Social Security provides about 30% of older Americans' household income, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
Earnings, pensions, retirement account withdrawals, and investments also contribute to older Americans' income.
Social Security's share of income rises with age, reaching about 40% among adults 80 and older.
You may envision relying on Social Security during retirement, but the data show older adults tend to depend on other income sources.
About 19% of Americans 65 and older whose households received Social Security relied on it for 90% or more of household income in 2019, according to a 2025 Congressional Research Service report. Other sources fill the gap, according to the **** ysis: earnings, pension and retirement fund payments, and income from **** ets. The report matched Social Security Administration records with survey responses and included people still working.

#Social #income #Retirement #Research

A newly surfaced text message attributed to Kimberly Guilfoyle appears to reveal what she really thinks of Bettina Trump. Guilfoyle and Donald Trump Jr. ended their engagement in 2024. Bettina, 39, is now his wife.
"I was having a [expletive] great time Saturday and we had a [expletive] amazing time when we got home Saturday night that's a nonsense," Guilfoyle allegedly texted Eric Deters, a former Kentucky congressional candidate, according to a Thursday, October 8 report in The Daily Beast. "That's his ex-wife's friend. It's all lies, but she's a cloud chasing horror that plays the story in the daily mail to get attention."
Deters confirmed to the outlet that the message was about Bettina.
The Daily Beast cautioned that the texts may contain typos. "Cloud chasing" could mean "clout chasing," and "plays the story" could mean "placed the story." The outlet also noted that "his ex-wife's friend" may refer to Vanessa Trump, Don Jr.'s former wife.
The message does not say which Daily Mail story Guilfoyle, 57, meant. But the publication reported on September 15, 2024, that Don Jr., 48, had been seen kissing Bettina at a brunch on August 17 of that same year. At that point, the public still believed he and Guilfoyle, now the U.S. ambassador to Greece, were engaged. The two have never publicly said when they actually split.

#story #chasing #deters

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said a report was filed on Aug. 31.
A Democratic congressional candidate in Arizona says she was raped over the summer while trying to repair a campaign sign.
Bernadette Greene-Placentia, who is running in the state's 8th district to try to unseat GOP Rep. Abe Hamadeh, told the Phoenix New Times, a local news outlet, that she was attacked at around 2 a.m. as she was walking toward a campaign sign in a parking lot in Sun City, north of Phoenix.
Greene-Placentia said she was attacked, subdued and then woke up to find that she was being raped by an unknown ***** ailant.
Greene-Placentia told the news outlet she reported the ***** ault to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and that she chose to tell her story because she had been talking about fighting for Arizona residents while campaigning "and I didn't feel like I could keep saying that if I weren't also fighting for women that are victims of ***** ual ***** ault."

#placentia #maricopa #office #arizona

The United States military has had 81 aircraft destroyed or damaged in the war with Iran, a Congressional Research Service report released this week says.
The number includes both airplanes and helicopters as well as drones, with the MQ-9 Reaper drone – used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, close air support and combat search and rescue – accounting for more than half of the losses.
But also on the list are some of the Pentagon’s most-prized ***** ets, including an F-35A fighter jet and an E-3 Sentry, the four-engine jet with a large radar dome atop the fuselage used for target tracking and airspace management.
The total cost of the aircraft lost is between $1.9 billion and $3.3 billion, depending on the Defense Department’s plans for replacements, the report said, citing figures from the Congressional Budget Office.
The total cost of the war is much higher – at least $45 billion, sources have told CNN. That figure doesn’t include damage to infrastructure at US bases in the region, including those where some of the aircraft losses happened.

#congressional #report #including #total

The $200 million in payments dwarfs previous amounts disclosed in the case.
The former CIA officer arrested after authorities discovered roughly $40 million worth of gold bars in his Virginia home pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to a single count of wire fraud, admitting he defrauded the U.S. government out of nearly $200 million for his personal benefit.
David Rush was previously described by prosecutors as a "master manipulator" who used his clandestine position to amass millions worth of gold bars and luxury watches -. though the government revealed in Tuesday's hearing the extent of his alleged deception far exceeded what was previously known to the public.
The nearly $200 million in payments to Rush, which dwarfs previous amounts disclosed as part of his case, will likely only further draw public and congressional scrutiny to the intelligence community to provide more transparency regarding its methods in doling out taxpayer dollars to agents and the oversight that follows such exchanges.
The case has drawn widespread intrigue and raised major questions regarding the intelligence community's management in overseeing the secretive systems that grant officials like Rush the ability to amass high-value ****** ets tied to their work.

