Information on the "IKE DIKE" Coastal Barrier

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February 9: News Max: Trump; Trusts Musk, has nothing to gain
President Trump says the Department of Government Efficiency simply is fulfilling a campaign promise to Americans. Trump said he ran on finding ways to reduce spending and streamlining the bureaucracy. "I don't know if it's kickbacks or what's going on," Trump Fox News' Bret Baier. "Look, I ran on this, and the people want me to find it. And I've had a great help with Elon Musk, who has been terrific." Musk and DOGE have come under fire from Democrats after it was reported the advisory group found much alleged partisan and wasteful spending. Trump said in response to a question about whether he trusted Musk, "He's not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He's so into it. But I told him to do that… to go check the Department of Education. He's going to find the same thing. Then I'm going to go, Go to the military. Let's check the military. We're going to find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse. You know, the people elected me on that."

February 9: Fox Business: Surprise Poland is a European "tiger" at Germany's door
Nothing seems to get in the way of Poland going from strength to strength despite being part of the sluggish EU. There are multiple reasons why and many facets, including the country's outstanding defense spending and its conservative Donald Trump-like approach to illicit immigration. Late last month, Poland's economy was estimated to have grown by 2.9% last year, according to the country's StatOffice. That performance trounces Europe's single currency area, also known as the eurozone, by more than threefold; it eked out a mere 0.7% over the same period. Poland's growth also overtook the U.S., which grew a "robust" 2.5% in the 12 months through December. "The last year or two has seen a boom, and it's getting publicity," says Mateusz Urban, a senior economist at Oxford Economics in Warsaw, Poland. "There really is a European tiger right at Germany's door."

February 8: News Max: Allegations of a billion in public fraud each week
Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency team said personnel at the Treasury Department suspect roughly $1 billion a week of entitlement payments are "unequivocal and obvious fraud." Amid lawsuits and vocal protests over his efforts to unmask waste, fraud and abuse, Musk proceeded with President Trump's plan to weed out government inefficiency and wasteful spending. The billionaire tech mogul now claims to have uncovered several "extremely suspicious" activities at the U.S. Treasury.

February 8: The Gateway Pundit: Obama appointed judge orders all data collected by DOGE to be destroyed in wake of disclosures of waste, fraud, and abuse
The left-leaning judiciary continues to try to sabotage the Trump Administration's efforts to drain the swamp. CNN reported Saturday that a federal judge halted Elon Musk's government efficiency team from accessing a critical Treasury Department data. Obama appointed US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer cited a risk of "irreparable harm" but we are not sure whether it is harm to individuals or to federal government programs go amuck. The order temporarily stops access to a payment system that distributes Americans' tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments, and federal employees' salaries. Moreover, Engelmeyer ordered the destruction of any downloaded information from the payment system by anyone given access to it since Trump was inaugurated. Elon Musk exploded after hearing of the judge's decision. "This ruling is absolutely insane!" he wrote. "How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent? That's literally impossible!" Musk contended. "Something super shady is going to protect scammers." But perhaps that is the point; some don't want the misuse of funds made public!

February 8: Breitbart News:
Trump won't step in to deport Prince Harry
Trump has said that he will not personally step in to deport Britain's woke and wayward Prince Harry from the United States, remarking that he has "enough problems with his wife." Questions have long been raised about the Duke of Sussex's immigration status and whether he received special treatment from the previous administration, which fought in court to keep his visa application secret. The Heritage Foundation had alleged that Prince Harry may have lied on his immigration forms after his memoir Spare revealed that he had taken illegal drugs, including cocaine, mushrooms, and marijuana. Although previous drug use doesn't preclude the granted of a visa in the United States, lying on an application could result in separation and a ban from applying for citizenship. In response to a NY Post question, Trump said, "I don't want to do that, I'll leave him alone. He's got enough problems with his wife. She's terrible."

February 7: One America News Network:
Trump Administration pulls Biden's security clearance
On Friday that Joe Biden's security clearance and access to classified information has been revoked. "There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden's Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings," Trump said. "He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (Trump) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided previously to former Presidents. The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from 'poor memory' and, even in his 'prime,' could not be trusted with sensitive information. I will always protect our National Security — so, Joe, you're fired." Trump posted on Truth Social.

February 7: Fox News: Whistleblower USAID; Movement toward DEI resulted in other countries taking the United States less seriously
The now-archived website for the virtually shut down United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has a page devoted to pushing DEI which a former employee whistleblower has said was part of a larger Biden Administration effort. Mark Moyar, a USAID whistleblower who worked in the department from 2018 to 2019, said, "…we saw this [the DEI movement at USAID] with very negative effects all over the place and you have people taking time off from their jobs to attend these indoctrination sessions and clearly pushing the message that people are divided into oppressor groups and victim groups and that there's this white rage and white extremism running all over the place." He went on to say that "far left theories" were given "legitimacy" and when DEI became a "central" focus at USAID it resulted in other countries taking the United States less seriously. "It's particularly disturbing that not only were they pushing within the organization, they were actually funding DEI events all over the world, you know, DEI comic books or DEI workshops and so I think this can only undermine our image abroad because most people outside of this country recognized DEI for the silliness that it is and the divisiveness that it causes," Moyar reported.

February 7: The Gateway Pundit:
Musk/DOGE uncover over $100 Billion in Medicare/Medicaid wasteful spending
In a bombshell revelation that could shake the foundations of American healthcare, Elon Musk, leading the charge under President Trump's newly minted Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has uncovered what he describes as a staggering "$100B of taxpayer money" wasted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Left-leaning USA Today reports, Musk's team, along with two senior veterans from the agency, have been meticulously reviewing the CMS's payment and contracting systems, which are crucial for managing health insurance for approximately one in every four Americans. "CMS has two senior Agency veterans – one focused on policy and one focused on operations – who are leading the collaboration with DOGE, including ensuring appropriate access to CMS systems and technology," the agency said. The DOGE team was granted read-only access to the system

February 7: The Epoch Times: More government works decide to take the buyout offer
The number of workers who have decided to accept the buyout offer from the Trump administration has risen by about 25,000, according to a White House official, with some 65,000 government employees now having signed up for the offer. That was up from more than 20,000 on Feb. 4 and more than 40,000 on Thursday morning. The buyout offer is a deferred resignation that pays workers until Sept. 30.

February 7: The Daily Wire: Trump; Forget paper straws, back to paper straws
President Trump said on Friday that he would sign an executive order next week ending the federal government's "ridiculous" push for paper straws. Last year, the Biden administration announced that it would "phase out" single-use plastic utensils such as cutlery, cups, and straws across federal departments. The move was part of Joe Biden's "ambitious actions … to end plastic pollution," the New York Post reported. In a Truth Social post on Friday morning, Trump said the U.S. government would again use plastic straws. In recent years, some restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops have begun using paper straws instead of plastic in the name of saving the environment. However, a 2023 Belgian study showed that out of plastic, paper, glass, and bamboo straws, paper straws contain the most "forever chemicals."


