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Deposit $20, get $50 for Braves vs. White Sox using the Polymarket promo code NYPMAX.

Podcaster Joe Rogan urged President Trump to “stick to the UFC” after Knicks fans booed the president at Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

ActBlue CEO Pleads The Fifth During House Panel Hearing

Authored by Darlene McCormick Sanchez via The Epoch Times,

ActBlue CEO Regina Wallace-Jones invoked the Fifth Amendment on Wednesday before the House Administration Committee, surrounding reports that she may have misled Congress about how the platform vets foreign donations.

The U.S. Capitol building on June 9, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Wallace-Jones had originally agreed to testify voluntarily before Congress concerning ActBlue's vetting process for foreign contributions to domestic candidates. But her attorneys requested a congressional subpoena on Monday, ahead of her June 10 testimony, according to committee lawmakers.

The House asked Wallace-Jones to testify after a recent New York Times report included memos from Covington & Burling, a law firm that worked for ActBlue, warning that she may have misled Congress about the process for screening overseas donations.

ActBlue is the dominant Democratic fundraising platform. In 2025 alone, the platform reported raising almost $1.8 billion from 52 million contributions, and Q4 that year marked the single-largest off-cycle quarter in ActBlue history.

Under federal election law, foreign nationals or those who are not permanent residents are forbidden to donate directly to federal candidates or political action committees.

Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) said only Americans should decide their elections during the hearing titled, "Preventing Fraudulent Donations: Transparency, Verification, and Accountability."

🚨 HOLY SMOKES. ActBlue just PLED THE 5TH and REFUSED to answer about getting foreign donations infiltrating US politics on behalf of Democrats

She wouldn't even refute getting RUSSIAN money! 🤯

ActBlue is a FRAUD group. Shut it down!

REP. JIM JORDAN: Your board chairman said… pic.twitter.com/iYfda3A6so

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 10, 2026

"Ms. Wallace-Jones is here today because there's a significant concern that ActBlue may have allowed foreign donations on their platform, lied to Congress, and withheld responsive documents from a congressional subpoena," Steil said. "All three of those actions are illegal."

Steil said Wallace-Jones provided a 2023 letter to Congress stating that ActBlue prevents foreign donations by requiring donors with a foreign address to provide U.S. passport information. If a contribution appears to be from a foreign address, ActBlue contacts the donor to request U.S. passport information. The platform would then refund the contribution if ActBlue was unable to contact the donor.

"The New York Times reported that ActBlue's outside counsel determined those three steps are not always followed," Steil said.

Surrounded by attorneys, Wallace-Jones did not answer any questions posed during the hearing, citing the "attorney-client privilege and my Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution."

Wallace-Jones wrote an opinion piece in The Washington Post that appeared on the day of her hearing, saying she would invoke her Fifth Amendment "rights against self-incrimination."

"This is a proceeding designed to build an illegitimate criminal case against us. I cannot and will not let my words be misused in that way," she opined.

Democrats on the committee called the hearing political theater and questioned why the Republican fundraising platform, WinRed, wasn't receiving equal scrutiny from Republicans.

"We're here because Republicans want to talk about ActBlue, not because they're serious about strengthening campaign finance laws or actually strengthening the abuse of fraud in this country," said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Administrative Committee ranking member Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.) said Republicans are ignoring alleged problems with WinRed. He accused the platform of victimizing elderly Americans.

Morelle also requested a subpoena for Republican Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who, as Texas attorney general, sued ActBlue in state court on April 20. The lawsuit alleged that the platform misleads consumers by illegally accepting fraudulent foreign donations for federal and state candidates.

ActBlue filed a countersuit on May 1 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, seeking to block Paxton's lawsuit. Attorneys for the platform asked a federal judge to declare Paxton's ongoing ActBlue investigation and lawsuit unconstitutional, alleging violations of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

ActBlue accused Paxton of escalating his investigation after donations for James Talarico, his Democratic opponent in the Texas Senate race, surged.

Paxton responded on the day the suit was filed, saying in an X post that ActBlue was "trying to take [him] down."

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) speaks at a hearing with the House Administration subcommittee on Elections in Washington on June 24, 2021. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Tyler Durden Thu, 06/11/2026 - 10:20

Bessent Pulls Trigger On Using Frozen Funds To Reimburse Gulf Allies: 'Iran Will Pay'

US Treasury Secretary Bessent announced on X Thursday morning that Washington is moving forward on a plan to compensate America's Gulf regional allies for damage sustained during Iranian counterattacks on their energy and civic infrastructure.

He made clear that any damage to Gulf allies would be paid for with frozen Iranian funds, which Tehran leadership has long blasted as blatant theft.

