‘Shock and concern': Klein describes reactions to Trump WH sponsorships
The White House, through an outside event production company called Harbinger, is soliciting corporate sponsors for this year's Easter Egg Roll, which is prompting major concerns from ethics experts and shock from former White House officials from both parties. CNN's Betsy Klein reports.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
MAGA Celebs Trapped in Israel Amid Airstrikes
CNN pundit Scott Jennings and Olympian Caitlyn Jenner—both stalwart supporters of President Donald Trump—are stuck in Israel as the country exchanges airstrikes with Iran. The Israeli government shut down the country's main airport, Ben Gurion, in Tel Aviv on Thursday after launching what it described as a 'preemptive' air strike on Iran, killing several military commanders. 'Don't think I am getting out of Israel today!' Jennings wrote on X Friday Morning. 'But will continue to report on what I see and hear.' Jennings later posted a Daily Mail article reporting that both he and MAGA diehard Caitlyn Jenner had been marooned in Israel, joking, 'This headline is an all-time mad lib.' 'Good company,' Jenner replied. Jennings first posted about his visit to Israel on Monday, June 9, writing on X that he was taking a break from CNN for the week to 'journey through Israel.' Jenner, meanwhile, arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to attend the city's Pride parade, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After Israel attacked Iran, Iran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel overnight. Israeli authorities later reported that most Iranian missiles had been intercepted. Jennings told the Daily Mail he was moved to a safe room when the strikes began. In a series of videos posted to X on Thursday and Friday, Jennings describes 'hearing booms in the distance' and adds, 'Iran missile attacks, I presume.' Jenner, 75, told an Israeli news station Friday morning that she'd spoken with her daughter, Kylie Jenner, and assured her, 'I'll keep myself safe, and they'll take care of me.' Jenner took to Instagram on Friday afternoon to express her continued support for Israel. Alongside a photo of her visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, she wrote, 'My heart is with Israel now and forever. Evil shall not prevail!' Jennings and Jenner are also both strong supporters of President Trump, who stood behind Israel's airstrikes on Iran, calling them 'excellent' on Friday morning. The United States is now assisting Israel in shooting down Iranian missiles. In her latest update, the former athlete shared an image of the sky in Tel Aviv during the airstrikes, writing, 'Pray for us all.'
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Voice of America brings back Farsi-speaking staff amid Israel-Iran conflict
Several dozen sidelined Voice of America staffers have suddenly been called back to work as the Israel-Iran conflict escalates. It is a dramatic turn of events for the American government-funded broadcasting system that was shut down by the Trump administration in March. Steve Herman, who has been VOA's chief national correspondent since 2022, said the broadcaster specifically brought back Farsi language speakers who have been on paid administrative leave. The move suggests that the US government wants to bolster its programming into Iran. Before the cutbacks were instituted in March, VOA said that it produced four-plus hours a day of 'Persian-language programming to Iran.' The VOA website said the content 'confronts the disinformation and censorship efforts of the Iranian regime and enhances U.S. efforts to speak directly to the Iranian people and the global Persian-speaking diaspora.' It is unclear how much content VOA has been beaming into Iran in recent weeks. The broadcaster's VOA Farsi channel on YouTube showed eight new videos since Israel struck inside Iran early Friday. Staffers from some other VOA language services have also been called back to work. Brett Bruen, president of the consulting firm Global Situation Room, reacted to Herman's X post about the news by tweeting to Kari Lake, the Trump loyalist who has been tasked with gutting VOA. 'Turns out not having a channel to communicate with the Iranian people was a pretty bad idea, @KariLake,' Bruen wrote. A spokesperson for Lake did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment. Patsy Widakuswara, one of the sidelined journalists who is suing the Trump administration to salvage the broadcaster, told CNN on Friday that 'VOA's role in providing independent, factual and authoritative news has been proven throughout countless times of crisis. But after months off the air, we've already lost a lot of audience and credibility. They should bring us all back so we can respond to breaking news in all parts of the world.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump quips 'they didn't die of COVID' when asked if Israel killed Iranian officials
President Donald Trump joked on Friday morning about the fate of Iranian officials in the wake of Israel's recent airstrike, according to CNN's Dana Bash. After months of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, Israel attacked Iran's nuclear and missile infrastructure early Friday, taking out at least 20 senior Iranian commanders and inflicting a significant blow to Tehran's government. Two of the most prominent officials killed in the strikes were Gen. Hossein Salami, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces. Bash spoke on Friday about her phone call with Trump, where she asked him about Secretary of State Marco Rubio's initial statement about Israel's strikes, which did not explicitly say that the U.S. supported them. Trump Believes Israel's Strike On Iran Could Improve Chances For Nuclear Deal: Report "We, of course, support Israel, obviously, and supported it like nobody has ever supported it," Trump said, according to Bash. "It was a very successful attack. Iran should have listened to me when I said - you know, I gave them, I don't know if you know, but I gave them a 60-day warning. And today is day 61." "They should now come to the table to make a deal before it's too late. It will be too late for them. You know, the people I was dealing with are dead," he added, though he wouldn't give specific names, only that the "hardliners" were dead. Read On The Fox News App "This is as a result of the attack last night?" Bash asked him. "Yeah. They didn't die of the flu. They didn't die of COVID," Bash described him saying "quite sarcastically." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture Trump also told Fox News' Bret Baier on Friday that "The Iranians were hit 10 times worse than they thought they would be." "They weren't ready to negotiate. I think they may be now. We'll see," Trump said regarding the future of Iran's nuclear program. Senior U.S. officials told Fox News that a long list of nuclear scientists and military leaders were targeted by Israel's surprise airstrikes Friday. The officials added that 90% of Iran's top nuclear scientists, as well as other senior military officers and other Iranian leaders, may have been targeted in the article source: Trump quips 'they didn't die of COVID' when asked if Israel killed Iranian officials