February 6: Breitbart News: Panamanian President there is no agreement to let U.S. ships transit the canal for free
The president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, on Thursday morning refuted the "false" and "intolerable" claims made by the U.S. Department of State indicating that U.S. government vessels would be allowed to travel through the Panama Canal without paying fees. Panama is not the first country in the world, but neither is it the last," he said. "In my little book, bilateral relations between two friendly countries are not handled that way." Mulino's remarks come after the State Department announced on Wednesday that U.S. government ships would no longer face fees when transiting through the Panama Canal. The Canal's authority refuted the State Department's claims Wednesday evening, stating it has not made any adjustments to its tolls and other fees. "With absolute responsibility, the Panama Canal Authority, as it has indicated, is willing to establish a dialogue with the pertinent officials of the United States with respect to the transit of U.S. warships," they said in a statement.
[Statistical Note: The reality is that the transit of U.S. Navy ships through the waterway is minimal and on average there are 38 per year. From 1998 to the close of fiscal year 2024 (26 years), of the 373,039 vessels that transited the canal, 994 (0.3%) correspond to transits by warships and submarines of the United States Navy. In 2023, the canal collected an average of $341,000 per vessel, compared to $215k in 2018, an increase of 59%. Based on the average price per ship, US Navy vessels should have paid annual tolls of $12.9 million. Truly what has been promised to the US Government at this time from the ACP in Panama is, the canal administration guaranteed expedited passage to ships of the United States Navy, and not for free, at least officially. Mouse over image to see the USS Iowa transiting the canal in 1992. ]

February 6: One American News Network: Clinton appointed judge issues temporary restraining order on DOGE and Musk access to U.S. Treasury payment records
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was temporarily denied access to specific Treasury Department payment information by a federal judge on Thursday — after cries from the Democrat Party erupted this week. Additionally, according to Washington-based WUSA9-TV, the Justice Department reassured the judge on Wednesday that Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, does not have direct access to private data about millions of Americans that is stored in Treasury Department payment systems. Nevertheless, in a temporary restraining order, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly stated that Treasury personnel "will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained within the [Treasury] Bureau of Fiscal Service." Kollar-Kotelly serves as a senior federal judge in the District of Columbia's U.S. District Court and was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1997. Every year, the Treasury Department's systems manage around $6 trillion. Social Security, Medicare, federal employee salaries, grant payments, government contractor payments, and tax refunds are all distributed by it. Roughly 90% of federal payments are processed through that program. The order follows the Justice Department's Wednesday agreement in a proposed court order to grant read-only clearance to two "special government employees" within DOGE to examine the sensitive material. As part of a DOGE-led government-wide review of programs and systems, some government employee unions comprised of critics of Musk had filed a lawsuit over access to the material.

February 6: The Epoch Times: Bondi; First day in office orders halt to funds for sanctuary cities
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Feb. 5 ordered the Department of Justice (DOJ) to pause all funds to so-called sanctuary cities, or jurisdictions that work to protect illegal immigrants from arrest. "The Department of Justice will ensure that, consistent with law, 'sanctuary jurisdictions' do not receive access to Federal funds from the Department," Bondi said to all DOJ employees. "Consistent with applicable statutes, regulations, court orders, and terms, the Department of Justice shall pause the distribution of all funds until a review has been completed, terminate any agreements that are in violation of law or are the source of waste, fraud, or abuse, and initiate clawback or recoupment procedures, where appropriate." It's unclear how long the DOJ review will take.


February 5: News Max: Trump's AG; Lawyers who refuse orders could be fired
New Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a directive on her first day in office, that could allow Justice Department lawyers to be fired if they refuse to advance legal arguments on behalf of the administration. The memo states that "any Justice Department attorney who declines to sign a brief, refuses to advance good-faith arguments on behalf of the Trump administration, or otherwise delays or impedes the Justice Department's mission will be subject to discipline and potentially termination." Trump appointees have moved quickly to assert control over the Justice Department, firing or reassigning dozens of career lawyers, and aligning it with Trump's hardline immigration policies. Bondi also plans to launch an effort to review criminal and civil cases brought against Trump while he was out of office. The inquiry, known as the "Weaponization Working Group," will also examine the prosecution of Trump supporters who played a role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and other Justice Department actions condemned by Republicans during Biden's administration.

February 5: One America News Network: Trump signs bill prohibiting biological men from playing in women's sports
On Wednesday afternoon, Trump fulfilled his campaign promise of keeping biological men out of women's sports. Prior to signing the order, Trump gave a speech to the crowd. "This doesn't have to be long. It's all about common sense," Trump said. "Women's sports will be only for women. The war on women's sports is over." He was joined on the stage by a plethora of female athletes of all ages and by Independent Women ambassadors Riley Gaines, Payton McNabb, Paula Scanlan, Sia Liilii, Lauren Miller, Kim Russell, Kaitlynn Wheeler, Linnea Saltz and Lily Mullens. Additionally, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas) and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) were in attendance.


February 5: The Epoch Times: Congressional Dems try to gain access
to Treasury building, rebuffed by the U.S. Secret Service
Congressional Democrats tried to gain entry to the Treasury Building, saying they wanted to provide oversight after the Department of Government Efficiency's (DOGE) access to the Treasury's federal payments system. Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Warren (D-MA), and other top Democrats spoke at a rally after the make-shift oversight squad attempted to gain access to the building's grounds. The Secret Service rebuffed their attempt.

February 5: The Washington Free Beacon:
NPR brings in massive amounts from private companies plus taxpayer funds
Taxpayer-funded radio stations are barred from 'airing commercials or other promotional announcements on behalf of for-profit entities.' But, on Monday National Public Radio (NPR) ran a "sponsor message" promoting pharma giant Procter & Gamble's nerve-relief drug Nervive, "designed to reduce occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort." The message, which was effectively a commercial, is tied to one of hundreds of deals that are far more important to NPR than government funding. NPR brought in $100 million from corporate sponsors in 2023, compared to only $7 million in federal funding. The thinly disguised commercials such as the "sponsor message" from Procter & Gamble—aimed straight at NPR's rapidly aging audience with aching hands and feet—are now the focus of the new Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, who may have found the powerful news giant's Achilles' heel. Carr has now launched an investigation into whether the news nonprofit's "sponsor messages" have violated federal rules that prohibit taxpayer-funded radio stations from "airing commercials or other promotional announcements on behalf of for-profit entities."

February 4: The Epoch Times:
DC Midair collision; Conflicting altimeter readings found on two aircraft involved
Investigators have found conflicting altimeter readings from the control tower data of the Black Hawk military helicopter and the passenger jet that collided over Washington on Jan. 29. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials told reporters on Feb. 1 that preliminary altimeter data don't match the events on the night of the deadly accident. Officials said the control tower recorded the Black Hawk helicopter flying at an altitude of 200 feet at the time of the collision, in line with its maximum allowed altitude for its flight path. However, data from the passenger jet's flight recorder show the collision occurred at an altitude of about 325 feet, plus or minus 25 feet. "That's what our job is, to figure that out," NTSB member J. Todd Inman said during an evening news conference on Feb. 1. Investigators hope to reconcile the altitude differences with data from the helicopter's black box, which is taking more time to retrieve because it became waterlogged after it plunged into the Potomac River. They also said they plan to refine the tower data, which can be less reliable.

