak’s email, was titled “I’d like your input.” 

“We have all been horrified by the growth of the BDS movement in college campuses and have concluded that we have to fight this battle before the kids even get to college,” Catz wrote. “We believe that we have to embed the love and respect for Israel in the American culture. That means getting the message to the American people in a way they can consume it.” 

Catz, who was still head of Oracle at the time, also mentioned that her sister, Saritz Catz, was a “longtime Hollywood writer-producer” as well as a “prominent pro-Israel activist and AIPAC national leader.” She added that her sister was working on a reality show, Women of the IDF, meant to “humanize the IDF in the eyes of the American public.” 

The Israeli American CEO of one of the country’s most powerful companies was asking Israel’s former prime minister for advice on how to better spread pro-Israel propaganda back in 2015. Now she’ll control the algorithm that many conservatives and liberals alike believe is responsible for helping shatter Israel’s (tailored) image among the vast majority of young Americans, who have woken up to the reality of  Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. 

This report comes just days after current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly admitted that TikTok was the most important arena to push pro-Israel propaganda in. 

“We have to fight with the weapons that apply to the battlefield.… The most important purchase going on right now is … TikTok. Number one. And I hope it goes through because it can be consequential. And the other one? X. We have to talk to Elon. He’s not an enemy, he’s a friend. We should talk to him. Now, if we can get those two things, we get a lot.… We have to fight the fight, to give direction to the Jewish people and give direction to our non-Jewish friends.”

Netanyahu meets with US Influencers (most likely on Israel’s payroll) to discuss how they can brainwash evangelicals back to supporting Israel

He explains the most important war for Israel is on social media & their 2 top targets are:
1. TikTok
2. X

WATCH & see if you can ID… https://t.co/o9LZNpKOxo pic.twitter.com/mjBbRNyBUb

While sources say that Catz will be “nowhere near the algorithm of TikTok,” her past actions and emails paint a very clear agenda. 

Qatar now has NATO-level security protections, thanks to the Trump administration.

In an executive order signed Monday, Donald Trump pledged that the tiny, energy-rich, non-NATO ally would receive the same level of protection from the United States as some of America’s most powerful allies.

The order specifies, “The United States shall regard any armed attack on the territory, sovereignty, or critical infrastructure of the State of Qatar as a threat to the peace and security of the United States.” It further reads that, in the event of such an attack, the U.S. will undertake “diplomatic, economic, and, if necessary, military” measures to defend both America and Qatar.

The strengthened alliance comes weeks after Trump effectively permitted an Israeli strike on the Middle Eastern nation. America’s failure to take action to stop Israel’s attack left those in the Qatari capital with a sense of shock and betrayal, according to CNN, especially after Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani had agreed to act as a mediator to end the war between Israel and Gaza. He later referred to Israel’s attack as “state terror,” and said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had broken “every international law” and must be “brought to justice.”

The Qatari leader’s directive followed a stateside visit by Netanyahu Monday and a........

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