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Tuesday, October 28, 2025
10 minutes ago
Science
TECH

Israeli Scientist Secures $60 Million for ‘Geoengineering’ Tech to Dim the Sun.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A geoengineering startup, Stardust Solutions, has raised $60 million to develop technology capable of dimming the Sun.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Stardust Solutions, CEO Yanai Yedvab, Silicon Valley investors, and an Italian industrial dynasty.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The company plans to begin controlled outdoor experiments next April, releasing particles at an altitude of eleven miles.

💬KEY QUOTE: “We will only participate in deployment, which will be done under adequate governance led by governments.” – Yanai Yedvab

🎯IMPACT: The project faces skepticism over governance, unknown risks, and criticism from climate scientists and economists.

IN FULL

Stardust Solutions, a geoengineering startup, has raised $60 million to develop technology that aims to dim the Sun by spraying aerosol particles into the atmosphere. The funding round is the largest-ever for a company in this sector and includes investments from Silicon Valley figures and an Italian industrial dynasty.

The company’s CEO, Yanai Yedvab, a former Israeli government physicist, explained that their approach involves “solar radiation management” to redirect the Sun’s rays. However, he acknowledged that this would not entirely eliminate climate risks. “There will still be extreme weather events,” he said in a recent interview.

Unlike previous geoengineering efforts led by universities and nonprofits, Stardust Solutions is a private entity. The company claims it is working on a proprietary particle that is scalable, cost-effective, and safe. Yedvab stated that they aim to develop a particle “as safe as, say, flour” and are seeking a patent for it.

The startup plans to begin “controlled outdoor experiments” in April, releasing particles from a modified plane at an altitude of eleven miles. However, the concept has drawn criticism, with concerns over governance and unknown risks. Some scientists, including University of Chicago professor David Keith, have expressed doubts about the feasibility of creating a particle superior to sulfates, a common option in geoengineering research.

Critics also question the startup’s long-term viability and the role of private entities in addressing global climate challenges. “They have convinced Silicon Valley [venture capitalists] to give them a lot of money, and I would say that they shouldn’t have,” climate economist Gernot Wagner cautions. Yedvab, however, emphasized that deployment would only occur under clear governance led by governments.

Image by William M. Connolley.

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50 minutes ago
News

A Category 5 Storm More Powerful Than Katrina Is Set to Slam Into Jamaica Today.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Jamaica looks set to be struck directly by Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm on record for the island.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jamaicans and tourists in the country.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Hurricane Melissa is expected to make landfall in Jamaica today, after intensifying to a Category 5 storm, even more powerful than Hurricane Katrina. Airports are closed, and the Royal Navy ship HMS Trent is on standby in the region.

💬KEY QUOTE: “We’ve set up the crisis centre here in the Foreign Office to provide 24-hour consular assistance to British nationals, but also to monitor Hurricane Melissa and to make sure we are ready and stand ready to provide UK support to Jamaica,” said British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

🎯IMPACT: Catastrophic flash floods, landslides, and severe weather conditions are anticipated, with up to 700mm (over two feet) of rain, four-metre waves (13 feet), and 135mph winds expected.

IN FULL

Jamaica is bracing for Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm expected to make landfall on Tuesday. Popular with Western tourists, Western governments are racing to respond to the crisis, with Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) having established a crisis centre to aid Britons on the island, while the Royal Navy ship HMS Trent is on standby in the region.

The storm, which has sustained winds exceeding 157mph, is even more powerful than Hurricane Katrina, and the strongest on record for Jamaica in 174 years. Airports across the island have been closed, and the Jamaican government has issued a list of available hurricane shelters. Catastrophic conditions, including flash floods, landslides, and waves up to four metres high, are anticipated.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stressed the seriousness of the storm, saying: “I’ve spoken to the Jamaican foreign minister to offer our support and solidarity to the Jamaican people as they face the storm.” She encouraged everyone to adhere to the advice of both the British Foreign Office and the Jamaican government.

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1 hour ago
News

Confederate Statue Toppled by BLM in 2020 Restored in DC.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: The statue of Confederate general Albert Pike in Washington, D.C., was restored to its location after being vandalized and toppled during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The National Park Service facilitated the return of the statue, which honors Confederate diplomat and Brig. Gen. Albert Pike.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The statue was returned to Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, after being in storage for over five years.

