Happy Friday, Wake Up Right fam! By this point, you’ve all seen the ultra-viral video of the Astronomer CEO and his Head of HR caught on the Kiss Cam at a Coldplay concert having an affair [No? click here]. If you’ve somehow missed out on all the memes, here’s one from yours truly. Happy Friday.

• ✅ Over 1 million illegals have self-deported

• 🚫 Late Night with Stephen Colbert was cancelled

• 🗓️ On this day in 1940, FDR was nominated to 3rd term

• 📉 Trump approval avg: 45.7% approve, 51.2% disapprove

^{Sources: Epoch Times, Fox News, History, RCP}

Trump calls for release of Epstein files after WSJ hit piece

President Donald Trump is calling for the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, following a ”fake” report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) linking the president to the convicted pedophile.

The details: On Thursday, WSJ published a report claiming Trump sent Epstein a "bawdy" letter for a 50th birthday album in 2003.

• The alleged letter featured a typewritten imaginary dialogue [written like a movie script] between “Donald” and “Jeffrey” alongside a hand-drawn outline of a naked woman, concluding with the line: “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret”

• When asked for a response, Trump told WSJ: "I never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women. It's not my language. It's not my words."

Hold up: WSJ admits it does not actually possess the alleged document.

Trump responds: The president responded on Truth Social, writing:

• “The Wall Street Journal printed a FAKE letter, supposedly to Epstein. These are not my words, not the way I talk. Also, I don’t draw pictures. I told Rupert Murdoch it was a Scam, that he shouldn’t print this Fake Story. But he did, and now I’m going to sue his ass off, and that of his third rate newspaper. Thank you for your attention to this matter! DJT”

The silver lining: The release of this WSJ report prompted Trump to finally call for the release of the Epstein files, writing: “Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval.”

• AG Pam Bondi responded, saying: “President Trump—we are ready to move the court tomorrow to unseal the grand jury transcripts.”

Back up: Despite running in similar circles in New York City and Palm Beach, Trump soured on Epstein in the mid-2000s and ultimately banned him from Mar-a-Lago after he harassed a member's daughter.

Support from skeptics: Key figures who have been highly critical of the president's resistance to releasing the Epstein files came to his defense following the WSJ report.

• Megyn Kelly wrote on X: “This is the dumbest attempted hit piece I’ve ever read.”

• Elon Musk wrote on X: “Yeah, the letter sounds bogus.”

Real talk from G: This WSJ report was behind a paywall. I hope they generated enough revenue from subscription sign-ups to cover what they will have to pay Trump to settle his lawsuit.

The last word goes to Jack Posobiec, senior editor at Human Events, who cut through all of the rhetoric and speculation, saying: “If Trump was in the Epstein files, it would’ve leaked a decade ago.”

[Source: The Post Millennial, Breitbart]

Trump wins a precedent-setting rescissions package

House Republicans passed a $9 billion rescissions bill late Thursday, slashing foreign aid and public broadcasting funds – but more importantly, re-establishing the president’s authority to claw back spending.

What are recessions? They’re an executive tool created by the 1974 Impoundment Control Act that lets the president ask Congress to cancel previously approved spending. It can be approved with a simple majority vote.

The details: Last night, the House approved the package 216–213, with just two GOP defections (Reps. Fitzpatrick and Turner) and all Democrats voting no. The Senate approved the package one night earlier. The measure claws back wasteful funding identified by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), including:

• 🌍️ Roughly $8B from USAID’s foreign assistance budget.

• 📰 Over $1B from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR.

Why it matters: While $9 billion is just a drop in the bucket, this process was less about the cuts and more about re-establishing the use of recessions.

• Russ Vought, who leads Trump's Office of Management and Budget, told Steve Bannon yesterday: “It’s only $9 billion because we wanted to restore the process… restore a way of doing business that the American people can know when they put a majority in place in the House and Senate and President that is all of one party, they can actually change spending and not be subject to the whims of the Democrat party.”

Back up: The last time recessions were used in a meaningful way was under President Ronald Reagan, over 50 years ago, when he successfully lobbied Congress to rescind roughly $15 billion in funds.

President Trump weighed in late last night on Truth Social, writing: “REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED….BUT NO MORE. THIS IS BIG!!!”

What’s next? Expect President Trump to sign the cuts into law sometime today. And Russ Vought says Trump will likely send another recession package to Congress sometime “soon.”

[Source: NY Post]

❤️‍🩹 President Trump was diagnosed with "chronic venous insufficiency" in his legs but remains in good health. Read more.

🚫 CBS is cancelling 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' – going off the air in 2026. Read more.

🏳️‍⚧️ Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center has “paused” sex-change treatment for minors following an executive order by President Donald Trump. Read more.

📰 A Voice of America (VOA) employee was arrested for allegedly making death threats against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her family. Read more.

👎️ GOP Rep. Maria Salazar pushed for a bill on Thursday that would allow illegal immigrants who have been in the country for years to gain legal status in the US. Read more.

🇮🇱 Israeli officials apologized after bombing the only Catholic Church in Gaza, killing three and injuring the priest. Read more.

👸 LGBTQ activists are up in arms after Nintendo cast a biological female – rather than a transgender – to play the princess in the upcoming film based on the popular game, The Legend of Zelda. Read more.

🚂 Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern are in merger talks to create the largest railroad in North America that would connect the East and West Coasts. Read more.

🧬 Eight healthy babies were born in the U.K. using DNA from three people to help mothers avoid passing devastating rare diseases to their children. Read more.

🚬 Juul Labs has won the government's authorization to keep its signature e-cigarettes on the U.S. market. Read more.

🇵🇷 Puerto Rico has banned sex change procedures for minors under the age of 21. Read more.

🎥 Obama thinks young men need gay mentors. Watch.

🎥 Zohran Mamdani says he could support the state confiscating your home from you. Watch. 

🎥 Piers Morgan calls out Joy Reid for playing the race card. Watch.

🎥 Theater girl Sen. Cory Booker throws another hissy fit. Watch.

🎥 Adam Schiff refuses to address his mortgage fraud scandal. Watch.

🎥 Former CNN commentator copes with 2024 by telling herself it was rigged. Watch.

🎥 Florida man is being sued by his neighbor over his pro-Trump flags. Watch.

🎥 JD Vance explains why we need tariffs in under 40 seconds. Watch.

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A few months ago, I was at a butcher in my neighborhood and saw a diagram of a cow, with all the cuts of meat labeled. And that gave me an idea for a t-shirt:

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