
Trump turns 78, a birthday he wishes ‘doesn’t exist’
CNN
In a rare speechless moment Sunday, Donald Trump stepped back from the microphone as his Las Vegas supporters spontaneously broke into a disjointed rendition of the world’s most recognizable song.
In a rare speechless moment Sunday, Donald Trump stepped back from the microphone as his Las Vegas supporters spontaneously broke into a disjointed rendition of the world’s most recognizable song. “There’s a certain point at which you don’t want to hear ‘Happy Birthday,’” the former president said when they finished. “You just want to pretend the day doesn’t exist.” The day does exist, and it’s today. Trump is now 78 years old. It’s an age that has clearly occupied space in Trump’s mind for some time. “Just remember what I’m telling you: 78 is not old,” Trump asserted to a New York Post gossip columnist almost two years ago. The offhand remark came during a conversation about his first wife, Ivanna, upon the occasion of her passing at age 73. The significance of 78 is unmistakable. It’s the same age his opponent, President Joe Biden, turned shortly after winning the election in 2020. Concerns about Biden’s fitness for office have followed him ever since, accentuated by a physical decline and diminished appearance that Trump’s allies and his campaign have gleefully amplified.

White House officials are heaping blame on DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro over her office’s criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, faulting her for blindsiding them with an inquiry that has forced the administration into a dayslong damage control campaign, four people familiar with the matter told CNN.

The aircraft used in the US military’s first strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, a strike which has drawn intense scrutiny and resulted in numerous Congressional briefings, was painted as a civilian aircraft and was part of a closely guarded classified program, sources familiar with the program told CNN. Its use “immediately drew scrutiny and real concerns” from lawmakers, one of the sources familiar said, and legislators began asking questions about the aircraft during briefings in September.

DOJ pleads with lawyers to get through ‘grind’ of Epstein files as criticism of redactions continues
“It is a grind,” the head of the Justice Department’s criminal division said in an email. “While we certainly encourage aggressive overachievers, we need reviewers to hit the 1,000-page mark each day.”

A new classified legal opinion produced by the Justice Department argues that President Donald Trump was not limited by domestic law when approving the US operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro because of his constitutional authority as commander-in-chief and that he is not constrained by international law when it comes to carrying out law enforcement operations overseas, according to sources who have read the memo.









