Elon Musk on Wednesday accused The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal of lying “through their teeth” with reports of drug use.
Musk posted a photo of drug test results from June 18 showing he tested negative for a slew of chemicals after the Times published a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/us/elon-musk-drugs-children-trump.html">report</a> headlined: “On the Campaign Trail, Elon Musk Juggled Drugs and Family Drama.” The report stated that Musk turned to drugs during the 2024 campaign “well beyond occasional use.”
“The WSJ &amp; New York Times fake ‘journalists’ lied through their teeth about me. Now let’s see their drug test results. They will fail,” Musk posted on X alongside a photo of his drug test results.
The drug test would have caught any drugs that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had taken recently, though it would not have necessarily caught drugs taken months ago.
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/elon-musk-illegal-drugs-e826a9e1">reported</a> on Musk’s alleged drug use last year titled: “Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX.” The report said that Musk would consume drugs such as “LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms” on occasion and mostly at private parties where attendees must sign non-disclosure agreements to attend.
Musk spoke about drug use with his biographer, telling Walter Issacson “I really don’t like doing illegal drugs.” Musk has previously said he took prescribed amounts of ketamine – about once every two weeks – for depression, according to the Times report.
Musk has long been critical of legacy outlets such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. At a press conference in the Oval Office last month, Musk tore into the Times for its reporting over the Russia collusion conspiracy that enveloped the 2016 Trump campaign and President Donald Trump’s first term.
“The New York Times, is that the same publication that got a Pulitzer Prize for false reporting on the Russia-Gate? Is that the same organization?” Musk <a href="https://x.com/RedWave_Press/status/1935459741804667108">said</a> when asked about a Times report. “I think it is. … That New York Times? Let’s move on.”

Elon Musk

Elon Musk Posts Drug Test Results After New York Times Accuses Him Of Being An Addict

The New York Times

Wall Street Journal

Vice President JD Vance – and his communications director — fired back on Friday after a Wall Street Journal headline misrepresented Vance&#8217;s comments with regard to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
The WSJ&#8217;s piece framed Vance&#8217;s remarks as a direct threat to Russia, suggesting that he was leveraging American military intervention against Russian President Vladimir Putin in order to strong-arm an end to the war.
&#8220;Vance Wields Threat of Sanctions, Military Action to Push Putin Into Ukraine Deal,&#8221; the headline read – and an X post touting the article followed the same tone: &#8220;Exclusive: Vance pledged to hit Russia with sanctions and potentially military action if Putin won’t agree to a peace deal that guarantees Ukraine&#8217;s independence.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Exclusive: Vance pledged to hit Russia with sanctions and potentially military action if Putin won’t agree to a peace deal that guarantees Ukraine&#39;s independence <a href="https://t.co/ro5RonHzvb">https://t.co/ro5RonHzvb</a>
&mdash; The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) <a href="https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/1890254575174566246?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
But William Martin, Vance&#8217;s communications director, pushed back in a post of his own — complete with the transcript of the vice president&#8217;s actual words: &#8220;This is pure fake news. Compare the transcript of @JDVance&#8217;s conversation with WSJ to the headline being run here. The Vice President didn&#8217;t make any threats. He simply stated the fact that no one is going to take options away from President Trump as these negotiations begin.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is pure fake news. Compare the transcript of <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JDVance</a>&#39;s conversation with WSJ to the headline being run here.
The Vice President didn’t make any threats. He simply stated the fact that no one is going to take options away from President Trump as these negotiations begin. <a href="https://t.co/OSOo7ECBqr">https://t.co/OSOo7ECBqr</a> <a href="https://t.co/MiAynLJZsi">pic.twitter.com/MiAynLJZsi</a>
&mdash; William Martin (@wsmartin218) <a href="https://twitter.com/wsmartin218/status/1890384085027103120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
When asked what tools the White House had at its disposal with regard to putting pressure on Putin to end the war, Vance was clear that Trump was willing to consider a wide range of possibilities, but was not going to commit to anything before negotiations.
&#8220;I think certainly, look, there are instruments of pressure, absolutely and again, if you look at President Trump’s approach to this, the range of options is extremely broad, and there are economic tools of leverage. There [are], of course, military tools of leverage. There’s a whole host of things that we can do. But fundamentally, I think the president wants to have a productive negotiation, both with Putin and with Zelensky,&#8221; Vance said.
&#8220;So just want to make sure I understand you correctly. You’re saying that even though the possibility of a Ukraine NATO accession at the end of this process, or even the presence of U.S. troops in Ukraine is not officially off the table?&#8221; the interviewer pressed further.
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Vance replied, &#8220;I think the President has been very clear that he doesn’t like the idea of moving Ukraine in[to] NATO. He’s been very clear about that. I also think the president is very clear that whenever he walks [into] a negotiation, everything is on the table.&#8221;
The vice president also addressed the issue himself in a post on X, saying, &#8220;President Trump is the ultimate deal maker and will bring peace to the region by ending the war in Ukraine. As we&#8217;ve always said, American troops should never be put into harm&#8217;s way where it doesn’t advance American interests and security. This war is between Russia and Ukraine.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The fact that the WSJ twisted my words in the way they did for this story is absurd, but not surprising considering they have spent years pushing for more American sons and daughters in uniform to be unnecessarily deployed overseas.
&mdash; JD Vance (@JDVance) <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance/status/1890425324946538965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The fact that the WSJ twisted my words in the way they did for this story is absurd, but not surprising considering they have spent years pushing for more American sons and daughters in uniform to be unnecessarily deployed overseas,&#8221; he concluded.

