A recent exchange between Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) and U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright revealed shocking news about former President Joe Biden’s (D) loan approvals while he was in office. “How do you vet and do due diligence on a loan in 76 days? One loan, much less $93 billion dollars. How do you do it?” Kennedy queried. Wright said he believes it was clear it was not done in many cases. He added that “There are lots of funds that have gone out the door and commitments that were made from businesses that provided no business plan, no numbers about their own financial solvency.” The treasury department has placed its final order for penny blanks, and production will end when they run out, which will likely be early 2026, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported on the decision this week. With its 233-year history, the penny, officially known as a “cent,” was one of the first coins circulated in 1793 and stood as a key player in the debut of the newly established U.S. Mint. The plan to stop producing the coin was revealed three months after President Donald Trump said he wanted production stopped, writing on Truth Social, “For far too long the United States has minted pennies which literally cost us more than 2 cents. This is so wasteful!…Let’s rip the waste out of our great nation’s budget, even if it’s a penny at a time.” In fact, the move reportedly is expected to save the government $56 million annually. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the cost of producing a single penny has more than doubled in the past 10 years, from 1.3 cents to 3.69 cents in 2024. According to ABC News: Printing a paper $1 bill is cheaper than producing a penny, which, according to the U.S. Mint, is comprised of 97.5% zinc and 2.5% copper and requires a smelting process to mold the metals. According to the Federal Reserve, it costs Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing 3.2 cents to print a $1 note — less than the cost of minting a penny. Caroline Turco, assistant curator of the Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado, told ABC that the penny will become the 12th U.S. currency denomination to be eliminated. It will join the half-cent coin, the two-cent coin, the 20-cent piece and the “trime” — a silver three-cent piece issued from 1851 to 1873. But while pennies will remain legal tender, they will gradually disappear from circulation, which is expected to impact product pricing. For example, Newsweek predicted that “businesses, for example, will need to start rounding up or down to the nearest 5 cents, as nickels would have the smallest value. However, non-cash transactions could continue to be priced the same.” https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2025/05/24/u-s-will-stop-minting-pennies-next-year/ U.S. President Donald Trump is firefighting the Ukraine War he said in comments where he expressed his anger towards the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin for undermining peace talks with rocket attacks on Ukrainian citizens. Vladimir Putin’s apparent mission to capture the whole of Ukraine will lead to the “downfall of Russia”, U.S. President Trump has warned while also cautioning President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider keeping his own counsel more often, noting his outbursts have developed the habit of causing “problems” for Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that there were “more than 1.4 million illegal aliens on Medicaid.” Johnson said, “We are not cutting Medicaid in this package. There‘s a lot of misinformation out there about this.” He continued, “The numbers of Americans who are affected are those that are entwined in our work to eliminate fraud, waste and abuse. And what do I mean by that? You got more than 1.4 million illegal aliens on Medicaid. Medicaid is not intended for non-U.S. citizens. It‘s intended for the most vulnerable populations of Americans, which is pregnant women and young single mothers, the disabled, the elderly. They are protected in what we‘re doing because we‘re preserving the resources for those who need it most.” Johnson added, “You‘re talking about 4.8 million able-bodied workers, young men, for example, who are on Medicaid and not working. They are choosing not to work when they can. That is called fraud. They are cheating the system. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) as part of the tech giant’s efforts to stop the governor from passing legislation in the state that would require app stores to verify the ages of its users. ...the legislation being passed in Texas is crucial, as some believe it could set the precedent for more states to follow suit, and thus, possibly create new costs for Apple and Google, tech giants that are currently worth 2.92 trillion and $2.076 trillion, respectively. The online child safety law would mandate that tech giants housing app stores verify the age of a device owner, so that if the user is a minor, their app store account will be connected to a parent’s account, allowing parents to have more control over what their children are doing on their smartphones.
Sen. Kennedy Shocked by Joe Biden’s Rushed Loan Approvals Worth $93 Billion:
U.S. Will Stop Minting Pennies Next Year:
‘I’m Not Happy’: President Trump Lays Out ‘Downfall of Russia’ Warning to Putin:
Speaker Johnson: There Are ‘More Than 1.4 Million Illegal Aliens on Medicaid’:
Report: Apple CEO Tim Cook Called Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in Desperate Attempt to Stop Online Child Safety Law: