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Posts posted by smokebomb
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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/23/trump-jeffrey-epstein-files-wsj.html?__source=androidappshare
QuoteTrump was told his name was in Jeffrey Epstein files before DOJ withheld documents: WSJ
PUBLISHED WED, JUL 23 20254:27 PM EDT
- President Donald Trump was told in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared multiple times in Department of Justice documents about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- Trump’s meeting with Bondi at the White House as reported by the Journal occurred weeks before the DOJ said it would not release the Epstein files to the public, despite the attorney general’s earlier promises to do so.
- Trump has directed Bondi to seek the unsealing of transcripts for grand jury proceedings related to federal probes of Epstein and his convicted procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Attorney General Pam Bondi told President Donald Trump at a meeting in May that his name appeared multiple times in Department of Justice documents about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The May date reported by the Journal was weeks before the DOJ’s July 7 announcement that it would not release the Epstein files despite earlier promises by the attorney general, who leads the DOJ, and others in the president’s orbit that the material would be disclosed to the public.
The DOJ said Wednesday in a statement that Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche discussed the Epstein files with Trump as part of their “routine briefing” but did not specify the timing of the briefing.
The Journal reported that the president was also told at the meeting that “many other high-profile figures were also named” in the Epstein files and that the “files contained what officials felt was unverified hearsay about many people, including Trump, who had socialized with Epstein in the past.”
Being mentioned in the Epstein records is not a sign of wrongdoing, the Journal noted.
The DOJ’s decision not to release the Epstein files sparked backlash from Trump’s MAGA supporters, who have obsessed over conspiracies related to the Epstein case for years.
In the face of that criticism from his political base, Trump last week directed Bondi to seek the unsealing of transcripts for grand jury proceedings related to federal probes of Epstein and his convicted procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump had been friends with Epstein for years, but the two men fell out long before Epstein killed himself in jail in August 2019, weeks after being arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges. Epstein also had many other wealthy, high-profile friends, including Britain’s Prince Andrew.
Reached for comment on the Journal’s new reporting, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told CNBC, “The fact is that The President kicked [Epstein] out of his [Mar-a-Lago] club for being a creep.”
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about,” Cheung said.
In a joint statement Wednesday on the Journal’s reporting, Bondi and Blanche said, “The DOJ and FBI reviewed the Epstein Files and reached the conclusion set out in the July 6 memo. Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts.”
“As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings,” Blanche and Bondi said.
Trump was asked last week by an ABC News journalist if Bondi had told him “your name appeared in the files.”
“No, no,” Trump replied. “She’s given us just a very quick briefing, and in terms of the credibility of the different things that they’ve seen.”
Trump went on to say he believed that “these files were made up by” former FBI director James Comey and by the administrations of former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
The DOJ last week fired Manhattan federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of James Comey, whose past cases had included the federal prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell.
The Journal last week published an article reporting that Trump in 2003 sent Epstein a “bawdy” letter to mark his 50th birthday, at Maxwell’s request.
The letter “contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker,” the Journal reported.
“A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair,” according to the newspaper.
“The letter concludes: ‘Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,’” the Journal wrote.
Trump has angrily denied writing the letter.
“This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story,” he said Thursday. “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
On Friday, the president filed a defamation lawsuit related to the story against media mogul Rupert Murdoch; News Corp, which Murdoch’s family controls; News Corp’s CEO, Robert Thomson; the Journal’s publisher, Dow Jones & Co.; and the two reporters who wrote the article, which was published Thursday evening. News Corp owns the Journal.
Trump’s lawsuit seeks at least $10 billion in damages.
A Dow Jones spokesperson told CNBC: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
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4 minutes ago, royiv said:
Hot Wheels vetoed the ban. Let’s see how Patrick reacts.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/22/texas-thc-ban-bill-greg-abbott-veto-senate-bill-3/
QuoteGOV. GREG ABBOTT VETOES THC BAN
THE MOVE IS LIKELY TO INFURIATE LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK, THE POWERFUL HEAD OF THE SENATE, WHO HAD CALLED THE BAN AMONG HIS TOP FIVE BILLS OVER 17 YEARS IN THE LEGISLATURE.