Sean Duffy Sworn In Transportation Secretary

Vance And His Team Fire Back After WSJ Misrepresents Russia Comments: ‘Absurd, But Not Surprising’

'Pure Fake News': Vance Team Fires Back After WSJ Misrepresents Russia Comments

Donald Trump

JD Vance

Media

Politics

Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings took a blowtorch to Democrat claims that entrepreneur Elon Musk — who will spearhead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) alongside Vivek Ramaswamy — is actually the one in charge when it comes to forming policy ahead of President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s second term in the White House.
Jennings pointed directly to the Wall Street Journal — and the recent article that showed they were finally catching up with the obvious reality of President Joe Biden&#8217;s infirmity — and pointed out the fact that no one believed Biden had actually been running anything for much of the past four years.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/ScottJenningsKY?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScottJenningsKY</a> just nuked Democrat narrative about Elon having too much influence over US politics:
&quot;I hear Democrats criticizing the idea that we have unelected people with too much influence over the government. I invite them to pick up the Wall Street Journal from this… <a href="https://t.co/zkWt5CXiC9">pic.twitter.com/zkWt5CXiC9</a>
&mdash; Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1870850545717498004?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;I hear Democrats criticizing the idea that we have unelected people with too much influence over the government,&#8221; Jennings said, in reference to the myriad claims that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/whoopi-airs-fever-dream-on-live-tv-says-musk-and-vance-could-be-plotting-hostile-takeover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Musk</a> was controlling the outcome of the recent government shutdown-averting continuing resolution.
&#8220;I invite them to pick up the Wall Street Journal from this week and find out that unelected people have been running the government for the last four years,&#8221; he said. The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-details-emerge-about-white-houses-cover-up-of-bidens-cognitive-decline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> he mentioned laid out concerns — voiced by officials from within Biden&#8217;s White House — that Biden was not capable of even hosting long meetings, mush less large unscripted events, without fears of a major slip. Others had weighed in on his decision to seek a second term in office, saying that they were unsure how he would have the capacity to finish out his current term, much less embark upon another.
Jennings went on to point to the Democrats&#8217; secondary complaint about Musk — namely that his status as a billionaire gave him leverage in government — and argued that too was irrelevant when stacked against the Democrats&#8217; use of the same strategy.
&#8220;I hear Democrats criticizing the influence of billionaires on our politics, when you&#8217;ve got this Soros punk running around collecting Democrat politicians like my kids collect Pokemon cards,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think all of the criticism of Musk coming from the left is totally hypocritical, totally over the top, and he is doing something interesting: bringing some transparency to the federal government, it&#8217;s not a terrible thing.&#8221;

Donald Trump Watches SpaceX Launch Its Sixth Test Flight Of Starship Spacecraft

Scott Jennings Nukes Democrats Claiming Musk Is In Charge: ‘I Invite Them To Pick Up The WSJ’

Scott Jennings Nukes Democrats Claiming Musk Is In Charge: 'I Invite Them To Pick Up The WSJ'

