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Daily Caller

9/11 Widow Slams Biden Admin’s ‘Outrageous’ Attempted Plea Deals For Gitmo Terrorists

Published

1 year ago

3 minute read

From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Nick Pope

 

A woman whose husband was killed in the 9/11 attacks ripped the Biden administration at Ground Zero on Wednesday.

Joanne Barbara, whose firefighter husband Jerry was killed when the South Tower collapsed on that day, made a point of slamming the administration’s attempted plea deals with three suspected 9/11 terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, including alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, that would have spared the defendants the death penalty. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin eventually intervened to walk back the deals after the initial news of the plea deals broke and outraged many family members of September 11 victims.

“And my husband, [New York City Fire Department] Chief Gerard A. Barbara. My husband Jerry was a Navy veteran and a member of the FDNY for 31 years. On September 11, 2001, 2,977 innocent people were murdered by radical Islamic terrorists. My husband of 30 years was one of them,” Barbara said at Wednesday’s ceremony in New York City commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. “It is outrageous that our government would ever entertain the thought of granting the terrorists a plea deal. If not for the outcry of the 9/11 community, who knows what might have transpired.”

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“It has been 23 years, and the families deserve justice and accountability,” she continued to the applause of onlookers. “The elected officials here today show their respect and reverence to the families on September 11th, or in our president’s words, ‘do 9/11,’ quite a flippant remark. But please remember that the September 11th families live it every day, not just on the anniversary. In conclusion, may God bless those battling post-September 11 illnesses, our first responders and the military here and abroad. May God Bless America, and never forget.”

In her remarks, Barbara referenced a comment that President Joe Biden made to reporters on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., where he said that he would be “doing 9/11” on Wednesday, likely meaning to communicate that he planned to attend the remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero the next day.

Prominent officials who attended Wednesday’s remembrance ceremony in New York City included former President Donald Trump, Republican Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

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Some Of The Wackiest Things Featured In Rand Paul’s New Report Alleging $1,639,135,969,608 In Gov’t Waste

Published on December 24, 2025

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Ireland Owens

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul released the latest edition of his annual “Festivus” report Tuesday detailing over $1 trillion in alleged wasteful spending in the U.S. government throughout 2025.

The newly released report found an estimated $1,639,135,969,608 total in government waste over the past year. Paul, a prominent fiscal hawk who serves as the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement that “no matter how much taxpayer money Washington burns through, politicians can’t help but demand more.”

“Fiscal responsibility may not be the most crowded road, but it’s one I’ve walked year after year — and this holiday season will be no different,” Paul continued. “So, before we get to the Feats of Strength, it’s time for my Airing of (Spending) Grievances.”

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The 2025 “Festivus” report highlighted a spate of instances of wasteful spending from the federal government, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spent $1.5 million on an “innovative multilevel strategy” to reduce drug use in “Latinx” communities through celebrity influencer campaigns, and also dished out $1.9 million on a “hybrid mobile phone family intervention” aiming to reduce childhood obesity among Latino families living in Los Angeles County.

The report also mentions that HHS spent more than $40 million on influencers to promote getting vaccinated against COVID-19 for racial and ethnic minority groups.

The State Department doled out $244,252 to Stand for Peace in Islamabad to produce a television cartoon series that teaches children in Pakistan how to combat climate change and also spent $1.5 million to promote American films, television shows and video games abroad, according to the report.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) spent more than $1,079,360 teaching teenage ferrets to binge drink alcohol this year, according to Paul’s report.

The report found that the National Science Foundation (NSF) shelled out $497,200 on a “Video Game Challenge” for kids. The NSF and other federal agencies also paid $14,643,280 to make monkeys play a video game in the style of the “Price Is Right,” the report states.

Paul’s 2024 “Festivus” report similarly featured several instances of wasteful federal government spending, such as a Las Vegas pickleball complex and a cabaret show on ice.

The Trump administration has been attempting to uproot wasteful government spending and reduce the federal workforce this year. The administration’s cuts have shrunk the federal workforce to the smallest level in more than a decade, according to recent economic data.

Festivus is a humorous holiday observed annually on Dec. 23, dating back to a popular 1997 episode of the sitcom “Seinfeld.” Observance of the holiday notably includes an “airing of grievances,” per the “Seinfeld” episode of its origin.

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Daily Caller

Trump Reportedly Escalates Pressure On Venezuela With Another Oil Tanker Seizure

Published on December 21, 2025

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From the Daily Caller News Foundation

By Melissa O’Rourke

The U.S. intercepted and seized a vessel in international waters near Venezuela, marking the second such operation in recent weeks, multiple outlets reported Saturday.

The U.S. Coast Guard led the operation with assistance from other branches of the military, U.S. officials told CNN.

The interdiction follows on the heels of the Dec. 10 seizure of a sanctioned tanker off the Venezuelan coast. It also comes just days after President Donald Trump announced a sweeping blockade on all sanctioned oil tankers arriving to or leaving the South American nation, the ruling regime of which he designated a foreign terrorist organization.

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“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” Trump posted Tuesday on Truth Social. “I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”

When asked following the first seizure what the U.S. would do with the confiscated oil, Trump said, “Well, we keep it, I guess.”

The operations come amid months of escalating U.S. pressure on Venezuela.

American armed forces have steadily increased their presence and operations in the southern Caribbean off Venezuela’s coast, including numerous strikes on drug smuggling vessels. The buildup has fueled speculation about a potential full-scale confrontation with Maduro or even a material push for regime change.

Trump reportedly offered Maduro a deal in late November to vacate power in exchange for safe passage for him and his family. The U.S. also placed a $50 million bounty on Maduro in August, the largest sum ever offered for a sitting head of state.

In announcing the blockade Tuesday, Trump warned the “illegitimate Maduro Regime” that the “Armada” surrounding the country “will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before.” He also demanded that Maduro “return to the United States of America all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us.”

Despite the growing pressure, Maduro dispatched two non-sanctioned vessels Thursday carrying oil to China, Reuters reported.

The Coast Guard referred questions on the operation to the White House, which did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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