#million #payments #dwarfs

Republicans are swamping House and Senate races with an unprecedented flood of late ad spending as the party tests whether hundreds of millions of dollars can buy it some reprieve from the eroding political environment that’s threatening longtime Republican states and districts.
Since the start of September, Republicans have made more than $700 million worth of new advertising bookings in congressional races alone, according to an NBC News ******* ysis of data from AdImpact, a political ad-tracking firm. That’s new money on top of what had already been committed to those races in ad reservations made over the summer.
By comparison, Democrats booked more than $430 million in new ad reservations across those races last month.
The disparity is greatest in the battle for the Senate majority, where almost 7 of every 10 newly booked advertising dollars are coming from Republicans. That’s led by a massive, late investment in the Senate race in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico is threatening a longtime Republican seat and the GOP has poured in almost $150 million in new ad dollars to back up its nominee, Ken Paxton.
The gap is smaller in the House, where a bit less than 6 in 10 of those new ad dollars are coming from the GOP.

#senate #dollars #House #republican

Two months after leaving her role as White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt is making her next move.
Donald Trump's former press secretary will be joining Fox News as an on-air contributor, the network announced Monday, Oct. 5.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to continue appearing on Fox News Channel as an official member of the extraordinary team at Fox News Media," Leavitt said in a statement. "I look forward to bringing my unique perspective from my experience as White House press secretary, along with the same energy and candor that defied my tenure, to Fox's millions of viewers across their many platforms."
Leavitt, 29, held her press secretary position in the Trump administration from January 2025 to August 2026, becoming the youngest person in American history to hold the position.
Prior to this, she served as National Press Secretary during Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. Leavitt also previously ran for Congress in her home state of New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District in 2022, and served as communications director for then-House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

#Monday

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he is following the upcoming Brazilian election “very closely,” referring to Brazil as a “very important" country. "The people of Brazil are fantastic people,” he told reporters outside the White House. “It’s a very important election.”
The U.S. State Department later announced the suspension of its consular services in Brazil ahead of the election taking place on Sunday, citing unspecified security concerns. “U.S. citizens seeking emergency ****** istance during this time should not come to the Embassy, the Consulates, or other U.S. diplomatic facilities,” the security alert advised.
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Brazilians are heading to the polls for a set of federal elections spanning congressional and gubernatorial races, alongside the first round of the presidential election votes. It’s set to be a decisive moment for Latin America’s largest nation, as the region has seen a shift toward the right in recent years. An Oct. 25 runoff is expected, as polls show a tight contest between leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far-right Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted last year for plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss. Trump led the conservative voices denouncing the conviction, referring to the trial as a “witch hunt.”
While Trump has acknowledged his active interest as Brazil votes on its political future, there are concerns he could be too involved. Trump and his Administration have been accused of attempting to interfere with the high-stakes overseas election.

#Brazil #important #people

What is the total reported cost of the Iran war?
Which U.S. military branch incurred the highest war costs?
Why did Rep. Thomas Massie introduce impeachment against Hegseth?
Full Summary
WASHINGTON – The war in Iran has cost the U.S. military $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to an update shared with congressional national security committees by U.S. Central Command.

#cost #summary

By Nolan D. McCaskill
WASHINGTON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Democrats are seeking to reclaim Congress, but lingering divisions from a bruising run-up to the November election threaten to imperil the party's attempt to claw back power from President Donald Trump's Republicans.
With control of both chambers at stake, Democrats have sought to move past the bad blood of the primaries, but in several competitive states, influential party figures have withheld endorsements or so far declined to campaign with nominees for the November 3 US midterm elections.
In ‌Maine, the governor has yet to endorse the Democratic US Senate candidate. In Texas, a congresswoman has declined to campaign alongside the state representative who defeated her in the Democratic Senate primary. In Michigan, establishment centrists are steering clear of the party's progressive Senate ‌pick. In New York, victorious democratic socialists are criticizing congressional Democrats for joining Republicans in condemning socialism. In Florida, the party has yet to rally behind its Senate nominee.
"Whether you are a progressive or an establishment Democrat or a conservative Democrat, we all have a vested interest in getting every single person over the finish line in November," said US Representative Summer Lee, a progressive Pennsylvania Democrat up for reelection.