Joe Biden

Scott Jennings

WSJ. Magazine at WSJ Tech Live

‘They’ve Learned Nothing’: The Legacy Media’s Blind Spots And Trump’s Triumph

'They've Learned Nothing': The Legacy Media's Blind Spots And Trump's Triumph

Democrats

interview

Leftists

Legacy Media

Morning Wire

Washington Post

Media outlets across the United States spent nearly all of the 2024 election cycle trying to ensure President-elect Donald Trump would lose. But this laser focus only resulted in further damage to their reputations, a Wall Street Journal editor says.
Gerard Baker, the Journal&#8217;s editor-at-large, spoke with Morning Wire about how the media&#8217;s failure to learn from Trump&#8217;s victory in 2016 caused them disaster in 2024.
“Well, if you recall, after the shock of the 2016 election, when Donald Trump won despite the media telling us that there was virtually no chance of that happening,” Baker told Morning Wire host and Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley.
“We had those famous probability indicators saying that Hillary Clinton had a 90 percent chance of winning. The shock that so many American media companies discovered that there were so many people in this country who wanted to vote for Donald Trump, even though they didn&#8217;t know it, the media companies didn&#8217;t know it.”
Baker noted that after Clinton’s loss in 2016, some media outlets vowed to learn more about the people of America – to essentially leave their echo chamber that was so vastly out of touch with American voters.
“The editor of the New York Times at the time said that was one of his priorities after 2016, [was] to know more about the country,” Baker explained. “They kind of went forth in the manner of 19th century anthropologists venturing into darkest Africa to discover who these people were who voted for Trump. And they presumably found them and then we didn&#8217;t really hear very much more from them except when we got to the election campaign of 2024 and we sort of were just told by so many of these media organizations that Trump supporters were a lot of fascists.”
Baker said this disconnect leads to the question of what these media companies had been doing for the previous eight years, if not learning about the American voter. Of course, he said, it is clear what they have been doing: they’ve learned nothing, changed nothing, and continued their “vilification of Donald Trump.”
Baker noted that not only did most journalists not vote for Trump, but they didn’t even know anyone who voted for Trump, because they live in such a tight political bubble. So, what was very interesting about the 2024 election is just how much of a shift toward Trump there was in Blue areas.
“[W]hat we saw in this election was actually really significant gains for Trump and for the Republicans in some of these places where these journalists are concentrated,” Baker said. “We have seen this remarkable phenomenon, big gains for Trump compared with 2020 in places like New York City and Chicago and San Francisco and L.A.”
As to whether this latest election loss will finally force a reckoning among mainstream media outlets, Baker isn&#8217;t so sure.
“I think they&#8217;ll go through a little bit of the soul searching they went through in 2016,” Baker said. “But I think that the die is cast…the staff of these news organizations is just so monolithically left of center, and not just left of center, but committed, as I say, in a kind of an activist way, that I don&#8217;t really see that unwinding.”
At the same time, though, Baker said competing news organizations – like The Daily Wire – could force these other networks to be less partisan.
“So, I think that the market will, actually, A, develop new platforms and new products, and B, in the process, might actually force these, the owners of these media properties that we&#8217;ve seen, again, like the L.A. Times and the Washington Post, to say, ‘you know, not only do I think it&#8217;s right that we should be more balanced and that we should appeal to more readers, but actually I think it&#8217;s in our business interest that we should [be] too.’”
You can listen to the full interview on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire">Morning Wire</a>.

Gerard Baker

The Media Learned Nothing After Trump’s First Victory, WSJ Editor Says

Media Bias

U.S.

