Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to a give closed-door testimony later today over her handling of the Federal government’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his former girlfriend and co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw of Virginia, a member of the House Oversight Committee, joins Way Too early to discuss what he plans on asking Bondi and more.
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CAIR Says Congress, Trump Admin Must Act After New NYT Revelations of Israel’s Widespread Sexual Abuse of Palestinian Prisoners
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on Congress and the Trump administration to take immediate action after a New York Times report detailed horrifying allegations of widespread sexual abuse, rape, torture, and humiliation of Palestinians held in Israeli detention facilities.
This is a hard article to read, but I hope you‘ll do so.
(May 11, 2026)
I‘ve spent some time reporting on widespread rape and other sexual violence of Palestinian male and female prisoners by Israeli authorities, and the article is now published. The assault victims were warned not to give speak of what they endured — they were sometimes told they would be killed or raped if they gave interviews — but they found the courage to do so. One man described being raped three times in a single day in Israeli prison, the third time after he tried to protest. A young woman said the guards would come in at the beginning of each shift and strip her naked and abuse her. Another reported that she was shown photos of herself being raped and warned they would be released unless she cooperated with Israeli intelligence. Even three children who had been detained told me they had been sexually abused. Look, whatever our position on the Middle East, we should be able to agree on being anti-rape. Sexual assaults were horrific when Israeli women were targeted on Oct. 7, and they‘re equally horrific when Israeli authorities use them against Palestinians day after day after day. We should be able to find common ground in opposing rape. Here‘s a gift link to the article:
Israeli Officials Denounce NYT Report on Systemic Sexual Abuse of Palestinians
The article in question, “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” by Nicholas Kristof, recounts the stories of 14 Palestinians who experienced sexual violence at the hands of Israeli soldiers and settlers. A majority of the interviews discuss sexual violence inflicted by soldiers and interrogators on Palestinians in Israeli detention, but others speak of attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank — attacks that are “increasingly protect[ed]” by the Israeli military, according to Kristof. The interviews are reinforced by testimony from Israeli and international human rights organizations, and demonstrate that sexual violence is systemic, used on a daily basis against Palestinians, and effectively Israeli state policy.
The Horror of Sexual Assault in Israeli Prisons
(transcript)
I’m appalled by this pattern of abuse, partly because our American tax dollars subsidize the Israeli security forces. I fear that leaves us complicit. The United States has leverage, and we could use it to insist on an end to the impunity and to demand that Red Cross visits be restored for Palestinian detainees. Look, whether you consider yourself pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian, here’s one thing we should be able to agree on: We’re anti-rape. The horrific abuse inflicted on Israeli women on Oct. 7 now happens to Palestinians day after day after day.
The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians
It’s a simple proposition: Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape.
Supporters of Israel made that point after the brutal sexual assaults against Israeli women during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu and many U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio, condemned that sexual violence, and Netanyahu rightly called on “all civilized leaders” to “speak up.”
And yet in wrenching interviews, Palestinians have recounted to me a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women and even children — by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet internal security agency and, above all, prison guards.
Exclusive: ICC prosecutor Karim Khan details ‚dangerous‘ attempt by states to remove him
The 125 member states of the ICC are represented on the ASP, but the ASP bureau is an executive committee made up of 21 members.
MEE has reported that the states on the bureau which voted to disregard the panel of judges were Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Ecuador, Finland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia, South Korea, and Switzerland.
Khan’s future as prosecutor may ultimately be decided by a vote of ICC member states.
Iran war protester speaks to Al Jazeera from top of Washington bridge | AJ #shorts
A 45-year old man is occupying the top of Washington’s Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge to protest the war on Iran. Guido Reichstadter spoke to Al Jazeera from atop the structure – listen to what he had to say.
Protestor speaks live from atop a Washington DC bridge
A protester who closed down and disrupted peak-hour traffic after climbing a bridge in Washington, D.C., spoke live and exclusively to “Katie Pavlich Tonight” about his cause.
Guido Reichstadter spoke to NewsNation late Friday night while occupying the top of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge in the nation’s capital.
