
‘Something stinks’: Elon Musk, congressional Republicans target Democrats’ main fundraising machine
CNN
ActBlue, a fundraising juggernaut for liberal candidates and causes, is facing stepped-up scrutiny and criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill and allies of President Donald Trump – as the GOP flexes its new power in Washington and targets one of the key pillars of the Democratic Party’s financial infrastructure.
ActBlue, a fundraising juggernaut for liberal candidates and causes, is facing stepped-up scrutiny and criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill and allies of President Donald Trump – as the GOP flexes its new power in Washington and targets one of the key pillars of the Democratic Party’s financial infrastructure. Three Republicans in Congress – including the chairmen of the House Oversight and Administration panels – are urging Trump’s Treasury Department to share with lawmakers reports of suspicious financial transactions related to ActBlue. Other GOP lawmakers are demanding probes by Treasury and the FBI into whether the fundraising platform has helped organizations engaged in terrorism or violated federal campaign finance laws. And billionaire Trump donor Elon Musk – who is overseeing the administration’s controversial effort to rapidly shrink the federal government – has criticized ActBlue, seeking to tie it to protests and acts of vandalism against his electric-vehicle company Tesla. He has argued, without evidence to substantiate his claims, that some prominent Democrats – including one who died in 2019 – were funding ActBlue and the protests. “Something stinks about ActBlue,” Musk posted earlier this month on his social media platform, X. Officials with ActBlue deny any wrongdoing. “ActBlue has always dealt with attacks and baseless claims from the Right that are designed to undermine the power of the small-dollar donors who rely on our platform,” spokesperson Megan Hughes said in a statement in CNN. “This new, coordinated attack is different only in scale, and our team remains steadfast in defending against these bad-faith attacks.”

‘Farewell, junk food!’: Mexico bans sale of salty and sweet treats in schools to fight child obesity
A government-sponsored junk food ban in schools across Mexico took effect on Saturday, officials said, as the country tries to tackle one of the world’s worst obesity and diabetes epidemics.

Campaign spending has smashed records in Wisconsin’s high-stakes Supreme Court race, as megadonors from both parties are directing millions to the closely watched election that’s set to decide ideological control of the battleground state’s high court. And tech billionaire Elon Musk is flexing his growing political influence after his key supporting role in President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign.

The Trump administration’s major military mission at the southern border focused on reducing immigration and drug flows has already cost taxpayers more than $300 million, according to sources briefed on data from the Defense Department comptroller — even as the administration has vowed to slash the size of government and cut 8 percent from the department’s budget.