❓WHAT HAPPENED: Residents in central Cuba partially destroyed a local communist party headquarters during a protest over energy and food shortages.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Cuban citizens, the Cuban government, and President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Saturday in Moron, a city in central Cuba.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Vandalism acts in Moron were directed at the building,” said Cuban government sources via state media.

🎯IMPACT: The incident highlights Cuba’s ongoing energy crisis, worsened by a lack of fuel shipments and U.S. sanctions.

A group of residents in Moron, central Cuba, protested early Saturday, targeting the local headquarters of the ruling communist party.

The demonstration, reportedly tied to the island’s energy and food supply issues, resulted in the partial destruction of the building, and five individuals were arrested.

Cuban authorities labeled the event as “vandalism acts,” stating that protesters threw stones and set fire to furniture in the building’s reception area. Social media videos also revealed damage to a drugstore and a store in the area.

The Cuban government has opened an investigation into the incident amid the country’s ongoing severe energy shortages. President Miguel Díaz-Canel confirmed on Friday that no petroleum shipments have arrived in Cuba for three months, attributing the crisis to a U.S. energy blockade. He added that the country is currently relying on a mix of natural gas, solar power, and thermoelectric plants.

The energy crisis has forced the shutdown of two power plants and limited operations at a solar park. A recent blackout was blamed on a broken boiler at a thermoelectric plant, which caused a complete shutdown of Cuba’s power grid.

As Cuba grapples with these challenges, President Díaz-Canel noted that discussions are underway with the U.S. government, marking the first official acknowledgment of such talks amidst the ongoing crisis.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Ambassador Richard Grenell is expected to move on from his role as head of the Kennedy Center, as the organization moves into a two-year reconstruction period.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald Trump, Richard Grenell, and the Kennedy Center leadership.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement could come as soon as today, with Grenell having served as president since February 2025.

🎯IMPACT: The move signals a shift in leadership as the Kennedy Center prepares for a two-year renovation.

Ambassador Richard Grenell is believed to be leaving as head of the Kennedy Center, according to sources familiar with the matter. The National Pulse has independently confirmed the reporting, which first appeared in CNN and Axios on Friday afternoon.

At the time of publication, President Trump had just issued the following Truth Social message: “Ric Grenell has done an excellent job in helping to coordinate various elements of the Center during the transition period, and I want to thank him for the outstanding work he has done.”

The move comes as the arts and culture institution, which now bears Trump’s name on its façade, is expected to close for two years for renovations. Grenell’s replacement is long-standing D.C.-area facilities manager Matt Floca. Floca has worked on D.C. area buildings projects for years, and holds a bachelor of science in construction management from Louisiana State University. He was recently appointed to the Kennedy Center management team.

Grenell will remain involved with the center in an advisory role.

Trump said of Floca, on Friday afternoon: “I am pleased to announce that Matt Floca, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, will be named the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director, of THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER where, as Vice President of Operations, Matt has helped us achieve tremendous progress in bringing the Center to the highest level of Excellence! A Complete Reconstruction of THE TRUMP KENNEDY CENTER will begin after the July 4th Celebration, with a scheduled Grand ReOpening in approximately two years.”

President Trump is believed to be a long-standing admirer of Ambassador Grenell, despite numerous establishment operations to drive a wedge between them. Grenell has recently been the target of leaked media hit pieces, believed to have come from within the RINO faction of the GOP, designed to keep him out of a new potential role. Some have suggested that Amb. Grenell would be an ideal fit to help lead the Olympic Games in Los Angeles this summer.

While leading the Kennedy Center, Grenell often bucked the trends of the far-left arts world, and helped produce some of the highlights of the last year, including the spellbinding Les Miserables run, as well as The Trump-Kennedy Center Honors.

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