According to Bessent's latest announcement: "The Iranian regime will lose the zero-sum game it is playing." The Treasury Secretary listed out the following new policy and plan:

• Any damage it inflicts on our allies in the Gulf will be paid for with funds extracted from Iranian Accounts.
• Any tolls paid to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority will be offset by funds extracted from their accounts.
• Every attack Iran launches will only deepen the economic and financial consequences it faces.

via Reuters

Interestingly, there is implicit here a possible acknowledgement that US forces won't be able to immediately be able to stop Iran from enacting its toll collection protocol, which it has hinted is being done in coordination - or at least with an 'understanding' - from Oman, which itself has come under pressure from the Trump administration of late.

Over eighty oil, gas, and vital infrastructure facilities across the Gulf have been hit - with most of the attacks having occurred in March and April - with one recent report estimating up to $58 billion in damage. Iran has sought to justify these attacks as 'retaliation' for these Gulf countries hosting American bases during the US unprovoked assault on the Islamic Republic.

An unnamed US official had previously told ABC's Senior White House correspondent Selina Wang last weekend: "Treasury will utilize all tools available to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for any future damage caused by Iran."

"The Secretary has also directed his team to assess conditions amongst our Gulf allies and request comprehensive estimates of the costs associated with repairing damage Iran has inflicted since the start of the conflict," the source had added.

Also as part of that earlier reporting, it was revealed:

The Iranian assets could include frozen assets and ships the U.S. has seized. The administration is reaching out to Gulf allies right now and asking for their evaluation.

This is only likely to further derail efforts to get Tehran and Washington back to the negotiating table. Already the US has balked at Iran's own insistent it be given reparations for damage done.

Iran is meanwhile still demanding that its billions in funds long frozen by Washington be given back as part of a deal. The Trump administration has so far rejected this, at least in terms of its public-facing position.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/11/2026 - 10:00

The world's first official Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizzeria opens this month on Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade, bringing New York-style pizza to fans.

Before the grass sees its first action, The Post talked to those involved with the project and numerous soccer experts about the process behind creating MetLife's pitch.

The wait for "Heated Rivarly" Season 2 continues, but breakout star Storrie is already back on our screens.

The wait for "Heated Rivarly" Season 2 continues, but breakout star Storrie is already back on our screens.

A Georgia high school senior who was recently shot three times at a family gathering appeared at his graduation with a bullet still lodged in his cheek.

Around 70 teen girls were located safely after venturing into the sewer system during a school field trip in Nyack, New York on Wednesday, authorities said.

The 69-year-old's "Inside the NBA" co-hosts joked that he should ask the pop star and her fiancé, Travis Kelce, "for a wedding invite."

The 69-year-old's "Inside the NBA" co-hosts joked that he should ask the pop star and her fiancé, Travis Kelce, "for a wedding invite."

You gotta know when to fold 'em....

In the half century that has elapsed since the release of Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Disclosure Day,” which opens today, perception surrounding so-called UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) in both Hollywood and the broader public has shifted seismically.

"Disclosure Day" is expected to open between $40M and $50M this weekend against some stiff, non-film related competition, according to box-office tracking so far.

Melanie was stunning before and after her body transformation. 

During an interview on Jake Shane's "Therapuss" podcast, the comedian was asked how life was after he left the NBC sketch comedy show last year.

During an interview on Jake Shane's "Therapuss" podcast, the comedian was asked how life was after he left the NBC sketch comedy show last year.

Austin Metcalf's heartbroken father showed remarkable compassion for Karmelo Anthony after the teen was sentenced to decades behind bars for fatally stabbing his son.

War And Piece

By Michael Every of Rabobank

Sorry, Bank of Canada (rates held at 2.25%), Chinese CPI and PPI (1.2% and 3.9% y-o-y headline) US CPI (0.5% m-o-m and 4.2% y-o-y headline, 0.2% and 2.9% core), and the ECB today: you all matter but are just pieces of the global picture one now needs to finish: the war vs. Iran.

Changing the recent pattern, President Trump said he would strike Iran again today and did. At time of writing, nearly 50 Tomahawk missiles had been fired alongside airstrikes against radar and drone installations, with a disputed report that a petrochemicals plant was also hit. Even by the standards of the ‘peacefire’ --which, as I’d argued yesterday morning, Iran’s leadership then agreed no longer suits them-- this is a major escalation.

However, the US is still holding back compared to what it can do militarily, and Israel is sitting on its hands. Notably, Trump told Fox News he has been in direct contact with senior Iranian leadership, a new development, and they had asked him to stop bombing: to which he claims he told them to sign the deal on the table, or on Thursday evening he will “Bomb the s**t out of them.” In other words, hits against infrastructure, energy, and nuclear sites, can’t be ruled out.

