FBI Director Kash Patel is facing some tough questions in the aftermath of yet another assassination attempt against President Donald Trump.

Trump and members of his Cabinet were targeted Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner after a gunman rushed past a security checkpoint and opened fire in the Washington Hilton lobby. The suspect, later identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen, was staying at the hotel and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.

‘It was a total failure.’

Before he was apprehended and taken into custody, the gunman shot a Secret Serviceman who was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Allen’s alleged manifesto was later made public, revealing anti-Trump and anti-Christian motivations that may have fueled the attack.

Although the Secret Service successfully stopped the third assassination attempt, several questions remain about the efficacy of the security measures in place since the shooter was able to get that far.

RELATED: Stunning new details reveal the ‘depraved’ motivation of the suspected WHCD shooter

US President Trump via Truth Social/Anadolu/Getty Images

“They did a great job on the ground,” “Fox & Friends” host Lawrence Jones said of the Secret Service. “But they remain reactive. The proactive approach is still under great scrutiny. The president of the United States is averaging an assassination attempt once a year.”

“So who’s going to do the investigating of the procedures?” Jones asked Patel. “Secret Service can’t investigate themselves because there are still people in leadership at the Secret Service that were responsible for Butler. How does that happen? It was a failure.”

Patel acknowledged the failures that took place in Butler, Pennsylvania, but deferred to the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s leadership. Patel did not detail which procedures or protocols would be improved or changed but indicated that some sort of reform would take place.

“I can’t speak to Butler, and I agree it was a total failure. Absolutely,” Patel responded. “But I have full confidence in Secretary Markwayne Mullin. He oversees the United States Secret Service. I’ve talked to him repeatedly over the weekend … and said, ‘Whatever you need from the FBI, whatever we can assist in, and however we can better prepare to protect our protectees going forward, with the U.S. Secret Service, this FBI stands ready to do.’ And we’re going to improve that process under Markwayne’s leadership and oversight of the Secret Service.”

RELATED: Trump evacuated from White House Correspondents’ Dinner following possible gunfire

Celal Gunes/Anadolu/Getty Images

Patel was also pressed about the suspect’s proximity to the event. He had checked into the Washington Hilton the day before. Although the Hilton hosts the dinner, only a portion of the hotel is secured despite the dozens of dignitaries in attendance.

“This was a matter that needs to be heavily scrutinized, because it almost took the lives of dozens if not hundreds of people,” Patel said.

“We’re going to be talking about how we improve the security, not just for this event but for all events going forward,” Patel added. “We’re going to learn from this one, and we’re going to utilize President Trump’s leadership and backing of the blue and law enforcement and work with DHS to ensure our Cabinet, our protectees, and the American civilian population is as best protected as possible.”

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The White House Correspondents’ Dinner came to an abrupt and premature end Saturday night after shots rang out at the venue.

But the party didn’t stop for some attendees.

‘Repugnant!’

In the ensuing chaos after gunshots sounded at the Hilton, some dinner attendees decided to grab some souvenirs as most people vacated the scene.

One video has gone viral showing a blonde woman apparently grabbing two bottles of wine off an empty table, sparking an online “scandal” some have dubbed “wine-gate.”

RELATED: Stunning new details reveal the ‘depraved’ motivation of the suspected WHCD shooter

Mandel NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

One account that posted the video wrote in a caption: “So, there you have press members STEALING wine bottles: this is who the press is! Repugnant!”

It is not clear whether the woman in the video is a member of the press or another guest. She has not yet been identified.

Another photo from the aftermath of the event went viral, gaining over one million views since its posting on Saturday night.

The photo shows a man in a white tuxedo holding what appears to be two bottles of champagne.

The caption of the post, made by a user named Comfortably Smug, reads, “Bro they are removing the journos from the ballroom and journos are taking all the booze with them two bottles at a time LMAOOOOO.”