#november #democrat #representative #declined

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tensions are mounting between the Pentagon and Congress over the flow of information to lawmakers about the U.S. military's priorities, with both Democrats and Republicans accusing a Defense Department leader of being frustratingly opaque.
Some senators from both parties say they were left deeply unsettled Thursday after the Pentagon's top policy adviser, Defense Undersecretary Elbridge Colby, failed to provide an expected update on the Trump administration's National Defense Strategy at a classified briefing.
The lawmakers also say they were unsatisfied with Colby's answers to questions ranging from inquiries about the Iran war to growing concerns that President Donald Trump could deploy troops to polling places during November's midterm congressional elections. Colby acknowledged that discussions about deploying the National Guard were taking place.
Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Colby "was not forthcoming" and "did not really address our concerns or issues."
Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican also on the committee, described the classified briefing as "just sort of dodge and punt."

#national #committee #lawmakers #concerns

An **** ysis of recent filings from American politicians shows that Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) saw an uptick in purchases from notable politicians. Rep. Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA) bought Boston Scientific shares, according to a filing earlier this month. The trade was made on August 18, 2026. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) also bought the stock twice, on August 3 and August 10, 2026, according to a filing filed on September 4, 2026. Neither politician sold Boston Scientific shares in the same period. Cisneros and Khanna were also the two buyers of Accenture shares in July and August.
This is based on data from Quiver Quantitative, a platform that tracks congressional stock trades from politicians.
Let's focus on BSX in this article.
BSX is down about 50% so far this year amid a cyberattack that disrupted manufacturing, order processing and shipments, forcing the company to withdraw its previous third-quarter and full-year outlook. Bulls say the market has priced in too severe an outcome. By Sept. 8, the company said its major distribution centers were shipping at or above normal levels, sterilization facilities were operating, and manufacturing had restarted at most plants. Bulls believe much of the disrupted revenue could be delayed rather than permanently lost as hospitals wait for products, reschedule procedures and the company works through its backlog.
Bulls also point to a business that was still growing. Second-quarter revenue rose 7.5% year over year and organic growth was 7%. Several core franchises delivered double-digit organic growth, including Interventional Cardiology and Vascular Therapies, Interventional Oncology and Embolization, and Neuromodulation.

#august #NYSE

By Michael S. Derby
Sept 16 (Reuters) - Surging government bond yields are raising credit costs across the U.S. economy and could factor into Federal Reserve monetary policy deliberations, but ***** ysts see the central bank resisting any explicit call from the Trump administration to bail out the market.
The focus on the Fed's possible involvement comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has taken an ‌unusually activist role in trying to tamp down rising yields he considers to be misaligned with the U.S. economic outlook.
Bessent's campaign, which saw the expansion of a key debt buyback operation last week, ‌is foundering, as the 10-year Treasury note rose above 5% to its highest since 2007. He shrugged the move off as owing to "global issues" on Tuesday as he arrived for a congressional hearing.
Treasury's bond market travails are raising questions whether the Fed might be requested to buy government debt to reduce supply, which could cap or lower yields, in turn easing government and private sector borrowing costs.

#government #treasury #bond #debt

A federal judge blocked Trump's name from being added to the building.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Kennedy Center could "close" or be "ripped down" if his administration doesn't receive recognition on the performing arts center as tensions over his name being removed mount.
"I think that the Trump administration should certainly have recognition. Because frankly, if we don't do that, it's going to close. It'll end up being ripped down," the president told reporters on the tarmac in North Carolina.
Trump claimed that the Kennedy Center was a "mess" without his intervention and "has lost 10s of millions of dollars, even hundreds of millions of dollars," comparing it to New York's Carnegie Hall.
The president's comments come after a federal judge on Tuesday blocked the performing arts center's board from adding a tribute to Trump on the building or site. He responded by saying he wouldn't spend congressionally approved funding for the center's renovation unless the building also bears his name.

#blocked

The vote ends a nearly two-year pause in Ukraine **** istance from Congress.
Advocates of the bill, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have argued it would give the White House necessary tools to squeeze Russia economically, curbing the flow of funds to Moscow’s war machine. | Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP
09/17/2026 07:54 AM GMT+9
The House passed the sweeping Russia sanctions bill long championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham on Wednesday, sending the legislation to the White House for President Donald Trump’s signature after more than a year of congressional maneuvering.

