Pupils have begun returning to school as lockdown restrictions were eased across England.
Outdoor markets and car showrooms have also started reopening, while the first horse racing event in months was being staged and pigeons took to the skies for a race over Yorkshire.
Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.
The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.
He accessorized his ringmaster-like appearance with sunglasses and a white fedora accented with the same color scheme.
Rock, who performed at a MAGA Rally ahead of Trump's inauguration on January 20 and shot up Bud Light beer cans in protest of the brand's collaboration with a trans influencer, was photographed next to Trump, who sat at the Resolute Desk and gazed at his ally.
Many called out conservatives' White House dress code double standards.
Just last month, Brian Glenn—chief White House correspondent for far-right channel Real America's Voice—grilled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on why he wasn't wearing a suit during a press conference where Trump and Vice President JD Vance relentlessly harangued their foreign visitor.
When Kid Rock's ostentatious tribute to America blinded the internet, a user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote:
“Kid Rock wore this to the White House. Is JD Vance gonna have a meltdown and ask if he said pwese and tank you? What an embarrassment."
Democratic TikToker Harry Sisson called out the glaring hypocrisy of conservatives who are quick to judge those who challenge them on political issues.
"Remember when MAGA complained about President Zelensky not wearing a suit in the Oval Office?" wrote Sisson, adding:
"This was what Kid Rock wore earlier and suddenly, MAGA is silent."
Social media users continued raking Kid Rock over the coals.
Others condemned conservatives for their crickets response to a previous complaint.
When a reporter asked Trump in jest if he would wear Kid Rock’s jacket, he replied, “I don’t know. I was thinking about doing it for tomorrow. We have a big event coming up, and I was thinking about doing it, but I’m not sure," referring to his upcoming Liberation Day on Wednesday.
Rock was present at the signing of the executive order instructing the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to restrict concert ticket scalping.
“Anyone who’s bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years—no matter what your politics are—knows that it’s a conundrum,” said the musician.
The executive order also directs the FCC to ensure “price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchase process” and to “take enforcement action to prevent unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market.”
Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.
The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.
When Quick pointed out that the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the cuts could reduce revenue by as much as "$11.2 trillion over the next decade," Cassidy defended Trump’s stance, insisting that he "doesn’t want to touch Medicare and Medicaid."
He said:
“What he means is not don’t go after things which was inappropriate spending. He’s saying, don’t cut benefits to beneficiaries.”
Here it's worth noting that the 2025 Republican budget proposal calls for $2 trillion in mandatory spending reductions. While it doesn’t explicitly outline cuts to Medicare or Medicaid, analysts argue that reaching such a financial target without affecting the two programs would be difficult. Currently, nearly 70 million Americans depend on Medicare, while about 80 million receive Medicaid benefits.
Cassidy then suggested applying billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) model to entitlement programs—though not without a major Freudian slip, correcting himself quickly:
“Let’s bring that approach not to just what DOGE is doing, discretionary spending, but let’s look at Medicare. Is there some way that we can cut—excuse me—reform Medicare so that benefits stay the same? But that is less expensive, more efficient, I would say that there is, and that's where our opportunity lies."
You can watch what happened in the video below.
It was impossible to miss—and Cassidy was quickly called out for it.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has vowed to crack down on fraud in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, while his Republican allies in Congress have used fraud prevention as a justification for proposed Medicaid spending cuts.
During a recent address to Congress, Trump claimed his administration had uncovered “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud,” though he did not provide specific examples.
However, Trump’s tough-on-fraud rhetoric contrasts sharply with his past actions.
In both his first and second terms, he granted pardons or commutations to at least 68 individuals convicted of fraud or obstructing fraud investigations, according to a KFF Health News review of court and clemency records, DOJ press releases, and news reports.
Among them, at least 13 were involved in Medicare and Medicaid fraud schemes totaling over $1.6 billion, per the Department of Justice.
