Hard Pass

The Department of Justice has permanently abandoned plans for a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization compensation fund created to settle a lawsuit by Donald Trump against the Internal Revenue Service, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified to a House panel on Tuesday.

But Trump, his family members and related business entities remain protected from tax audits and enforcement actions in connection with tax returns filed before last month's out-of-court settlement of his lawsuit, Blanche told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies.

Blanche, who previously served as Trump's criminal defense attorney, personally signed off on the DOJ's May 19 addendum to the settlement of the lawsuit that gave Trump and his family that protection, a day after the deal was announced.

https://phys.org/news/2026-06-city-birds-dazzle-females-human.html

On its 250th birthday, America has the shittiest looking head of state residency.

Within national mythology, California is understood to be a progressive haven—with a ruling Democratic Party passing strong regulations, ever-higher taxes on the wealthy, and supporting unions to its heart’s desire.

Unfortunately, this is far from accurate. The Democratic Party may dominate California politics, but the wealthiest state in the union no longer leads the way with innovative laws and regulations, let alone serving the interests of working people, the poor, and the middle class.

Yes, California still has a progressive income tax, the nation’s highest gas taxes, relatively strong environmental regulations, and the world’s greatest public university system—but these are legacies of bygone eras. The story of the last 20 years of single-party Democratic rule is far less inspiring (unless you’re a Silicon Valley oligarch).

A man who beat his adversary’s mother with a baseball bat during a violent home invasion in northern B.C. was given a provincial sentence of two years less a day, as the judge found he had turned his life around dramatically since committing the crimes.

Craig Brentton Durando pleaded guilty to breaking and entering, assault with a weapon and robbery following the September 2023 incident in Terrace. His sentenced was handed down in B.C. Supreme Court earlier this week.

The court heard that Durando and four other friends planned to confront and assault a man named Nicolas Balatti in his home after Balatti and one of the friends got into a “verbal altercation involving mutual threats” at a house party in August of that year, and continued the argument over TikTok and Snapchat.

The risk that Canadian data collected by connected vehicles are accessed and exploited increases when these data are sent to — or transit through — foreign jurisdictions with more permissive data management frameworks

A valid concern! Why not consider the same thing for vehicles from other jurisdictions?

The Chinese government has shown their intention to try to use any technology that they can to advance their own goals... [and] that would include using Chinese EVs to collect data that they could be compelled back in China to use for whatever purposes they feel.

Terrible! But also very^1^, very^2^ familiar^3^.

In 2017, the Chinese government passed its National Intelligence Law, which requires any Chinese companies to comply with state orders to hand over any information.

So, just like the American CLOUD Act? And Bill C-22 right here in Canada?

Sounds like it isn't a problem with Chinese EVs, but instead it's a problem with Canada's approach to privacy.

/EndRant

The Trump administration is scrapping plans to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the Republican president, the Justice Department’s top official said Tuesday in retreating from a program that faced setbacks in the courts and a fierce political backlash that had threatened to stall key elements of the White House agenda.

“We are not moving forward with the fund, period,” Blanche said in response to questions at a House hearing on the Justice Department budget.

“Not moving forward, ever?” asked Rep. Grace Meng, a New York Democrat.

“Correct,” Blanche answered.

The blunt declaration marked an extraordinary, and rare, turnabout in the face of mounting political opposition to a fund officials said was intended to compensate people who believe they have been improperly targeted by the criminal justice system. But since the fund’s creation two weeks ago, it’s been paused by a judge and lambasted by Democrats and Republicans alike who said they were troubled by a lack of oversight of the money disbursement and the potential for payouts to participants in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The fund drew concerns even from Republicans

The furor especially complicated matters in the Senate, where Republicans defiantly left town nearly two weeks ago without passing legislation to fund President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agencies after Democrats said they would offer amendments to scrap or scale back the compensation fund. Furious, Senate Republicans jettisoned White House security money from the bill and made clear they would not pass the legislation at all unless the administration made major changes to the plan. They had sought reassurances from Blanche before moving forward.

The $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” was established to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The Justice Department had said it was an appropriate measure to correct what officials have insisted was the weaponization of federal law enforcement under the Biden administration, when Trump faced criminal charges and several of his allies were investigated and prosecuted.

The administration had said that anyone who felt unfairly persecuted could apply for compensation regardless of political affiliation, but Blanche’s refusal to publicly foreclose the possibility that people convicted of crimes of violence in the Jan. 6 riot could get payouts alarmed lawmakers. A five-member commission was to have been responsible for deciding on the payouts.

By Haus of Decline https://xcancel.com/hausofdecline/status/2061445270810861880

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/8656524

By Haus of Decline https://x.com/hausofdecline/status/2061445270810861880