February 4: The Gateway Pundit:
Former Florida AG confirmed to be US Attorney General
The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Pam Bondi as the next US Attorney General. The Senate voted 52-46 to invoke cloture on Monday evening which allowed for up to 30 hours of debate. The Democrats gave back the remainder of their time allowing the Senate to vote on the confirmation Tuesday evening. Pam Bondi vowed to keep politics out of the DOJ if confirmed. "Politics has to be taken out of this system," she told Senators. "This department has been weaponized for years and years and years, and it has to stop." Democrats tried to stall at the last minute but it didn't work.

February 4: Fox News: Trump; If you assassinate me, you will be obliterated, they're won't be anything left
President Trump said on Tuesday if Iran carries out his assassination, advisers will ensure that country is "obliterated." While signing an executive order imposing maximum pressure on Tehran, the president said he left instructions if something were to happen to him. "That would be a terrible thing for them to do," Trump said. "If they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. … There won't be anything left." He said Joe Biden "should have said that," but did not, due to a "lack of intelligence." The Justice Department confirmed in November it thwarted an Iranian plot to kill Trump in the weeks leading up to the presidential election. A criminal complaint filed in September noted an official in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps asked Farhad Shakeri, 51, of Iran, to "focus on surveilling, and, ultimately, assassinating" Trump. Shakeri had immigrated to the United States as a child and was deported about 17 years ago after serving 14 years in prison for a robbery conviction, according to the DOJ.


February 3: The Daily Caller:
Gabbard gets endorsement of Susan Collins (R-ME) virtually assuring confirmation
Sen. Susan Collins from Maine announced Monday she will support President Trump's Director of National Intelligence (DNI) nominee, Tulsi Gabbard. "After extensive consideration of her nomination, I will support Tulsi Gabbard to be the Director of National Intelligence," she said. Collins sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee which will consider the Gabbard nomination. "As one of the principal authors of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 that established this coordinating position, I understand the critical role the DNI plays in the Intelligence community." Assuming all Democrats on the committee vote against her nomination, Gabbard will need every Republican vote. As of publication, Indiana Sen. Todd Young is the only Republican on the committee who has not committed to voting for her.

February 3: Fox News:
Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Canada in exchange for more border enforcement
President Trump will pause additional tariffs on Canadian imports for 30 days after a call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who made some concessions to temporarily stave off the levies. Trump and Trudeau spoke via phone on Monday, hours before additional 25% tariffs were to take effect on Canadian goods coming into the United States. In a post on X, Trudeau said Canada will implement a $1.3 billion border plan and appoint a fentanyl czar. Additionally, Canada will reinforce its border with new helicopters, technology, personnel and enhanced coordination with American authorities. He added that nearly 10,000 personnel are and will be working on border protection.

February 3: News Max:
USAID Staffers told to stay out of DC HQ After Musk Said Trump Agreed to Close It
Staffers of the U.S. Agency for International Development were instructed to stay out of the agency's Washington headquarters on Monday after billionaire Elon Musk announced President Donald Trump had agreed with him to shut down the agency. USAID staffers said they tracked 600 employees who reported being locked out of the agency's computer systems overnight. Those still in the system received emails in the agency system saying that "at the direction of Agency leadership" the headquarters building "will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, Feb. 3."

February 3: The Epoch Times:
Panamanian President; Panama will not renew its MOU with the Chinese regime
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino said on Feb. 2 that his country will not renew its memorandum of understanding with the Chinese regime to be a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Speaking to reporters, Mulino said the agreement is due for renewal in two years and his government is looking into the possibility of terminating it earlier, according to local media reports. "We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be finished earlier or not," he said. "I think it is due for renewal in one or two years." The announcement was made following Mulino's meeting earlier in the day with US Secretary of State Rubio.

February 2: The Epoch Times: Secretary of State Rubio arrives in Panama
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio kicked off his trip to Latin America, arriving in Panama on Feb. 1, with a focus on the Panama Canal and China's intrusion into the two ports that bracket the canal zone. "Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic from February 1–6 to advance President Trump's America First foreign policy," the U.S. Department of State said. Rubio is expected to discuss the United States' interest in the critical waterway connecting the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The president has suggested retaking control over the canal, citing the threat of Chinese hegemony in the region.

February 2: News Max:
Sean Duffy: FAA Systems 'Antiquated,' More Controllers Needed
The United States has the "safest skies in the world," but the Federal Aviation Administration's systems are "antiquated" and need updates, and the nation is suffering a shortage of air traffic controllers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Sunday. Still, Duffy said the skies above the United States are among the safest in the world, even with changes needed. The Notice to Air Mission, or NOTAM, which is the FAA's pilot warning system, suffered an outage Saturday night, less than a week after the deadly plane crash in Washington, D.C., that claimed 67 lives. "The backup system is not up and running as we try to get the primary system online," said Duffy. "It's an old, antiquated system. It has to be upgraded. That is in the works, and it's been in the works for years ... this is the second time in two years it's gone down."

February 2: The Gateway Pundit:
Sweden reviewing agreement with Cuba, may cut funding
The Swedish Government's has taken the decision to review the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement (PDCA) with the Cuban regime and may cut funding to Havana. The PDCA between the European Union (EU) and Cuba was signed in 2016 and aimed to normalize and strengthen diplomatic and economic relations between the two parties. Its main objectives were to promote dialogue on political issues, human rights, and economic development while enhancing cooperation in areas like trade, investment, sustainable development, and governance. However, Sweden insists that it is not a good idea to have European funds diverted to support a regime that tramples on human rights.

February 2: The Washington Times:
Bondi's nomination to become AG clears
committee; on way to the Senate floor
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Pam Bondi's nomination to be attorney general in a 12-10 vote Wednesday. Despite stiff opposition from Democrats, Bondi is on a glide path to confirmation by the Senate. Her confirmation could go to a vote as early as next week. Democrats' chief beef with the former Florida attorney general is her loyalty to Trump. They fear Bondi will use the Justice Department to punish Trump's political enemies and turn a blind eye to illegal moves by the president. At her confirmation hearing, Bondi said that just the opposite was true. "The partisanship, the weaponization will be gone," she said. "America will have one tier of justice for all." For years conservatives have accused the Justice Department and FBI of politicized investigations against Trump and his allies. Trump has vowed to root out the partisan leadership at the DOJ and tapped Bondi to lead the charge.