💬KEY QUOTE: “It is the policy of the United States to make the District of Columbia safe, beautiful, and prosperous by preventing crime, punishing criminals, preserving order, protecting our revered American monuments, and promoting beautification and the preservation of our history and heritage.” — President Donald J. Trump

🎯IMPACT: The return of the statue aligns with federal efforts to preserve historical monuments and educate the public on American history.

IN FULL

The bronze statue of the Confederate diplomat and military commander Brig. Gen. Albert Pike has been restored to its original location in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square. For over five years, the 11-foot-tall bronze statue sat in storage after it was repeatedly vandalized—and eventually toppled—during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots in the summer of 2020.

Originally dedicated in 1901, after being authorized by Congress in 1898, the statue commemorates Pike’s more than 30 years as the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Scottish Freemasonry. The monument inscriptions highlight Pike’s roles as an orator, poet, scholar, soldier, jurist, and philanthropist, without directly referencing his Confederate ties.

Efforts to remove the statue date back to at least 1992, when the D.C. City Council petitioned the federal government for its removal. However, its recent return follows two Executive Orders from President Donald J. Trump in March, which directed federal agencies to “protect public monuments and present a full and accurate picture of the American past,” according to the National Park Service.

“As the Federal capital city, Washington, D.C., is the only city that belongs to all Americans and that all Americans can claim as theirs. As the capital city of the greatest Nation in the history of the world, it should showcase beautiful, clean, and safe public spaces,” Trump ordered in March, adding: “It is the policy of the United States to make the District of Columbia safe, beautiful, and prosperous by preventing crime, punishing criminals, preserving order, protecting our revered American monuments, and promoting beautification and the preservation of our history and heritage.”

Image by dbking.

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2 hours ago
News

WaPo Rips Karine Jean-Pierre—‘Prehistoric, Outmoded, Blinkered, Unsubtle, Driftless, Thought-Repelling.’

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Former White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre released a book criticizing Democratic leadership for their treatment of former President Biden and former Vice President Harris. The Washington Post was not kind to it.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Karine Jean-Pierre, former President Joe Biden, former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Democratic Party leaders.

📍WHEN & WHERE: October 2025, United States.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Independent is a primer in the rhetorical tactics that have served Democrats so poorly of late, full of squishy and congratulatory therapy-speak. Jean-Pierre reports that she “protected [her] peace” by tuning out much of the 2024 Democratic convention—not a comforting admission from a public official tasked with listening to the citizenry.”  – Becca Rothfeld, The Washington Post

🎯IMPACT: The book raises questions about the Democratic Party’s future and internal dynamics.

IN FULL

Former Biden White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre‘s book, Independent: A Look Inside a Broken White House, Outside the Party Lines, received a scathing review in The Washington Post earlier this month. Becca Rothfeld suggests Jean-Pierre “may represent the future of the Democratic Party, despite her notional disavowal of it,” but that this is not necessarily a good thing for the party, as despite “loudly declaring herself an independent in a futile effort to cleanse herself of the taint of her party,” the former press secretary is still “espousing the same old worldview in the same old tired tone.”

In her book, Jean-Pierre criticizes the Democrats for their perceived betrayal of President Joe Biden and questions their decision not to automatically support Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. However, Rothfeld noted that Jean-Pierre never answers “the rather central question of whether she was actually electable” and even confesses that she “never really believed Harris could win.”

The former press secretary is blasted as an “artifact of an age that looks recent on paper but feels prehistoric in practice—the age of pantsuits, the word ’empowerment,’ the musical Hamilton, the cheap therapeutic entreaties to ‘work on yourself’ and ‘lean in’ to various corporate abysses,” with her book written in an “outmoded register” that has been failing since 2016.

“It is incredible—and emblematic of the Democrats’ total aesthetic and intellectual driftlessness—that someone who writes in such feel-good, thought-repelling clichés was hired to communicate with the nation from its highest podium,” Rothfeld observes, noting how “revalingly blinkered” she comes across.

“[L]ike her colleagues in the halls of Congress, she appears to have little authentic understanding of why her erstwhile party’s approval rating has cratered,” the writer says in summation, adding that “The silver lining is that she has provided an object lesson in exactly what not to do. The question is whether the Democrats are capable of learning from her example.”