#white #ukrainian

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that he's going to block a proposed sale of $2.8 billion in heavy weaponry to Israel over concerns that the powerful bombs may not be used in line with U.S. and international law.
Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said he would withhold approval for the sale because of "grave, unresolved concerns" about how these munitions could be used in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
"The Trump administration has not provided sufficient ****** urances that these weapons will be used by the Netanyahu government in accordance with U.S. law and with appropriate protections for civilians," Meeks said in a statement. "I therefore will not clear this sale at this time."
Meeks' objections, however, will not likely affect the sale, which was informally notified to lawmakers on Tuesday. Once it is formally notified to Congress, Secretary of State Marco Rubio can bypass the normal congressional review process by making an emergency determination that the transaction is an urgent national security interest.
Rubio has done so in the past, including bypassing a normal congressional review process to approve a nearly $3 billion sale to Israel last year. The administration then approved a new series of arms sales to Israel totaling $6.67 billion in January.

#used

An ******* ysis of recent filings from American politicians shows that Accenture (NYSE: ACN) and Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX) saw an uptick in purchases from notable politicians. Rep. Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. (D-CA) bought Boston Scientific shares, according to a filing earlier this month. The trade was made on August 18, 2026. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) also bought the stock twice, on August 3 and August 10, 2026, according to a filing filed on September 4, 2026. Neither politician sold Boston Scientific shares in the same period. Cisneros and Khanna were also the two buyers of Accenture shares in July and August.
This is based on data from Quiver Quantitative, a platform that tracks congressional stock trades from politicians.
Let's focus on BSX in this article.
BSX is down about 50% so far this year amid a cyberattack that disrupted manufacturing, order processing and shipments, forcing the company to withdraw its previous third-quarter and full-year outlook. Bulls say the market has priced in too severe an outcome. By Sept. 8, the company said its major distribution centers were shipping at or above normal levels, sterilization facilities were operating, and manufacturing had restarted at most plants. Bulls believe much of the disrupted revenue could be delayed rather than permanently lost as hospitals wait for products, reschedule procedures and the company works through its backlog.
Bulls also point to a business that was still growing. Second-quarter revenue rose 7.5% year over year and organic growth was 7%. Several core franchises delivered double-digit organic growth, including Interventional Cardiology and Vascular Therapies, Interventional Oncology and Embolization, and Neuromodulation.

#accenture

By Michael S. Derby
Sept 16 (Reuters) - Surging government bond yields are raising credit costs across the U.S. economy and could factor into Federal Reserve monetary policy deliberations, but **** ysts see the central bank resisting any explicit call from the Trump administration to bail out the market.
The focus on the Fed's possible involvement comes as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has taken an ‌unusually activist role in trying to tamp down rising yields he considers to be misaligned with the U.S. economic outlook.
Bessent's campaign, which saw the expansion of a key debt buyback operation last week, ‌is foundering, as the 10-year Treasury note rose above 5% to its highest since 2007. He shrugged the move off as owing to "global issues" on Tuesday as he arrived for a congressional hearing.
Treasury's bond market travails are raising questions whether the Fed might be requested to buy government debt to reduce supply, which could cap or lower yields, in turn easing government and private sector borrowing costs.

#costs

Congressional Republicans have a plan to pass key portions of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act before the end of this year.
The election integrity bill backed by President Donald Trump and fiercely opposed by Democrats has stalled in Congress, where Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has been reluctant to call it up for a vote, given that it's all but ***** ured to fail.
At least several Democrats would be needed to reach the Senate's 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster. But left-wing lawmakers in the House and Senate have panned the legislation as an attempt to sow doubt in U.S. elections at best and voter suppression at worst.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is now pushing Republicans to pass the bill's main mandates via the budget reconciliation process, which allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy without input from the minority due to its sidelining of the Senate filibuster. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., chairman of the Committee on House Administration, is tasked with overseeing how that part of the bill gets done.
Trump Questions Thune's Leadership As Save America Act Stalls

#Trump #bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's proposal to send $5,000 to every American adult if his Republican Party maintains control of the House and Senate in the November election needs congressional approval, House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday, while pledging to try to make it happen.
Trump made the unusual pitch at the party's midterm convention in Dallas last week, promising a "Trump Dividend" if voters keep the GOP in power on Capitol Hill. The president later told CBS News Texas that he did not think Congress would need to authorize the payments, though he did not specify how he could spend more than $1 trillion without lawmakers' authorization.
But Johnson, R-La., said congressional approval is needed. "I would ***** ume, yes, he'd need Congress to act, and that's a creative idea," he said.
A few hours later, Trump said he would deliver on his promise. "The 5,000's going to happen, 100%," he told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Ireland, where he attended a pro golf tournament at his resort.
Johnson, meanwhile, said he would work to get Trump's proposal through Congress despite a small Republican margin.