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner was interrupted when a shooter attempted to breach security and opened fire at the venue. One agent, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was shot and taken to the hospital. The shooter was subdued and taken into custody.

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Nine weeks after Thomas Matthew Crooks’ attempt on Donald Trump’s life at a July 13, 2024, rally in Pennsylvania, Ryan Routh tried his hand at assassinating then-candidate Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Cole Allen, identified as the suspect who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday night, appears to share much in common with Routh.

‘I’m a random Californian guy.’

Besides making donations to the same party and obsessing over the same foreign power, both Routh — who was sentenced in February to life in prison over his attempted assassination of Trump — and Allen were apparently radicalized in recent years with the help of Democrats’ incendiary rhetoric.

Donations and slogans

Although not a registered member of a political party for decades, Routh, a 60-year-old North Carolina native, made multiple donations to support Democrats beginning in 2019 and voted in North Carolina’s Democratic primary in March 2024.

In addition to supporting Democrats monetarily and at the ballot box, Routh supported their divisive narrative.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats not only characterized Trump and other Republicans as fascists and imminent threats to the republic ahead of the 2024 election but repeatedly claimed that “democracy is on the ballot in November.”

In some instances, Harris — who joked in 2018 about Trump dying — coupled this claim with combative language, stating that democracy “is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it” and painting a target on Trump by referring to him as a would-be “dictator.”

Then-President Joe Biden was far less subtle, stating on a July 8, 2024, phone call with donors, “We’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in a bull’s-eye.”

RELATED: Stunning new details reveal the ‘depraved’ motivation of the suspected WHCD shooter

FBI outside a home associated with the suspected WHCAD shooter in Torrance, California. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

Routh accepted this alarmist view, sometimes repeating Democrats’ slogan verbatim.

On April 22, 2024, for instance, Routh tweeted to then-President Joe Biden, writing, “@POTUS Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA … make Americans slave again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way.”

Allen, like Routh, contributed a modest donation to at least one Democratic cause, a Harris-supporting Democratic PAC in October 2024, reported the Associated Press.

The suspected WHCAD shooter, who was reportedly engaged in political activism in recent years and a member of the leftist group “the Wide Awakes,” also amplified unhinged anti-Trump messaging from Democrats online.

The investigative journalist behind the Substack Kanekoa News reported that ahead of the 2024 election, a X user believed to be Allen repeatedly shared alarmist social media posts on X from Kamala Harris, Democratic lawmakers, liberal media personalities, and the anti-Trump propaganda outfit MeidasTouch and amplified liberal characterizations of Trump as a fascist or Nazi.

Allen’s alleged manifesto and the Bluesky account ascribed to Allen are replete with evidence suggesting that he continued to stew in alarmist Democratic propaganda in the time since the 2024 election.

For instance, the Bluesky user believed to be Allen — the handle is @coldforce.bsky.social, and Cole allegedly signed his manifesto “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen” — shared a post from Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) earlier this month claiming that Trump “is deranged, unstable, and unfit to lead,” as well as a post from Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D) that stated Trump “must be impeached and removed from office” and “Republicans who don’t stop him will have blood on their hands.”

Ukraine obsession

Routh was unmistakably a Ukraine obsessive.

The would-be assassin:

ran a website called “Fight for Ukraine,” which details various ways — including unlawful ways — people could supposedly go to fight as mercenaries in Ukraine; pleaded online with Western defense officials and organizations to allow Afghan mercenaries into Ukraine; demonstrated in support of Ukraine’s infamous Azov Brigade; self-published a book in 2023 titled “Ukraine’s Unwinnable War” detailing his unsuccessful attempts to aid Ukraine’s war effort; andasserted on X that he was “going to fight and die for Ukraine.”

The social media accounts ascribed to Allen — who allegedly stated in the manifesto, “I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes” — provide evidence of a similar obsession with Ukraine and its efforts to repel Russian forces.

For starters, the bio for Allen’s alleged Bluesky account states, “I’m a random Californian guy with posts about American politics, support for Ukraine, and observations of small creatures.”