The Wall Street Journal took Democrats to task on Sunday, accusing them of &#8220;election denial&#8221; for refusing to concede the Pennsylvania Senate race.
Dave McCormick, the Republican challenger, is currently <a href="https://decisiondeskhq.com/results/2024/General/US-Senate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leading</a> in Pennsylvania by less than 40,000 votes with more than 95% of votes counted. The Associated Press projected McCormick as the winner on Thursday.
Nevertheless, Democratic Senator Bob Casey, who is seeking a fourth term, has refused to concede.
Only 87,000 provisional ballots are left to count. Provisional ballots are those with some legal hangup, such as mail ballot issues or voter registration questions.
As the race stands now, Casey seems unlikely to pull ahead.
The Philadelphia and Pittsburgh counties have about 30,000 provisional ballots left to count, and the rest come from other parts of the state where McCormick was more successful. So far, Casey has won the around 7,700 provisional ballots counted so far by about 54% to 46%. Even if he maintains this margin, he will not come out ahead of McCormick, the Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/democrats-for-election-denial-pennsylvania-mccormick-casey-elias-1a1c5bdc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pointed</a> out.
However, Democrats may be gunning for an automatic recount.
Right now, McCormick&#8217;s margin of victory stands around .06%, but if it falls below 0.5%, it would trigger an automatic recount under state law.
If a recount happens, Marc Elias, an elections lawyer for the Democratic Party, may try to challenge certain ballots cast for McCormick or even search for more ballots cast for Casey, the Journal predicted.
Elias has managed to do this before.
In the 2008 Minnesota Senate race, Elias convinced a judge to count previously rejected ballots for Al Franken and overturn the lead of the Republican challenger.
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer showed his hand when he <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/10/schumer-casey-mccormick-senate-orientation-00188644" target="_blank" rel="noopener">barred</a> McCormick from attending Senate orientation this week, indicating he does not yet consider McCormick the winner.
The move triggered outrage from Republican senators.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w">MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a>
&#8220;What happened to all the demands that our leaders accept the outcome of the elections?&#8221; Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) posted Sunday on social media.
&#8220;The idea that Schumer would not allow him to participate in Senate orientation is beyond unacceptable,” Senator John Thune (R-SD), the Senate minority whip, posted Sunday.
“The voters of Pennsylvania have spoken. Looking forward to having Dave’s strong voice in the Senate Republican Conference,” Thune said.
Thune is in the running for Senate Majority Leader, along with Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) and Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). Republicans plan to vote Wednesday on who will take over that role in January.
The Journal said it would &#8220;await the outraged editorials denouncing this threat to democracy.&#8221;
&#8220;Did someone say &#8216;election denial?'&#8221; the paper said.
“Mathematically, there’s no path for Senator Casey to win,” McCormick said Sunday on Fox News, adding, “Ultimately, Senator Casey’s going to have to decide when he’s willing to acknowledge that.”

Barack Obama Attends Campaign Rally For Pennsylvania Democrats In Philadelphia

WSJ Editorial Board Accuses Dems Of ‘Election Denial’

WSJ Editorial Board Accuses Dems Of 'Election Denial' 

