Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 - Trump's Doesn’t Think About Your Finances, Pentagon Rebrands Iran War, Epstein Survivor Testimony

Morning Announcements

Betches

News, Daily News, Politics, News Commentary

4.7 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 13 May 2026

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today's Headlines: Trump had a full episode between 1am and sunrise Tuesday, posting dozens of times about the 2020 election, the reflecting pool, and Barack Obama — before waking up and telling reporters he doesn't think about Americans' financial situations "at all." He also disowned his favorite pool guy after the reflecting pool paint job came out bubbly, uneven, and full of holes, despite having previously bragged about this being the greatest pool contractor in history — he then flew to China to meet Xi Jinping, bringing 16 CEOs including Elon Musk and Tim Cook, to meet with the country actively helping Iran win his war. On the war front, the Pentagon is considering renaming the conflict "Operation Sledgehammer" — not just rebranding, but a legal strategy to restart the 60-day congressional authorization clock — while Hegseth told Congress the $29 billion war could resume without their approval, which even some Republicans found uncomfortable but not uncomfortable enough to act on. Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Kash Patel denied the drinking allegations before Congress and offered to take an alcohol disorder test only if Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen takes it with him, which is a choice. In Epstein files news, Democrats held a field hearing in Palm Beach where Epstein survivors testified, including one woman appearing publicly for the first time only because her name was published unredacted in the files, who revealed Epstein was assaulting her while in prison and that she couldn't report it because her visa was tied to him — one of at least 55 people whose immigration status was connected to his estate. In a completely under-covered story, the former mayor of Arcadia, California pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal foreign agent for China after running a fake local news site publishing pro-China propaganda on government directives. And finally, Stephen Colbert's late night show ends next Thursday, closing out with Seth Meyers, John Oliver, and both Jimmys — which was a good TV moment in an otherwise chaotic week. Resources/Articles mentioned: CNN: In wild late-night posting spree, Trump attacks Obama with imaginary quote and false conspiracy theories NBC News: Trump says he’s not thinking about Americans’ finances ‘even a little bit’ in Iran talks NYT: Reflecting Pool Repairs Appear Uneven and Behind Schedule, Officials Say NYT: Trump to Be Joined by Elon Musk and Other CEOs at Xi Summit in China NBC News: Pentagon considering renaming Iran war ‘Sledgehammer’ if ceasefire collapses AP News: Hegseth gets bipartisan grilling on rising costs of the Iran war and Trump's end game The Hill: Patel agrees to take alcohol test after heated exchange with Van Hollen The Guardian: Epstein survivors give tearful testimony in House field hearing in Palm Beach ABC News: California mayor charged with acting as illegal agent for China NYT: Stephen Colbert Hosts 4 of His ‘Best Television Friends’ Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:29.6	The president had a multi-dimensional mental health episode that lasted from the wee hours of
0:34.6	Tuesday morning through at least the recording of this podcast episode,
0:38.3	he's now exactly where you'd send someone in such a state to China for a diplomatic summit with
0:43.3	Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, the mayor of a small city in California was charged with acting as a foreign
0:48.4	agent for China and she and her husband pleaded guilty. Kosh Patel and Pete Hexeth both had
0:53.2	appointments with Congress yesterday,
0:55.1	while Democrats on the House Oversight Committee took a field trip to Palm Beach, Florida,
0:58.9	for a hearing with Jeffrey Epstein survivors. Let's get into it. Today is Wednesday, May 13th,
1:05.1	and you're listening to Morning Announcements presented by Betches Media. I'm your host, Sammy Sage,
1:10.1	and Morning Announcements is your fully sourced
1:12.1	daily 10-minute breakdown of the headlines that isn't a megaphone for the loudest voices,
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