❓WHAT HAPPENED: A memo from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outlined plans to deport illegalmigrants to third countries if their country of origin refuses to accept them.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: ICE acting Director Todd Lyons, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and the State Department.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It’s incredibly important to make sure we get these worst of the worst out of our country.”— Kristi Noem.
🎯IMPACT: The policy could streamline deportations, making it easier to remove migrants from countries whose governments are uncooperative on accepting returns.
IN FULL
A newly revealed memo from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) outlines a policy allowing for the deportation of certain migrants to third countries when their home governments decline to accept their return. The directive, which is marked as effective immediately, was issued by Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
Under the new guidelines, ICE may carry out deportations with as little as six hours’ notice in urgent or “exigent” situations. The memo describes a process to address longstanding challenges where some countries refuse to cooperate with repatriation requests.
Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem described the initiative as a critical tool for removing individuals with serious criminal records. “It’s incredibly important to make sure we get these worst of the worst out of our country,” she said. She also noted that the U.S. State Department has negotiated arrangements with nations willing to temporarily accept migrants until their original countries agree to take them back.
The policy follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows the federal government to proceed with third-country removals, even in cases where diplomatic guarantees regarding safety—such as protections against torture or persecution—are not fully secured.
DHS has not released the full list of countries participating in these third-country transfers, but officials emphasized that each case would be reviewed individually. Supporters of the policy argue it is necessary to ensure the removal of migrants within the immigration enforcement system, especially for those with criminal convictions.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was reportedly shot and killed in Libya.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Abdullah Othman (Gaddafi’s political adviser), and Libyan authorities.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The incident occurred in Zintan, western Libya, where Gaddafi had been based for a decade.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We fight here in Libya, we die here in Libya.” – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, 2011.
🎯IMPACT: Throughout the 2011 uprising, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi remained defiant, warning of “rivers of blood” and the destruction of Libya.
IN FULL
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, has been killed in the Libyan city of Zintan. The 53-year-old’s death in an apparent assassination was confirmed by his political adviser, Abdullah Othman, though details surrounding the incident remain unclear, and Libyan authorities have not issued any official statements.
Gaddafi, though he never held an official position, was widely seen as his father’s second-in-command from 2000 until 2011, when Muammar Gaddafi was killed by militants with the anti-Gaddafi National Transitional Council (NTC). Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was captured in Zintan that same year while attempting to flee the country. After being imprisoned, he was released in 2017 as part of a general pardon.
Educated in the West, including earning a PhD from the London School of Economics in 2008, Gaddafi sought to present a modernized image of Libya and worked to repair relations with Western nations. However, his role during his father’s regime and the 2011 uprising led to allegations of crimes against humanity, including torture and violence against opposition figures. The International Criminal Court (ICC) sought his prosecution, and in 2015, a Tripoli court sentenced him to death in absentia.
Throughout the 2011 uprising, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi remained defiant, warning of “rivers of blood” and the destruction of Libya. “We fight here in Libya, we die here in Libya,” he said at the time. Following his release in 2017, Gaddafi went underground in Zintan, avoiding assassination attempts while maintaining contact with allies inside and outside Libya, and attempting a political comeback.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Democrat Congressman Jerry Nadler referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as “goons” and argued people would be “justified” in shooting them during masked arrests in remarks at a House Judiciary Committee hearing.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY), ICE agents, and other Democrat officials such as Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Remarks made during a House Judiciary Committee markup session on Tuesday.
💬KEY QUOTE: “If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped, you’d be justified in shooting the person to protect yourself.” – Jerry Nadler
🎯IMPACT: Attacks on ICE agents have increased significantly, with violent incidents and threats becoming more frequent.
IN FULL
Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) drew sharp criticism during a House Judiciary Committee markup on February 3 after referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents as “goons” and suggesting that people could be “justified” in shooting them. The comments were made as lawmakers debated legislation on biological men competing in women’s sports and a balanced budget amendment.