2024 Election

Bob Casey

Dave McCormick

Pennsylvania

Senate

U.S. Senate

Since when did the free press of the United States become a useful idiot? Why are mainstream media outlets, across the spectrum, parroting propaganda from the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI)? The Wall Street Journal spoke of the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/irans-election-features-a-reformer-a-hardliner-and-a-crisis-3360fad2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent Iranian elections</a>, without declaring its sham nature. The Atlantic published an <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2024/07/iran-election-pezeshkian-khamenei/678948/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">unironic piece</a> detailing Ayatollah Khamenei&#8217;s fear of the reformist party, failing to note that Iran is a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57260831">totalitarian state</a>. Nothing happens without his approval, so what exactly does he have to fear? The New York Times is no better. Their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/16/world/middleeast/iran-new-president-pezeshkian.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recent portrayal</a> of the new Iranian president paints a sympathetic portrait.
Apparently, the following points need to be made for the American public.
One, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) is an Islamic theocracy with Ayatollah Khamenei as its Supreme Leader. Khamenei’s regime controls everything in the country. I repeat: everything. This is a foreign concept to Americans basking in the land of the free. So let me provide an example. When I was living in Iran, the regime chose what college I attended. The regime chose my major. The regime forced me to cut my long hair. Like the other 80 million Iranians, I had no agency over my own life.
Moreover, external narratives originating from the regime cannot be trusted. This includes any Iranian news outlet, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14542234" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as all media is state-run</a>. To maintain a modicum of grace within the Western world powers, the regime creates a facade of liberalism. This is their propaganda. It is a mirage, a lie sold to the West in order to continue <a href="https://www.meforum.org/campus-watch/25701/how-iran-and-her-proxies-use-western-resources-to" target="_blank" rel="noopener">leeching Western resources</a>, like funding and research, to further entrench their ideology. Instead, listen to what they say behind our backs. MEMRI, an independent U.S.-based nonprofit, translates scores of <a href="https://www.memri.org/countries/iran" target="_blank" rel="noopener">internal IRI media</a>. Perusing these translations informs us of IRI’s true intentions.
Two, in general, the Iranian people are not our enemy. They suffer most under the oppressive regime and are essentially a collective political prisoner. The lucky few who escaped deserve our compassion and attention, not the ones who are <a href="https://medium.com/@mitra.jashni7/islamic-republic-apologists-in-the-west-are-cheering-for-nuclear-weapons-935f8064f297" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regime apologists</a> and come to the West to whitewash IRI’s crimes. They, who have endured trauma beyond comprehension, do not deserve  treatment similar from which they ran away. When I fled to America nearly eight years ago, I faced resistance when telling my story. It continues to alarm me that other Iranian dissidents, some who continue to face <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian-dissidents-abductions-assassination-attemts-60-minutes-transcript/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">death threats</a> from the regime, are being silenced. Some even have <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/29/1227634325/iran-murder-for-hire-plot-maryland" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terror plots against them</a>. Americans need to listen to these people. We have seen the other side (spoiler alert: it’s terrifying), we notice the warning signs, and we are committed to preserving freedom.
Three, the IRI seeks the destruction of the West, particularly America. This is not hyperbole. Don’t laugh this off. I know it sounds absurd. The end may not come with fire and brimstone, but perhaps rather a social unraveling. I fear that if <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/312644/national-pride-falls-record-low.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diminishing pride</a> in our country continues to grow, our institutions and infrastructure of freedom will whither. It can be metaphorical suicide to take our freedom for granted. There is a reason Ayatollah Khamenei <a href="https://twitter.com/khamenei_ir/status/1795963798831964411" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted support</a> for American college student protesters and their encampments — which also highlights the regime’s double standard, as the Iranian people do not have access to Twitter. In fact, I echo the request of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-03-22/iran-protests-target-ayatollah-khamenei-social-media-accounts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iranian dissidents</a> who call upon Elon Musk and other tech giants to ban Khamenei. The Supreme Leader gets high off of American turmoil. Our chaos is his schadenfreude. To be clear, anything that pleases Ayatollah Khamenei should revolt us. He <a href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-crime-government-and-politics-da53071412f8c3da9cd51945b7870780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hangs political prisoners from cranes</a> for all to see.  He <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/25/opinions/nobel-peace-gender-apartheid-un-narges-mohammadi/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">upholds gender apartheid</a>, forcing women into a second-class caste. If Ayatollah Khamenei says you’re on the “right side of history,” you’re on the wrong side.
We need to be vigilant about our language. Language directly shapes how we understand our world. The stakes are too high to misunderstand the Iranian regime and the threat they pose. The challenge, of course, is that certain terms carry a different meaning in the IRI context. Words hold very different definitions within IRI. Words like “government” — for Americans this connotes something that is by the people for the people, which the Iranian regime is neither; “private” — the regime controls everything; “private” institutions in IRI are still public; “reformist” — this sounds palatable to Western ears, but the <a href="https://democrawonk.com/2024/06/28/iranian-elections-the-never-ending-saga-of-hardliners-vs-reformists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reformists and hardliners in IRI are one and the same;</a> “crime” — did you know it is <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62205744">illegal to own a dog in Iran?</a> 
If you struggle to understand the Islamic Republic, discard all that you know about the world and start anew. Just because a word is familiar, do not assume you know what it means in the IRI context.
Our journalists bear the burden of truth telling and clear communication. I urge them to reject IRI propaganda.
* * *
William Mehrvarz was born and raised in the Islamic Republic of Iran. After rejecting Islam (the crime of apostasy), he fled under the threat of execution to seek asylum in the United States. He now writes and speaks about the dangers of Islamism and the importance of religious freedom. William can be reached on <a href="https://x.com/WilliamMehrvarz" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://x.com/WilliamMehrvarz&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1723843824564000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2O7Yz6sD6Yq1snu_mkvACW">X</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Wire.

Iran-Celebrating Iran’s IRGC Missile And UAV Attack Against Israel

I Am From Iran. Here’s Why American Journalists Need To Reject Iranian Propaganda.