February 1: One America News Network:
Paramount/CBS News agree to turn over transcripts of the
Harris 60 Minutes interview to the FCC
CBS has announced that it will turn over an unedited transcript of its October interview with Kamala Harris to the Federal Communications Commission, which was part of President Trump's ongoing feud with the network over how it handled a story of his defeated opponent. This comes after Trump sued CBS for $10 billion over the "60 Minutes" interview, saying it was deceptively edited to help make Harris look good. Meanwhile, multiple reports have indicated that CBS' parent company, Paramount, has been discussing with Trump's lawyers about a possible settlement. CBS said on Friday that it was called by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to turn over the transcripts and camera feeds of the interview for a parallel investigation by the commission. The show has since resisted releasing transcripts for the interview and all of its interviews, to help avoid being second-guessed on its editing process. The case has been closely watched by advocates for press freedom by journalists within CBS.

February 1: News Max:
Trump initiates tariffs on Communist China, Mexico and Canada
On Saturday President Trump signed an executive order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and Communist China — fulfilling one of his post-campaign commitments to voters that also some contend carries the risk of sparking higher inflation and disrupting businesses across North America. Trump declared an economic emergency in order to place duties of 10% on all imports from Communist China and 25% on imports from Mexico and Canada — the United States' largest trading partners — except for a 10% rate on Canadian energy, including oil, natural gas, and electricity. The tariffs would go into effect on Tuesday, setting a possible showdown in North America that might potentially sabotage economic growth. The White House said Trump's order also includes a mechanism to escalate the rates if the countries retaliate against the U.S., as they have threatened. Both Canada and Mexico have plans, if needed, to impose their own tariffs in response. The Trump administration put the tariffs in place to force the three countries to stop the spread and manufacturing of fentanyl, in addition to pressuring Canada and Mexico to limit any illegal immigration into the United States.

February 1: The Daily Mail:
SECDEF Hegseth shows liberal legacy media outlets the door
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has kicked out liberal legacy media outlets from the Pentagon press offices to make room for other news organizations during his first week in office. The New York Times, NBC News, NPR and Politico have been giving their marching orders to evacuate their office spaces inside the Pentagon by Valentine's Day, a memo read. In their place will be three other outlets - the New York Post, One America News Network (OAN) and Breitbart News Network - and the progressive outlet, HuffPost, which will move in for one year. Hegseth's office implemented the rotating schedule for outlets to use the office space, which each rotation lasting one year. The move was announced on Friday.

January 31: The NY Post: 2015 lawsuit over FAA hiring practices
suggests the DC midair collision was likely to happen
The Federal Aviation Administration is fighting a class-action lawsuit alleging it denied 1,000 would-be air traffic controllers jobs because of diversity hiring targets — as it was revealed that staffing levels were not "normal" during this week's deadly midair collision in the nations capital. The collision of an American Airline passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter claimed he lives of 67 passengers and crew in the country's deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter-century. Andrew Brigida, the lead plaintiff in the suit filed in 2015, suggested the federal aviation agency's obsession with diversity hiring and inclusion had only ensured that an accident was likely to happen. The FAA has faced scrutiny over its hiring policies after it was revealed that staffing levels were "not normal" at the time of this week's deadly midair collision in Washington, DC. The crux of the lawsuit is that the FAA, under the Obama administration, dropped a skill-based system for hiring controllers and replaced it with a "biographical assessment" in an alleged bid to boost the number of minority job applicants. Brigida, who is white, alleges he was discriminated against solely based on his race when his application was rejected, court papers state.

January 31: The Gateway Pundit:
Army; withholding ID of female pilot of helo involved with the DC midair collision
The Army announced Friday that at the request of the female pilot's family, it is withholding the name of one of three Black Hawk helicopter crew members killed in the mid-air collision with a passenger plane over the Potomac River while the plane was on final approach Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. The Army said the name "will not be released at this time", leaving open the possibility of later public identification. All 60 passengers and 4 crew members on the American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas were also killed in the crash. As of Friday afternoon, 41 sets of remains had been recovered with 28 of those identified. A spokesman for the Army's Unified Command Post for the crash told reporters Thursday the unnamed pilot was a female with 500 flying hours under her belt.

January 31: NBC News:
Assistant Director of FBI Washington Field Office to resign or be fired
David Sundberg, the assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, was notified Thursday that he was going to lose his job and is preparing to leave the bureau, according to two senior law enforcement sources. This is the latest step in a cleansing of officials in headquarters and the field of individuals involved in the agency's use for politically motivated "lawfare." Sundberg is the highest-ranking field agent so far to be fired from the FBI in Trump's second term. Special agents from the Washington Field Office were heavily involved in former Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigations of President Donald Trump, as well as the sprawling investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, demonstrations at the U.S. Capitol that resulted in criminal charges against hundreds. News of Sundberg's firing comes as many as eight senior FBI executives have been told to either resign or be fired. Sundberg was in charge of nearly 1,600 employees at the Washington Field Office, leading FBI operations across Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia, including high-profile cases involving terrorism and public corruption, like the Trump investigations.

January 31: The Epoch Times: Trump warns BRICS economic bloc; if you attempt to replace the US you will face 100% tariffs in trying to access U.S. markets
President Donald Trump on Thursday repeated a warning that he will impose 100 percent tariffs on members of the BRICS economic bloc (which includes Russia and Communist China) if they attempt to replace the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency. "The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER," Trump said. "We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and (they) should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy." The original BRICS nations include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, but the bloc has expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Indonesia became a member earlier this month.

January 30: News Max:
Court rules restricting gun sales to those
over 21 years old is unconstitutional
A decades-old U.S. government ban on federally licensed firearms dealers selling handguns to adults under the age of 21 is unconstitutional, a U.S. appeals court held on Thursday, citing recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings expanding gun rights. The ruling by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marked the first time a federal appeals court has held that the prohibition violated the right to keep and bear arms enshrined in the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. The appeals court had previously upheld that same ban in 2012. But that was before a 6-3 majority decision by the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling in 2022 that established a new test for assessing modern firearms laws.

January 30: Fox News: Thorny exchange between Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN)
and Kash Patel, the Trump nominee for FBI Director
Many on social media praised Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's nominee for FBI director, after a thorny exchange with Sen. Amy Klobuchar during his confirmation hearing on Thursday. Referring to his statements about the January 6th hearings, Patel told the senator that "snippets" (sound bites) don't tell the true story and can be used as a "mischaracterization" of what he said. "I encourage you to read the rest of the interviews," he added. "This is why snippets of information are often misleading and detrimental to this committee's advice and consent."

January 30: The Washington Times: FAA's diversity hiring practices
were under scrutiny long before the air disaster in Washington
Years before Wednesday's fatal collision in Washington, DC, between a military helicopter and a passenger jet approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, critics warned that the Obama and Biden administrations had jeopardized safety by prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion at the Federal Aviation Administration. Donald Trump faced criticism Thursday after suggesting that the FAA's DEI-focused hiring practices "could have" (that is might have) contributed to the crash. Some had warned that the FAA's focus on DEI diverted time and resources from air travel safety. It hobbled the agency as it grappled with air traffic controller shortages, antiquated monitoring equipment and an increase in near misses on crowded airport runways, they say. An unidentified source told The Associated Press on Thursday that the air traffic controller in charge of monitoring the airspace at the time of the fatal collision was performing the work of two people – the tower had only one controller on duty when normal staffing called for having two. Last year air safety concerns prompted eleven state attorneys general to write to FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker to question the administration's hiring practices and priorities. Diversity goals at the FAA ramped up during the Obama administration, were largely dropped under Mr. Trump's first term and resumed under President Biden.