During the hearing, Nadler accused ICE of routinely violating civil liberties, saying, “We see the ICE goons break into people’s homes without a warrant… This is the major problem we have today.” He also warned of what he described as “fascism in our streets,” citing high-profile immigration enforcement operations and agents wearing masks while carrying out arrests.
“If you were attacked by a masked person, you might think you were being kidnapped, you’d be justified in shooting the person to protect yourself, but we see people being shot for what? For driving a car,” he said, likely referring to anti-ICE activist Renée Good, who was fatally shot after hitting a federal officer with her SUV during an attempted getaway.
Nadler’s comments come amid a broader pattern of aggressive rhetoric toward ICE from some Democratic officials. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz previously described the agency as “Trump’s modern-day Gestapo,” while Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas compared ICE to “slave patrols.”
Recent reports from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) indicate a dramatic rise in violence directed at ICE personnel. DHS data shows a 1,300 percent increase in overall assaults against agents, a 3,200 percent increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000 percent surge in death threats. Incidents have included shootings, attempted vehicular assaults, and violent protests targeting ICE facilities and officers in states such as Illinois, Texas, and California.
Additional controversies have emerged involving Democratic officials at the state and local levels. A Democratic district attorney publicly vowed to pursue ICE agents “like Nazi war criminals,” while a Democratic attorney general, like Nadler, suggested that people might be legally permitted to shoot masked ICE agents under “stand your ground” laws if they believed they were under attack.
In another case, a convicted felon serving as a Democrat lawmaker introduced legislation to bar ICE agents from holding police jobs in her state.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Data from Trump pollster Fabrizio Ward reveals voters oppose Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy’s pitch to President Trump to leave broadcasting regulations in place, rather than freeing up the market.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Trump administration, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), local television station owners, national broadcasters, advertisers, Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, and American voters.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The poll of 1,000 registered voters nationally was conducted between January 20 and 22 by Fabrizio Ward.
💬KEY QUOTE: “By an eight-to-one margin, voters who get their local news from TV would be less likely rather than more likely to vote for a Member of Congress who opposed local TV station owners being allowed to compete nationally.” — Fabrizio Ward
🎯IMPACT: The data suggests voters—regardless of partisan affiliation—overwhelmingly support ending ownership restrictions on television station owners.
IN FULL
New data shows that local television stations continue to be a key source of news and entertainment for a large swath of American voters, and they’re beginning to notice the slow death of local broadcasters at the hands of the national networks empowered by favorable federal government regulations.
The news is pertinent as President Trump and his FCC Chairman, Brendan Carr, consider changes to the 39 percent broadcasting cap set decades ago, as previously covered here at The National Pulse.
A poll of 1,000 registered American voters, conducted between January 20 and 22 by Fabrizio Ward, found that nearly half of respondents still get a large share of their news from local TV stations, even as social media and streaming services continue to grow in market share.
The findings undermine the lobbying efforts of Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, who is currently attempting to convince President Trump and Chairman Carr to keep the antiquated broadcast cap in place, because it protects his cable news business and stymies competition against him.
Ruddy’s Newsmax attempted to impose Joe Biden and Antony Fauci’s vaccine mandate on its staff, and settled with Dominion Voting Systems under its previous management over the topic of stolen elections, costing the company over $65 million.
HOW IT WORKS… OR DOESN’T.
By limiting growth and competition from local broadcast companies, the federal government has unintentionally granted the national networks significant leverage. Without new revenue, local broadcasters are left at the whim of the national networks, which have systematically slashed spending on local news as they undergo consolidation, in favor of cheaper, easier-to-produce national news packages. This has forced local networks to cut costs further, leading to plummeting viewership. Unable to grow and compete beyond regional markets, the local broadcasters are caught in a death spiral imposed by the national networks and enabled by federal regulation.