I Am From Iran. Here's Why American Journalists Need To Reject Iranian Propaganda.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Iran

journalist

New York Times

Propaganda

Radical Islam

The Atlantic

President Joe Biden said their &#8220;brutal ordeal&#8221; is over for three American citizens, two journalists and a former Marine, who were arrested and held in Russia, accused of spying.
Evan Gershkovich, reporter for The Wall Street Journal, and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan were both released in a historic prisoner swap on Thursday, the biggest since the Cold War.
Also released were Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian American journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian opposition activist who holds an American green card.
&#8220;This is a good day,&#8221; Biden said at a press conference with family members of the prisoners. &#8220;Now their brutal ordeal is over and they are free.&#8221;
&#8220;This is an incredible relief for all the families gathered here,&#8221; Biden said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a relief to the friends and colleagues all across the country who have been praying for this day for a long time.&#8221;
The three Americans were flown to Turkey earlier today and will soon be on their way home to their families, Biden said.
The president and the families were able to speak to the prisoners on the telephone from the Oval Office, Biden said.
A total of 24 prisoners were released in the deal, which involved at least six countries. Germany, Poland, Norway, Slovenia, and Turkey all cooperated with the U.S. on the prisoner release, Biden said.
Russian hit man Vadim Krasikov, who was serving a life sentence in Germany, was reportedly at the center of the agreement.
&#8220;The deal that made this possible was a feat of diplomacy and friendship,&#8221; Biden said.
&#8220;It says a lot about the United States that we work relentlessly to free Americans who are unjustly held around the world,&#8221; the president said. &#8220;But it also says a lot about us that this deal includes the release of Russian political prisoners. They stood up for democracy and human rights. Their own leaders threw them in prison. The United States helped secure their release as well. That&#8217;s who we are in the United States. We stand for freedom, for liberty, for justice not only for our own people but for others as well.&#8221;
Biden added that &#8220;deals like this come with tough calls.&#8221;
Biden also prompted the audience to sing &#8220;Happy Birthday&#8221; to Kurmasheva&#8217;s young daughter, Miriam, and gave her a hug.
When asked whether he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Biden responded, &#8220;I don&#8217;t need to speak with Putin.&#8221;
Biden was also asked about former President Donald Trump&#8217;s statement that he would secure Journal reporter Gershkovich&#8217;s release if re-elected.
&#8220;Why didn&#8217;t he do it when he was president?&#8221; Biden responded.
Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023, more than two years after Trump left the White House. Russian authorities accused him of being a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) spy. He was convicted in June. Russian prosecutors alleged that Gershkovich collected “secret information” regarding a Russian defense contractor “using painstaking conspiratorial methods.” He was held in a Stalin-era prison in Moscow and reportedly only allowed one hour a day to walk around.
Whelan, 54, a former Marine who is also the former director of global security for auto-parts supplier BorgWarner, was arrested in 2018 at a wedding in Moscow. He was accused of spying and of possessing a flash drive with Russian state secrets. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Kurmasheva, 47, the Russian American journalist, was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/08/01/russia-prisoner-swap-people-released/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convicted</a> by a Russian court of spreading false information about Russia’s military. She was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. She was detained in June 2023 while visiting her sick mother.
Kara-Murza, the Russian opposition activist and a contributing columnist for The Washington Post, was arrested after he returned to Russia in April 2022. He was charged with treason for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. He claims he had been poisoned by Russian authorities and developed a nerve condition. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Eight Russians were <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/01/world/who-are-detainees-russia-us-prisoner-swap-intl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> back to Russia as part of the deal, including several Russian spies, a former high-ranking Russian Federal Security Service colonel convicted of murder by a German court, a Russian citizen accused of scheming to provide American-made electronics and ammunition to Russia, and a Russian businessman who was sentenced in Boston to nine years for a $93 million criminal scheme.

President Biden Announces Prisoner Swap With Russia To Free Reporter Evan Gershkovich And Paul Whelan

‘Their Brutal Ordeal Is Over:’ Biden Addresses Russian Prisoner Swap Of Journalists, Marine

Biden Addresses Russian Prisoner Swap Of Journalists, Marine

Biden

Biden Administration

Evan Gershkovich

On Friday, in a case that the United States government and his employer have denounced as a sham, a Russian court found Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist to face such a charge since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986, guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 in Yekaterinburg and later accused of being a CIA spy; Russian prosecutors alleged that “under instructions from the CIA” and “using painstaking conspiratorial methods,” Gershkovich “was collecting secret information” regarding a Russian defense contractor. The U.S. State Department called for his immediate release; no public evidence has been presented by Russia that supported its case. He was held in Moscow’s infamous Stalin-era Lefortovo Prison in a small cell and only <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/19/media/evan-gershkovich-espionage-trial-verdict-intl/index.html#:~:text=Evan%20Gershkovich%2C%20the%20first%20American,have%20denounced%20as%20a%20sham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> one hour of walking every day.
“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” Journal publisher Almar Latour and Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker <a href="//B6C39C40-81A7-4C4B-91B7-13445197898B/v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>,  “We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family. Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.”
Russia rebuffed a request from Gershkovich’s legal team that he be moved from the prison to house arrest or be granted bail.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted that he would swap Gershkovich for Russians held in other countries, referencing Vadim Krasikov, an FSB operative. But on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the idea of an exchange by asserting, “I’m leaving that question without an answer. There is a charge of espionage, so this is a very, very sensitive area.”
“Penal colonies are usually located in remote areas far from densely populated regions,” the Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/evan-gershkovich-penal-colony-transfer-69b5d482" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted.</a> “Due to their location and inaccessibility, colonies are less frequently inspected by human-rights groups. When they have visited, observers report poor conditions, including mold in the cells and problems with food and medical care, as well as ill treatment of inmates by prison staff.”

