Good morning, Wake Up Right fam! We’re going to debunk this Washington Post hit piece on Pete Hegseth in a moment but I want to start today with a quote from the Secretary of War yesteday in response to the story.

“We’ve only just begun striking narco boats and putting narco terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people.”

This is the right energy.

• 📦️ Shoppers spent $44.2B during ‘Cyber Week’

• 🐭 Disney+ streaming price rose 172% since 2019

• 🎓️ 66% say a 4-year degree is not worth the cost

• 👜 Prada has completed its $1.51B acquisition of Versace

• 📱 Kids with smartphones at age 12 have higher risk of obesity & depression

^{Sources: NewsNation, WSJ, NBC, CNN ABC}

No, killing narco-terrorists isn’t a ‘war crime’

Left-wing politicians and media are in a frenzy, attempting to label the Trump administration’s recent strikes on narco-terrorist drug boats as "war crimes." Unfortunately for them, the law does not agree.

Back up: Over the weekend, a Washington Post report claimed that Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered a second airstrike on a speedboat carrying 11 suspected Tren de Aragua narco-terrorists on September 2, after the first strike left two alive and clinging to the wreckage.

Hegseth fires back: In a post on X, the Secretary of War wrote:

• "As usual, the fake news is delivering more fabricated, inflammatory, and derogatory reporting to discredit our incredible warriors fighting to protect the homeland... The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people. Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”

White House responds: The Trump administration corrected the record, sharing that while Hegseth authorized the strike, it was U.S. Special Operations Command, Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, who ordered and directed it.

• The White House also defended the actions, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt saying they were "in self-defense" in international waters and "in accordance with the law of armed conflict."

• Trump voiced support for Hegseth and Bradley during a press conference yesterday.

The law: According to the Laws of Armed Conflicts outlined in the Geneva Conventions, governments are only prohibited from international attacks on civilians. These weren't civilians – they were combatants. These targets were armed narco-terror operatives tied to cross-border trafficking networks fueling fentanyl deaths and cartel violence.

• Under 8 U.S.C. §1189, narco-terror groups engaged in violence and coercion can be formally designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, unlocking counterterrorism authorities used by every administration since 9/11.

• Article II of the Constitution gives the President ultimate power to use force to neutralize imminent or ongoing threats from non-state actors. This power has been used by Bush, Obama, and Biden.

The icing on the cake is a report from none other than the New York Times, who debunked the Washington Post article’s claims, reporting he did NOT order the killing of survivors.

…so the entire WaPo hit piece was wrong. Hegseth didn't make the order, and the order was legal. What’s the lesson? Never trust the fake news.

[Source: NY Post, Fox News]

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Dell’s pledge $6.5 billion to help fund ‘Trump Accounts’ for kids

Michael and Susan Dell are putting billions behind President Donald Trump’s baby-savings revolution – extending “Trump Accounts” to millions of older children who wouldn’t qualify for the federal $1,000 newborn deposit.

The details: The Dells are donating $6.5 billion to expand Trump Account access to children ages 10 and under living in ZIP codes with median incomes below $150,000. Each child would be eligible for $250 as a supplement to the Trump administration’s seed deposit.

• Invest America, the nonprofit partnering with the Dells, calls the donation the largest gift to American children in U.S. history.

• Trump praised the couple, writing on Truth Social: “TWO GREAT PEOPLE. I LOVE DELL!!!”

Quick refresher on Trump Accounts: As part of the recent Big Beautiful Bill signed by President Trump earlier this year, children born between 2025 and 2028 who are U.S. citizens are eligible for a $1,000 government contribution to a savings account.

• Parents can use the accounts to save up to $5,000 per year at a tax advantage.

• Employers can choose to contribute up to $2,500 without affecting taxable income.

Who are the Dells? Michael and Susan Dell built their $150 billion fortune through Dell Technologies, the computer company he founded in 1984 that became a global hardware powerhouse.

What’s next? Accounts open nationwide on July 4, 2026.

The last word goes to Mr. Dell, who, speaking at the White House, said: “We know that when children have accounts like this, they’re much more likely to graduate from high school, from college, buy a home, start a business, and less likely to be incarcerated.”

[Source: Daily Wire]

9️⃣ President Trump held the 9th cabinet meeting since January. Biden held 9 total cabinet meetings during his entire residency.

🧊 The Trump administration is preparing to launch an aggressive ICE operation in Minnesota targeting illegal alien Somali nationals. Read more.

✅ Trump-endorsed Republican Matt Van Epps defeated far-left Aftyn Behn in Tennessee for the state's 7th House district. Read more.

📁 The Trump administration is threatening to withhold SNAP benefits from the 21 Democrat states that refuse to share recipient data as the federal government tries to root out fraud. Read more.

🤡 Pop star Sabrina Carpenter demanded the White House stop using her music after the Trump administration featured one of her songs on a social media video showing ICE agents apprehending people. Read more.

🪑 Trump says he has chosen the next Federal Reserve chair for when Jerome "Too Late" Powell's term ends in May. Read more.

📻️ Casette sales rose from 80,720 in 2015 to 436,400 in 2023, largely driven by artists like Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter embracing the 20th-century tech. Read more.

☪️ A Muslim father and his two sons tied up his teen daughter and drowned her in a swamp in the Netherlands because they believed her “Western behavior” was shaming their family. Read more.

🎰 New York Mets owner Steve Cohen won approval to operate a casino next to Citi Field in Queens, as one of three projects selected for gambling licenses in New York City. Read more.

🕊️ The leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda will meet at the White House on Thursday to sign a peace agreement to end over 30 years of war. Read more.

🚛 An Indian man accused of killing two individuals in a horrific highway crash entered the United States unlawfully under the Biden regime and was given a license to operate an 18-wheeler by California. Read more. Another one.

👩‍⚖️ Minnesota Judge Sarah West overturned a jury's guilty verdict of a man named Abdifatah Abdulkadir Yusuf, who defrauded $7.2 million from taxpayers. Read more. There has to be penalties for these judges.

🎥 Nicole Shanahan exposes how the "Tech Wife Mafia" uses their husbands’ money to push the globalist "Great Reset." Watch.

🎥 Trump RIPS into Somalians frauding off the U.S. taxpayer. Watch.

🎥 First Lady Melania reveals the 2025 White House Christmas decorations. Watch.

🎥 5 spiciest moments from Trump’s cabinet meeting presser. Watch.

🎥 Famously atheist Joe Rogan talks about going to church. Watch.

🎥 Pastor comes out as "transgender" during the service. Watch. TIME TO GET A NEW CHURCH.

🎥 How wealthy Chinese are working with drug cartels in North America. Watch.

🎥 Driver is RESCUED as his truck is left hanging over the edge of a bridge. Watch.

📰 Article worth reading: How Fraud Swamped Minnesota’s Social Services System on Tim Walz’s. Read. Wow, the NY Times actually did some journalism. This is about the Somali fraudsters and Tampon Tim.

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