However, this situation does not appear to have gone unnoticed by the electorate. According to the Fabrizio Ward poll, 57 percent of respondents believe local television station owners should be allowed to compete with national networks without government interference. Only 15 percent of respondents said the government should keep restrictions on local broadcasters in place.
Notably, both Republicans and Democrats support lifting regulatory restrictions by similar margins, putting Ruddy and his pitch to the President on the opposite side of Americans across the board.
Just 20 percent of Americans said the status quo is fair. Most Trump voters say it is unfair, as do most Kamala Harris voters.
“By an eight-to-one margin, voters who get their local news from TV would be less likely rather than more likely to vote for a Member of Congress who opposed local TV station owners being allowed to compete nationally,” Fabrizio Ward stated, adding, “Among the same group of voters, the Member of Congress who supports local TV station owners being allowed to compete nationally for advertising against cable networks and internet streamers would enjoy a wide margin of support.”
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: New countryside management plans are being implemented to make England’s rural areas more “diverse,” with claims that these spaces are perceived as a “white environment.”
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Britain’s far-left Labour Party government, white rural Britons, and ethnic minorities.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The plans stem from reports published since 2019, targeting areas such as the Malvern Hills in England.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Many minority peoples have no connection to nature in the UK because their parents and their grandparents did not feel safe enough to take them or had other survival preoccupations.” – Woke UK report.
🎯IMPACT: The plans aim to reshape rural areas to appeal to a more multicultural demographic, potentially altering traditional British countryside culture.
IN FULL
Government-backed plans to reshape England’s countryside are drawing fresh scrutiny, as officials move to make it more “diverse,” amid a recent history of anti-white policies in the United Kingdom. Authorities overseeing National Landscapes, formerly known as “Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty,” are revising long-standing management strategies after internal reviews concluded that these areas risk appearing out of touch with a “modern Britain.”
The concern, according to the woke planners, is that the countryside is widely viewed as a space dominated by white, middle-class visitors. Planners for the Malvern Hills openly complained that the area is seen as a place where “most white English users value the solitude and contemplative activities which the countryside affords.” However, they claim that “the tendency for ethnic minority people is to prefer social company (family, friends, schools).”
The plan further claims: “Many minority peoples have no connection to nature in the UK because their parents and their grandparents did not feel safe enough to take them or had other survival preoccupations.”
The push is not solely a product of the current leftist Labour government, with the groundwork being laid under the formerly governing Conservatives beginning in 2019. At that time, a series of government-commissioned reports warned that the countryside was being perceived as “an exclusive, mainly white, mainly middle-class club” and risked ending up “being irrelevant to the country that actually exists.”
Proposed remedies include targeted outreach to minority communities, revised marketing campaigns, multilingual signage, and policy changes designed to remove what planners describe as cultural or practical obstacles to participation—for instance, imposing restrictions on dog owners, to make Muslims who regard the animals as “unclean” more comfortable.
The controversy fits into a broader national debate over identity, history, and inclusion. In higher education, one English university recently announced plans to drop the term “Anglo-Saxon” from a master’s programme, citing a desire to “decolonise” the curriculum and move away from allegedly nationalist or ethnically charged interpretations of national history.
Similar tensions have emerged across public policy. For instance, an official inquiry found that the Royal Air Force (RAF) unlawfully discriminated against white male recruits while attempting to meet diversity targets, a finding that led to public apologies from senior commanders—although nobody was punished.
All of this is unfolding against the backdrop of significant demographic change. Major urban centres such as London and Birmingham are no longer majority White British, while many rural regions remain more than 90 percent white.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion funding deal to end the partial government shutdown, sending it to President Donald J. Trump for approval.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
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📍WHEN & WHERE: The funding deal passed on Tuesday after a four-day partial government shutdown.
