Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) is demanding answers from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick following explosive allegations that the Commerce Department allowed critical American artificial intelligence technology to reach Chinese companies through regulatory loopholes, despite President Trump’s efforts to tighten national security restrictions.

According to Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Banks called for Lutnick to appear before the Senate Banking Committee and explain what happened.

Melugin wrote:

“Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) says on @FoxNews he wants Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to come in and testify before the Senate Banking Commitee because “it appears Lutnick used loopholes to allow chip sales to China to occur” in defiance of President Trump’s export controls and “we have a lot of bipartisan questions and concerns about what happened.””

NEW: Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) says on @FoxNews he wants Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to come in and testify before the Senate Banking Commitee because “it appears Lutnick used loopholes to allow chip sales to China to occur” in defiance of President Trump’s export controls and “we have a lot of bipartisan questions and concerns about what happened”.

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) November 12, 2026

According to Banks, it appears that Lutnick used loopholes that permitted chip sales to China despite Trump’s export-control directives.

“We have a lot of bipartisan questions and concerns about what happened,” Banks said.

According to an explosive Axios investigation published Wednesday, Trump repeatedly authorized stronger measures against companies suspected of diverting advanced Nvidia AI chips to China.

But Lutnick allegedly resisted implementing those restrictions.

The report, based on interviews with six senior sources familiar with administration discussions, claims President Trump backed action against suspected chip diversion on three occasions, in May, August, and November. Yet the Commerce Department reportedly failed to follow through.

During a Situation Room meeting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick over the resistance, particularly regarding Singapore-based Megaspeed, a firm that has purchased billions in Nvidia AI chips and sits at the center of espionage concerns. Other senior officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sided with Bessent. Lutnick reportedly agreed but later delayed implementation.

According to Axios, Bessent confronted Lutnick over the department’s reluctance to impose additional restrictions on companies suspected of helping China obtain advanced chips.

The Axios account further described Trump consulting Elon Musk before directing that the controls move forward, only for post-meeting resistance to continue.

The Commerce Department disputed key elements of the Axios account, including the reported confrontation between Bessent and Lutnick.

These allegations have not been independently established, but they are now fueling demands for congressional oversight.

Banks has long pushed to lock in Trump’s America First technology policy. He authored the AI OVERWATCH Act, which codifies prohibitions on exporting the most advanced AI chips to countries of concern, requires licenses, and prioritizes American customers and allies.

The measure has bipartisan support (including from Sen. Elizabeth Warren) and was secured in the Senate’s National Defense Authorization Act framework. Banks has repeatedly warned that America’s most powerful AI chips are “the crown jewels of American power” and cannot be allowed to strengthen the Chinese military.

Other Republicans, including Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), have also demanded Lutnick explain the decisions “in front of God and country,” while Sen. Tom Cotton has pressed to add Chinese memory chipmakers to the Entity List.

Senator John Kennedy (R) to Politico:

“The obvious question is why did he choose to sell advanced chips?… Secretary Lutnick needs to answer that in front of God and country. If I were he, I’d call a press conference this afternoon and explain what happened and why he agreed to sell ‘em chips, and I would stop doing it.”

— Annmarie Hordern (@annmarie) November 12, 2026

Democrats on the Banking and Finance committees have sought document preservation and answers on approvals involving firms with ties to the Chinese government and military.

The post Sen. Jim Banks Demands Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick Testify: “It Appears Lutnick Used Loopholes to Allow Chip Sales to China” in Defiance of President Trump’s Orders appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Bomb threat emails reached about 6,300 of Italy’s 7,476 state schools on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, prompting at least 300 schools from Milan to Rome to evacuate. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called an afternoon security meeting at Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Italian government.

The emails marked the third wave of threats against Italian schools in a month and followed hoax bomb threats against more than 50 European flights between Nov. 2 and 6.

The threats came amid cyberattacks on refrigeration systems in Europe and an investigation into suspected cyberattacks on freezers at U.S. military bases.

Meloni said there was no danger and that those behind the threats wanted to create fear and chaos. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara told La7 that “it is clear from the content of the email that the actual risk is virtually nonexistent.” He said he believed the emails were part of a cyberattack.

Discussing the school emails, Valditara cited other incidents. “They attacked flights, supermarkets, if I remember correctly even hospitals,” he said. “Who is behind it is difficult to imagine at this moment. The judiciary will conduct its investigations.” Defense Minister Guido Crosetto called the threats a strategy to spread fear.

The first wave came on Oct. 19, when about 100 schools received emails, some stating, “We have placed explosives in the name of Sharia.” On Nov. 2, threats written in Arabic reached about 280 schools.

A message reported to have reached 271 schools that day claimed to speak for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Italian authorities have yet to verify that claim.

The Nov. 11 email was signed “Mikhail Andropov,” who called himself the leader of the “Vilayat of Misoginistan.” “We have come to annihilate you,” the email said.

“To carry out a genocide against Italians.” It claimed a bomb had been placed in the engine of the prime minister’s car and threatened to kill survivors with knives.

The message came from the apparently compromised account of a former Taiwanese student. A follow-up email bearing the same signature reached about 1,800 schools on Thursday, Nov. 12, from addresses with Philippine domains.

The same name appeared in a message claiming responsibility for the previous week’s flight threats and in threats sent to Irish public broadcaster RTÉ and Bulgaria’s Nova TV.

The alias recalls Yuri Andropov, who led the KGB from 1967 to 1982 and the Soviet Union from November 1982 until his death in February 1984.

The Islamic State used the term vilayat for its claimed provinces. “Misoginistan” echoes the “Fighters of the Male State” signature on the Nov. 5 flight threats, a reference to the Russian ultranationalist and anti-woman movement Male State. Reuters reported that the pseudonym could indicate Russian involvement or an attempt to direct suspicion at Moscow.

Italian authorities have yet to identify who sent the school emails. The Genoa prosecutor’s office opened an investigation and assigned it to the Polizia Postale, which investigates online crime, and the Digos, the police’s political and counterterrorism branch. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said it was premature to say whether the threats were coordinated.

“There is a trail of events that, at least in the form of emulation, has the common trait of trying to tie up the public system through alarms that then, many times, fortunately, turn out to be unfounded,” he said.

After the flight hoaxes, Meloni said on Nov. 6 that the threats against flights and the attacks on French blood banks and food supplies showed that civilian infrastructure was under attack. She said investigators had yet to determine whether the incidents were connected.

The attacks on food supplies began in France on Oct. 12, when hackers overrode refrigeration controls at about 350 establishments, raising temperatures in freezers and cold rooms and forcing supermarkets to discard spoiled food.

NPR reported that the affected retailers included 150 to 200 Intermarché stores, nearly 100 Coopérative U outlets and an unspecified number of Carrefour stores.

French officials identified internet-connected refrigeration controllers made by the Danish company Danfoss as one route the attackers used. France’s national cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, opened an investigation.

Overnight on Nov. 1–2, hackers targeted refrigeration systems at three regional sites run by France’s national blood service, the Établissement français du sang (EFS). The attackers gained access through remote-monitoring software used by Coolworld, the EFS refrigeration contractor, and changed settings in cold rooms storing plasma for transfusions and for making medicines.

The French weekly Le Canard enchaîné reported that the hackers tried to raise the temperature settings from minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit) to 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit).

Monitoring systems detected the changes, and the EFS said that “no health consequences have been identified, and no blood products were lost,” The Associated Press reported.

A separate wave of attacks in early November raised freezer temperatures at stores in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland and the Netherlands.

On Nov. 10, France summoned Iran’s ambassador after accusing Tehran of carrying out the cyberattack that disabled refrigerators in hundreds of French supermarkets. Iran called the accusation baseless and hostile.

In the United States, officials suspect Iran-linked hackers caused freezer failures at military bases, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to Nextgov/FCW, a federal technology news outlet.

The suspected attacks began in late August and affected about six commissaries, the grocery stores on U.S. military bases. U.S. Cyber Command and Defense Department law enforcement units are investigating with help from French authorities.

Reuters first reported that the Pentagon was treating the freezer failures as possible cyberattacks. Nextgov/FCW reported that the assessment could change as investigators learn more.

On Nov. 5, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI and the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Transportation issued a joint fact sheet warning that attackers are targeting electronic temperature controls at grocery stores and cold storage facilities.

The agencies said interference with those systems could create fire hazards and expose consumers to products stored at unsafe temperatures.

“Every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target,” said Chris Butera, CISA’s acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity.

Brett Leatherman, the FBI’s cyber branch operations director, said the bureau is “seeing these systems targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally.” The fact sheet leaves the attackers unnamed.

The post After Attacks on U.S. Bases, Flights, Blood Banks and Food Supplies, Bomb Threats Hit 6,300 Italian Schools appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the California Democrat set to become chairman of the House Oversight Committee when the new Congress convenes in January, has publicly named his first targets for subpoenas and hearings.

In an appearance on CNN’s The Source with Kaitlan Collins, Garcia said White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller “should be preserving documents” and that the committee will do “everything we can to get him to answer questions.”

Garcia described Miller as the architect of the administration’s deportation and detention policies, which he called “incredibly inhumane,” and referenced incidents involving ICE agents and Miller’s past characterizations of protesters.

The Democrat also singled out former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump as priorities.

Earlier statements from the incoming chairman framed the Trump family as the top of the committee’s investigative list, citing what he called “unprecedented” grift and corruption, including questions about Don Jr.’s wedding events and family business dealings.

Garcia has said leaving office does not end scrutiny, telling reporters that former officials, including Noem and Guilfoyle, remain of interest even though they are no longer working in the administration.

Garcia indicated that junior staffers are not the immediate focus “at this moment,” with the committee’s attention directed at senior figures tied to policy decisions and alleged misconduct, but clearly left the door open to expanding the scope of people in their crosshairs.

WATCH:

Rep. Robert Garcia on chief of staff Stephen Miller: “Certainly it’s someone that we have serious questions that we want answered. And whether that’s now or in the future, we want we want answers from Stephen Miller.” https://t.co/MySmNwcsNP

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) November 12, 2026

The liberal politician has previously warned administration officials to “lawyer up” and has outlined four broad areas they intend to focus on: the Trump family, corporate corruption, DHS and ICE operations, and the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Democrats gained control of the House in the midterm elections, giving them subpoena power on the Oversight Committee starting next year.

Attorney General Todd Blanche responded to earlier warnings about Miller by saying the Department of Justice would stand behind him.

Official statements from the administration have also said that some of these threats and demands are potentially crossing into criminal territory.

Garcia has described the responses from the president, White House counsel Will Scharf, and Blanche as evidence that the administration is “hiding something” and is “cowardly” in the face of accountability demands.

“It’s a president that is cowardly, that doesn’t want to actually take the heat,” Garcia told CNN. “For someone that gives so much anger and is so aggressive in his social media posts, he can’t take a few members of Congress demanding accountability and demanding for there to be actual responses.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has also promised investigations into the left’s political rivals.

WATCH:

AOC: There are so many criminals in this administration. It’s hard to figure out the order of operations. There are going to be many, many, many investigations. I imagine many subpoenas, and we have to follow wherever the evidence takes us. https://t.co/p54VoqgHTZ

— Acyn (@Acyn) November 10, 2026

In comments to CNN’s Manu Raju, Ocasio-Cortez said, “There are so many criminals in this administration, it’s hard to figure out who should be, you know, the order of operations. There are going to be many, many, many investigations. I imagine many subpoenas, and we have to follow wherever the evidence takes us.”

The post WATCH: Incoming Oversight Chair Names Democrats’ First Targets for Immediate Investigations and Hearings When New Congress Convenes appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Veterans Day on “The View” did not disappoint for anyone hoping to find yet another reason to wonder how this program is still running on daytime television.

The conversation — this is not in the least bit surprising — devolved to the topic of race during a discussion of American service members and the wars our country has fought.