January 30: The Daily Signal: Trump promises a thorough investigation
into DC midair collision with findings made public
At a press conference Donald Trump discussed the midair collision just outside of Washington, D.C. near National Airport, involved a regional jet operating as an American Airlines flight from Wichita, Kansas, and an Army UH-60 helicopter on a training flight that originated at Davison Army Airfield in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Trump called the event a "real tragedy" after holding a moment of silence for the victims of the crash. He promised a thorough investigation in the Federal Aviation Administration and within the military will take place and the public will know about the findings of that investigation. The president noted that during his first administration he increased the standards for FAA officials. Those standards were later lowered by the Biden Administration in order to increase the inclusion of applicants based upon race and gender. When Trump resumed the Presidency on January 20th of this year the standards were raised back up again.

January 30: The Washington Free Beacon:
CA Dems abruptly stop vote on Newsom plan to "Trump-Proof" the
state, thereby avoiding public debate over funding the project
California Democratic lawmakers suddenly canceled Thursday's vote on their high-profile $50 million plan to fight President Donald Trump with no clear timeline for moving forward. The delay came as Republicans threatened to force a public debate on an amendment that would prohibit funds from being used to protect illegal immigrants with felony convictions from being deported. The state assembly on Thursday morning was set to approve $50 million in taxpayer funds for Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) to split evenly between the California Department of Justice and various nonprofits. The $25 million earmarked for the Department of Justice would bankroll lawsuits against Trump's policies, while the other $25 million would bankroll nonprofit legal services, including deportation defenses for illegal immigrants. Ahead of the scheduled floor debate, Republican assembly members planned to force their Democratic colleagues to vote on four proposed amendments. Assemblywoman Leticia Castillo planned to introduce an amendment that would have barred any legal aid money from funding the deportation defenses for illegal aliens with felony convictions. During an earlier committee hearing on the $50 million plan, assemblyman Bill Essayli (R) repeatedly pressed the Newsom administration officials and legislative staffers for guarantees that no taxpayer money would protect convicted felons. They couldn't give him those assurances.

January 29: The Daily Caller:
RFK, Jr.; Most Americans would prefer private healthcare over Obamacare or Medicaid
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired back at Democrats who were "chuckling" at his claim that most Americans prefer to be enrolled in private insurance during his Wednesday Senate confirmation hearing. Kennedy said that the nation needs to "improve" healthcare" for all Americans, particularly veterans, lower income and elderly individuals, and argued that the billions of dollars sent to Medicaid on a yearly basis has not succeeded in making citizens healthier. He argued that a majority of Americans do not approve of government-run health insurance such as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) or Medicaid.

January 29: One America News Network:
Trump demands federal workers show up to work or be fired
President Trump provided a simple ultimatum for approximately two million federal workers who insist on working remotely, or those who argue that they will defy the order – either show up to work in person "or be terminated." "We're requiring them to show up to work or be terminated," Trump said Wednesday. "We think a very substantial number of people will not show up to work, and therefore, our government will get smaller and more efficient," Trump contended. "And that's what we've been looking to do." Trump's comments follow a mass email sent out by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to federal workers. It offered to buy them out their government contracts if they do not wish to return to the office.

January 29: Fox News: SECDEF Hegseth; Gitmo is the perfect place to hold migrants safely until they can be returned to their home country
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States will "humanely move" criminal migrants out of the country and work with other agencies to secure the southern border in his first interview since he was confirmed last week by the U.S. Senate. Hegseth addressed President Trump's memorandum to the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Defense (DOD), calling on them to prepare a 30,000-person migrant facility at Gimo, a U.S. Naval base in Cuba. He said that Guantanamo Bay is a "perfect place" to hold criminal migrants "safely in the interim" as the process
to repatriate them to their homelands plays out.

Meanwhile News Max reported that President Trump, when signing his first bill during his second term – The Laken Riley Act -- said the U.S. will use a detention center at Guantanamo (GITMO) Bay, Cuba, to hold tens of thousands of people who can't be sent back to their home countries. He suggested that if the immigrants' country of origin wouldn't take them back, they's be sent to GITMO. Subsequently Trump signed a presidential memorandum and said he'd direct federal officials to get facilities ready to receive criminal immigrants in the US illegally. Border czar Tom Homan said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would run the facility. Still, details of the plan weren't immediately clear.

January 28: The Galveston County Daily News: The U.S. has a major shipbuilding problem; additional shipyards are needed
If you only count containerized shipping, the Houston/Galveston port is the sixth most active in the nation. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, if you look at ALL exports – including petrochemical exports – our port leads the nation in total exports. The ports of Houston/Galveston are one of the few that export more than we import, the leader of 43 U.S. ports that handle exports. But there's a problem! The U.S. has only 80 vessels in its merchant marine – down from 2,500 after World War II -- and by 2027 that number will be reduced to 55. Compare that to the 5,500 merchant vessels in Communist China's service. Additionally, we need mariners to run them. The U.S. has only 2% of the shipbuilding capability of the entire world; much of this is constructing vessels for the U.S. Navy. Most commercial shipbuilding now takes place in China, Japan, and South Korea. For national security reasons the U.S. drastically needs to increase its number of shipyards and its shipbuilding capabilities. The Houston-Galveston area would be a prime location for having a new shipyard but there are some major hurdles.

January 28: The Daily Mail:
Trump offers buyouts to up to two million government workers
Up to two million federal workers will be offered buyouts if they don't want to return to the office as part of Donald Trump's government purge, confirmed on Tuesday. The Trump administration started sending emails to thousands of federal workers Tuesday evening offering them a chance to voluntarily vacate their government posts while remaining on the payroll for months. The emails were linked to an executive order demanding federal employees return to their physical offices. A spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management said the employees who accept the terms were being offered the chance to go on administrative leave through Sept. 30 at full pay.

January 28: One America News Network:
Oklahoma Board of Education approves asking immigration status of students
The Oklahoma Board of Education approved a proposal on Tuesday that requires all parents to declare their child's immigration status or citizenship when enrolling them in schools in the state. After a 6-0 vote, the proposal now heads to the state legislature — where lawmakers and the governor will have to approve it before it can officially take effect. According to Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, the proposal will be used to acquire more data about illegal immigrant children's status. However, a CNN article posted on a January 28th reported that parents will have to declare their own immigration status or citizenship as well. Parents or legal guardians will have to provide a "U.S. birth certificate, U.S. passport, consular report of birth abroad, permanent resident card or other legal document," according to AP News.