BY KAYLA GUO
JUNE 22, 202511:38 PM CENTRAL.
Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday vetoed a contentious state ban on THC products, keeping the Texas hemp industry alive while spiking a top priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
Senate Bill 3 would have banned consumable hemp products that contained any synthetic cannabinoid, often known as delta-8.
Abbott, who had remained quiet about the issue throughout the legislative session, rejected the measure just minutes before the veto deadline amid immense political pressure from both sides of the aisle, including from hardline conservatives typically supportive of Patrick’s priorities.
Abbott’s veto puts him directly at odds with Patrick, the powerful head of the Senate, who had called the THC ban among his “top five” bills during his 17 years in the Legislature and threatened in February to force a special session if he did not get his way.
Supporters of SB 3 argued that a full prohibition was necessary to protect young people from consuming products with high concentrations of THC. Patrick, in a May news conference renewing his criticism of the industry, called THC-infused products — such as gummies, beverages and vapes — a “poison in our public.”
The measure became one of Patrick’s most visible priorities this session, as he visited several cannabis stores and filmed amateur-style investigative videos of what he described as dangerous practices.
Abbott’s veto comes six years after the Legislature inadvertently opened the door to a surge in hemp-based products when lawmakers, meaning to boost Texas agriculture, authorized the sale of consumable hemp.
Though that 2019 law does not allow products to contain more than trace amounts of delta-9 THC, it did not establish that same threshold for other hemp derivatives. Critics say the hemp industry exploited that loophole to usher in more than 8,000 retailers selling THC-laced edibles, drinks, vapes and flower buds across Texas.
Since then, the state hemp industry has exploded, accounting for roughly 50,000 jobs and generating $8 billion in tax revenue annually, according to one estimate.
The hemp industry, in addition to some military veterans and farmers, had pushed for stronger regulations over a ban. Veterans and other Texans managing chronic pain and other conditions described how consumable hemp products have helped them cope and allow them to avoid opioids.
But Patrick and his allies managed to advance a full prohibition through the House, swapping out a proposed regulatory framework — which would have barred sales and marketing to minors, bolstered law enforcement and banned certain synthetics — for a ban.
As an attempted counterbalance, the Legislature also boosted the state’s medical marijuana program, expanding the types of products, the number of dispensaries and the qualifying health conditions, as well as reducing some of the costly regulations on dispensaries.
Whether Abbott would veto SB 3 became a leading question after the end of the legislative session, with the governor giving few hints and maintaining only that he would carefully consider every piece of legislation that landed on his desk.
After SB 3 passed, the hemp industry waged a high-octane campaign urging the governor to veto the bill and accusing lawmakers of putting politics over sensible policy. Opposition to the ban came from across the political spectrum, amping up pressure on Abbott and putting Patrick in an unfamiliar position in the crosshairs of conservative activists who tend to march in lockstep with him.
“This is stupid,” Dana Loesch, the former National Rifle Association spokesperson who now hosts a nationally syndicated conservative talk radio show, wrote on social media responding to Patrick’s argument that the ban would keep THC away from children. “It's like the gun ban argument with a different variable. Kids aren't buying it anymore than any other controlled product (alcohol, cigarettes, et al) and if they are, do your job as a parent and parent instead of idiotically expanding government.”
Ahead of Sunday’s deadline, Texas Democrats said if Abbott didn’t veto SB 3, they hoped the ban might help galvanize voters against Republicans in next year’s statewide elections. Abbott and Patrick are both up for re-election, though political experts said the issue alone was unlikely to pose a serious political threat.
