Monday’s White House press briefing was a light affair given the world’s focus on the upcoming election, but there were still some notable exchanges, led by ABC senior White House correspondent Selina Wang beating the liberal media’s drum that Telsa founder and X owner Elon Musk should face the wrath of the Biden-Harris Justice Department for his $1 million giveaways to registered voters in swing states who sign a petition with his group America PAC. “Elon Musk is pledging to give away $1 million every day up until the election to voters in battleground states. Some experts are saying this is clearly illegal vote buying. Does the White House believe what he’s doing is illegal,” Wang huffed, to which Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to comment.     Wang really, really wanted Musk to pay for his political activity, though: “Can you talk about how the President’s reacting to this in terms of does he believe it’s appropriate? Does he agree with what Governor Shapiro is saying about how this needs to be investigated?” To her credit, Jean-Pierre didn’t change her answer, saying that’s not something for her “to speak to” and she “would have to leave to” the Federal Elections Commission. Wang tried not once but twice more, implying something should happen to Musk’s company SpaceX given its government contracts (click “expand”): WANG: And if you could just talk broadly about what Trump has also said about making Musk the head of a new government efficiency commission. Does the White House see that as a conflict of interest given the fact that Musk’s companies have so many contracts with government agencies — JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. WANG: — and it could potentially give them the power to regulate the agencies that hold sway over his own company? JEAN-PIERRE: Well, since that’s a campaign related item there, what they’re planning to do next or what it looks like under — uh — uh — uh — you know, and — and — and their platform for his campaign, I’m just not going to respond to it from here. WANG: Any reaction from the President or White House about Elon Musk’s role at this moment in the political discussion? JEAN-PIERRE: I have no response — no comment on that at this moment. A few moments later, NBC’s Monica Alba cued up a softball on FEMA funding and kvetched about Donald Trump’s “misleading information” that she insists will significantly prolong recovery efforts in North Carolina from Hurricane Helene. A good tell it was a good softball? Jean-Pierre thanked her for the question (click “expand”): ALBA: Finally, former President Trump is in North Carolina today. He was talking about some of the FEMA efforts there. He called the rescue effort “non-existent.” He repeated some misleading information about where some of the funds have been directed to. So, how concerned — JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. ALBA: — is the White House still about what that might do to not just people taking in this information again that’s misleading, but to voters — JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. ALBA: — specifically in key states where the devastation of the hurricane’s — JEAN-PIERRE: Yeah. ALBA: — has been evident? JEAN-PIERRE: Well, I’m glad in your question you said misleading information, which is true, misleading information that is being — uh — put out there and — and it’s not just from us, you’ve heard from Republicans and Democrats — right — in North Carolina who have said — who have — who have made it very clear by pushing these types of conspiracy theories, they are dangerous. They are unhelpful, and it is, it is not — uh — uh — it is not what leadership looks like. I’ll say it there — like that and uh and it is a time when you see something like that, these types of hurricanes that have impacted communities the way that they have — both of them, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton — it’s time that you bring a — you bring a community together and stand by each other. And so, you’ve heard from — again, the governors of all of these states — well — in particular in particular, certainly as we’re talking about governor in — — in New — in — uh — sorry, North Carolina, he spoke to this today and he said the Biden-Harris administration has responded quickly and positively to our request. The federal government has been responsive to all — to our call for help. That’s coming from the governor of North Carolina. We also heard from the mayor of Asheville as well. And so, we have seen a bipartisan — uh — uh — reaction to this — uh — appreciation for what — for what this administration has been able to do and the reason we’ve been able to do this work on the ground is because we’ve had a good partnership with local and state officials on the ground, and this type of con — conspiracy — a theory that’s out there, it is dangerous to your point and your question. It’s dangerous, it’s unhelpful, and it gets in the way. Later on, far-left Washington Post reporter Toluse Olorunnipa lamented to Jean-Pierre that endangered Senate Democrats Tammy Baldwin (WI) and Bob Casey (PA) have made ads promoting their bipartisan bona fides by showing where they agree with Trump: Washington Post’s Toluse Olorunnipa on #PASen & #WISen: “There's a recent report about how a number of Senate Democrats that are running for re-election are having ads that show images of President Trump, touting their own cooperation with President Trump when he was in office.… pic.twitter.com/Zl5JV26pRH — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 21, 2024 Jon Decker of local TV station conglomerate Gray TV tried to have Jean-Pierre explain where Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden differ on policy. But, like the increasing number of blunders from Harris on this topic, Jean-Pierre tossed a word salad: GrayTV’s Jon Decker: “Can you think of any issue — foreign policy or domestic policy — in which the Vice President has a differing point of view than the President?” KJP: “Here —” Decker: “Any daylight between them?” KJP: “— here's what I will say. I will say that they've been… pic.twitter.com/LfrXm3sBSX — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 21, 2024 Finally, Fox Business’s Edward Lawrence chose to continue pressing this administration on American weakness abroad with developing nations cozying up to Russia: Fox Business’s @EdwardLawrence: “So, Tuesday, the countries in BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates] are going to be going to Russia for a meeting. How concerned is the administration that this block of countries… pic.twitter.com/ZXH4nTOXZM — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) October 21, 2024 He also had a follow-up, noting the newest member of BRICS is the United Arab Emirates with rapidly growing ties between the two on the issue of artificial intelligence and thus there’s cause for concern such technological advances could be scooped up by Russia. To see the relevant transcript from the October 21 briefing, click here.

