Scrubs

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Justice has acknowledged removing from its website news releases about criminal cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and insurrection, calling the information about the prosecutions “partisan propaganda.”

The purge of news releases documenting criminal charges, convictions and sentencings is the latest step by the Trump administration to reimagine the history of the assault on the U.S. Capitol, when hundreds of supporters of President Trump stormed the building in an effort to halt the congressional certification of his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden.

Trump, on his first day back in office in January 2025, pardoned, commuted the prison sentences or vowed to dismiss the cases of all of the 1,500-plus people charged with crimes during the Capitol assault, including those convicted of sedition and of attacking officers with makeshift weapons such as flagpoles, a hockey stick and crutch. More than 100 police officers were injured, many of them seriously, and five died as a consequence.

On Monday, the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776-billion fund meant to compensate Trump allies who claim they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Acting Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche has not ruled out that Jan. 6 rioters convicted of violence will be eligible for payouts, prompting bipartisan anger in Congress.

After a journalist on Friday observed on the social media platform X that the Justice Department was “quietly” removing news releases on its website that were related to the Jan. 6 attack, including about a Texas man who pleaded guilty to assault and also faced separate state charges of soliciting a minor, the department responded through its “rapid response” account that there was “nothing ‘quiet’ about it.”

“We are proud to reverse the DOJ’s weaponization under the Biden administration. We will do everything in our power to make whole those who were persecuted for political purposes,” the post said. “This includes stripping DOJ’s website of partisan propaganda.”

Among the releases removed from the site were those concerning seditious conspiracy cases against members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, far-right extremist groups, some of which resulted in convictions and long prison sentences.

The Justice Department, in an unopposed motion last month, asked a federal appeals court to vacate those seditious conspiracy convictions, a request that was granted Thursday. The department on Friday moved to dismiss the cases against the group members.

Trump was impeached for inciting an insurrection on Jan. 6 and was indicted on felony charges related to his actions. Those charges were dismissed after his 2024 election victory.

Tucker writes for the Associated Press.

May 21 (UPI) — SpaceX on Thursday scrubbed the planned first test flight for its redesigned Super Heavy megarocket, the largest rocket ever built, from its new Texas launch pad.

Following several delays of the countdown at 40 seconds remaining, SpaceX spokesman Dan Huot announced the launch would be delayed due to engineering issues which could not be immediately remedied.

“We are expecting to be able to make another flight attempt tomorrow, but obviously stay tuned to our social media,” he said.

In addition to trying out the redesigned Super Heavy propulsion system, the launch is meant to assess upgraded systems on Starship, including the deployment of 22 Starlink satellite simulators, intentionally stressing its new flight control flaps and attempting the “dynamic banking maneuver” that it eventually will use to land back on its pad.

When it takes off, the uncrewed mission will be the 12th flight for Starship as SpaceX develops what is expected to be a primary vehicle for NASA’s Artemis missions to the moon.

“The flight test’s primary goal will be to demonstrate each of these new pieces in the flight environment for the first time, with each element of the Starship architecture featuring significant redesigns to enable full and rapid reuse that incorporate learnings from years of development and testing,” SpaceX said on its website.

The V3, which is 408 feet tall and more powerful than previous Super Heavy rockets, includes 33 redesigned Raptor engines — Starship has six of its own — will take off from South Texas for a round of primary tests similar to previous launches.

The rocket, SpaceX said, is hoped to successfully launch, ascend, separate from the second stage — Starship — and then perform boostback and landing burns in the Gulf of Mexico.

“As this is the first flight test of a significantly redesigned vehicle, the booster will not attempt a return to the launch site for catch,” the company said.

During the hot-stage separation, Starship will light its engines to enter a sub-orbital path, performing tests and then splashing down in the Indian Ocean.

Tests of the space vessel are important as NASA’s Artemis III mission in 2028 is expected to test connecting the Orion crew capsule to both Starship and Blue Origin‘s Blue Moon, although Blue Moon has yet to be launched for its first test flight.

Starship also is expected to be the ship that delivers Americans back to the moon in the next several years.