January 27: The Gateway Pundit:
Trump to reinstate 8,000 members of the
Armed Forces who were kicked out for not
taking "the jab;" they will get back pay too
Promised made, promises kept. President Trump will sign an executive order to reinstate thousands of troops kicked out of the military by Joe Biden for refusing the Covid vaccine. Trump vowed to reinstate the troops "unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the Covid vaccine mandate" during his inauguration speech last week. Approximately 8,000 troops were discharged because of Biden's Covid vaccine mandate. Some troops sued over the mandate and faced backlash. The troops will be reinstated with full back pay and benefits.


January 27: News Max: DOJ sacks Jack Smith's prosecutor team; cannot be trusted
More than a dozen officials who worked on Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutions of President Trump reportedly have been given pink slips because Acting Attorney General James McHenry said they could not be trusted to "faithfully" implement the president's agenda. McHenry, who is running the DOJ until the Senate confirms Pam Bondi as attorney general, sent a letter to each employee notifying them of their termination. "Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump," an official told Fox News. "In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the President's agenda." This action "is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government," the official said.

January 27: Breitbart News:
Federal Agents come under fire from Mexican cartels
Several Border Patrol agents conducting surveillance and enforcement activities in Texas came under fire from suspected Mexican drug cartel operatives early Monday afternoon. Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol agents exchanged gunfire with the cartel members and sought cover as reinforcements were summoned. The agents did not sustain injuries during the initial exchange of gunfire. As of this posting, Texas DPS Lt. Chris Olivarez has said the four alleged gunmen are still pinned down on an island in the Rio Grande. The men are being monitored by DPS drones while they have reportedly pointed rifles at the drones.

January 26: Fox News:
Trump's purge of Biden's DEI programs saves taxpayers $420 million in contracts
Donald Trump's executive order terminating all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs has already sidelined 395 government bureaucrats, a senior administration official have said. Trump's newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said Friday that approximately $420 million in current/impending contracts, mainly focused on DEI initiatives, had also been canceled. After he signed the order on the day of his inauguration, the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM) notified heads of agencies and departments that they must begin taking steps to close all DEI offices by the end of the day Wednesday, and place government workers in those offices on paid leave. It is not yet clear when or if they will be terminated.

January 25: The Post Newspaper: The U.S. must deal with its looming debt issue
Over the past century, elected officials have saddled Americans with an unconscionable level of debt, $35 trillion at the latest count. With the debt's interest spinning out of control, its reduction must be a major focus. Fixing this problem may require taking on "selected" additional debt in the short term while spending it wisely and reducing the overall debt in the long run. No more can we treat things as business as usual. Should we eliminate the debt ceiling for a period of time? Perhaps, if there are serious cuts to spending included with it. In the meantime, we need to address, and stop, the Congress' insatiable hunger for spending

January 25: The Daily Mail:
Trump in Vegas announces he may fire Biden's 88,000 IRS agents
Trump has revealed what could be the fate of nearly 90,000 newly hired Internal Revenue Service (IRS) staff, suggesting he might 'move them to the border'. Hours after he was handed over the presidency, the Republican leader signed an executive order to stop the hiring of all federal civilian employees until 'his Administration can determine that it is in the national interest to do so'. Apart from the IRS, the decision is temporary for all other federal offices. He also froze funding for the "Inflation Reduction" Act commonly known as the bipartisan infrastructure law. His order has thrown the future of about 87,000 new IRS agents who had been hired for the 2022 Act into jeopardy. While speaking to about 2,000 people at a resort in Los Vegas Trump said he may move them to the border. He said, "… we're in the process of developing a plan to either terminate all of them or maybe we move them to the border." He noted that Special Agents are allowed to carry weapons, suggesting they could be used at the border.

January 25: The Epoch Times:
Rubio: Chinese; Trump Administration will prioritize U.S. interests
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told his Chinese counterpart that the Trump administration will prioritize American interests in its relationship with communist China. He conveyed this message during a phone call on Jan. 24 with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, marking his first publicly known formal exchange with Wang as the top U.S. diplomat. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the secretary "stressed the United States' commitment to our allies in the region and serious concern over China's coercive actions against Taiwan and in the South China Sea." Wang reiterated the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP's) sovereignty claims over Taiwan, a self-ruled island that the regime has not ruled out using force to bring under its control.

January 25: Fox News: Justice Thomas swears in DHS Secretary Noem in his home
South Dakota Gov. [Now former Governor] Kristi Noem was sworn in as Department of Homeland Security secretary by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at his home Saturday, following a scheduling hiccup earlier in the day. The ceremony, which was originally slated to take place in the Indian Treaty Room inside the Navy Department Wing of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., but was postponed. "It is such an honor to be sworn in as the United States Secretary of Homeland Security," she wrote. "It was made even more meaningful by being sworn in by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at his home."

January 25: News Max:
Trump fires Inspector Generals in more than a dozen federal agencies
President Trump's administration reportedly fired the independent inspectors general of more than a dozen major government agencies late on Friday. The agencies included the departments of defense, state, transportation, veterans affairs, housing and urban development, interior, and energy. The New York Times said the purge affected 17 agencies but spared the Department of Justice inspector general, Michael Horowitz. An inspector general is an independent position that conducts audits, investigations and looks into allegations of waste, fraud and abuse. They can be removed by the president or the agency head, depending on who nominated or appointed them. Most of those dismissed were appointees from Trump's first term.


January 24: The Daily Signal: Vance breaks tie vote; Pete Hegseth nomination confirmed
President Trump's defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth was confirmed in a 51-50 vote with Vice President J.D. Vance braking a tie 50-50 vote in the Senate Friday, ending one of the most contentious confirmation battles of Trump's early administration. Hegseth, an Army veteran and former Fox News anchor, is the epitome of Donald Trump's campaign to dethrone the establishment elites from their seats of power, as he does not come from a high-ranking position in the armed forces. Hegseth faced unproven allegations related to his relationships with alcohol and women.


January 24: The Epoch Times:
Trump vows to fix FEMA or get rid of it
Donald Trump said he would be signing an executive order to start the process of fundamentally overhauling or "getting rid of" the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while touring areas in western North Carolina on Jan. 24 that were devastated by Hurricane Helene last year. He criticized the Biden administration's response to Hurricane Helene, a catastrophic Category 4 tropical cyclone that tore through the southeast in late September 2024, leaving tens of billions of dollars in destruction and killing more than 200 hundred people across several states. He called for immediate disaster relief for North Carolina without conditions for aid. He also suggested that FEMA may no longer be up to the task of providing funds to rebuild areas facing devastation. "I'll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA," Trump said. The president said he would might provide direct aid from the federal government to North Carolina so it could "come back bigger, better, stronger than ever before." He said the timeline for federal aid would be immediate so infrastructure rebuilding can commence.