Kamala Harris held a campaign event Monday in Michigan with the apparent aim of attracting Republican women in the suburbs, having just bungled her attempts to win back male voters and Christians. The vice president once again leaned on former Jan. 6 committee member Liz Cheney, who proved more than willing to sacrifice her remaining political capital in service of someone she deemed just four years ago "a radical liberal who wants to raise your taxes, take away your guns and your health insurance, explode the size of our federal government and give it control over every aspect of our lives." While the Royal Oak event had all the makings of a town hall where voters might be able to ask the Democratic candidate questions, the host, former California first lady Maria Shriver, made clear early on that this was not the time for spontaneity or openness. In what appears to have been the only unscripted question, a woman in the crowd asked, "Are we going to be able to ask a question?" "You're not, unfortunately," replied Shriver. "We have some predetermined questions, and hopefully I'll be able to ask some of the questions that might be in your head. I hope so." 'They're not even hiding it anymore.' The apparently clairvoyant host indicated further that she wanted "this to be like a kitchen table — like, just think we're sitting around the kitchen table and we're jamming about all kinds of stuff." Concerning the scripted nature of the event, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, "HOLY S***! They're not even hiding it anymore." John Daniel Davidson, senior editor at the Federalist, noted, "Even Kamala Harris's town hall events are more 'staged' than Trump's legendary appearance at McDonald's." 'There's been a really dangerous embrace of isolationism.' Harris, spared from having to think on her feet, recycled the script she has attempted to recite in recent interviews, including the lines about former military and intelligence officials' opposition to President Donald Trump she used in her recent Bret Baier interview. Nevertheless, she still managed to toss a handful of word salads. In one instance, she told her muzzled audience: You know, the nature of a democracy is such that I think there is a duality. On the one hand, there's an incredible strength when our democracy is intact. An incredible strength in what it does to protect the freedoms and rights of its people. Oh, there's great strength in that. And it is very fragile. It is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it. So that's the moment we're in. And I say, "Do not despair," because in a democracy, as long as we can keep it, in our democracy, the people — every individual has the power to make a decision about what this will be. And that's — so let's not feel powerless. Cheney chimed in between Harris' monologues and concern-mongered over the possibility that Trump might not commit to another costly foreign entanglement. "I think that if you look at where the Republican Party is today, there's been a really dangerous embrace of isolationism," said Cheney, who secured less than 29% of the vote in her last bid to hold on to power. "The reality is that since the end of World War II, America has led and we've led, and that has been necessary to defend our freedom." The border czar agreed, noting, "Isolationism, which is exactly what Donald Trump is pushing — pull out of NATO, abandon our friends — isolationism is not insulation. It is not insulation. It will not insulate us from harm in terms of our national security." Cheney warned further that Congress might not be able to prevent Trump from exiting NATO or from executing other foreign policy decisions the American people would have given him a mandate to tackle. 