Adding to the contradiction, one of Trump’s earliest moves upon reentering office was the dismissal of 17 independent inspectors general—officials tasked with identifying fraud and waste across the federal government.
Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.
Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.
However, many details about the implementation remain unclear and during a Monday interview, Collins pressed Sheehy on his views regarding the nation's economic direction, noting that 95% of his state's imported goods originate from Canada, Mexico, or China.
She asked:
“Is this going to hurt people in your state, do you think?"
“There’s absolutely going to be short-term pain," he replied, adding:
“I mean, if you’re going to remodel your house to make it better in the end, it’s gonna be really annoying in the short-term when your house is getting remodeled, and there’s drywall dust everywhere and there’s workers in your living room. The reality is that remodel has got to happen in order to make things stronger and more stable in the back end."
Collins was quick to shut this line of thought down:
“You liken this to a remodel. Sometimes those take longer than you plan for. I mean, if you’re an American and you’re waiting to see, what does ‘short-term pain’ mean? I mean, how long do you expect that to last?”
He was stumped:
"I mean, we really don't know."
You can watch their exchange in the video below.
Sheehy's analogy was so bad that people couldn't help but point out how clueless he sounded.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated Monday that Trump would unveil his tariff plan on Wednesday, but emphasized that specifics would come directly from the president.
While Trump argues that tariffs protect domestic industries, generate government revenue, and strengthen U.S. bargaining power, economists warn that sweeping tariffs at the proposed rates could have unintended economic consequences.
Previously postponed import taxes may soon be implemented. Trump’s month-long delay for tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico is set to expire in early April.
Last month, he stated on Truth Social that the extension for Mexican imports under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement runs through April 2. However, no official confirmation of a specific date has been provided since.
Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.
Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.
Beyond direct donations, Musk’s super PAC, America PAC, spent $11.5 million on digital ads, mailers, field operations, and voter outreach. Meanwhile, his political nonprofit, Building America’s Future, spent nearly $4.8 million on TV ads attacking Crawford.
Musk himself even awarded $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters who pledged to vote for Schimel.
The race was widely expected to set a new record for the most expensive state supreme court election in history. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, spending by candidates and outside groups surpassed $100 million, underscoring the high stakes of the contest.
That massive influx of money helped fuel a hard-fought and contentious campaign, driven in part by the race’s broader national implications. Viewed as an early test of voter sentiment, the election also provided insight into how a key swing state might react to the influence of Trump-aligned figures.
And Crawford made clear in her victory speech that she is well aware of these stakes—particularly after "taking on the richest man in the world":
"As a little girl growing up in Chippewa Falls I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the richest man in the world for justice in Wisconsin, and we won!"
The crowd's enthusiasm was palpable as thrilled supporters cheered loudly.
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Crawford, pointing to her long career in law—both in front of and behind the bench—also affirmed her commitment to Wisconsin voters:
"I spent my whole career fighting for Wisconsin as a prosecutor, a lawyer, a judge and now a soon-to-be justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Standing up for our fundamental rights and freedoms, protecting Wisconsin families and communities."
"My promise to Wisconsin is clear. I will be a fair, common sense and impartial justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court."
You can watch her full speech below.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
Many loved her remarks and criticized Musk in response.
Meanwhile, Schimel addressed his supporters, confirming that he had conceded the race. When some in the crowd reacted with objections—shouting “no!” or claiming that Democrats had cheated—he firmly responded that his supporters have "gotta accept the results.”
Schimel's concession alone is a major blow to Musk, an election conspiracy theorist who earlier said "whichever party controls the House to a significant degree controls the country, which then steers the course of Western civilization." He claimed the race "is one of those things that may not seem that it’s going to affect the entire destiny of humanity, but I think it will.”
Chief among Musk's concerns is the key role that the court could play in congressional redistricting. Crawford, who will be sworn in on August 1, could end up hearing one or more cases that impact how the 2028 presidential election will be run in the swing state.
Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!
But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.
Cringing in solidarity, Redditor vomirrhea asked:
"What's the worst 'Bonus' a job has ever given to you?"
"Ice cream sandwiches."
"We didn't get raises because 'it was a tough year,' and 'your department didn't increase revenue' (we were Research and Development, or R&D)."
"Our competitors brought an ice cream truck and parked it next door and were giving out free ice cream and job applications, and you could talk to their HR while they were there. They were specifically targeting our R&D team."
"Most of my coworkers went because it was a fancy ice cream truck they had seen but never bought from because it was expensive."
"My director freaked out and told his EA to go get ice cream and told people not to go."
"She came back with Value brand ice cream sandwiches. And only, like, six boxes. (There were 120 engineers in our department.)"
"I only remember the managers going over and getting them."
"About two-thirds of my team left within the next six months."
- BaaBaaTurtle
"He laid off the crew on Christmas Eve. I was the foreman, so he called me first."
"Then he asked me to call the rest of the guys and let them know."
"I said, 'You do it. I don’t work for you anymore.'"
- bobbysessions449
"The audacity to think he can still give you orders immediately after firing you. F**k these ghouls, man."
- Immaculatehombre
"What a cowardly, pathetic human."
- phantaxtic
"I worked at a big auction house for people with lots of money, doing manual labor."
"For Christmas, we got a coupon for a cup of coffee........... from the coffee shop in the building. We already had free coffee."
"I still have the coupon. It’s a nice reminder of what I walked away from."
- ohhhhfcuukkkk
"I got a gift card for a coffee shop from my employer for saving them a few thousand dollars in one week."
"I went to the coffee shop, and there was NO MONEY on it."
"I finally decided to ask the company if this was a mistake, and they apologized and gave me a new card. There was two dollars on the card, enough for a small black coffee."
- pantomimist
"The biggest piece of cake..."
"I worked at a company for nine years and through some of its toughest times. I often worked unpaid overtime and went above and beyond."
"These were some of the highlights the boss pointed out while giving a recognition speech about me."
"He ended it with, 'Most families save the biggest piece of chicken for the bread-winner, so keeping with that tradition, I'm offering you the biggest and first slice of cake.'"
"After being recognized in such a manner, I waited for about a month for an actual monetary bonus. Upon receiving nothing, I put in my notice, citing the speech and lack of actual reward for my efforts."
- theonlybuster
"A box of chocolates with five small chocolates. To thank us for the release of a product that doubled the company's revenue."
- ConsciousnessWizard
"This is why you negotiate a new salary when the product is 80% complete, and if we're speaking IT, an unoptimised mess that can only be developed by one or two people because of its complexity. Yes, it's considered in 'bad taste,' but so is doing giving a couple (probably cheap) chocolates as a reward for drastically growing the company."
- South-Suspect7008
"Target, my annual review got me an... eight-cent raise! Oh, and if they increase the minimum wage, you don’t keep the ‘bonus,’ haha."
- workscs
"I got an eight-cent raise once from a former employer. I almost told them to keep it because they obviously needed it more than me, but that would have gotten me fired. $3.20 per week before taxes. Kiss my a**."
- QueenRotidder
"We had 11 workers quit on the spot because they wanted to have a meeting with the COO about their wages and schedules, but he shut them down. The office was scrambling to replace them, and it was chaos."
"Later that week, they ordered pizza for everyone 'to show their appreciation for their workers.'"
"Pizza doesn’t pay my bills."
- Fill-Chapo
"A poker chip with 'APPRECIATION' written on it... Literally a TOKEN of appreciation."
- yepthisismyaccount
"I bet someone really thought they were clever with that one."
- Kris918
"That is incredibly insulting. I’d hand it back with my resignation letter."
- zirouk
"My old retail job gave us all turkey vouchers for Thanksgiving. When we went to redeem them, it turned out they were actually just five dollars off coupons if you bought a turkey worth $25 or more."