RUSSIA-US-JOURNALIST

Russia Sentences WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich To 16 Years In Penal Colony

Espionage

World

According to an exclusive report from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/medicare-health-insurance-diagnosis-payments-b4d99a5d?mod=hp_lista_pos1">The Wall Street Journal</a>, an analysis of billions of Medicare records showed private insurers connected to the federal government’s $450 billion-a-year Medicare Advantage program issued “hundreds of thousands of questionable diagnoses that triggered extra taxpayer-funded payments from 2018 to 2021.”
The Journal noted that the program currently covers more than half of the 67 million seniors and disabled people on Medicare. It explained that insurers can add their own diagnoses in addition to the ones doctors submit for their patients.
“Medicare gave insurers that option so they could catch conditions that doctors neglected to record,” the Journal stated, adding, “The Journal’s analysis, however, found many diagnoses were added for which patients received no treatment, or that contradicted their doctors’ views. The insurers make new diagnoses after reviewing medical charts, sometimes using artificial intelligence, and sending nurses to visit patients in their homes.”
“They pay doctors for access to patient records, and reward patients who agree to home visits with gift cards and other financial benefits,” the Journal asserted.
Between 2018 and 2021, Medicare compensated insurers roughly $50 billion for diagnoses the insurers had added.
“The government paid all Medicare Advantage insurers more than $700 million from 2019 to 2021 for diabetic cataracts. Most of the diagnoses were added by insurers,” the Journal reported. Over 66,000 Medicare Advantage patients were diagnosed with diabetic cataracts despite the fact they had previously received cataract surgery.
“It’s anatomically impossible,” Dr. Hogan Knox, an eye specialist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told the Journal. “Once a lens is removed, the cataract never comes back.”
UnitedHealth spokesman Matthew Wiggin responded to the Journal’s report by saying its analysis was “inaccurate and biased.” He stated that Medicare Advantage “provides better health outcomes and more affordable healthcare for millions of seniors” than traditional Medicare. A spokesman for Humana echoed that the Journal’s analysis of treatment rates “is flawed and misleading.”
However, the Journal claimed that more than a dozen experts said the news outlet&#8217;s methodology was accurate.

Medicare part C insurance papers with clipboard and pen.

Private Insurers Made $50 Billion From Medicare For Illnesses Untreated By Doctors: Report