Arms dealer says Clinton and Obama accidentally gave guns to ISIS, Al Qaeda and Benghazi attackers – then tried to scapegoat him for their screw-up with failed $10m felony case
(October 12, 2016)
– Marc Turi ‚had plan to get arms to Libyan rebels in 2011 despite UN ban‘
– But he says Clinton stole the idea and she and CIA did it without him
– However the guns ‚then went to Al Qaeda, ISIS and Benghazi attackers‘
– They tried to scapegoat him by saying he sold the arms illegally, he says
– But he claims that he never sold anything in Libya
– The five-year, $10m case was dropped last week by prosecutors
– He says they didn‘t want to press on because it would compromise Clinton
– The trial would have started on November 8 – which is Election Day
– Turi also hinted at information on weapons that disappeared in Benghazi
Anwältin über Verfassungsschutz: „So schaffen sich Behörden rechtsfreie Räume“
(April 24, 2026)
Voigt: Man musste in der öffentlichen Debatte zuweilen den Eindruck gewinnen, dass diese Zuschreibungen des Verfassungsschutzes unantastbar sind. Dabei sollte man wegen der Grundkonstellation besonders kritisch hinschauen: Der Verfassungsschutz schafft sich durch seine Einstufungen selbst die Grundlage für seine Beobachtungsaktivitäten.
Exclusive: Hezbollah MP Ibrahim Al-Moussawi Says “We Will Be Respecting the Ceasefire”
Al-Moussawi’s statement that this ceasefire is based on the original Iranian deal reached with the U.S. contradicts claims by Trump and Netanyahu that Lebanon would not be included, and by the U.S. State Department that the Lebanon ceasefire be a wholly separate deal.
„They went back to the same ceasefire agreement that has been reached to in Islamabad by the Iranian initiative,” Al-Moussawi told Drop Site. „We will be respecting the ceasefire and we will deal with it cautiously, actually. And the Israelis have to abide by it completely, comprehensively in all of the Lebanese territories, including the areas bordering Palestine. And it should include total cessation of the hostilities and restraint to the movement of the Israelis to stop their assassinations. And it should hopefully be a beginning of a course of the Israeli withdrawal from our occupied territories.“
Pramila Jayapal calls U.S. oil blockade on Cuba ‘outrageous’: Full interview
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press after her visit to Cuba, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) says the Cuban people are being collectively punished by the U.S. oil blockade, and says she would like to see formal negotiations between the two countries.
Scores Arrested at Jewish-Led Protest Demanding New York Senators Vote Against Arms to Israel
Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders said Monday he will force a vote this week on legislation to block the sale of nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of bombs and bulldozers to the Israeli military. Meanwhile, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats will compel a vote on an Iran war powers resolution, now that the House is back in session.
The President Of Iran Interview
(July 8, 2025)
Masoud Pezeshkian, president of Iran.
Wie die Linke und ihre Parteien umgedreht wurden
Thomas Fazi: Die wahre Funktion der NATO wurde von ihrem ersten Generalsekretär, Lord Ismay, perfekt auf den Punkt gebracht, der sie damit beschrieb, „die Russen draußen, die Amerikaner drinnen und die Deutschen unten“ zu halten. Das sagt eigentlich schon alles.
Trump interview: I am strongly considering pulling out of Nato
Singling out the UK, the US president rebuked Sir Keir Starmer for refusing to get involved in the American-Israeli war against Iran, suggesting that the Royal Navy was not up for the task.
“You don’t even have a navy. You’re too old and had aircraft carriers that didn’t work,” he said, referring to the state of Britain’s fleet of warships.
Asked whether the Prime Minister should spend more on defence, Mr Trump added: “I’m not going to tell him what to do. He can do whatever he wants. It doesn’t matter. All Starmer wants is costly windmills that are driving your energy prices through the roof.”
Iran’s FM confirms contact with US envoy Witkoff, denies talks under way
Araghchi explained that they have never had a “good experience” negotiating with the US, adding that one time years ago they secured a deal, only for the US to withdraw from it, alluding to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“We do not have any faith that negotiations with the US will yield any results. The trust level is at zero”, he said, adding: “We don’t see honesty.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also said on Tuesday that the US does not believe in diplomacy, as Iran was attacked twice during negotiations with Washington, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic reported.
Pezeshkian, who held a phone call with European Council President Antonio Costa on Tuesday, also said that while his country has the “necessary will” to end the ongoing war, guarantees are required to “prevent repetition of the aggression”.