💬KEY QUOTE: “We’ve got a very short time frame in which to do this, which I argued against, but the Democrats insisted on a, you know, a two-week window, which, again, I don’t understand the rationale for that.” – John Thune
🎯IMPACT: The funding deal keeps 97 percent of the government running through September 30, but leaves unresolved issues for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
IN FULL
The House of Representatives narrowly passed a $1.2 trillion funding deal Tuesday with a 217-214 vote, ending the four-day partial government shutdown. The package, which had cleared the Senate late Friday, now heads to President Donald J. Trump for his expected signature. The deal keeps 97 percent of the government operational through September 30, but leaves unresolved funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which faces a February 13 deadline.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) expressed skepticism about the timeline, calling it “an impossibility” to negotiate a DHS funding deal in just 10 days. “We’ve got a very short time frame in which to do this, which I argued against, but the Democrats insisted on a, you know, a two-week window, which, again, I don’t understand the rationale for that,” Thune stated ahead of the House vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) worked to secure enough Republican votes to push the deal through, despite opposition from some GOP lawmakers who were frustrated that the funding package did not include the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The SAVE Act, which requires proof of citizenship to vote, has passed the House but remains blocked in the Senate by the 60-vote filibuster rule.
President Trump has been adamant about ending the shutdown as quickly as possible, urging House Republicans to send the funding package to his desk without changes. The shutdown, which began at midnight Saturday, has had minimal impact on federal operations compared to previous shutdowns. However, the funding lapse arose after Senate Democrats held up the appropriations bills in an attempt to shut down the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions.
The $1.2 trillion deal includes five appropriations bills and a two-week temporary extension of DHS funding. While Republicans have already funded key immigration enforcement agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Democrats are pushing for reforms such as mandatory body cameras and stricter accountability measures for officers. Speaker Johnson warned that holding up the DHS appropriations bill could impact critical operations like FEMA disaster response and TSA airport security.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: Former First Lady Jill Biden’s first husband, William Stevenson, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his late wife, Linda Stevenson.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: William Stevenson, 77, and his late wife, Linda Stevenson, 64. Jill Biden was previously married to William Stevenson from 1970 to 1974.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: Linda Stevenson was found unresponsive in their Wilmington, Delaware home on December 28, 2025. William Stevenson was taken into custody at the same location on February 2, 2026.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Police were responding late at night on December 28, 2025, to a ‘reported domestic dispute’ at the Stevensons’ residence,” according to a New Castle County Police Department press release.
🎯IMPACT: The case has drawn attention due to William Stevenson’s past marriage to Jill Biden, now the wife of former President Joe Biden.
IN FULL
William Stevenson, the ex-husband of former First Lady Jill Biden, has been charged with first-degree murder following the death of his current wife, Linda Stevenson. Linda, 64, was found unresponsive in their Wilmington, Delaware, residence on December 28, 2025, after police responded to a reported domestic dispute late that evening.
According to the New Castle County Police Department (NCCPD), Linda Stevenson was found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead. The circumstances surrounding her death prompted a police investigation, with William Stevenson being arrested and charged with murder on Monday, February 2, 2026.
“Following an extensive weeks-long investigation into the death of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson, Detectives from the Division’s Criminal Investigations Unit, in coordination with the Delaware Department of Justice, presented the case to a grand jury,” the NCCPD stated, adding: “As a result, an indictment was returned by the New Castle County Superior Court charging 77-year-old William Stevenson with Murder in the First Degree.”
Previously, Stevenson and Jill Biden were married from 1970 to 1974; Jill Stevenson would later marry Joe Biden in 1977. William Stevenson would later claim the separation was a result of an affair between his then-wife and her future husband. According to Stevenson, he kicked Jill out of his home after uncovering the relationship.
“One of her best friends told me she thought Joe and Jill were getting a little too close. I was surprised that she came to me,” Stevenson claimed in 2020. He went on to state that the affair was confirmed to him when a friend informed him that Joe Biden had been driving his then-wife’s car when she was involved in an accident, “I asked Jill to leave the house, which she did.”