January 24: Fox News:
Governor Maura Healey (D-MA) will support arresting criminal illegals
The Democratic governor of Massachusetts, Maura Healey, signaled her support for arresting criminal illegal immigrants, saying she supports "the apprehension of criminals in our communities." According to local news outlet WCVB, she told reporters Thursday that she supports arresting criminals, regardless of whether they are undocumented or not. Meanwhile Fox News witnessed ICE in Boston making eight arrests this week -- including multiple MS-13 members, Interpol Red Notices, murder and rape suspects, and a volatile Haitian gang member with 18 convictions in recent years who shouted that he "ain't going back to Haiti." The arrests come as the Trump administration moves rapidly to fulfill its promise to launch a historic mass deportation operation, which it has said will focus primarily – but not exclusively – on public safety threats.

January 23: Fox News:
Trump to make public all information about the JFK, RFK, and MLK assassinations
On Thursday President Trump signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. Trump had promised to release the previously classified documents during his 2024 campaign after decades of speculation and conspiracy theories about the killings. "Everything will be revealed," Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office of the White House.

January 23: Breitbart News: White House pulls Former CIA chief John Brennan's security clearance – No longer needed
Former CIA chief John Brennan was not happy about President Trump's decision to cancel his security clearance, claiming the only reason he maintained a clearance was to provide advice to the president. But apparently Trump isn't interested in Brennan's advice since he signed a letter falsely claiming Hunter Biden's laptop was Russian disinformation. Brennan served as Barack Obama's director of the CIA and played a role in the Russia hoax, along with reportedly dismissing intelligence that Russia wanted Hillary Clinton to win the U.S. presidential election in 2016. Recently, Brennan criticized Trump for preventing him from giving the president advice on national security.

January 23: News Max: Trump to pull U.S. out of the World Health Administration
The United States will leave the World Health Organization on Jan. 22, 2026, the United Nations said Thursday, after being formally notified of the decision by President Donald Trump, who has accused the agency of mishandling the pandemic and other international health crises. Trump announced the move on Monday, hours after he was sworn in for a second four-year term. The WHO said on Tuesday that it regretted the move from its top donor country. Trump must give a one-year notice of U.S. withdrawal from the Geneva-based body and pay Washington's dues under a 1948 joint resolution of the U.S. Congress.

January 23: Fox News:
Border encounters drop sharply as Trump launches crackdown on illegal immigration
Multiple Department of Homeland Security sources say the U.S. southern border has seen a sharp drop in illegal immigrant encounters in the first days of the Trump administration, compared to the final few days of the Biden administration,. The number of Border Patrol encounters at the southern border in the first three days of the Trump administration is reportedly 35% lower than the final three days of the Biden administration. The numbers do not include encounters at the northern border, or encounters at ports of entry by Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Field Operations.

January 22: The Epoch Times: Trump sends additional 1,500 troops to the border
President Trump ordered a new deployment of around 1,500 troops to the U.S. southern border on Jan. 22, as part of his ongoing effort to halt illegal border crossing and smuggling efforts. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday, "This is something President Trump campaigned on. The American people have been waiting for such a time as this for our Department of Defense to actually take homeland security seriously." Currently about 2,500 troops are on the southern border. On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump repeatedly indicated he would pursue more expansive border security efforts, including increased troop deployments.

January 22: The Gateway Pundit: Hegseth nomination sent to the full senate for a vote
On Monday, the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to advance Pete Hegseth's nomination to a full senate floor vote. Meanwhile, Danielle Hegseth, the nominee's former sister-in-law, lifelong Democrat, and who is represented by a powerful Democrat-linked law firm, submitted a last minute affidavit claiming Pete Hegseth had abused and mistreated his second wife. According to NBC News, Hegseth's former wife responded to the allegations via email, saying, "First and foremost, I have not and will not comment on my marriage to Pete Hegseth. I do not have representatives speaking on my behalf, nor have I ever asked anyone to share or speak about the details of my marriage on my behalf, whether it be a reporter, a committee member, a transition team member, etc." She further added, "I do not believe your information to be accurate, and I have cc'd my lawyer."

January 22: The Washington Examiner:
Hegseth's attorney discredits former sister-in-law's allegations
An attorney for SECDEF nominee Pete Hegseth sent a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) Wednesday, discrediting new allegations by Hegseth's former sister-in-law. The letter calls the allegations "deeply flawed and questionable" and urged the Senate to rely on court records when evaluating the new allegations. "There is no basis to credit this deeply flawed and questionable affidavit, which was submitted at the 11th hour in a clear and admitted partisan attempt to derail Mr. Hegseth's confirmation," attorney Timothy Parlatore wrote. "I would respectfully submit that you can rely upon the Minnesota Court records and the FBI's findings to reject this perjurious affidavit and move forward to confirm Mr. Hegseth as Secretary of Defense." Meanwhile Hegseth's former wife said she believes the information in the allegations are not accurate.

January 22: The Epoch Times:
Fetterman (D-PA) votes to move SECDEF nominee Pete Hegseth to Senate Floor
Sen. John Fetterman voted on Jan. 21 with Republicans to advance the nomination of Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump's choice for defense secretary (SECDEF), but said that he will not switch to the Republican Party. Fetterman was the only member of the Democratic Party to join Republicans in moving the nomination forward. Every other Democrat who voted, as well as the two independents in the Senate, voted against advancing the nomination. Fetterman's vote marks the latest instance in which Fetterman has taken a position that differs from many members of his party.

January 22: The Gateway Pundit: Three Republican Senators may vote again
st the Hegseth nomination The three usual RINO suspects will likely oppose Pete Hegseth's Secretary of Defense confirmation after an 11th hour affidavit with reportedly false allegations of spousal abuse against Hegseth was released. Republican Senators Mitch McConnell (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK) and Susan Collins (ME) may oppose Pete Hegseth nomination for SECDEF, forcing Vice President JD Vance to break the tie.

January 21: Fox News: Coast Guard deploys resources to detect and deter illegal immigration
The U.S. Coast Guard said Tuesday they are deploying personnel and equipment to various maritime borders in the United States, a day after President Trump dismissed the military branch's former leader. Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said coast guardsmen would work to detect and deter illegal migration in support of Trump's executive orders issued this week. "The U.S. Coast Guard is the world's premiere maritime law enforcement agency, vital to protecting America's maritime borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty," Lunday said. "Per the President's Executive Orders, I have directed my operational commanders to immediately surge assets—cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces—to increase Coast Guard presence and focus…"

January 21: USA Today: Trump announces $500 Billion Stargate AI project
Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to build artificial intelligence infrastructure, aiming to outpace rival nations in the business-critical technology. No federal taxpayer dollars are involved and the first facility is expected to be located in Texas. Trump said the joint venture, called Stargate, will build data centers and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle, along with other equity backers of Stargate, have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment, with the remaining investment expected over the next four years.

January 21: Fox News:
Biden issued more pardons 15 minutes before leaving office, who didn't he pardon?
Joe Biden doled out a flurry of pardons during his final days in office, but he did not issue a pardon for Jack Smith or other figures connected to cases involving President Trump, who has frequently castigated those he feels have unjustly targeted him. He also did not pardon Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, New York Judge Juan Merchan and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. This may have been a blessing in disguise because it means these people can plead the fifth amendment before Congressional hearings. Those who have received pardons cannot, because accepting a pardon means they are admitting to guilt.

