It's Been Reported

Trump Signs Order Outlining Plans To Make DC 'Safe And Beautiful' (Just the News) — President Donald Trump on Thursday night signed an executive order that highlighted plans to make the nation's capital "safe and beautiful," in part through the creation of a task force focused on cleaning up crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C. The task force will also assist with recruiting police officers, revising policies on keeping people detained who are accused of dangerous crimes, and helping with redirecting resources to apprehend and deport illegal immigrants. "As the Federal capital city, Washington, D.C., is the only city that belongs to all Americans and that all Americans can claim as theirs," the president said in the order. "As the capital city of the greatest Nation in the history of the world, it should showcase beautiful, clean, and safe public spaces. "America's capital must be a place in which residents, commuters, and tourists feel safe at all hours, including on public transit," the order continued. "Its highways, boulevards, and parks should be clean, well-kept, and pleasant. Its monuments, museums, and buildings should reflect and inspire awe and appreciation for our Nation's strength, greatness, and heritage. Our citizens deserve nothing less." See full story	ABC News Ignores Urban Heat Island Effect On Early Cherry Blossoms, Blames Climate Change (Climate Dispatch) — ABC News ran a story this week reporting on the early bloom of the cherry blossom trees in Washington, D.C., attributing the early bloom to climate change. This is false. Although the cherry blossom bloom has arrived earlier in recent years, the cause is the population increase in D.C and development that has caused localized heat biases from the urban heat island (UHI) effect, causing fewer late season freezes and higher average nighttime temperatures in the area. The same is true for Tokyo. The reporter in the ABC News item, “Cherry blossoms blooming earlier due to climate change,” says that “Washington’s iconic cherry blossoms are approaching peak bloom, and it’s happening earlier due to human-amplified climate change.” This change, while not catastrophic, is disrupting travel to see the blooms, causing travelers who come to D.C. to see the bloom annually to have to plan for earlier vacations. Similar stories have run in past years around this time of year over the past decade, including in the Washington Post in 2023 and the BBC describing a similar situation in Tokyo in 2024. See full story
Marco Rubio Announces State Department To Officially Close USAID (Just the News) — The State Department on Friday announced it is officially closing down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), after the administration won a court case allowing them to do so. The formal closure will take place by July 1, and the State Department will take over many of the agency's responsibilities, according to the New York Post. “Foreign assistance done right can advance our national interests, protect our borders, and strengthen our partnerships with key allies," Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted to X. "Unfortunately, USAID strayed from its original mission long ago. As a result, the gains were too few and the costs were too high. Thanks to President [Donald] Trump, this misguided and fiscally irresponsible era is now over." The secretary said the department is "reorienting" the agency's foreign assistance programs, and will continue its "essential lifesaving programs." Members of Congress have also been notified of the decision. See full story	A Simple Mistake Might Have Encouraged Sick People To Eat The Dead (Health) — The history of medicine is filled with remedies that, viewed through a modern lens, seem perplexing, misguided or downright macabre. Among these is "mumia" – a medicinal substance derived from mummified human remains. From the 12th to the 17th century, physicians across Europe prescribed powdered mummy as a cure-all for ailments ranging from internal bleeding and broken bones to epilepsy and melancholia. Once regarded as a potent elixir infused with the life force of the ancients, mumia was a staple in apothecaries, sought after by the wealthy and recommended by the learned. Yet, as medical knowledge evolved, so too did attitudes toward this unusual remedy, and by the 18th century, it had largely faded into obscurity. The belief in mumia's healing power was deeply rooted in prevailing medical theories of the time. One such theory was the doctrine of signatures, which held that natural substances resembled the ailments they were meant to cure. See full story