The NCCPD has not yet released a cause of death for Linda Stevenson nor a motive for her murder.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Federal investigators have reportedly uncovered a “massive underground fraud network” in Minneapolis linked to the anti-ICE movement.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and federal investigators.
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📍WHEN & WHERE: Reported on February 3, 2026, concerning Minneapolis, Minnesota.
💬KEY QUOTE: “[I]t’s not just coincidence that these massive numbers of protesters and rioters and agitators show up at the same time, and they’re pushing back on what has been a profit center for fraudsters.” – Todd Blanche
🎯IMPACT: The investigation is ongoing, with an emphasis on tracing financial connections to the alleged fraud network.
IN FULL
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has stated that federal investigators suspect a “massive underground fraud network” is orchestrating efforts to expel U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Minneapolis, Minnesota. “We had a massive fraud [scandal] going on all through Minneapolis, all through Minnesota, and suddenly it turned,” he said in an interview. “It turned almost on a dime, and it became suddenly all about ICE, all about getting ICE out, and how horrible ICE was doing.”
Blanche said the Department of Justice (DOJ) was making progress on tracing the funding linked to the network, although he cautioned this was “not something we’re going to do overnight.” He emphasized that “it’s not just coincidence that these massive numbers of protesters and rioters and agitators show up at the same time, and they’re pushing back on what has been a profit center for fraudsters.”
This all comes against a backdrop of heightened friction between ICE, state Democrats, and local agitators, worsened by recent deadly encounters involving federal immigration officers and anti-ICE activists in Minneapolis that intensified the demonstrations.
Federal officials are pressing forward with their examination of the purported fraud operation and what it might mean for immigration enforcement in the area, keeping the atmosphere charged despite efforts by Border Czar Tom Homan to cool the situation.
❓WHAT HAPPENED: French prosecutors raided the Paris office of Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) as part of an investigation into allegations including unlawful data extraction and complicity in the possession of child pornography.
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👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Elon Musk, former X CEO Linda Yaccarino, French prosecutors, the British Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and British communications regulator Ofcom.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The raid occurred in France, with investigations ongoing since January 25. British regulators also launched probes into Musk’s AI tool, Grok.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people’s personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent.” – William Malcolm, the ICO’s executive director for regulatory risk and innovation.
🎯IMPACT: The investigations could lead to significant legal and reputational consequences for X, with both French and British authorities scrutinizing the platform’s practices.
IN FULL
French authorities have raided the Paris offices of Elon Musk’s social media platform X as part of a widening criminal investigation into alleged data and content-related offences, including unlawful data extraction and possible complicity in the possession or distribution of child pornography. The search was carried out by the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit, which said the probe began in January 2025 and initially focused on content promoted by X’s recommendation algorithms.
By mid-2025, investigators expanded the inquiry to include Musk’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, Grok. Prosecutors said they are examining potential crimes ranging from fraudulent data extraction by an organized group to violations of image rights through the creation of sexual deepfakes. Both Musk and former X chief executive Linda Yaccarino have been summoned to hearings scheduled for April.
In Britain, regulators have also turned their attention to Grok. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced it had opened an investigation into the AI tool over concerns about its “potential to produce harmful sexualised image and video content.” The inquiry follows reports that Grok was allegedly used to generate sexual deepfakes, often using real images of women without their consent. X has not publicly responded to the French or British investigations.
The ICO said it is working alongside media regulator Ofcom to assess how personal data may have been processed by Grok. William Malcolm, the ICO’s executive director for regulatory risk and innovation, said, “The reports about Grok raise deeply troubling questions about how people’s personal data has been used to generate intimate or sexualised images without their knowledge or consent, and whether the necessary safeguards were put in place to prevent this.”