#proposal

A week after Nick Saban and Pat McAfee practically did an infomercial for the Protect College Sports Act during College GameDay, one of the bill's co-sponsors, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), was given the chance to make a full-throated defense of the bill and why it needed to be passed by the Senate and House, with Cruz previously saying that if passed, President Donald Trump would sign it into law on a future episode of ESPN's flagship college football show.
Even by the standards of College GameDay, which has been known to put its thumb on the scale when it wanted, this whole affair has been wildly inappropriate. It's one thing for Kirk Herbstreit to chastise football players for opting out of meaningless bowl games; it's another thing for the show to put its full weight behind a Congressional bill without providing ample time to those proponents and opponents, especially when those who oppose the bill do so on the grounds that it will negatively impact the earning ability of the athletes who make the sport work.
However, it helps you understand this all-out blitz when you realize where ESPN's parent company is putting its money.
Joedy McCreary at OpenSecrets recently laid out the fight surrounding the PCSA, spelling out which entities are pushing for it and which are pushing back.
Per McCreary, several major broadcasting and cable companies are putting their money where their mouth is. The National ****** ociation of Broadcasters (NAB) and NCTA – the Internet and Television ****** ociation lobbied for the legislation. Amazon, Paramount Skydance, and Disney (which owns ESPN) listed the college sports measure among the dozens of bills they worked on between April 1 and June 30.

#bill #sports

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., gave the cold shoulder when asked to weigh in on her son's home being raided by police after his convicted felon roommate was arrested.
Minneapolis police officers found while carrying out a search warrant on August 25 multiple weapons and ammunition in the shared home of Omar's son, Adnan Hirsi, 20, and his roommate Abdulrahman Abdi, 22. The warrant was obtained after Abdi was pulled over in a routine traffic stop and was found to have no driver's license or proof of insurance.
Abdi was released and the car was impounded, but a firearm was later found. As a convicted felon, it is illegal for Abdi to possess a firearm, so the property that he shares with Abdi was raided.
Caught On Camera: Squad Dem Squirms When Pressed On Vance Doj Fraud Probe
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is seeking another term in Minnesota's heavily Democratic 5th Congressional District.

#found

President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate in the midterm elections, an extraordinary gambit to reverse his party's sagging fortunes in November.
The dubious promise would most likely cost more than $1 trillion and require congressional approval, and would further exacerbate the country's nearly $1.8 trillion annual budget deficit and concerns about inflation.
"If the Republicans win, you win with us and you get $5,000," Trump said during the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas. "It will be called the Trump Dividend."
He likened the payments to a corporation's distributions to shareholders, citing "our tremendous strength and success economically."
Within an hour, Vice President JD Vance appeared to try to walk back Trump's proposal — at least in part — by suggesting the dividend payments would not go to the wealthy. Vance suggested it could be paid for by U.S. tariff revenues, though the suggested payment dwarfs what the U.S. has taken in through the protectionist measures.

#president #republicans #midterm #suggested

The Supreme Court has rejected an attempt for Missouri to use a congressional map drawn by Republicans that would have likely eliminated the seat of a Democratic incumbent. NBC News' Sahil Kapur reports on the decision and the last-ditch attempt Republicans had taken to use the new map.

#democratic #kapur #congressional

By Andrew Chung
Sept 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Tuesday to reinstate a Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri ahead of November's midterm elections, dealing a setback to President ‌Donald Trump and the party's odds of maintaining its slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Conservative ‌Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied Missouri's emergency request to suspend a state Supreme Court ruling that blocked the map, a decision that preserves the Kansas City-based seat of longtime Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver, whose district would have been dismantled under the redrawn boundaries.
Kavanaugh, who handles emergency matters from Missouri and several other states, did not refer the matter to the nine-member court before issuing the decision.
Missouri Republicans adopted the map as part of a broader effort backed by ‌Trump to redraw congressional districts in ways ⁠that could benefit Republican candidates.

