DOJ announces $1.776 billion in taxpayer funds for ‘Truth and Justice Commission’
Last Monday, the Department of Justice announced a plan to use $1.776 billion in taxpayer dollars to fund the Truth and Justice Commission. The commission is designed to provide financial compensation to individuals who allege they were victims of government “weaponization.”
Victims include those subject to investigation or prosecution during the Biden administration. The settlement agreement read that “well-known examples” of “Lawfare and Weaponization” include “the Biden Administration’s abuse of the FACE Act, the Biden Administration’s wrongful labeling of certain parents as domestic terrorists, and the IRS’s targeting of groups based on improper ideological criteria.”
The fund is officially named The President Donald J. Trump Truth and Justice Commission. According to CNN, officials deliberately chose the $1.776 billion figure as a reference to the year of the nation’s founding, 1776, and in light of the approaching 250th anniversary of the U.S. The Truth and Justice Commission will draw money for financial compensation from the federal Judgment Fund, a permanent treasury appropriation reserved for legal settlements and judgments against the federal government.
The DOJ’s creation of the commission is part of a settlement deal for Trump to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. In January, Trump, along with his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, sued the IRS and the Department of the Treasury, claiming the agency failed to protect confidential tax information and leaked it to the media during his first term in office.
According to the DOJ, a five-member panel, appointed by the attorney general, will oversee the fund. Claim processing for financial compensation is set to conclude no later than Dec. 15, 2028, just two weeks before the end of Trump’s second term. DOJ officials said there are “no partisan requirements to file a claim” and have not released specific eligibility guidelines.
Legal analysts expect the commission to face immediate scrutiny over whether the executive branch has authority to create such a fund without explicit congressional approval. With the deal still subject to court review and its terms potentially subject to change, the Truth and Justice Commission’s path forward remains uncertain.
Chemical leak continues in Garden Grove, 50,000 residents evacuated
On Thursday at approximately 3:30 p.m., the Orange County Fire Authority received reports of a toxic chemical leak at GKN Aerospace’s facility in Garden Grove.
OCFA identified the leaking chemical as methyl methacrylate, a highly flammable chemical commonly used to manufacture resins and acrylic plastics. First responders found a storage tank at GKN’s facility containing around 7,000 gallons of MMA overheating and venting vapor. Authorities evacuated around 50,000 Garden Grove residents in the immediate vicinity of the facility. The California Department of Public Health says exposure to MMA can cause respiratory irritation, neurologic harms, and skin lesions. Symptoms include coughing, shortness of breath, headaches, and itching of the skin.
Conditions worsened the following day as the tank continued to overheat and build pressure. Evacuation zones expanded to include multiple Orange County cities, including parts of Garden Grove, Anaheim, Cypress, Stanton, Buena Park, and Westminster. OCFA warned that the tank was going to either spill 6,000 gallons to 7,000 gallons of “very bad chemicals” into nearby areas or explode.
Emergency crews continued cooling and stabilization efforts on Saturday, including spraying water on the tank and monitoring the tank’s exterior temperatures. Officials said temperatures were rising by an average of one degree per hour. Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a “state of emergency proclamation” for Orange County around noon the same day. The X-Law Group P.C. and Presidio Law Firm LLP filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of two Garden Grove residents against GKN Aerospace, demanding “accountability for residents facing evacuation orders, property disruption, potential health risks, loss of use of their homes, related expenses, and diminished property values.”
As of Sunday evening, the chemical emergency is ongoing and approximately 50,000 residents remain evacuated. Officials are continuing to monitor the tank and are in search of a solution.
US and Iran peace deal in its final stage amid monthlong ceasefire
American and Iranian officials confirmed progress in negotiations on a peace deal following arrangements between President Donald Trump and Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday. If signed by both countries, the deal will prevent a return to war.
On the same day, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. was close to ending the war and reaching a deal with Iran, which would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz. According to The New York Times, Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, confirmed that they were in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement to end fighting on all fronts.
“Whether, in later stages over the next 30 or 60 days, we discuss nuclear matters or other issues that may be agreed upon is a separate matter,” Baghaei said. “At this stage, our entire focus is on ending the war.”
A key element of the proposed agreement ensures Tehran gives its uranium stockpile to the U.S., which Iran refused to do in the initial phase of negotiations earlier this month. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran possesses approximately 970 pounds of uranium enriched to 60% purity. This number is considered to be closer to the amount of uranium needed for a nuclear weapon, compared to the amount of uranium used for civilian power plants.
The proposal would also lift the U.S. naval blockade on Iran and release $25 billion worth of Iranian assets overseas. The proposal says nothing about how the countries will manage Iran’s nuclear program; all nuclear matters would be negotiated within 30 days to 60 days from Saturday.
Ebola virus outbreak reported in South Africa
Since May 15, an Ebola virus outbreak has caused around 750 infections and resulted in over 130 deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. Officials first identified the outbreak in the Ituri Province, a region bordering Uganda in northeastern Congo.
On May 20, director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the outbreak is “not a pandemic emergency.” The director also said that while there was concern over risk at “national and regional levels,” the risk of Ebola spread remains “low at the global level.” He also rescinded a prior statement made last Sunday, declaring the outbreak a “public health emergency of international concern,” saying that he had made the statement before the WHO had discussed the issue.
The current outbreak comes from the Bundibugyo strain, an uncommon mutation of the Ebola virus that causes flu-like symptoms and gastrointestinal malfunction. It spreads through direct contact with bodily fluids of a contaminated person. The Bundinugyo strain caused two previous outbreaks, in 2007 and 2012, with less than 60 deaths total.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo reported its first case of Ebola in 1976. Since then, the country has declared 17 different outbreaks of Ebola. Congo has reported over 100 confirmed cases and 900 suspected cases in the current outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC reported on May 19 that the risk of Ebola spreading in the U.S. remains low at this time.
