The Patriot Post® · Friday Executive News Summary
TrumpRx launches: Americans can now visit TrumpRx.gov to search for discounts on some of the most popular and overpriced prescription drugs. The government website allows consumers to print a discount coupon for Ozempic, for instance, offering 66-81% off, which can be redeemed at a local pharmacy. This is the result of President Donald Trump’s negotiations with pharmaceutical companies to secure most-favored-nation pricing for Americans. Since U.S. pharmaceutical companies produce most innovative new drugs on the market, it is perhaps surprising that foreign countries have been getting better deals on those drugs. Americans with good health insurance likely already have better deals than what TrumpRx offers, but for those with bare-minimum plans or no coverage at all, the website offers a significant improvement.
Jobs report: The official January jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been postponed to February 11 due to the recent government shutdown. However, a survey conducted by the firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that employers cut 108,435 jobs last month. That total is the highest number of jobs cut in January since 2009. Furthermore, compared to last year, roughly 50,000 jobs were cut. While these numbers look concerning, JPMorgan suggested that the totals were misleading, noting that “this January was much more similar to recent January values than it was to 2009.” A report from ADP Research estimates that just 22,000 jobs were added to the private sector last month, yet Evercore ISI estimates that payroll employment increased by 75,000. A clearer economic picture should be known next week.
Harris rebrands: Former Vice President and failed 2024 Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris is launching her new digital “Headquarters” in an effort to rebrand herself following her dismal performance against Donald Trump. Harris has partnered with People for the American Way to reach the “next-generation” of voters ahead of the 2026 midterms. Harris, infamous for her word salad non-answers to questions, coupled with a maniacal laugh, would seem to be more of a political liability to Democrats’ electoral ambitions than an asset. She desperately wants to play a role in the American political landscape, but it may end up being little more than that of a clown.
Illegal truckers kill four more Americans: Kyrgyzstani illegal immigrant Bekzhan Beishekeev killed four Amish men when he crossed into the left lane and struck the van they were riding in on Tuesday. A father, two of his sons, and a family friend are dead, and more are injured because of the incredible number of illegals with commercial driver’s licenses plaguing American roads. Beishekeev was arrested on the scene under a bench warrant related to an ICE detainer. This stretch of rural Indiana state road has seen a significant increase in semi-traffic in recent months, likely to evade a nearby weigh station. Truckers used to avoid weigh stations if their haul was sketchy, but now the drivers, and even their companies, are illegitimate. Chameleon carriers are a network of trucking companies run by Kyrgyzstani drivers that use magnetic logos and bogus DOT numbers to evade authorities and continue driving after crashes.
Dem Senate candidate insists his hands are clean in Iryna Zarutska case: Just because DeCarlos Brown Jr., the monster caught on video stabbing Iryna Zarutska to death on a train in North Carolina, was given a lenient judgment at the same time that then-Gov. Roy Cooper released thousands of criminals onto the streets due to COVID-19 does not mean that Cooper is to blame for Zarutska’s death, insists Cooper’s Senate campaign. In September 2020, Brown was released from custody and sentenced to a year of supervision before being arrested again in February 2021. That month, a hearing officer decided to allow supervision to continue rather than return him to prison. That same day was also the cutoff date for 3,500 violent and nonviolent prisoners set to be released. Cooper insists these matters are unrelated and that since Brown completed minimum sentence after minimum sentence, justice demanded his release.
Karen Bass hijacked Palisades report: The disaster of the preventable Pacific Palisades fire, now a year past, should have cost Los Angeles Democrat Mayor Karen Bass her job. Bass’s incompetent leadership was exposed to the world, yet she’s still living in the mayor’s mansion. Indeed, Bass has focused her efforts on directing others to conceal her incompetence and missteps. This is evidenced by recent remarks from LA Fire Chief Jaimie Moore, who admitted, “It is now clear that multiple drafts [of the report] were edited to soften language and reduce explicit criticism of the department leadership in that final report.” While Bass has denied any involvement in altering the Palisades fire report, two sources within the mayor’s office dispute her claim.
Medal of Honor awarded: Having sacrificed himself to shield and save others, Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis is finally being awarded the Medal of Honor. Ollis was 24 when he was killed by a suicide bombing in Afghanistan in 2013, using his body to protect a Polish army officer and other American officers who were on the base. The soldier’s sister, Kimberly Ollis-Losciavo, has been seeking recognition for her brother’s brave action but was denied by both the Obama and Biden administrations. President Trump reopened the case and called Ollis’s parents with the news of their son’s award. Kimberly responded to the recognition as “bittersweet validation … after 13 years of really not being validated by the federal government,” but noted that they are “thrilled.” Following Ollis’s death, the family worked to raise money for military-related causes and was also able to get a Staten Island ferry named after Ollis.
Imani Kelif admits that he has XY chromosomes: “I have never felt a punch like this,” said an Italian Olympic female boxer after spending 46 seconds in the ring with Imane Khelif. Readers may remember the controversy over the “transgender” boxer in the 2024 Olympics; of course, it’s only now, as the 2026 Winter Olympics begin, that the truth comes out. Not only has Khelif now admitted in an interview to having a Y chromosome, but also the SRY gene carried by that chromosome that triggers male sexual development. Despite Leftmedia and the Algerian government’s insistence that Khelif was a woman — labeling anyone suggesting otherwise a transphobic bigot — it turns out our eyes weren’t lying. Khelif was born with a rare condition, and doctors likely declared Khelif a girl due to malformed genitalia. However, with the onset of puberty, Khelif developed as a typical male.
OPM readies new rule making firing federal workers easier: The Office of Personnel Management has now made it easier for President Trump to fire federal workers at will. On Thursday, OPM finalized a new rule that creates a new category of career federal employees whose positions are directly policy-related. OPM Director Scott Kupor explained, “This rule preserves merit-based hiring, veterans’ preference, and whistleblower protections while ensuring senior career officials responsible for advancing President Trump’s agenda can be held to the same performance expectations that exist throughout much of the American workforce.” This new rule will apply to roughly 50,000 federal workers. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt welcomed the new rule, stating, “I think if people aren’t doing their jobs, if they aren’t showing up for work, if they’re not working on behalf of this president, they’re not welcome to work for him at all.”
Headlines
Key participant in 2012 Benghazi attack that killed four Americans is in custody (The Hill)
Self-identified Antifa member arrested after allegedly threatening ICE agents (Fox News)
Man accused of operating illegal biolab in Las Vegas tied to CCP (Washington Times)
11 charged in “marriage fraud” scheme for allegedly paying U.S. service members to wed Chinese nationals (CBS News)
U.S. rejects flawed New START arms accord (Washington Times)
UCLA doctor sentenced for sex crimes has conviction tossed because one of the California jurors didn’t speak English (Not the Bee)
The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.