Author: Curated by: NewYorkGazette.com Est. 1725

CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale fired back at President Donald Trump on Friday for his claims that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “begged” him for a photo, pointing out that Trump has a storied history of shaky claims about being beseeched for things, especially from former allies.“We don’t know for certain who is telling the truth here,” Dale acknowledged Friday on CNN. “What we can say is that if Trump did make up the story, nobody should be shocked. The president has a years-long history of telling false or highly dubious tales about people having supposedly begged him for things.”Dale detailed…

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President Trump’s political appointees quashed an early-stage criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his clemency grant to a convicted fraudster, according to five people with knowledge of the events.The investigation, which has not been previously reported, had begun examining whether improper payments were made to help facilitate the commutation awarded to David Gentile, a private equity executive who was convicted in a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of mostly mom-and-pop investors, some of whom lost their retirement savings.The clemency grant freed Mr. Gentile last November less than two weeks into a seven-year prison sentence, and wiped away the possibility…

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In igniting a war against Iran on Feb. 28, President Trump billed the U.S. campaign as an unprecedented step toward transforming the Middle East and terminating the threat from what he called a “wicked, radical dictatorship.”Roughly 100 days later, as the United States and Iran have reached a somewhat vague memorandum of understanding to end the war, skeptics are expressing bafflement over what exactly has transformed.Neither the war nor the agreement ended what U.S. and Israeli officials regard as the main threats emanating from Iran. The country’s nuclear program, while heavily damaged, was not eliminated — its fate punted to…

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A widely used sodium-ion battery developed by Chinese manufacturer Hina has achieved performance and manufacturing quality levels comparable to Tesla’s lithium-ion batteries, according to research published in the Cell Press journal Cell Reports Physical Science. The findings suggest sodium-ion technology could become a lower-cost alternative for future electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage systems. To reach that goal, however, the battery will need further improvements in low-temperature charging and energy density. Unlike lithium, sodium is abundant and readily available, making it an attractive material for reducing battery costs and supply chain concerns. “The combination of good uniformity, high power capability,…

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Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is returning to normal, even as Iran threatened to close the critical waterway again because of Israeli strikes on Lebanon. “I think it’s returning flows back towards normal without any cooperation at all from Iran; that’s the leverage President Trump used to get the Iranians to come to the table and realize their going to lose all the cards in their hand,” Mr. Wright said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Maybe they can make a deal that brings some benefit to Iran. Maybe they can’t.”…

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The troublesome Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool in Washington is “probably” going to be drained for repairs, Donald Trump has said, after algae blooms and peeling paint marred the controversial recent renovation efforts for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations next month.In a Truth Social post late on Saturday, Trump said that after meeting with pool contractors, they would “probably be forced to release and drain much of the water in order to do the necessary repairs, but will have them done as quickly as possible”.He had earlier acknowledged “real problems” with the pool in the wake of a hasty $14.2m makeover.But he…

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At sunrise, when the day’s first golden glow washes over the 29-foot-tall limestone Jesus atop Mount Cristo Rey, Lourdes Castañon feels the presence of the divine. “The rays catch it,” he said, “and, oh man, I think I’m touching the face of God.”Countless pilgrims from around the world journey to the sacred site just on New Mexico’s side of the southwestern border, but Mr. Castañon fears for its future. At the mountain’s base, President Trump wants to build his border wall, and the small Catholic diocese that owns the land is trying to stop it.The Department of Homeland Security is…

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Vice President JD Vance opened a crucial new round of peace negotiations with Iran on Sunday, aiming for a positive note. But the uphill nature of the talks was dramatized by the fact that the two sides faced immediate hurdles over the unresolved conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.That prompted President Trump to threaten Iran with renewed bombing if it did not rein in its proxy, Hezbollah, which he accused of “causing trouble.”“If they don’t,” he said of Iran in a social media post, “we’ll hit them hard again.”Meeting in Switzerland at a grand, high-altitude resort overlooking Lake Lucerne,…

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