FM says Iran has ‚zero‘ trust in US, dismisses efficacy of American ground attack
Speaking in an interview with Al Jazeera, the top diplomat said messages had been exchanged with the United States, either directly or via regional intermediaries, but stressed that these contacts did not constitute negotiations.
„I receive messages from [US envoy Steve] Witkoff directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations,“ he said, according to remarks published by the network on Tuesday.
„There is no truth to the claim of negotiations with any party in Iran,“ he added, categorically rejecting American officials‘ claims of being engaged in such process with Iranian authorities.
Iran says no talks with US, prepared for months of war
“We do not set any deadlines for defending ourselves. We will defend our country and our people as far as necessary and by any means required,” Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera.
Araghchi said Tehran is not engaged in direct negotiations with Washington, contradicting US claims of ongoing talks.
“Negotiation is when two countries engage in talks to reach an agreement, and such a thing does not exist between us and the United States,” he said, while acknowledging that messages have been exchanged indirectly through intermediaries.
Former Interim President of Israel Avraham Burg Speaks Out on Netanyahu’s Killing Spree
(March 24, 2026)
Avraham Burg, former speaker of the Knesset and interim president of Israel, on why Netanyahu can never settle, only kill.
Silvio Rodríguez: ‘The world is run by an authoritarian, warmongering, thieving regime. And it’s not Cuba’
(March 26, 2026)
The image of a rifle in the hands of a singer-songwriter is strange, but not when the one wielding it is Silvio Rodríguez, 79. The Cuban singer-songwriter has spent his entire life singing, directly or indirectly, about the Revolution, its leaders and its ideals; about the martyrs and the guerrillas. “There are politics in my songs, but not propaganda,” says the musician, who receives EL PAÍS on Wednesday at the Ojalá studios in Havana. He speaks of the government’s “orthodox and closed” vision in the economic sphere, and of his commitment to a less “rigid” socialism. “Socialism by the book is very idealistic,” he concludes. He doesn’t budge an inch on his opinion of the United States government: “The world is run by an authoritarian, warmongering, thieving regime. And it’s not Cuba.”
“Stop Us From Getting Into A War”: Joe Kent Reveals Charlie Kirk’s Final Warning In Bombshell Tucker Carlson Interview
The most striking moment of the interview came when Kent recounted his final meeting with Charlie Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder who was instrumental in the current administration’s rise and the selection of JD Vance as Vice President.
“The last time I saw Charlie Kirk on this Earth was in June, in the West Wing,” Kent told Carlson. “He looked me in the eye and he said… ‘Joe, stop us from getting into a war with Iran.’”
According to Kent, Kirk—who was assassinated on September 10, 2025—was one of the few top-tier advisors vocally urging the President to avoid a Middle Eastern conflagration and to “rethink” the unconditional nature of the U.S.-Israeli partnership.
Former counterterrorism chief says he was blocked from investigating Charlie Kirk’s killing
Joe Kent publicly announced his resignation as the director of the National Counterterrorism Center on March 17, stating that he “cannot in good conscience” support the U.S.’s war with Iran.
Kirk was shot dead during a public appearance in Utah on September 10, 2025. A day after his resignation, Kent appeared on The Tucker Carlson Show, where he claimed that his investigation into the killing was blocked.
Joe Kent Reveals All in First Interview Since Resigning as Trump’s Counterterrorism Director
Joe Kent is a former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center and the President’s principal counterterrorism advisor, who served 20 years in the U.S. Army with 11 combat deployments fighting terrorist networks with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Army Special Forces, and U.S. Army Special Operations Command, earning six Bronze Stars. Joe is also a Gold Star husband whose first wife, Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, also served and was killed while fighting ISIS in Syria in 2019.
Joe Kent: Trump Is LYING To You
Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, talks to Tucker Carlson about Iran and his resignation letter. Ana Kasparian discusses on The Young Turks.
Takeaways from former Trump administration counterterrorism chief Joe Kent’s extensive interview
“There was no intelligence that said, hey, on whatever day it was, March 1st, the Iranians are going to launch this big sneak attack, they’re going to do some kind of a 9/11, Pearl Harbor, etc. They’re going to attack one of our bases. There was none of that intelligence,” Kent said.
Trump and the the White House have repeatedly cited an imminent threat posed by Iran as an impetus for launching strikes against the country.
Kent further argued that the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who died last month in joint US and Israeli strikes, had been moderating the country’s nuclear program.