Health

Health Insurance

Medicare

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been detained by Russia on bogus espionage charges since March of 2023, but former President Donald Trump is confident that the journalist will be freed immediately if he wins the election in November.
Trump posted about Gershkovich on Wednesday morning as the 32-year-old journalist appeared in a Russian court for the start of his trial. The U.S. government has designated Gershkovich as &#8220;wrongfully detained,&#8221; and the WSJ <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/falsely-accused-wall-street-journal-reporter-evan-gershkovich-appears-before-russian-court-b1b155a8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">holds</a> that the accusations against its reporter are completely false.
&#8220;EVAN GERSHKOVICH, the young Wall Street Journal reporter who is being harshly detained in Russia as his ESPIONAGE TRIAL is about to begin, will be released prior to my taking office if I WIN the Election on NOVEMBER 5th,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112682648951187844" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;Crooked Joe can’t do anything right, although it is likely that he will pay $BILLIONS, which continues a very bad &#8216;Biden Precedent,&#8217; to get Evan home. I got a record 58 hostages brought home, paying next to nothing. Putin has no respect for Biden &#8211; and that’s the way it goes!!! Fear not, Evan, I will get you home soon, and you will be safe while there!!!&#8221;
A senior Kremlin official told reporters on Wednesday that the Russian government is still open to a prisoner swap for the U.S. to get Gershkovich back home, The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/falsely-accused-wall-street-journal-reporter-evan-gershkovich-appears-before-russian-court-b1b155a8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The Biden administration previously negotiated a deal for the release of WNBA star Britney Griner from a Russian prison after she was arrested for allegedly entering the country with marijuana vaping materials.
Griner was freed in December 2022 after President Joe Biden agreed to hand over Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is known as the &#8220;merchant of death.&#8221; The WNBA player had been held in a Russian prison for nearly 10 months.
Gershkovich&#8217;s Russian imprisonment passed the one-year mark in March. He was on assignment for the WSJ in Russia when he was arrested by Russia&#8217;s Federal Security Service.
The reporter&#8217;s family released a statement on Wednesday, saying, &#8220;These past 15 months have been extraordinarily painful for Evan and for our family. We miss our son and just want him home. We’re deeply disappointed that he will have to endure further attempts to discredit him.&#8221;
Gershkovich&#8217;s next hearing is scheduled for August 13, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
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Biden is also facing pressure to secure the release of other Americans, including Marine veteran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-dont-understand-marine-vet-left-in-russian-prison-greatly-disappointed-after-griner-swap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Whelan</a>, who is being held in a Russian prison; humanitarian <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pressure-builds-for-biden-to-secure-release-of-american-held-hostage-by-taliban" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ryan Corbett</a>, who is in the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan; and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/06/08/gaza-hamas-american-hostages/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five American hostages</a> believed to be alive and in Hamas captivity after the terrorist organization&#8217;s October 7 attack on Israel.

Trump Says WSJ Reporter Being Held In Russia ‘Will Be Released Prior To My Taking Office If I Win’

Trump Says WSJ Reporter Being Held In Russia 'Will Be Released Prior To My Taking Office If I Win'

Court

Elections

Prison

President Joe Biden is losing the support of black men at an alarming rate, according to a Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/biden-trump-black-men-support-election-2024-poll-a7d9da22?mod=hp_lead_pos11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> of seven swing states.
The 2024 election <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-trailing-trump-in-six-of-seven-battleground-states-new-poll-shows" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poll</a> released last week surveyed voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all states widely viewed as “<a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/elections/president/2024/battleground-states" target="_blank" rel="noopener">toss-ups</a>” heading into November. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that one major finding in the poll showed that Biden’s support among black men in the swing states is 30 points lower than the 2020 election&#8217;s national results.
In the poll, 57% of black men supported Biden, while 30% said they backed former President Trump. This is a drastic shift from 2020 when 87% of black men voted for Biden, and only 12% voted for Trump, according to the VoteCast national poll.
The WSJ poll found that Biden’s support among black women remained high, but it was significantly lower than just four years ago. In 2020, 93% of black women across the country voted for Biden, but in the poll, Biden’s support among the demographic in the battleground states sits at 77%, while Trump’s numbers among black women were higher, from the 6% he received nationally in 2020 to 11% in the swing states poll.
Adrianne Shropshire, head of Democratic political action committee BlackPAC, told the Wall Street Journal that the apparent shift in black support away from Biden means that Democrats must revamp their 2020 strategy of reaching out to black voters.
“In this particular election, the persuasion isn’t just to vote or not to vote,” said Shropshire. “The persuasion is actually to get people to come to Biden and away from third parties and away from Trump.”
The WSJ poll also found that while black women are less likely than black men to ditch their support of Biden in favor of Trump, they are more likely to explore third-party options or stay home altogether.
Commenting on the WSJ poll results, a spokesman for the Trump campaign told WSJ, “Our coalition message to black and Hispanic communities this election is simple: If you want strong borders, safe neighborhoods, rising wages, quality jobs, school choice and the return of the strongest economy in over 60 years, then vote for Donald J. Trump.”
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Michael Bocian, a Democratic pollster who conducted the WSJ poll, said that in many election cycles, black voters at first appear cold to the Democratic nominee before coming around and voting blue in November.
“That said, Biden is further off than where we have seen Democrats in the past,” Bocian remarked.
Biden was blasted during the 2020 campaign when he said that black voters “ain’t black&#8221; if they were considering backing Trump. The Democratic candidate later <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/us/politics/joe-biden-black-breakfast-club.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">apologized</a> for his comment, saying, “I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy.”

Biden Bleeding Support From Black Men In Crucial Swing States, WSJ Poll Finds

black vote

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