- CurvyTigerGirl
"My old office gave everyone a frozen turkey. I don’t know whose genius idea it was but they rolled in a chest freezer and handed out frozen turkeys as everyone is leaving for the day."
"It's a really nice gesture, but I'd feel totally differently about it if it were in lieu of a bonus or raise."
- MrsSchnel
"Although we’ve made record profits, we can’t give you guys a raise or a bonus, but management will get both."
- Brjsk
"My wife got told that they couldn't afford bonuses because of tough economic times in the same meeting the company boasted about the record sales of the past year."
"All the managers got bonuses."
- JPMoney81
"'If we give bonuses to everyone, management won't be able to get one. Think of my children.'"
- vengefulspirit99
"I worked at Macy's for the holidays one year. We had a record Black Friday, so they got us Little Caesars (one slice per person) while managers had a catered lunch from one of the nicer restaurants nearby."
"Compare that to when I worked for a Hyundai cousin. We met a production goal, so we had an excellent dinner served to us by the management, as well as a two-week pay bonus."
- Mochigood
"I worked in sales for a major wood products manufacturer. I sold record-breaking volume to the tune of 51 million for my territory. The second place person sold 12 million."
"I received a 100-dollar bonus. The guy in second place received a Rolex."
"The CEO made a joke about it at the sales conference, 'Sometimes it’s best to come in second place.'"
"I walked out, typed out my two-week notice, and started my own company as a direct competitor of my former employer."
"I’m still in business. They are not."
- rollcasttotheriffle
"I worked for a small sales-based company. They were pushing hard for the first ‘Million Dollar Month’ and kept saying they would make it worth our while! We assumed a big bonus, a trip, a fancy steakhouse… something!"
"When we finally hit it… we each got a bobblehead of one of the executives."
"We decided to trade them. The CEO was worth less than the CFO, and HR was worth the least. It became a big running joke until HR sent an email out saying we had to stop trading and joking around."
- bondsman333
"As a thank you, we each received a Christmas card with signatures from the management team."
"It was Walmart... Why the h**l would they think the associates would want a picture of the management team? We didn't even want to see the managers when we were working."
- just-another-taco
"I used to be in Walmart management. Believe me... We knew the cards sucked, but we had bosses too. It was terrible signing 200 to 300 cards knowing full well they were gonna end up in the trash five seconds after being given out."
"I remember one year that they told us we couldn't just sign our name and we had to include a meaningful unique-to-the-individual message. I'm guessing they got complaints, but talk about an impossible crappy solution."
- mturch02
"This reminds me of when I worked at McDonald's, and we got a VACATION FAMILY PHOTO from the owner as a Christmas card. What the f**k?!"
- wharleepoof
"At my old job before this one, I was promoted. They couldn't give me a raise because 'the economy, you know how it is,' but they sure as h**l could saddle me with twice as much work. I was there for three and a half years and never received a raise despite exemplary work."
"So when my coworkers were getting poached by a company we worked with, I threw my hat in the ring and was hired off my initial phone interview."
"When I handed them my notice, I made sure to say that my decision was based off of 'the economy, you know how it is.'"
"Anyway, this coming September, I'll have been with the latter job for 15 years. I get annual raises, quarterly bonuses, a yearly bonus, and company stock."
"Know your worth and go somewhere where they value your worth."
- Ghstfce
"After seven years of being a top-five employee in my part of the company and no raises, I awarded myself a new company to work for."
"I was told there wasn’t much of a budget for merit increases, but they had enough money to hire U2 to play at a C-level brunch."
- andymfjAZ
From ice cream sandwiches to pizza parties to coupons, there was no shortage of side-eye potential throughout this particular conversation.
It's also quite ironic that so many of these companies gave bonuses in the form of fun treats when they hardly paid enough for their employees to buy groceries, let alone healthier options.