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4 hours ago
News
World

Trial Begins for Ten Accused of Calling Brigitte Macron Trans, Making ‘Malicious Remarks’ About Age Gap with French Prez.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Ten individuals are set to stand trial in Paris for alleged sexist cyber-bullying of Brigitte Macron, French President Emmanuel Macron’s wife, for suggesting she is transgender and making “malicious remarks” about the fact that their relationship began when she was 39 and he was 15.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The defendants include an elected official, a gallery owner, a teacher, and others accused of spreading unsubstantiated claims about Mrs. Macron.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The trial is taking place this week in Paris, and hearings are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

💬KEY QUOTE: “It is incredibly upsetting to think that you have to go and subject yourself, to put this type of proof forward,” said the Macrons’ lawyer, Tom Clare.

🎯IMPACT: If convicted, the defendants face up to two years in prison, while the Macrons continue to pursue legal action to defend their reputations.

IN FULL

Ten defendants are on trial in Paris, France, this week, accused of participating in a coordinated campaign of sexist cyber-harassment against Brigitte Macron, the wife of French President Emmanuel Macron. The case centers on allegations that the defendants spread false and malicious rumors that Mrs. Macron is a man, while also making “malicious remarks” about the couple’s 24-year age gap, with their relationship starting when Mrs. Macron was a 39-year-old teacher and her husband was a 15-year-old schoolboy. French prosecutors allege the commentary went beyond criticism and amounted to targeted defamation intended to humiliate and discredit the first lady.

Among the accused are Natacha Rey and Amandine Roy, who previously faced slander convictions for claiming that Mrs Macron never existed and that her brother, Jean-Michel Trogneux, had transitioned to become her. Although they were initially found guilty, a court of appeals later overturned the decision, ruling that their remarks did not legally qualify as defamation. Mrs. Macron is appealing that ruling. If convicted, the defendants in this case could face up to two years in prison.

President Macron claims that taking legal action is not just a personal response but a matter of principle. He described the attacks as part of a broader campaign to harm his wife and destabilize public trust, saying the falsehoods were spread “with the aim of causing harm, in the service of an ideology and with established connections to far-right leaders.”

The Paris trial comes amid growing debate in Europe about how far governments should go in regulating online speech. Countries such as Germany have stepped up enforcement of digital conduct laws, including investigations into online hate speech and insults, which are outlawed in the country. Germany’s Network Enforcement Act, known as NetzDG, requires large social-media platforms to remove “clearly illegal” content within 24 hours or face fines of up to 50 million euros. European officials argue these measures are necessary to combat harassment and misinformation, but critics warn they erase free expression.

The European Union’s broader Digital Services Act has further tightened requirements for major platforms to police so-called “harmful content.”

Image by Mélanie Praquin.

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5 hours ago
News
UK

Top UK Police Force Allocates Millions to Annual DEI Programs.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Britain’s largest police force, the Metropolitan Police, is set to spend £5.2million (~$6.8 million) on diversity roles, increasing from its current £3.2 million (~$4.2 million) expenditure.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Metropolitan Police, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, and William Yarwood of the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

📍WHEN & WHERE: London, England, as revealed through a Freedom of Information request response this month.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Taxpayers expect bobbies on the beat, not endless networks, awareness weeks and ‘life event’ managers.” – William Yarwood, TaxPayers’ Alliance.

🎯IMPACT: The spending comes as the Met faces budget cuts, station closures, and reductions in frontline services while maintaining a large diversity bureaucracy.

IN FULL

London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Britain’s largest police force, is set to boost spending on its Culture, Diversity and Inclusion unit from about £3.2 million (~$4.2 million) to roughly £5.2 million (~$6.8 million). The unit is expected to expand to 64 staff members, but figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request reveal that this total does not include other Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) roles across the force. The Met also runs several internal so-called support networks, such as the He For She gender-equality initiative and a Bisexual Support Group, and marks so-called awareness events, including International Pronouns Day and Pansexual and Panromantic Awareness Day.

Critics have questioned the rising DEI costs at a time when the force faces a significant budget shortfall. William Yarwood of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said, “It’s staggering that while Londoners are seeing stations shut and frontline police services cut, the Met still finds millions to bankroll a sprawling diversity bureaucracy.” He added, “Taxpayers expect bobbies on the beat, not endless networks, awareness weeks and ‘life event’ managers.”