'I don't know if anybody is more conservative than I am.' The New York Times noted that in similar events that Cheney attended with Harris Monday in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the former congresswoman — who had an "A" rating from the group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America at the time she was denied another term by Republican voters — characterized the vice president as an optimal choice for pro-life women. Cheney suggested that Republican pro-life laws protecting the unborn have gone too far, such that conservative women can back the pro-abortion radical with a clean conscience. "I think there are many of us around the country who have been pro-life but who have watched what's going on in our states since the Dobbs decision and have watched state legislatures put in place laws that are resulting in women not getting the care they need," said Cheney. "In places like Texas, for example, the attorney general is talking about suing, is suing, to get access to women's medical records. That's not sustainable for us as a country, and it has to change." Harris has made clear the change she has in mind: eliminate the filibuster in the U.S. Senate in order to codify abortion as a national right. Neglecting to touch on Harris' support for taxpayer-funded sex changes for illegal aliens and her support for sex-change mutilations for minors, Cheney suggested that her supposed conservatism is compatible with a vote for Harris. "If people are uncertain, if people are thinking, 'Well, you know, I'm a conservative, I don't know that I can support Vice President Harris,' I would say I don't know if anybody is more conservative than I am," said Cheney. Trump mocked the establishment duo's events, writing, "Lyin' Kamala has stooped so low as to pick a woman to campaign with her who lost her Congressional Race by the largest margin, 40%, in history. The record holder is Crazed Warhawk Liz Cheney, whose father, Dick, convinced Bush to go into the Middle East and KILL." Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Mark Levin had the privilege of serving in Ronald Reagan’s administration as a chief of staff, so he knows what he’s talking about when he says that Reagan, who he calls “a genius,” was the brain behind the idea of peace through strength. “He wanted to bring the most brilliant scientists in the United States together to figure out how to build a missile shield system,” which he called “the Strategic Defense Initiative — SDI,” says Levin, adding that Reagan was “mocked” and “attacked” for these ideas. The Democrats accused him of “wasting money.” They said “it was an excuse not to reduce nuclear arms.” They called him “a dunce” and “a cowboy” and joked that the program was playing a game of “Star Wars.” They even “made every budgetary movement they possibly could to try and block it.” One person took Reagan’s SDI program seriously — Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union before it was dismantled. Even Gorbachev himself admitted that “SDI was a game changer because the Soviets could never keep up with our technological knowhow, our scientific capabilities, and they certainly wouldn't have the money to build this system,” Levin recounts. Israel also saw the program’s merit. It “took the idea” and “refined it” to suit its unique needs — an adoption that has been hugely beneficial for the country. “Like no other country on the face of the Earth, the Israelis have a strategic defense missile defense system, and thank God they do,” says Levin. America, on the other hand, is “laying naked,” he warns. To hear more of Levin’s analysis, watch the clip above. Want more from Mark Levin?To enjoy more of "the Great One" — Mark Levin as you've never seen him before — subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A new AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D benchmark leak appears to show the new gaming CPU running at a much faster clock speed than its predecessor, the 7800X3D. Despite the gaming prowess provided by its AMD 3D V-cache, the latter was held back by its meager 5GHz clock speed. However, this new leak shows a new eight-core Ryzen 9000X3D gaming CPU running at over 5.6GHz. The AMD Ryzen 9000X3D release date is coming soon now, and the successor to the acclaimed 7800X3D is widely expected to be the best gaming CPU when it comes out, assuming AMD gets the pricing right. Continue reading This AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D benchmark leak shows a massive clock speed boost MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Ryzen 7 7800X3D review, Best gaming CPU, Radeon RX 7800 XT review