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12 hours ago, Blotto said:
Allright....I'm tempted to grab a flight on one of these shitbuckets as they are apparently the only direct flight between Austin and Asheville these days. How bad is this going to be? Worse than Spirit? I guess I could always fly direct into Charlotte and grab a rental car for the weekend, but that seems like a lot of additional cost and hassle. @Celery Man you ever fly Allegiant to austin?
Aw shit, I think CM is in Raleigh, not Asheville. anybody else fly Allegiant lately?
We flew out on them last week from Austin to Knoxville. The flight was fine and the plane was on a newish Airbus. The South terminal is super simple & easy so that makes things easier on the Austin end. They are no frills & we only use them for directs we can’t get otherwise out of Austin. If you want to check multiple bags & pick your seat, their cost approaches that of other airlines.
As mentioned:
1. You have to pay for both checked baggage & carry on (your small personal bag is free)
2. You have to pay to select your seats or your group could get dispersed all over the plane.
3. Bring your boarding pass (digitally or in paper) or they will charge you ($5?) to print it at the airport.
4. At Austin, the Allegiant staff is nice but they handle both checking bags & customer service. Don’t expect them to be speedy if you’ve a request.
5. You aren’t, but I’d never fly them if there was a connection. They typically don’t have service every day so any delays/cancelations could result in a multi-day delay to your destination.-
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7 minutes ago, Tonesky said:
Thanks, this validates my initial sense that IF we choose to cruise, Virgin Mediterranean seems the best option. I understand that the average passenger is older, but what about 18-21 year olds? If we do this, will there likely be young adults my kids can latch on to, or will they be hanging with geezers like their parents?
Compared to other cruise lines, Virgin skews towards an older crowd in general and more so on the Mediterranean cruises due to their higher costs. It is not a ship with as many 20 year olds so if they are looking for a bunch of 20-something young adults to hang with, Virgin won’t have a ton. But the general atmosphere on Virgin is young at heart so I think they’d still have fun. Virgin also has a mixer for solo cruisers (any age) the first night for people who are looking for a friend group to hang with. And with all the events the cruise puts on throughout the trip, they will have plenty of things to choose from.
Damnit - I am sounding like one of those cruise people I said we weren’t…
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To set the tone - we are not cruise people but we did a Mediterranean cruise on Virgin Voyages last fall. It was a lot of fun and we would consider doing another one, maybe for Alaska. Again - we are not really into cruises and we have zero desire to do any of the Caribbean cruises, not even on Virgin. For that, we would just visit any islands individually.
What convinced us to do a Virgin Mediterranean cruise:
1. Europe is a long trip and traveling to only one of the many islands from the US is not really efficient. We were never going to say "Let's travel to Europe and visit Crete or Sardinia" but the cruise allowed us to see many places we never really would have otherwise.
2. Virgin looked to offer a very nice/not cheap experience and it was. We did upgrade to Rockstar status, which removes waiting in any lines and a larger cabin. I totally would suggest it if you can afford it. You also get a personal concierge that takes care of bookings events/other requests as well as access to a less crowded deck area. The "skip to the front of the line" was worth the price alone.
3. No kids under 18 on Virgin are allowed. This is huge and not because we hated kids, but because it changes the atmosphere. There are a lot of adult themed events on Virgin that I believe you do not get on other cruises. This will keep you & your 18 year old kids engaged and entertained while not felling like an amusement park.
4. No buffets - all of the dining is restaurants. Most of them were decent and nothing was awful. It also means there is not a lot of options for snacking, which we liked.
All in all, I would definitely suggest Virgin for anyone without young kids and especially for traveling the Mediterranean.
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5 minutes ago, Armybrat said:Couldn’t the Israelis use one of their own C-130 Hercules to haul a 30,000lb. bunker buster and drop on the Fordow facility? It has the carrying capacity.
The GBU-43/B MOAB can be dropped from a C-130 but it is an air burst bomb, not a bunker buster that would be needed for Fordow.
The GBU-57A/B MOP is the bunker buster bomb that would be needed for destroying Fordow but it can only be currently deployed from a B-2 bomber. It was tested from a B-52 but that isn't its current delivery platform.