The Met, which takes about a quarter of England and Wales’ total police budget, is currently facing a £260 million ($339 million) deficit and has announced plans to cut 1,700 officers and staff. Earlier this year, it received £32 million ($42 million) in additional funding from City Hall and the Home Office, roughly equivalent to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. London Mayor Sadiq Khan, of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s governing Labour Party, blamed what he called “chronic underfunding” by the previous Conservative government.

The expansion of diversity spending in policing reflects a broader trend across the British public sector. Government figures have shown that DEI-related jobs cost British taxpayers at least £500 million ($652 million) annually.

Recent reports have also raised concerns that some police forces prioritize diversity targets over recruitment fairness. One investigation claimed that “two-tier” systems in certain forces had disadvantaged white applicants in the name of diversity. In other sectors, critics argue that DEI programs have promoted “anti-whiteness” within healthcare and higher education.

Image by Adrian Snood.

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17 hours ago
Crime
News

Trans Teen Confesses to Planning Valentine’s Day Massacre at High School.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: A female-to-male transgender has confessed to plotting a mass shooting earlier this year over Valentine’s Day.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Transgender Trinity Shockley, Morgan County Prosecutor’s office

📍WHEN & WHERE:  Shockley admitted to planning the mass killing at an Indiana high school.

🎯IMPACT: The case involves yet another transgender who has either plotted or carried out a mass shooting in recent years.

IN FULL

An 18-year-old Indiana student, Trinity Shockley, who also goes by Jamie and identifies as male, has admitted to plotting a Valentine’s Day massacre at her high school. According to the Morgan County Prosecutor’s Office, Shockley is expected to plead guilty to felony conspiracy to commit murder in exchange for a maximum sentence of 12.5 years in prison and five years of probation. Authorities said police were alerted in February after receiving a tip that Shockley had obtained access to an AR-15 rifle, purchased a bulletproof vest, and had become fixated on mass shootings.

When investigators searched her home, they discovered what was described as a shrine to Nikolas Cruz, the gunman responsible for the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting, along with references to other mass killers. Officers also found detailed evidence suggesting she intended to attack her school on February 14, coinciding with the anniversary of the Parkland tragedy. As part of her plea deal, Shockley will be permanently banned from researching school shooters. Her electronic devices will be monitored through specialized software, and she will be prohibited from ever owning a firearm.

The case has drawn national attention amid a series of high-profile shootings involving transgenders. In March 2023, Audrey Hale, a 28-year-old transgender, carried out a deadly attack at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, killing three children and three adults. Hale left behind a manifesto and extensive planning materials.

In February 2024, Genesse Ivonne Moreno, also known as Jeffrey Escalante, opened fire at Houston’s Lakewood Church, the megachurch led by pastor Joel Osteen. The suspect, who was initially reported to be a transgender migrant with pro-Palestinian sympathies, used an AR-style rifle marked with the word “Palestine” and reportedly praised Osama bin Laden. Conflicting reports later emerged regarding the shooter’s gender identity.

Another shooting occurred in August 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, when 23-year-old Robin Westman, a transgender who had legally changed his name from Robert, killed two children and injured many others at Annunciation Catholic Church and School. In his writings, Westman expressed regret about undergoing gender transition, stating, “I only keep [the long hair] because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself.”

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17 hours ago
Economy
World

Trump Secures Major Trade and Rare Earth Deals in Asia.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump began his Asia tour with a visit to Malaysia, brokering peace accords, trade agreements, and critical minerals deals.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, leaders of Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, during President Trump’s Asia tour on Monday.

🎯IMPACT: Historic peace agreements, expanded market access for U.S. goods, and strengthened critical mineral supply chains.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump concluded the first leg of his Asia tour in Malaysia after a series of high-level talks, which resulted in a series of rare earth mineral deals, trade deals, and reciprocal trade frameworks. On Thursday, President Trump will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea, where the two are expected to finalize a framework developed by negotiators over the weekend.

Over the weekend, President Trump brokered the Kuala Lumpur Peace Accords, an agreement between Cambodia and Thailand to end their ongoing military conflict. Since May 28, 2025, sporadic armed clashes have broken out between Cambodian and Thai soldiers along several contested border regions, erupting into full-scale conflict on July 24. Despite both countries agreeing to an unconditional ceasefire just four days later, sporadic military engagements have persisted.