The actions in France and the United Kingdom come amid broader tensions between European authorities and X over regulation and free speech. European Union (EU) regulators have previously fined the platform under the Digital Services Act (DSA), prompting criticism from U.S. officials. Senior American figures, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have warned that European censorship efforts risk “encroaching on Americans’ free speech,” while the Trump administration has described European penalties against X as an assault on U.S. tech companies and their users.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—The National Pulse traveled with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday for an in-depth look at what has quietly become a priority for the Trump administration and the final frontier of American innovation.
In Cape Canaveral and Titusville, Florida, the Trump White House—through partnerships with some of the biggest names in the technology industry—is working to “Make Space Great Again,” with a revival of NASA and its mission capabilities, and a robust Space Force presence working with private industry on the development of commercial and national security space flight.
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The moves come after decades in which America took its eye off the ball on space matters.
Secretary Hegseth took to the road in what the Pentagon has dubbed “The Arsenal of Freedom Tour,” visiting key civilian and military installations on Florida’s Space Coast. The trip includes discussions with Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. A key theme has been de-monopolizing the defense industry to deliver more for the U.S. military and taxpayers.
Image credit: Will Upton for The National Pulse
The Secretary has also used the tour to personally administer oath ceremonies for newly enlisted service members, swearing in 72 new U.S. military recruits at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum in Titusville.
Following the ceremony, Sec. Hegseth visited NASA’s Cape Canaveral facilities and took to the air in an F-5 supersonic light fighter, piloted by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. Sec. Hegseth—who also flew in an F/A-18 Super Hornet at Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada last October—is the second Secretary to personally take to the skies, following Robert Gates.
Within a few square miles, major aerospace and national defense operations are underway, with SpaceX having two rocket launch facilities just down the road from NASA’s historic space flight center, where, possibly as early as February 8, the Artemis II mission will launch, carrying two U.S. and one Canadian astronaut in the first American moon mission in over 50 years.
While the Artemis II mission will only orbit the Earth’s lunar companion, Artemis III, slated for 2028, will see the boots of American astronauts once again walk on the moon’s surface—something that last happened in 1972.
Image credit: Will Upton for The National Pulse
The Space Coast revival is emblematic of this vision, with private-sector aerospace companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance (ULA) having a significant presence—including employing thousands of Floridians and supporting hundreds of American companies.
Importantly, nearly every military service branch has a presence as well, with the U.S. Space Force serving as the area’s hub of command—including building out what will essentially become an air traffic control system, but for rocket launches by NASA, the Department of War, and around a half-dozen private-sector companies.
MAKING THE MILITARY GREAT AGAIN.
Senior Department of War officials stressed that the implications for the work occurring on Cape Canaveral and the surrounding area go beyond commercial and national security space flight, but will also impact the future of American hypersonic and interceptor missile technology.
Notably, this comes amid a broader push by the Trump administration to make defense procurement more efficient, cost-effective, and supportive of America’s most immediate military needs.
In January, President Donald J. Trump warned the most entrenched contractors in the defense industry that the days of cost overruns, stock buybacks, overly generous CEO pay, and—importantly—production delays are over. This new policy was heavily emphasized by Hegseth at the end of the tour stop, where he met with Bezos and addressed hundreds of the workers at Blue Origin’s sprawling rocket construction facility at Merritt Island.
“American strength has to partner with American manufacturing… If we unleash the American worker and American industry, we will outcompete. We will out-innovate. But institutions like the Pentagon have held us back for decades. With this Arsenal of Freedom Tour, we say: No more. We will unleash American space dominance,” Sec. Hegseth declared.
“I want the rest of the world to know that the U.S. Department of War is teamed up with the greatest companies in America,” he added.
The Secretary went on to praise the dedication of the Blue Origin workers, stating, “What you’re building, here at Merritt Island, is a core function of the Arsenal of Freedom.”
.@SECWAR “If we UNLEASH the American worker and American industry, WE WILL OUTCOMPETE. WE WILL OUT INNOVATE, but institutions like the Pentagon have held us back for DECADES.