The immediate Iranian response has been to declare Hormuz entirely closed to all ships. However, despite the fact that Iran was prepared for these US strikes there have, as yet, been no successful counterstrikes against US bases in the Middle East or against GCC energy and water infrastructure. Will this happen with a lag? If not is Iran unable to do so, or just unwilling to? Equally, will Iran act with the Houthis to close the Bab-el-Mandeb and Red Sea, making this energy crisis far worse?

These are staggeringly important geopolitical questions on which global markets, and the BoC and Chinese and US inflation, will ultimately pivot.

So far, the market reaction has been relatively mild – oil only up around $2. Perhaps part of that is down to another piece of the Iran puzzle that has befuddled energy experts and visitors from outside the field – what is happening in terms of oil flows from Hormuz.

Trump had yesterday announced the US is taking “millions of barrels of oil” from Iran, causing the usual consternation. A breakdown of what he meant comes from shipping maven @mercoglianos, who argues the US secretly resumed Project Freedom to escort ships through Hormuz using autonomous vehicles, aircraft, and drones to escort ships through the southern Strait near Oman. Very Large Crude Carriers are exiting the Gulf, conducting ship-to-ship transfers to smaller tankers near Oman, then returning to pick up more oil. In that regard, oil can flow even as the number of ships stuck in the Gulf appears unchanged. War risk insurance, potentially provided by the US Development Finance Corporation, could be covering these few ships making the transits. Yet Iran has been targeting them and the US responding with airstrikes: the Apache helicopter just shot down, triggering a new US attack, was likely part of this operation.

Of course, what may have been happening invisibly, despite 24/7 market coverage, can’t compensate for normal Gulf flows, which is why the plunge in the US and Japan’s SPR and a huge drop in China’s oil imports --none of which are sustainable-- are doing the heavy lifting to keep oil below $100. That dynamic always pointed to escalation: will it be military now, via the US; with others later as more energy panic kicks in; or via more backchannel diplomacy from China? 

Regardless, it’s hard to make economic or central bank forecasts without one for the Iran War, as the FT says airlines are drawing up cuts for an 'ugly' winter’ due to stubbornly high jet fuel prices; Reuters notes global container shipping rates are soaring and “Fuel analysts and maritime experts warn it could take around a year for bunker fuel supplies to return to normal even if Trump is able to quickly clinch an Iran deal”; and the UK Telegraph argues farmers may have to stop planting crops without government support.

But geopolitics and geoeconomics are to the fore everywhere and it’s not only energy and petrochemicals being squeezed.

In the Middle East, Turkey’s President Erdogan claimed Israel’s strikes on Lebanon and Syria threaten it and “its aggression must be stopped”, after talking about the liberation of Jerusalem. Israel’s diplomatic response was equally undiplomatic; Saudi Arabia resumed imports from Lebanon after a five-year hiatus; and a Saudi-Turkey rail link may be completed within three years.

In the Americas, Trump suggested he may not renew the USMCA trade deal with Mexico and Canada; and US Secretary of War Hegseth warned Cuba that any arms procurement by it seen as threatening the US could invite a confrontation - we are talking about 1956 at the moment, so why not 1962 too?

In Europe, five capitals are reportedly calling to freeze voting rights for new EU members, radically changing the structure of the Union; Politico reports ‘French far-right firebrand’ Zemmour is embracing MAGA to try to pay political dividends at home ahead of the 2027 presidential election; and the South China Morning Post asks ‘As de-dollarisation trends persist, can the yuan take the euro’s place?’, meaning taking the #2 spot in global settlements from the single currency.

In Australia, the political scene continues to churn with talk of a ‘non-compete’ clause and voting preference deal between the centre-right Liberals and populist right One Nation that has suddenly soared in the polls.

In Asia, Taiwan fired US mobile missile launchers into the waters facing China for the first time as “a message of resolve”, according to the Wall Street Journal; the US has asked China to resume rare earth exports to Japan, which have been cut off, as Tokyo pivots to US tungsten scrap exports to fill that gap, and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s curbs on cobalt exports have sparked shortages for everyone, including China; Japan’s parliament passed a revised economic security law to support overseas projects (as Bloomberg asks ‘Who’s Afraid of ‘Japanese Neo-Militarism’? Nobody’ - that’s arguably not true; and BOJ Governor Ueda has been hospitalized and is expected to miss the June policy meeting. Get well soon and perhaps be can follow the Iran news from there.

Indeed, now back to whatever piece of the war you happen to be focusing on.

Tyler Durden Thu, 06/11/2026 - 09:40