“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin made an odd remark about former President Abraham Lincoln not emancipating the slaves, but the slaves doing it themselves.

But putting the absurdity of that remark aside, how many viewers noticed co-host Joy Behar’s reaction when Whoopi Goldberg referred to him as “Abe” when crediting the 16th president?

“You have to give it to Abe. You have to give it to Abe,” Goldberg told the room.

“Abe?” Behar asked.

“Abe Lincoln,” Goldberg determined.

Sunny Hostin celebrates Veteran’s Day with racism and some serious revisionist history. She claims Abraham Lincoln didn’t emancipate anyone and the North didn’t free the slaves. She claims the slaves did all “themselves”:

“People often say that Abraham Lincoln emancipated the slaves. The slaves basically emancipated themselves because they wanted freedom and they fought for their freedom.”

— Nicholas Fondacaro (@NickFondacaro) November 11, 2026

Does Behar not know that Lincoln was president?

Was she just confirming that “Abe” was the very same?

It is hard to say after countless missteps, nonsensical takes, and a history of litigious comments made on this program.

Maybe Behar, a diehard Democrat, was apprehensive to credit Lincoln, a Republican, with such a feat.

Hostin seemed uninterested in doing so.

Liberal women continue down a path of derangement they mistake for thought-provoking, insightful commentary.

It may seem harsh to chastise “The View” to such a degree, but the criticism does not lie in their position on a nuanced take about an incredibly niche topic.

They are having trouble comprehending the fundamental history of the Civil War, something a middle school or high school student could easily do.

Although conservative detractors only watch “The View” to see what piffle the hosts will spout next, we need to ask if their key demographic actually watches for similar reasons.

Is it possible that middle-aged and older women just hate-watch this program? Are they just sitting in their living rooms, judging the co-hosts on anything from their outfits or hairstyle to these outlandish takes?

If there are genuine fans and defenders of this program, do speak up.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Watch: Joy Behar Has No Idea the ‘Abe’ Mentioned in Civil War Discussion Is Abraham Lincoln appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth did not dodge accountability or pull rank when a young Army sentinel did his job at one of the most sacred sites in America.

On Thursday, Hegseth hosted members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) at the Pentagon and personally awarded Specialist Thomas Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day.

On Wednesday, November 11, after the official Veterans Day wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery that included President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth, his wife Jennifer, Chief of Staff Ricky Buria, Deputy Chief of Staff Patrick Weaver, and Senior Adviser and Deputy Assistant Tami Radabaugh posed for photographs on the steps near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Video captured by news outlets showed members of the group laughing and chatting as they moved away from the photos.

Spc. Iglesias, serving as the sentinel on duty from The Old Guard, stopped his patrol, turned toward the group, and called out the standard reminder: “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times!”

WATCH:

WATCH: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his group were scolded by an Army sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a Veterans Day ceremony after a disruption of the solemn atmosphere.

“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.”

The chief Pentagon spokesman defended Hegseth’s commitment to honoring the sacrifices of service members while acknowledging the lapse:

“While commemorating this solemn day, a soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”

Get the full story behind the tense exchange: https://t.co/OtUltYn5xZ

— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 12, 2026

Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell later stated that the soldier “correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”

The Tomb has been under continuous 24-hour watch by Old Guard sentinels since 1948. Enforcing silence and respect is routine duty at the site, which holds the remains of unidentified service members from World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

Rather than ignore or minimize the moment, Hegseth brought the Old Guard to the Pentagon the next day and awarded Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal specifically “for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 2026,” according to a Pentagon official.

Hegseth posted photos of the ceremony on X, including one of him pinning the medal on Iglesias, with the message: “We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist. Carry on Patriots.”

We love soldiers.
We love standards.
Well done, Specialist.

Carry on Patriots. https://t.co/Uk6ek6oOso

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 12, 2026

The post CLASS ACT! Pete Hegseth Awards Prestigious Military Medal to Soldier Who Reprimanded Him and His Staff for Disrupting the Solemn Atmosphere at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.