Good evening. I’m British Chris, and you’re watching Raw America.
A counterterrorism official in Trump’s Department of Homeland Security was just caught trolling for a sugar daddy. The president’s Naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz is leaking like a sieve. Immigrants in ICE detention centers are going on hunger strikes. A medical school student from India scammed Trump supporters out of thousands of dollars, saying they’re “super dumb” and easy to manipulate.
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Trump Official Caught on Sugar Daddy Website
Julia Varvaro, a 29-year-old deputy assistant secretary for counterterrorism at the Department of Homeland Security, has been accused of maintaining a profile on Seeking.com — that’s a site where, to put it plainly, young people look for wealthy older partners to bankroll their lifestyle.
The profile, listed under the name “Alessia,” used the same photo as Varvaro’s Instagram account. According to the Daily Mail, which broke the story, the profile’s bio referred to Alessia working for a government agency and offered, quote, “seductive sophistication.”
The accusations come from a man the Daily Mail identifies as Robert B., an older executive and divorced father who says he met Varvaro on the dating app Hinge. Over three months, he spent $40,000 on her, including first-class trips to Aruba and Italy. When he refused to keep spending, the relationship ended. He then filed a formal complaint with DHS’s Office of the Inspector General.
And it’s not just the money. Robert says Varvaro used her DHS credentials to get a TSA supervisor to escort them through security at Dulles Airport. She also allegedly claimed she could get them behind-the-scenes access at the Milan Olympics because of her counterterrorism role.
Varvaro denied all of it. She called Robert a “mad ex-boyfriend” and said their relationship was totally normal. The Seeking.com profile disappeared shortly after the Daily Mail reached out for comment.
This woman’s social media features photos with Donald Trump and Kristi Noem. She holds a Ph.D. And yet here we are, talking about a sugar daddy website and $1,000 shoes. The security clearance implications alone should have Congress demanding answers.
Iran Makes a Mockery of Trump’s Naval Blockade
Donald Trump’s attempt to strangle Iran economically through a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz isn’t working the way the White House promised it would.
According to the Financial Times, approximately 34 Iranian oil tankers have slipped past U.S. surveillance — 19 exiting the Persian Gulf, another 15 coming in from the Arabian Sea. Six of those tankers were carrying smuggled Iranian crude, a total of 10.7 million barrels worth an estimated $910 million to the regime.
So the blockade that was supposed to bring Tehran to its knees is being quietly circumvented while the White House was busy taking victory laps.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump is privately reluctant to restart the bombing campaign. He’s hoping economic pressure will do the job. Polling shows the American public is souring on this war fast, and senior officials say Trump is keenly aware of that. China, by the way, is still moving its oil tankers through the strait. Tehran gave Beijing a pass. None of this is going according to plan.
New Reports Emerge of Abuses at ICE Detention Facilities
The Trump administration has turned America’s immigration detention system into something that human rights lawyers are now comparing to the kinds of facilities this country used to condemn in other nations.
Detainees at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan launched a hunger strike this week, saying the food is inedible, medical care is virtually nonexistent, and judges are arbitrarily denying bond to people who legally qualify for release. One detainee said in a translated statement that they’re demanding to be “treated like human beings.”
Meanwhile, roughly 100 men at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania also went on hunger strike after a man vomited, passed out, and staff ignored him. Detainees there reported finding worms in their water and bugs in their food.
At Florida’s Alligator Alcatraz, it’s gotten worse. Court filings from attorney Katie Blankenship describe guards cutting off phone access to detainees and then beating those who complained. One of her clients was punched in the eye, thrown to the ground, beaten by multiple guards, and had a knee pressed to his neck. Another man had his wrist broken. Then guards pepper-sprayed everyone in the cage. An elderly man passed out because he couldn’t breathe.
There have been 28 deaths in ICE custody so far this fiscal year. That’s a two-decade high.
Medical Student Brags About Scamming ‘Super Dumb’ MAGA Men
Finally, a story that’s funny until you consider the implications.
A 22-year-old medical student in India, identified only as Sam, told Wired magazine that he built a fake conservative influencer named Emily Hart using AI-generated images, collected thousands of dollars a month from MAGA followers, and felt no guilt about any of it. Sam said the MAGA movement was made up of “super dumb” people who will “fall for” anything.”
Sam came up with the idea while studying and used Google’s Gemini AI to help build the character. According to a transcript reviewed by Wired, Gemini actually suggested focusing on conservatives, noting that the “older men” in that audience “often have higher disposable income and are more loyal.” Sam said he made more each month from duping MAGA men than he could from any professional job in India.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just a quirky internet story. It’s a window into the information ecosystem the American right has built. When a foreign medical student with no political investment can make serious money feeding fake outrage content to a domestic political movement, that tells you something important about the movement’s relationship with reality.
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Thanks for watching. I’m British Chris, with Raw America. We’ll see you tomorrow.
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Senate Republicans Block Democrats’ Fifth Attempt to Rein in War Powers. As Trump’s war in Iran nears its 60-day mark, Republicans have once again voted down an attempt by Democrats to assert Congress’ authority to wage war. The vote comes as concern intensifies over the length and cost of Trump’s war on the Iranian regime, and as a two-week ceasefire comes to a close with no end in sight to the conflict. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is reportedly preparing to introduce an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that would allow Congress to have a say over the scope of the war itself.
Billionaire Investor Sues Trump Family’s Crypto Firm for Fraud. Billionaire Justin Sun has filed a new lawsuit against World Liberty Financial (WLF) — which is run by the president’s adult sons — arguing the company is committing fraud against its investors. Sun said his $45 million worth of WLF tokens has been inexplicably frozen and that his voting rights as a shareholder have been revoked because he refused to sign onto a new governance structure requiring 10 percent of all company advisers’ tokens be burned. Sun’s complaint alleged WLF viewed its operation as “as a golden opportunity to leverage the Trump brand to profit through fraud.”