The Bluesky user believed to be Allen also shared Ukrainian military fundraiser posts, updates on Russian attacks, and multiple posts insinuating that Trump is in league with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While highly critical of Trump, the user also directed Ukraine-related ire toward Vice President JD Vance.

At a Turning Point USA event on April 14, Vance recalled how his advocacy for ending funding for the Ukraine war ruffled feathers, then noted he was proud of the Trump administration’s refusal to continue “buying weapons and sending them to Ukraine anymore.”

This evidently enraged the Bluesky user believed to be Cole, who wrote, “He’s proud that we don’t uphold our commitments[;] what a piece of s**t.”

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A proposed device has the potential to monitor how much energy a person’s skeletal muscles produce, a patent application reveals.

The notion that earbuds are simply a convenient way to take phone calls or listen to music on the go may be a thing of the past if certain applications reach their goal. However, given the timeline, headphones may already be capable of recording complex biometrics of the person who wears them.

‘The device may have more electrodes than are necessary.’

Online researchers have recently discovered the patent, first filed by Apple Inc. in January 2023, titled “Biosignal Sensing Device Using Dynamic Selection of Electrodes,” which is still pending.

The patent describes how brain activity can be monitored by electrodes placed inside or around the outer ear of the user. Images provided look very similar to Apple AirPods.

The headphones are described as a “wearable electronic device, such as an earbud, a pair of earbuds, and/or a wired headset.”

The earbuds would “measure biosignals of a user of the wearable electronic device,” which may include, “but are not limited” to: electroencephalography, electrooculography, electromyography, electrocardiogram, “galvanic skin response,” and “blood volume pulse.”

All of these measurements seem incredibly intrusive, particularly when each term is dissected in detail.

First, electroencephalography is a technique that measures the brain’s electrical signals and how its neurons communicate with each other. The patent literally states that the earbud “may be used to measure a biosignal, for example, an electroencephalogram (EEG), for measuring brain activity.”

Things only get more bizarre from there.

RELATED: Anti-Trump Indian investor wants you to use this hat that reads your thoughts

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Electrooculography, also known as EOG, is a standard technique for measuring eye movements via electrical potentials, which are the body’s tiny electrical outputs. The body’s movements — in this case from the eye — can be identified by how many millivolts are produced in the area.

Next is electrocardiogram; Apple wants its device to be able to measure electrical heart activity.

Additionally, blood volume pulse measurements would monitor the user’s heart rate.

At the same time, the patent covers electromyography and galvanic skin response. These techniques also measure the body’s electrical activity in very specific manners.

According to Cleveland Clinic, electromyography is a diagnostic test that evaluates the health and function of skeletal muscles and the nerves that control them. In this context, it would measure the electric activity produced by a wearer’s skeletal muscles.

RELATED: The FBI busted an anti-ICE attack squad by reading its encrypted messages. The FBI can read yours too.

Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Galvanic skin response is described by Noldus as the measurement of “the skin’s electrical conductance, which changes with sweat gland activity.”

“This activity is controlled by the autonomic nervous system,” the description adds. This means that the earbuds would measure the electrical conductivity of the user’s skin.

Lastly, the patent describes that the device may have “more electrodes than are necessary” in order to measure user biosignals. The justification for this is to account for how the device is being worn, with it dynamically choosing between different subsets of electrodes at different times.

There is no clearly stated end goal described in the patent; it chiefly seeks to monitor brain activity and “biosignals” in a manner alternate to electrodes on the scalp. What that information would be used for is up for interpretation.

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I went to meet an old friend for coffee on the East Side of Portland. I don’t make it over to the East Side very often. That’s the more progressive, “social justice” side of town.

That’s where the most WE BELIEVE IN SCIENCE signs are. And Pride flags. And other statements of left-wing beliefs, prominently displayed.