Snow White And The Empty Cinemas: Embarrassing Photos Show Deserted Theatres With NO Bookings In Primetime Slots As Woke-Buster Becomes 'Hilariously Abysmal' Flop (Daily Mail) — The crisis facing the Walt Disney Company over its controversial Snow White reboot deepened today amid pictures of empty cinemas and screens with no bookings in primetime slots following a poor opening weekend. Studio bosses had hoped that the reboot of the 1937 original, which had a budget of more than $270million (£210million), would launch with at least £79million ($100million) in ticket sales. But the movie starring Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot took just $87.3million (£67.4million) globally including $43million (£33million) in the US after a slow start followed a slew of negative reviews. Meanwhile, in mainland China, Snow White ranked outside the top five movies in cinemas – bringing in less than $1million (£800,000) in its first three days. See full story	Three Illegal Immigrants Charged After Fiery Texas Crash Leaves One Dead (Fox News) — Three illegal immigrants have been charged in connection with a deadly drunk-driving crash Saturday night on a highway in Arlington, Texas. According to the Arlington Police Department, 25-year-old Cesar Ramirez Castro was driving a Ford-150 when he swerved onto the shoulder of I-20, slamming the truck into a parked vehicle. The vehicle then collided with a concrete barrier, setting it ablaze. When the fire was extinguished, a 22-year-old man was found dead inside the vehicle. Police charged Ramirez Castro with one count of intoxication manslaughter and one count of collision involving death. According to jail records, he has an immigration hold. See full story
15-Year-Old Boy Now Fourth Suspect Charged With Homicide In New Mexico Mass Shooting (Fox News) — A 15-year-old boy became the fourth person arrested and charged with three counts of homicide after Friday night's mass shooting at a New Mexico park. A third suspect, aged 17, was taken into custody Sunday morning. Tomas Rivas, 20, and a different 17-year-old boy were arrested on Saturday evening, Las Cruces Police said on Facebook. The victims who died in Friday evening's shooting at Young Park have been identified as 16-year-old Andrew Madrid, 18-year-old Jason Gomez and 19-year-old Dominick Estrada. Police say Madrid and Gomez died on the scene, while Estrada died after being taken to a hospital. Fifteen victims, whose ages range between 16 and 36, were injured. Nine are male and six are female, police said, adding that they will not release their names to "protect their privacy." Medical conditions of the surviving victims have not been released. See full story	How Tesla Owners Are Catching Vandals In The Act, And Sending Them To Jail (Fox Business) — Tesla owners can activate a security measure on their vehicles called "sentry mode," which can help deter or even bust threats in the wake of widespread vandalism targeting Elon Musk’s electric car company. Sentry mode, when enabled, keeps the cameras and sensors of the vehicle powered on and ready to record suspicious activity that happens nearby. "Think of Sentry Mode as an intelligent vehicle security system that alerts you when it detects possible threats nearby," according to the Tesla Model 3 owner’s manual. Tesla vehicles with sentry mode activated will pulse the headlights, sound the alarm and display a message on the touchscreen saying that cameras may be recording as a warning to those outside the vehicle if a threat is detected or if its sensors pick of "jerky movement" like being towed or shaken. See full story
Trump Portrait In Colorado State House To Be Removed (TRS) — A portrait of President Donald hanging at the Colorado state Capitol will be taken down after Trump claimed it was “purposefully distorted,” state officials said Monday. House Democrats said in a statement that the oil painting would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the Legislature. “If the GOP wants to spend time and money on which portrait of Trump hangs in the Capitol, then that’s up to them,” the Democrats said. The portrait was painted by artist Sarah Boardman during Trump’s first term and unveiled in 2019. Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 through a GoFundMe account to commission the oil painting. The portraits are not the purview of the Colorado governor’s office, but the Colorado Building Advisory Committee. Boardman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. See full story	Deja Vu: Georgia Woman Murdered. Guess Who Did It. (PJ Media) — Fifty-two-year-old Camillia Williams, by all accounts, adored her family. She had five children and several grandchildren. The Louisiana native was also the youngest of 13 siblings. Earlier this month, police found her body dumped in a wooded area in Cobb County, Ga., two days after she was murdered. The person who owned the property said she discovered Williams' remains. Police say someone put her in a "chokehold until she lost consciousness" and then "put both his knees and full body weight on her neck, killing her." It didn't take too long for police to find the suspect. Twenty-one-year-old Hector David Sagastume Rivas is currently charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. Oh yeah, and he's not even supposed to be in the country. According to the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Sagastume Rivas came to the United States from Honduras in March 2021 – when Joe Biden was president – and was arrested at the border by Border Patrol. But it sounds like he was caught and released. See full story