Speaking with The National Pulse, a senior military official with the Pentagon’s procurement operation said the Trump administration’s approach is unlike anything done before, with a focus not just on speed and production quality, but also on the need for immediate battlefield application. Secretary Hegseth also stressed this point at Blue Origin, stating that the Department of War wants a defense industry that is focused on the here and now first and foremost, rather than projects that will take 15 years and never enter production.
A streamlined, efficient defense production base will be critical if the Trump administration intends to begin the initial phase of bringing the Golden Dome missile defense system online by 2028, which senior Pentagon officials say the President has set as the goal.
Still, concerns and roadblocks remain. The Pentagon hasn’t passed an audit in nearly a decade, and whether several young, upstart companies in the defense production sector can actually compete and produce at the level the Trump administration expects remains to be seen.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—The National Pulse traveled with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Monday for an in-depth look at what has quietly become a priority for the Trump administration and the final frontier of American innovation.
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❓WHAT HAPPENED: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) has appointed Stanley Richards, a former inmate at Rikers Island, as the city’s new Department of Correction commissioner.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Stanley Richards, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain, and the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA).
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📍WHEN & WHERE: Richards’ appointment was announced in New York City during a recent news conference.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Stanley will make history in this role as the first ever formerly incarcerated person to serve as commissioner. That achievement is not merely symbolic.” – Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
🎯IMPACT: Richards is the latest controversial appointment by Mamdani, who, as mayor, has sought to elevate a number of radical and far-left ideologues to key posts in New York City.
IN FULL
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) announced he is appointing former Rikers Island inmate Stanley Richards as the city’s new Department of Correction commissioner. Stanley served two and a half years on Rikers in the 1980s for robbery before finishing four and a half years of a nine-year prison sentence elsewhere. The appointment marks the first instance in New York City history of a former prisoner holding the position of commissioner, with Richards becoming the latest far-leftideologicalally of Mamdani to be elevated to a key city.
“Stanley will make history in this role as the first ever formerly incarcerated person to serve as commissioner,” Mayor Mamdani said during a news conference announcing the appointment. He added, “That achievement is not merely symbolic. It is a testament to the thought and leadership he will bring to every member of correction staff and incarcerated New Yorkers underneath his purview.”
Following his release from the New York prison system in 1991, Richards began working as a counselor with the Fortune Society, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and re-entry assistance for ex-convicts, eventually rising to become the group’s president and CEO. A staunch far-left “prison reform” activist, Richards advocates against incarceration policies he claims are punishment-oriented. “Under Mayor Mamdani’s leadership, we will chart a path of hope, healing, and transformation,” Richards stated at the press conference announcing his appointment, adding: “[Mamdani’s] administration made clear that the future of Rikers is not endless confinement, scapegoating or demonizing.”
Previously, Richards served a stint as the first deputy commissioner of programs and operations at the Department of Correction under former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, as well as the vice chairman of the Board of Correction’s Task Force to Close Rikers. However, the choice of Richards is already being viewed with caution by those whose jobs it is to ensure public safety and security at Rikers and other city prison facilities.
“Despite the many false narratives that have portrayed COBA as an ‘obstacle to reform,’ we have been ready, willing and able to meet and work with anyone, as long as they respect the rights of our Correction Officers and understand that their safety and security matter,” Benny Boscio, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association (COBA), said in response to Mamdani’s decision tap Richards for Department of Correction commissioner, adding: “The jails cannot and will not operate as safely as possible if the concerns of our members are brushed aside. It is our hope that Mr. Richards understands that dynamic as he takes on this new role and demonstrates a commitment to putting safety and security before any political ideology.”
Notably, Richards will have only limited authority over Rikers Island, as the prison has been under federal oversight for the past 10 years. Last spring, U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain appointed Nicholas Deml, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer and Vermont Corrections Department chief, as a federal monitor to oversee Rikers, granting him much of the authority and duties previously held by the city-appointed commissioner.
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