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Trump floats MAGA rally instead of concert after musicians drop out of Freedom 250

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Trump floats MAGA rally instead of concert after musicians drop out of Freedom 250

President Trump speaks at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery on May 25 in Arlington, Va.

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President Trump has suggested that an event celebrating America’s 250 birthday should instead be a Make America Great Again rally after many of the artists who were announced to perform dropped out.

The Great American State Fair, which is set to begin on June 25 on the National Mall, had featured artists such as Martina McBride, Morris Day and the Time, The Commodores and Poison’s Bret Michaels — who have all since withdrawn from the lineup.

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McBride explained why she decided to not to be part of the fair, writing in a social media post she was presented with an opportunity to perform at “a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.”

“In my mind I thought this was a great way to celebrate the states and also bring people together in the way that only music can. I saw it as just a bigger version of so many state fairs I have performed at over the years, celebrating community and what makes each state special,” McBride wrote in the post on Thursday night. “Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”

Some artists plan to still perform at the fair. Vanilla Ice said he would not drop out of the event, writing on social media, “This is not a political platform. This is celebrating America’s birthday.”

In a social media post on Saturday, Trump called the performers who backed away from the event “Third Rate” and said he will give a speech that will rally the U.S. “forward like I have done ever since being President!” Later on Saturday, Trump wrote in another social media post that the event should be canceled and replaced with a rally.

“We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain,” Trump wrote.

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The fair is being organized by Freedom 250, a public-private group working with the White House to organize the celebration of America’s 250 birthday. The Trump-backed celebrations have drawn criticism and concern that it is centered around himself instead of the country.

Democratic lawmakers and watchdog organizations, such as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, have also questioned where private donations for the 250th celebrations are coming from.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who is involved with planning the celebration, on Sunday said the events are “nonpartisan.”

“It’s not about the transparency of the donors,” Burgum said on CNN’s State of the Union when asked if the donations should become public. “This is about Americans celebrating the 250th anniversary.”

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Top 5 Pixar movies, ranked by listeners : Pop Culture Happy Hour

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Top 5 Pixar movies, ranked by listeners : Pop Culture Happy Hour

Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks) in Toy Story.

Pixar/Disney/Maximum Film/Alamy


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Pixar/Disney/Maximum Film/Alamy

Toy Story 5 just hit theaters, so it seemed like a good time to revisit our episode from last summer where we discussed YOUR picks for the greatest Pixar films of all time. Thousands of you voted, and we’ve got the results.

If you want to hear about other Pixar films we loved, listen to our episodes about:

Nature needs a little help in the inventive Pixar movie ‘Hoppers’

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‘Turning Red’ paints teenage feelings in rich, vibrant colors

‘Inside Out 2’ is a Pixar sequel worth celebrating

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Exclusive | Penthouse to outhouse: ‘Poor’ Ilhan Omar now claims erstwhile-millionaire hubby made as little as $200 last year

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Exclusive | Penthouse to outhouse: ‘Poor’ Ilhan Omar now claims erstwhile-millionaire hubby made as little as 0 last year

Scandal-scarred Rep. Ilhan Omar and her hubby have gone from the penthouse to the poorhouse.

The husband of the Minnesota “Squad” firebrand — who once valued his venture capital and wine empire at up to $30 million — now claims to be pocketing as little as $200 a year. 

The embattled socialist claimed hubby Tim Mynett made no income last year from his main business, Rose Lake Capital, according to her newly released 2025 financial disclosure report.

Ilhan Omar said hubby Tim Mynett made less than $1,000 last year. Bloomberg via Getty Images

The only money Mynett — who has nearly two decades of experience in DC — earned last year is a meager $200 to $1,000 from his defunct California-based wine business eStCru, which sold bottles such as “The Devil’s Lie” before going belly up in April.

Omar claimed the total value of the couple’s assets was between $20,000 and $125,000 for 2025, and their credit card and student-loan debt hovered between $30,000 and $100,000 — putting their net worth at negative-$80,000-$95,000, according to the report.

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The head-scratching financial disclosure comes after the couple in 2024 reported sudden ballooning wealth — from close to nothing to between $5 million and $30 million — sparking intense public scrutiny.

That spurred a Congressional investigation into Omar’s finances, just as a massive social services fraud scheme involving the Somali community in her district was blowing up.

In response, Somalia-born Omar filed an amended 2024 financial disclosure in March, listing the value of Mynett’s ownership stakes in both businesses at zero. She chalked up the “discrepancy” on an accounting error.

EStCru sold wines like “The Devil’s Lie,” a Malbec, before filing for dissolution in April. eStCru Wines/Instagram
This was Mynett’s page on the Rose Lake Capital website, before it went dark amid the scrutiny. RoseLake Capital

Despite the businesses reportedly being worth nothing, Rose Lake Capital still generated income between $100,000 and $1 million and the wine business between $2,500 and $5,000 that year, according to the amended disclosure.

“Voters see right through the corrupt lies of Ilhan Omar,” Republican National Committee spokeswoman Delanie Bomar told The Post. “Omar has spent her entire career covering up Democrat-enabled fraud that cost taxpayers billions, so it’s no surprise that she would do the same for her husband.”

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Mynett, 44, launched Rose Lake Capital in 2022 with his longtime business partner, Will Hailer, another Democratic operative.

Omar and Mynett got together when he worked for her 2018 campaign through his previous business, eStreet Group.

The pair met working for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in 2012 when he was running for re-election to Congress.

Ellison, who was caught on tape being bribed by Somali fraudsters — a claim he rejected, saying he took the meeting in good faith — gave up that House seat in 2018 to make way for Omar, a move Hailer has taken credit for orchestrating.

Omar’s office did not return The Post’s request for comment.

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Sunday Puzzle: B to the B to the B

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Sunday Puzzle: B to the B to the B

Sunday Puzzle

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Sunday Puzzle

On-air challenge

I’m going to give you two words starting with the letter B. You give me another word starting with B that can follow my first one and precede my second one, in each case to complete a compound word for a familiar two-word phrase.

Ex. Boot Box –> BLACK (bootblack, black box)

1. Beer Button
2. Blue Binder
3. Bounce Burner
4. Billiard Bearing
5. Busy Builder
6. Bar Bottoms
7. Baby Brothers
8. Bird Buster
9. Brick Boy

Last week’s challenge

Last week’s challenge came from listener Michael Pickard. Name something in 10 letters that’s found in a kitchen. Drop its sixth letter to name something on a keyboard. Then drop the new word’s fifth letter to name something no one wants to get. What words are these?

Answer: Backsplash –> backslash –> backlash

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Winner

John Blakelock of Yellow Springs, Ohio

This week’s challenge

This week’s challenge comes from Evan Kalish, of Bayside, N.Y. Take the name of a nocturnal creature, in two words. The first word is a spooky sound. Move the last letter of the first word to the start of the second word and you’ll get another spooky, nocturnal sound. What is the creature and what are the sounds?

If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, June 25 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: include a phone number where we can reach you.

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