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There are a lot of woolly, fabulous tales out there about Howard Hughes, the famously reclusive, eccentric billionaire. And the Wikipedia version of his life is not the only one that "needs additional citations for verification." The Martin Scorsese movie "The Aviator" recently advanced the images and legends of Hughes and his obsessive compulsions. Hughes officially died in April 1976, an emaciated, drug-addicted, long-haired, tragic, lonely old man who proved to some people money couldn't buy happiness. But not really, according to a new book, "Boxes: The Secret Life of Howard Hughes," by Douglas Wellman, assistant dean of the School...

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), along with other members of the U.S. intelligence community, are pushing for Congress to expand Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 in order to fight the ongoing fentanyl crisis.According to the Brennan Center of Justice, Section 702, “Authorizes the government to collect the communications of non-Americans located abroad without a warrant from a court. While this surveillance is supposed to target foreigners, it inevitably sweeps in Americans’ private phone calls, emails, and text messages too.” (snip) However, CIA officials believe in its current form, Section 702 limits the intelligence community from...

The reposts and expressions of shock from public figures followed quickly after a user on the social platform X who uses a pseudonym claimed that a government website had revealed “skyrocketing” rates of voters registering without a photo ID in three states this year — two of them crucial to the presidential contest. “Extremely concerning,” X owner Elon Musk replied twice to the post this past week. “Are migrants registering to vote using SSN?” Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, an ally of former President Donald Trump, asked on Instagram, using the acronym for Social Security number. Trump himself posted to...

In George Orwell's famous novel, "1984," an oppressive government – symbolized by the phrase "Big Brother" – is continually spying on everyone and manipulating how and what they think. In many ways, today's Central Intelligence Agency seems to be America's version of "Big Brother" – or perhaps even to exceed it. By multiple reliable accounts, the CIA has been involved in everything from manipulating the media, to trafficking drugs, to flipping governments, to controlling Hollywood, even to participating in the assassination of a U.S. president. And of course, spying on Americans.

[H/T Melian]US Intelligence officials have branded Israel's strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria as "reckless" and fear a wider war in the Middle East.The CIA has warned Israel that Iran will attack the country in the next 48 hours, it has been reported.Israel killed two Iranian military commanders with a strike on Tehran's consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus this week.Iran vowed that it would take revenge for the attack, and now foreign media is reporting that US intelligence is fearful of an attack on Israel.Tehran is said to be planning a combined attack with a "rain" of drones...

US CIA Director William Burns going to Egypt this weekend seeking a hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas... US Central Command destroying a missile in Yemen... In the Rostov region of southern Russia a massive Ukrainian drone strike attack tonight. More than 40 targets destroyed... "We have been saying it for weeks now: this pattern of attacks is either intentional or indicative of reckless incompetence" Christopher Lockyear of the Doctors Without Borders charity saying numerous Israeli attacks on convoys of aid workers... "No it doesn't just happen" This is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau disagreeing with Israeli Prime Minister.......

Former President Donald Trump has been very clear in his intentions. He has vowed to go after his political opponents, and to use the Justice Department to do so. He told Univision, "If I happen to be president and I see somebody who's doing well and beating me very badly, I say go down and indict them. ... They would be out of business. They'd be out. They'd be out of the election." (snip) Trump's promised to continue his assault on the freedom of religion and separation of church and state, not just pledging to expand the Muslim ban (or...

Lots to cover with respect to Friday’s mercenary terrorist attack in Moscow. Why do I call it “mercenary”? Because it appears that the perps had no ideological axe to grind and were hired for a relatively paltry sum and carried out indiscriminate killing at a public gathering of civilians. Based on the video evidence released so far in the public domain the planning for this op was not the work of skilled professionals — e.g., they used the same vehicle to travel to and from the attack site, their movements inside the building demonstrated unsophisticated Close Quarter Battle skills and...

ISIL’s Afghan branch – also known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISKP (ISIS-K) – has claimed responsibility for the attack... “Russian foreign policy has been one big red flag for ISIS [ISIL],” Michael Kugelman, director of the South Asia Institute at the Washington-based Wilson Center told Al Jazeera. “The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Russian actions in Chechnya, Moscow’s close relationships with the Syrian and Iranian governments, and especially the military campaigns that Russia has waged against ISIS fighters in Syria and — through Wagner Group mercenaries – in parts of Africa.” “ISK [ISKP] has consistently demonstrated its ambition...

In the face of rampant skepticism, ISIS has now provided photographic evidence it was behind the massacre at a Moscow concert hall. The attack occurred on Friday evening, with gunmen entering the Crocus City Hall with AK-style weapons and explosives. Terrifying videos of the ordeal were made public showing people being gunned down in cold blood as others hid behind barriers. Russian FSB forces eventually arrived with the building already in flames. (WARNING: GRAPHIC) Watch Video HERE CLICK ABOVE ARTICLE LINK FOR THE VIDEO Within hours ISIS put out a statement of responsibility through its propaganda outlet, Amaq News Agency....