#missouri #court #emergency

Besides the artificial intelligence trade, investors have been obsessed with any macroeconomic news that hits headlines. And it's hard to find a story in recent weeks that captured the market's attention like the U.S surpassing $40 trillion in gross federal debt. By any measure, this is an absolutely mind-boggling number.
The debt balance has expanded by 377% in the past two decades. And it currently represents 123% of the country's total GDP figure. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will continue climbing, reaching $64 trillion by 2036.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Investors had better get used to hearing more about the U.S. national debt problem. Here's what this macro trend means for your portfolio in 2026 and beyond.
The U.S. has the world's largest and most advanced economy, driven by dominance in the technology sector. It controls the global reserve currency in the dollar. And it has the most robust and liquid capital markets. These advantageous traits support the argument that the nation can keep borrowing indefinitely.

#NVIDIA #signal #debt #investors

The federal interest burden has reached a new height, exceeding even the 1991 record, but **** ysts warn the risks **** ociated with servicing the ever-growing national debt today are much higher than they were 35 years ago, **** ysts warn.
A recent **** ysis from investment management firm Doubleline noted that in 2025, the federal net interest payment on the U.S.'s now-$40 trillion national debt reached 18.5% of revenue, surpassing 1991's record 18.4%. That means the U.S. is collecting nearly 19% of all taxes and revenue just to pay off interest on its ballooning debt, equivalent to $1.25 trillion—more than the entire 2026 defense budget.
Growing interest payments create a cycle: the government must borrow more just to cover the interest, leaving it less flexible to spend on infrastructure, education, and other investments that drive growth.
The amount of money needed just to pay the interest on America's debt has swelled over the last decade as interest rates have grown, with interest expense as a percentage of revenue tripling since 2015, according to global market commentator the Kobeissi Letter, citing the Congressional Budget Office, which predicts interest expense levels to climb to 25% by 2036.
"The US debt crisis is in uncharted territory," the Kobeissi Letter wrote on a social media post. "These projections **** ume no major slowdown, recession, or significant rise in Treasury yields over this period."

#interest #kobeissi #letter #record

A top House Republican accused Democratic fundraising powerhouse ActBlue of operating as a "money laundering operation," saying that millions of dollars in foreign contributions had flowed through the platform.
Speaking on the "Fox News Rundown" podcast, Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, said ongoing congressional investigations into the group have uncovered fraud prevention failures and noted that several people affiliated with ActBlue have invoked the Fifth Amendment while being questioned by lawmakers.
"Well, [it's clear] ActBlue had become a money laundering operation for the Democratic Party. And that's very unfortunate," Fallon told Fox News' Jessica Rosenthal.
"Their compliance and fraud prevention was severely lacking, and they actually were training their employees to do almost no verifications."
Texas Ag Paxton Sues Dem Fundraising Platform Actblue, Alleging 'Fraudulent And Foreign Donations'

#democratic #platform

Anti-Israel journalist Rula Jebreal apologized "unconditionally" after calling House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., an "AIPAC monkey" during an interview earlier this week, a remark the Congressional Black Caucus and several Democratic lawmakers condemned as blatantly racist.
The comment came as Jebreal appeared on Wajahat Ali's "The Left Hook" podcast Wednesday and accused Jeffries, who is Black, of carrying out the agenda of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and blasted his support for Israel.
"His name is Hakeem. 'Hakeem' is an Arabic name which means 'healer.' He's not a healer, he's a divider," Jebreal said.
Left-wing Podcaster Blasts Schumer, Jeffries As 'Fascist Collaborators'
Rula Jebreal speaks during a conference on the situation in the Gaza Strip in Parma, Italy, July 3, 2025.

#name

A Republican proposal to amend the Constitution to prevent expanding the number of justices on the Supreme Court failed on the House floor.
Like all constitutional amendments, the measure needed a two-thirds majority of the House to pass, which it did not get: The vote was along party lines at 212-206. Democrats have never supported such an amendment, so it will be easy fodder for Republicans to accuse Democrats of looking to "pack the court" with favorable liberal justices.
Rep. Brad Knott (R-N.C.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he wasn't surprised the vote was along party lines, even though Democrats, in his view, knew there would be "political risk" to voting no.
"Democrats are very clear. They want to pack the court," Knott said. "We want to maintain the normalcy and stick with the process that we've done for a long time."
The Republican campaign arm wasted no time spinning the vote into midterm messaging. Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which helps support and elect Republican candidates, wrote in a statement released minutes after the vote that Democrats voted against the amendment "so they can follow through on a radical socialist agenda."

#republican #knott #committee #along