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My understanding is:
Original owners started it in ‘76.
Some lady bought it from them in the late 90s, failed to pay sales tax, it gets shut down in 2002.Zoob takes it over by paying back taxes after having been a regular.
Regarding Zoob, talked to a bartender there tonight and Zoob passed away Sunday morning. They are having a private party there Friday for him as per the sign in the door.
I didn’t ask what was going to happen now he is gone but they better not change a thing. Frieda’s cheese enchiladas still slam.RIP Zoob. Long Live TCP.
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Starship attempts its 9th launch today at 6:30pm CDT:
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-9
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An FYI for anyone springing for a new roof - if you can afford it, look at getting the new grade 4 shingles that are available. They have the same impact resistance as metal roofs but are not as expensive. The Malarkey ones we installed are still pricey but we got over a 33% reduction in our insurance premium because of them. It highlights just how much hail & roof replacement is affecting insurance costs here in Texas.
Also note that some of the insurance customer support people aren’t aware of the discount - the rep I talked to said it wouldn’t matter but gave me the form to submit anyway. After submitting the documentation, the insurance company came back with the reduced cost.
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17 hours ago, Helobious said:
I’ve heard this all my life (always from people that happen to smoke all the time and can’t go a day without it) and it’s completely ridiculous. Plenty of people are addicted to weed, because it’s possible to get addicted to anything. If you think nobody is addicted to weed you didn’t know many stoners growing up.
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Dishoom is awesome Indian & there is one near King’s Cross. You will need to book a table though.
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SIAP - 2025 Travis CAD appraisals are up:
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11 hours ago, Im_smarter_then_you said:
Interesting to see how the returning players do with
goodcoachinFIFY
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7 minutes ago, sidis said:
you know the real answer to this.
and for all the people that believe he is going to be rolling in all the btc, pardons do not impact civil asset forfeiture. his conviction was final and appeals exhausted. the pardon does not erase the fact of conviction or exempt from civil liability. i am actually curious to see if there are any civil suits brought against him now that he's out by the parents of kid in florida or the parents of the kid in perth or any of the other ones that died. not sure about limitations there.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/crypto-crime-lord-ross-ulbricht-235509730.html
He paid off his fine when the government seized a stolen wallet of his. Some question whether now he might be able to get it back with the pardon. If I was him, I’d take the possible $650m and move on. He got a second chance, use it.
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19 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:
I thought they eliminated the east Austin bans?
Aaand you are correct. In October 2020, the city council voted to remove the restrictions on areas 2, 5, & 6:
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4 minutes ago, ztejas said:
Probably still fairly accurate but that's 11 years old. I thought you weren't allowed to on SoCo - may have been a recent change. Assuming W 6th is included now as well.
This article is from 2020 and the areas look the same:
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-may-loosen-restrictions-on-drinking-in-public/
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20 minutes ago, ztejas said:
I'm fairly certain open containers are illegal everywhere downtown or in any of the bar districts.
From reddit.com/r/Austin (Google Maps link) -
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On 12/20/2024 at 1:08 PM, BurntOrange&White said:
We'd have to finish .500 in conference to have a chance to make it yeah? Anything less is a crap shoot?
Typically 20+ wins gets you into the tournament. We have 18 conference games to play, so yes - .500 in conference should get us into the tournament with exactly 20 wins, especially since the SEC is so stacked this year.
However, as of today, only 5 of those conference games are against teams not ranked in the top 25. We will have to fight tooth & nail to get 20 or more wins this season.
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32 minutes ago, troph said:
I’m gonna have to figure out the radio sync I can’t handle herbie calling our game against the couch burners
Check the ESPN app - they had the Texas radio broadcast synced with the TV broadcast.
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All Encompassing Mortgage and Real Estate Thread
in Business and Markets
Posted
This is why I picked up a cashiers check from my bank & dropped it off at the title company before closing. 30 mins of work was worth not worrying about it or following the convoluted app used for wiring money.