For those of us interested in the design of the machines that so dominate our lives these days, there are few images more fascinating than the so-called "die shots" of CPUs and GPUs. The incredible structures they reveal, and the amazing colors they produce, are both fascinating and beautiful, and today we got our first glimpse of the beauty of Intel's new Arrow Lake chips with these Intel Core Ultra 9 285K die shots. With these new Intel Arrow Lake chips expected to put up a decent fight for a spot on our best gaming CPU list, there's plenty of reason to be interested in just what's going on inside these new Intel CPUs. And now, thanks to Asus China's manager, Tony Yu, we've just been given that opportunity. Continue reading These stunning Intel Arrow Lake die shots show you inside a new gaming CPU MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Core i5 14600K review, Best gaming CPU, Core i9 14900K review

New Football Manager games come out in the fall. That’s the way it’s been for 20 years, but now, with FM25, one of the greatest traditions in the history of management and strategy games is coming to an end. Football Manager 2025 is delayed until March, and now, unfortunately, there’s some more bad news. Eager to get to work on the new season, FM fans suggested to Sports Interactive that - while everyone waits for FM25 - the developer port the latest statistics, data, and players updates into Football Manager 2024. It sounds like a sensible interim solution, but after some research and experimentation, the developer confirms it’s just not possible. Continue reading After delaying Football Manager 2025, dev confirms bad news about FM24 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best sports games, Best management games, Best PC games

Paradox Interactive is home to some of the biggest grand strategy games out there. You can go medieval with Crusader Kings 3, take a step into the future with Stellaris, or go back to WW2 in Hearts of Iron 4. Paradox has made the historical grand strategy niche completely its own, but Victoria 3, the occasionally maligned sequel from 2022, remains underappreciated. The 19-century-set sequel didn't quite shake the Earth like Paradox's other games, but over the last couple of years it's been quietly improving. Now, update 1.8 and the new Pivot of Empire pack are coming to keep that momentum high. Continue reading New Victoria 3 DLC takes you to India, alongside the free 1.8 update MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Victoria 3 review, Victoria 3 beginner's guide, The best strategy games on PC

Secretlab has been impressing us recently with its expansion into accessories for its gaming chairs and desks. The Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner Add-On is the latest addition to the roster, and it lets you attach a leg-supporting recliner function to your Titan Evo gaming chair. It's not a cheap option but it's mighty comfortable. As a maker of one of the best gaming chair designs around, in the shape of the Titan Evo 2022, Secretlab is no stranger to finding ways to improve the comfort of its gaming chairs. However, this new recliner add-on converts your gaming chair into a whole new category of comfort. Like the Secretlab Heavy Duty Monitor Arm, it has a perfunctory name and a fairly high price, but it's built to a high standard and delivers on its duty. Continue reading Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner Add-On review: Gaming chairs just got relaxing MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming

As a former bruiser toplaner, I'm far to excited for Ambessa. Not only is that bath scene in Arcane Season 1 so iconic, I've been looking for a high-mobility Renekton-style champion for a while. Ambessa is set to be just that, as the new League of Legends champion is sporting a kit that champions high mobility and burst damage, with some added shielding. As a squishy support main, I'm absolutely terrified. Continue reading League of Legends’ new champion Ambessa is a terrifying, high-mobility menace MORE FROM PCGAMESN: League of Legends ranks explained, League of Legends Mythic shop rotation, League of Legends tier list

When the U.S. Army massacred a Lakota village at Blue Water, dozens of plundered artifacts ended up in the Smithsonian. The unraveling of this long-buried atrocity is forging a path toward reconciliation