ISIS had a huge Russian and Central Asian contingent in its heyday. About one out of every five Russian citizens is Muslim, but that population is not evenly distributed either geographically or socioeconomically. In cities, a lot of taxi drivers and hard-luck laborers have names like Magomedov and Ismailov, indicative of Muslim ancestry.... The center of geographic gravity of Islam in Russia is the Northern Caucasus, the site of domestic strife and bloodshed in a series of episodes going back centuries. Some groups around Dagestan and Chechnya have become proficient guerrilla warriors, and Putin perfected his own harsh methods on...

Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill say they’ve uncovered evidence that President Joe Biden’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) may have interfered with attempts by government investigators to speak with Patrick Kevin Morris, a crucial witness in Hunter Biden’s tax case. Hunter previously admitted to receiving substantial loans from Morris — a Hollywood entertainment lawyer — to cover about $7 million in back taxes and legal fees.

Why Biden thinks the Chinese Communists are “not bad folks” and “not competition for us.” “Biden Gets China,” headlined the January 2, 2012 report in The Atlantic. As author Steve Clemons explained, “Vice President Joe Biden will take the lead on the administrations next phase China policy.” This marked a shift to a “strategy of engagement with Biden at the top,” that allows the US to deal with China’s likely next president from a Vice President to a Vice President/Next President status -- and to continue both the Departments of State’s and Treasury’s ongoing engagement with other designated key Chinese...

Deep State expert Michael Benz says Hunter Biden is untouchable because he was working on a CIA project in Ukraine. Is this also why President Trump was tied to Russia and impeached for looking into the Biden family’s actions and illicit deals with Ukraine? Michael Benz unloaded some incredible facts about the deep State recently in an interview with Tucker Carlson. https://joehoft.com/censorship-expert-benz-on-tucker-what-im-describing-is-military-rule-its-the-inversion-of-democracy/ Then, Mike Benz reported that the CIA was heavily involved in Ukraine. This was in response to a report from the New York Times showing that the CIA was all over Ukraine. https://joehoft.com/mike-benz-of-course-the-cia-is-assisting-ukraine-in-its-war-against-russia-video/ On Thursday night, Benz released...

The CIA blocked federal investigators from interviewing Hunter Biden’s “sugar brother” Kevin Morris during a five-year probe into the first son’s tax crimes ... the intelligence agency stopped IRS and Justice Department investigators from interviewing Morris in August 2021, a Hollywood lawyer and patron of the first son... The whistleblower informed Oversight chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that two DOJ officials were summoned to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. — and told Morris “could not be a witness” for their investigation into Hunter Biden. ... these allegations track with other evidence showing how the DOJ...

The CIA stopped federal investigators from interviewing a key witness in their tax fraud investigation into President Biden’s son Hunter Biden.That’s the claim of a whistleblower who has provided the bombshell allegation to House lawmakers investigating the president’s involvement in his son’s business schemes.(snip)Two Justice Department officials assigned to the investigation were summoned to the CIA’s Langley, Virginia, headquarters ahead of their interview of Mr. Morris.“At that meeting, it was communicated that Mr. Morris could not be a witness during the investigation,” House lawmakers said in a letter sent Wednesday to CIA Director William J. Burns.The top Republicans on the...

Google was the chief promulgator of the Donald Trump "bloodbath" hoax over the weekend, flooding its search results with articles that deceptively framed the former president's comment. Trump predicted that re-electing Joe Biden would stir an economic "bloodbath," while specifically referencing the automotive industry at a rally last weekend. Yet nearly every headline Google generated on the topic led users to an article skimping over the context, suggesting Trump warned of his plans to provoke a civil war. Google understands it can no longer lead users to such deceptive headlines. Most Americans know what Trump said by now. Therefore, Google...

In the wake of the riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021, a groundswell built in Washington to rein in the onslaught of lies that had fueled the assault on the peaceful transfer of power. Social media companies suspended Donald Trump, then the president, and many of his allies from the platforms they had used to spread misinformation about his defeat and whip up the attempt to overturn it. President Joe Biden’s administration, Democrats in Congress and even some Republicans sought to do more to hold the companies accountable. Academic researchers wrestled with how to strengthen efforts to monitor...

New FBI data confirms previous indications that crime in the U.S. declined significantly in 2023, continuing a post-pandemic trend and belying widespread perceptions that crime is rising. The new fourth-quarter numbers showed a 13% decline in murder in 2023 from 2022, a 6% decline in reported violent crime and a 4% decline in reported property crime. That’s based on data from around 13,000 law enforcement agencies, policing about 82% of the U.S. population, that provided the FBI with quarterly data through December. “It suggests that when we get the final data in October, we will have seen likely the largest...

Google has been putting its thumb on the scale to help Democratic candidates win the presidency in the last four election cycles, during which it censored Republicans, according to a right-leaning media watchdog. The Media Research Center published a report alleging 41 instances of “election interference” by the search engine since 2008. The MRC published a report accusing Google of having “utilized its power to help push to electoral victory the most liberal candidates … while targeting their opponents for censorship.” The report comes weeks after AllSides conducted an analysis which found that news aggregator Google News skewed even more...