The America First leader also finalized and signed trade agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, with both nations agreeing to drastic reductions in their tariffs on U.S. exports, as well as addressing non-tariff barriers. In addition, President Trump and his trade policy team established reciprocal trade frameworks with Thailand and Vietnam. These agreements will allow for preferential market access for U.S. industrial and agricultural exports in both countries.

Finally, Trump successfully secured a strategic rare earth mineral deal, further diversifying the U.S. technology supply chain and decoupling from reliance on China. The deal, struck with Thailand, seeks to expand the development of and investment in rare earth processing instead of just the export of the raw materials themselves.

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18 hours ago
Economy

Amazon Plans to Slash 30,000 Corporate Positions: Report.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Amazon is set to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs, amounting to ten percent of its corporate workforce.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Amazon corporate employees, including those in human resources, services, and operations divisions.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Job cuts will begin this week, with notifications starting Tuesday, across Amazon’s global corporate offices.

🎯IMPACT: This marks the largest job cut at Amazon since late 2022 and signals a shift towards automation and AI integration within the company.

IN FULL

Online retail giant Amazon is preparing to cut up to 30,000 white-collar jobs, representing ten percent of its corporate workforce—though a much smaller share of the retailer’s total 1.5 million employees. These cuts, Amazon says, are part of the company’s efforts to reduce expenses following a hiring surge during the pandemic.

The roles being eliminated will impact several divisions, including human resources, services, and operations. Amazon employees in affected teams were instructed to undergo training on how to communicate the layoffs effectively, with emails to impacted employees scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

This reduction marks Amazon’s largest job cut since late 2022, when 27,000 roles were eliminated. The company has been reducing its workforce across multiple departments over recent years, while also advancing its use of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to streamline operations.

The National Pulse reported last week that Amazon aims to replace up to 600,000 roles with AI-powered robots as part of its long-term goal to automate 75 percent of its operations. Additionally, Amazon has introduced an AI seller assistant on its platform, which is currently in beta testing.

Despite these cuts, Amazon plans to hire 250,000 workers for the holiday season, primarily in fulfillment and delivery roles. However, the company declined to specify how many of these positions would become permanent.

Image by Todd Van Hoosear.

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18 hours ago
News

Mamdani Changes Story About Hijab-Wearing ‘Aunt’ Who Stopped Riding Subway After 9/11.

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❓WHAT HAPPENED: Zohran Mamdani, the Democrats’ socialist candidate for New York City mayor, has admitted he does not have an “aunt” who stopped riding the subway after 9/11, as he previously claimed. He now claims he was referring to a distant cousin of his father, who is now dead.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Zohran Mamdani, the Mamdani family, relatives of 9/11 victims, and Vice President J.D. Vance.

📍WHEN & WHERE: New York City, October 2025.

💬KEY QUOTE: “I find what [Mamdani] had to say completely insulting to all of the people that suffered a horrible loss that day.” – Terry Strada, widow of a 9/11 victim.

🎯IMPACT: The episode has sparked backlash from 9/11 families and raised further concerns about Mamdani’s honesty and integrity.

IN FULL

Zohran Mamdani, the Ugandan Muslim immigrant selected as the Democrats’ candidate for New York City Mayor, has admitted to fabricating a story about his “aunt” being too scared to ride the subway in her Islamic hijab after the 9/11 attacks. After Internet sleuths discovered that his only living aunt, Masuma Mamdani, lived in Tanzania in 2001 and does not wear a hijab, Mamdani claimed he was actually referring to a distant cousin of his father who is now dead.

During a press conference, Mamdani claimed, “I was speaking about Zehra fuhi, my father’s cousin, who passed away a few years ago.” The term “fuhi” translates to paternal aunt in Urdu and Hindi. Notably, Mamdani’s father, Mahmood Mamdani, despises America, alleging it is “the genesis of… settler-colonialism,” and “the inspiration” for the Nazis and the anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws, while also showing Adolf Hitler that “genocide was doable.”

Mamdani was already under fire for his tearful story about his “aunt” feeling uncomfortable on the subway after 9/11, given her alleged discomfort’s insignificance next to the mass death of the radical Islamic terror attack’s victims. Terry Strada, whose husband died in the North Tower, criticized the socialist politician’s remarks as “insulting and insensitive,” saying, “To compare an aunt being uncomfortable on the subway to all of these families that were murdered was just very insensitive and shows his true colors.”

Previously, Vice President J.D. Vance had observed that, “According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks.”

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