demmiblue
demmiblue's JournalExclusive: Russia took satellite images of U.S. airbase in days before Iranian attack, Ukraine's Zelenskyy says
Source: NBC News
DOHA, Qatar — Russia took satellite images of a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia three times in the days before Iran attacked the site and wounded American troops, according to a summary of Ukrainian intelligence shared with NBC News by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In an interview in the Gulf nation of Qatar on Saturday, Zelenskyy said he was “100%” confident Russia was sharing such intelligence with Iran to help target U.S. forces across the Middle East.
“I think that it’s in Russia’s interest to help Iranians. And I don’t believe — I know — that they share information,” he said. “Do they help Iranians? Of course. How many percent? One-hundred percent.”
During the interview, Zelenskyy shared a summary of the daily presidential briefing he receives from Ukraine’s spy agencies. The report stated that Russian satellites had taken images of the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia on March 20, March 23 and March 25.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/russia-us-base-american-troops-zelenskyy-rcna265612
Pictures have leaked showing Trump's destruction of the historic White House West Colonnade walkway.
I fucking hate him.
— Mueller, She Wrote (@muellershewrote.com) 2026-03-28T02:38:06.623Z
This colonnade? THIS ONE?
— GET OUT OF MY WAY! (@getoutofmyway.bsky.social) 2026-03-28T02:45:13.676Z
Trump is a fucking pig.
“It’s a great contrast. The white, with the black,” Trump told reporters. “It’s a beautiful, black granite.” He added he was paying for the tiles for the new walkway, which now features his “Presidential Walk of Fame.” According to the New York Post, “The National Park Service will take possession of the current Tennessee flagstone pavers. The stones will be sent to a nursery where they will be kept for future use.”
https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/politics/a70854888/trump-white-house-redesign-west-wing-tile/
Michigan utility regulator approves $276M rate hike for Consumers Energy
The company initially sought to raise rates by 13%, or $436 million with an additional surcharge hike of $24.3 million.
Consumers’ rate increase comes as many residents still struggle to pay their existing electricity bills, and have seen their rates rise across the board over the last decade.
Attorney General Dana Nessel intervened in the rate case by filing testimony that called for a much smaller rate hike. Nessel had argued that the Commission slash Consumers’ request down to a 3.5% increase and called for a nearly 65% cut to the initial request.
https://michiganadvance.com/2026/03/27/michigan-utility-regulator-approves-276m-rate-hike-for-consumers-energy/
Trump: "They have to open up the Strait of Trump-- I mean, Hormuz. Excuse me. Such a terrible mistake.
Trump: "They have to open up the Strait of Trump-- I mean, Hormuz. Excuse me. Such a terrible mistake. The fake news will say, 'He accidentally said--' No. There's no accidents from me."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-27T21:45:30.643Z
🖕
Hegseth Strikes Two Black and Two Female Officers From Promotion List
Source: NYT
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals, a highly unusual move that has prompted some senior military officials to question whether the officers are being singled out because of their race or gender.
Two of the officers targeted by Mr. Hegseth are Black and two are women on a promotion list that consists of about three dozen officers, most of whom are white men, senior military officials said.
Mr. Hegseth had been pressing senior Army leaders, including Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll, for months to remove the officers’ names, military officials said. But Mr. Driscoll, citing the officers’ decades-long records of exemplary service, had repeatedly refused.
Earlier this month, Mr. Hegseth broke the logjam by unilaterally striking the officers’ names from the list, though it is not clear he has the legal authority to do so. The list is currently being reviewed by the White House, which is expected to send it to the Senate for final approval. A few female and Black officers remain on the list, military officials said.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/us/hegseth-promotion-list.html
"Mr. Buria [Hegseth's chief of staff] told Mr. Driscoll [Secretary of the Army] that President Trump would not want to stand next to a Black female officer at military events, the officials said."
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman.bsky.social) 2026-03-27T11:21:02.301Z
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/27/u...
Exclusive: Trump's signature to appear on US currency, Treasury says, ending 165-year tradition
Source: Reuters
WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - U.S. paper currency will bear President Donald Trump's signature to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, the Treasury Department said on Thursday, a first for a sitting president, while deleting the Treasurer of the United States' signature from U.S. money for the first time in 165 years.
The Treasury said in a statement to Reuters that the first $100 bills with Trump's signature and that of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be printed in June, followed by other bills in subsequent months.
The Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing is currently still producing notes bearing the signatures of former President Joe Biden's Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, and Treasurer Lynn Malerba.
Malerba will be the last of an unbroken line of Treasurers whose signatures had appeared on U.S. federal currency since 1861, when it was first issued by the U.S. government.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-signature-appear-us-currency-treasury-says-ending-165-year-tradition-2026-03-26/
Trump Eyes White House Treaty Room for Latest Renovation Project
He has added gold flourishes to the East Room of the Executive Residence in a style similar to the gilded trimmings he installed in the Oval Office. And he has affixed “challenge coins” that celebrate his presidency — including the newest medallions in red and gold — to the walls inside the West Wing.
In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has taken new, previously unreported steps to redecorate and remodel the White House, the latest moves in one of the most significant renovations in the history of the White House, according to people with knowledge of his plans, who were granted anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss them.
Mr. Trump already has torn down the East Wing to make room for his $400 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom; he remade the bathroom attached to the Lincoln Bedroom in marble and gold; he paved over the Rose Garden grass; he added marble floors and a chandelier to the Palm Room; he covered the Oval Office in gold; and he has a new, 33,000-square-foot security screening center for White House visitors in the works.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/us/trump-eyes-white-house-treaty-room-for-latest-renovation-project.html
FFS… enough!
Trump plans to gut the historic Treaty Room, where JFK signed the Nuclear Test Ban, to install a 12th White House bedroom with a private bath.
— tomwellborn3rd (@wellborn.net) 2026-03-26T20:06:34.000Z
Trump says Iran's 'present' to US was allowing 10 oil tankers through Hormuz
Trump made the comments at a Cabinet meeting in the White House, elaborating on what he had previously described as a "present" from Iran.
They said, to show you the fact that we're real and solid and we're there, we're going to let you have eight boats of oil, eight boats, eight big boats of oil," Trump said. "I guess they were right, and they were real, and I think they were Pakistani-flagged... It ended up being 10 boats."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for more details on the vessels.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/trump-suggests-that-iran-let-ten-oil-tankers-through-strait-hormuz-2026-03-26/
He comes off more desperate with every post: "The Iranian negotiators are very different and "strange.""
He comes off more desperate with every post
— MeidasTouch (@meidastouch.com) 2026-03-26T13:15:45.281Z
Transgender women athletes banned from Olympics by new IOC policy on female eligibility
Source: AP
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Transgender women athletes are now excluded from the Olympics after the IOC agreed to a new eligibility policy on Thursday which aligns with U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order on women's sports ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
"Eligibility for any female category event at the Olympic Games or any other IOC event, including individual and team sports, is now limited to biological females," the International Olympic Committee said, "determined on the basis of a one‑time SRY gene screening."
It is unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at an Olympic level. No woman who transitioned from being born male competed at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ioc-olympic-transgender-female-eligibility-520cd9cee152a312767a667acf77dbc8
Following today’s approval of the policy by the IOC Executive Board, it will apply for the LA28 Olympic Games onwards, and is no
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