Who in their right mind would wear an actual MAGA hat on the East Side of Portland? You might get attacked by a woman with face tattoos.

It’s also where people get stabbed, shot, and drive their cars into other people’s houses.

I live on the West Side, where people are more reserved and reasonable. Though there’s a lot of SCIENCE and PRIDE over there too.

Philadelphia Freedom

So I pulled up at the cafe to meet my friend. The sun was out, so people were sitting at outside tables: a lesbian couple, three skinny guys with tattoos, and an odd-looking woman in a dress and lipstick — but also with a tuft of gray hair growing out of the bottom of her chin. I was a bit startled by that.

And then another surprise: When I reached for the cafe’s front door, I saw myself in the glass reflection. I was wearing my bright red Phillies baseball cap.

In case you don’t know, the Phillies are a baseball team from Philadelphia. Their team colors are red and blue. Their hats are red.

I also own a Boston Red Sox hat that is navy blue, a San Diego Padres hat that is brown, and some other hats of other colors. I wear all these hats randomly. I own all these hats because I play softball in the summers and I like to rotate my hats.

The problem with the Phillies hat is that it’s almost the exact same shade of red as a MAGA hat. So if people catch sight of it out of the corner of an eye, they think they have spotted a MAGA person.

For this reason, my Phillies hat has been out of my usual hat rotation. When Biden was president, I wore it occasionally. But with Trump back in office and Portlanders suffering from their various Trump derangement diseases, I do not.

RELATED: The secret to senior softball? It’s all about the magic bat

Irfan Khan/Getty Images

Behind enemy lines

Earlier that day, I had been wearing the red Phillies hat to run errands near my house. On the West Side, nobody cares what color hat you’re wearing.

But on the East Side, they do care. They care a lot. For instance, the woman with the gray beard had looked up at me as I walked by. She was probably checking my hat. And since it didn’t say MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, she went back to her coffee.

And really, who in their right mind would wear an actual MAGA hat on the East Side of Portland? Nobody. Especially going to a hipster coffeehouse. You’d be asking for trouble. You might get attacked by a woman with face tattoos.

Seeing the bright red hat in the door’s reflection, I had to make a decision. Go into the leftist cafe with my Phillies cap? Which might draw stares. Which might provoke comments. Or go back to my car and throw it in the trunk?

I mean, at some point, you gotta say enough is enough. A hat is just a hat. Even if it was a MAGA hat, shouldn’t I be allowed to wear it? Isn’t this America?

Our Lady of the Sacred Hat

I did have a MAGA hat back in the early days. This was when I was volunteering for a Republican candidate for governor in 2018. At some point, someone handed out MAGA hats.

Unfortunately, they were so badly made that they were unwearable. The top part of the crown wasn’t stitched properly, so it pointed upward in a clownish way.

Later, I found a real MAGA hat that was immaculate. It looked fantastic. But I never wear it. I keep it under lock and key. It’s my most prized possession.

To poke or not to poke

Meanwhile, back at the cafe, I had to make a decision. Seeing my hat in the door’s reflection, I could clearly see the big white “P” on the front. The “P” stood for “Philadelphia Phillies.” Any idiot could see that.

But leftists are crazy. And they can be dangerous. Especially in Portland. One is wise not to provoke them.

Also, my old friend was probably left-leaning himself. We hadn’t discussed it, but he lived on the East Side with his wife and kids. So even if he wasn’t a Democrat, he would have to pretend he was.

Did I want to put him through the awkward moment of seeing my bright red hat and asking himself, “Why is he wearing that?”

I did not. Nor did I want to get stared at. Nor did I want to have to explain myself. Nor did I want the barista to spit in my coffee. Or worse.

Live to fight again

So I went back to my car and threw my Phillies hat in the trunk. Fortunately, my old Los Angeles Dodgers hat was crumpled in the back. I uncrumpled it, put it on, and went back to the cafe.

Now there would be no problems. Though I did get a very suspicious look from the gray-bearded lady.

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