January 20: News Max: President Trump outlines top priorities for Congress
President Trump sent a two-page memo to congressional Republican lawmakers Monday morning, outlining his legislative priorities for his administration. The document summarizes many of the executive actions the 47th president plans to take in four categories: "Make America Safe Again" (including securing our borders), "Make America Affordable and Energy Dominant Again" (including empowering consumer choices in vehicles, showerheads, toilets, washing machines, lightbulbs and dishwashers), "Drain the Swamp" (including ending the weaponization of government against political rivals and the unconstitutional censorship by the federal government)" and "Bring Back American Values" (including establishing that there are only two genders, male and female, and protecting women from "radical gender ideology").

January 20: The Washington Free Beacon:
Biden issues preemptive pardons to his family members as he goes out the door
After four years of lawfare against President Trump and in the waning hours of his presidency, Joe Biden has issued preemptive pardons to his family members and political allies to protect them from the turnabout to which they were now exposed having failed to jail Trump or stop his return to the White House. The problem he may not have counted on is if they accept the pardons, and if any of them are subpoenaed by Congress to testify about their alleged activities, they can no longer plead 5th Amendment protections. The SCOTUS has made that clear that the acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt, Consequently, they would be required to answer Congressional questions. If they failed to answer questions honestly, lying to Congress would not be protected under the current pardons. So, either they would need to answer honestly, potentially exposing their activities to the public, or face jail time for lying to Congress under oath. Additionally, in an accompanying statement Biden said he was taking this action because even if individuals are innocent, protecting themselves could bankrupt them – something the Democrats tried to do to President Trump.

January 20: The Gateway Pundit:
SCOTUS: Acceptance of a pardon is an admission of guilt
A Presidential Pardon does not take effect unless the suspect accepts it. According to a little known 1915 ruling from the Supreme Court, once accepted a pardon serves as an "imputation of guilt," or what's more commonly known as an admission thereof. Because accepting the pardon is "essential to its validity," some are calling upon the Biden family, Dr. Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, the members of the J6 Committee and everyone else Biden unsurprisingly pardoned on his way out the door declare their acceptance of the pardon publicly. Because, according to the Supreme Court, it would also serve as a declaration of guilt.

January 19: The Washington Times: "Cautiously optimistic" the Hamas-Israel ceasefire will hold
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday there will be "hell to pay" if the Palestinian militant group Hamas violates any of the terms of its cease-fire deal with Israel. "You cannot allow Hamas, which of course, is a proxy of Iran, to be situated as they were, to have another October 7. We just can't — the Israelis can't live under those conditions," Johnson (R-LA) said, referring to the October 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel. "And everyone around the world needs to know, as President Trump has made clear, that we stand with Israel and there will be hell to pay if they violate these terms." He didn't specify what "hell to pay" would mean but promised they would find out if they played it fast and loose. The Speaker made it clear he and Trump are "hopeful" that the cease-fire deal will hold. He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "cautiously optimistic" it will, noting they are a terrorist organization that isn't known for keeping their word. The first three Israeli hostages were released Sunday, all women: Romi Gonen, 24; Emily Damari, 28; and Doron Steinbrecher, 31.

January 19: iHeartMedia/KTRH: Tik Tok's going dark doesn't last even 24 hours
TikTok's ban in the U.S. doesn't even last 24 hours. The Chinese-owned social media app announced Sunday that they are restoring service in the United States after a brief ban that started late Saturday night. "Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!" It appears President Trump promised to issue an executive order on Inauguration Day to extend TikTok's operations. It's unclear how long the extension will last. The app was ordered to be shut down after the Supreme Court upheld a ban law by a vote of 9-0 last week. The law bans the app until the Chinese divest ownership.

January 19: The Gateway Pundit:
Minnesota police officer found guilty of killing George Floyd released from prison
A second former Minneapolis police officer has completed his sentence over the death of George Floyd and has been released from prison. Floyd died in police custody while on drugs and resisting arrest on May 25, 2020. His death caused massive, deadly riots across the nation. Former Officer J. Alexander Kueng, 31, was released from FCI Elkton in Ohio on Wednesday. He had pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in October 2022. He was subsequently sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

January 19: The Daily Mail:
Fans slam NBC for failing to show the National Anthem during the Rams-Eagles game
NBC Sports boldly opted against airing the national anthem before Sunday's NFL playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and visiting Los Angeles Rams. The latest controversy falls just a day before President Trump's inauguration and marks another surprise decision over showing The Star-Spangled Banner this month. Earlier in January, ESPN caught fan blow back for not showing the anthem before the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, which had been moved by a day after the New Year's Day terror attacks in the city killed 14 people. ESPN's leadership apologized taking ownership for the mistake and saying it would not be repeated. The Rams are playing Sunday's game amid scenes of devastation back in Los Angeles due to the wildfires around the city that have killed 27 and destroyed thousands of buildings and homes. NBC's actions appeared to have angered many fans.

January 18: The Daily Caller:
Government Debars Fauci's gain-of-function mastermind Peter Daszak
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) formally debarred Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, a company which coordinated with Dr. Anthony Fauci's aides to receive funding for gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, according to documents released Friday by the House Oversight Committee. HHS debarred and cut funding to both Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance, a U.S.-based nonprofit which researches pandemics. EcoHealth has also terminated Daszak's employment. "The suspension and proposed debarment actions were based on information that Dr. Daszak lacks the present responsibility to participate in United States Federal Government procurement and non-procurement programs," HHS wrote. The debarment, which is retroactive to a May 2024 suspension for both Daszak and EcoHealth, will last for a period of five years.

January 18: The Epoch Times:
Trump signals a possible 90 day reprieve for Tik Tok's ban in the U.S.
President- Trump said Saturday that he will probably give TikTok a temporary reprieve from a looming ban over the social media platform's China ties, which would allow the platform to continue operating in the United States as his administration undertakes a careful review of the situation. "The 90-day extension is something that will be most likely done, because it's appropriate," Trump said. "If I decide to do that, I'll probably announce it on Monday." His remarks come after TikTok said late Friday it would be "forced to go dark" on Sunday — the day before Trump's inauguration — unless the Biden administration delivers a guarantee that it will not enforce a law requiring the company to divest or face a nationwide ban. TikTok's "go dark" warning was made after a U.S. Supreme Court's 9-0 ruling earlier on Friday that upheld a law banning the app in the United States unless its China-based parent company, ByteDance, sells the platform by Sunday. ByteDance has repeatedly insisted it will not sell.

January 18: Fox News: Trump family returns to Washington ahead of inauguration
President Trump returned to Washington Saturday evening, after boarding a special mission Air Force plane for his historic return after four years. Trump and wife Melania and their youngest son, Barron, embarked on their trip from West Palm Beach, Florida, to the nation's capital, waving to crowds before ascending the steps. He celebrated his return at his Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, about 30 miles west of Washington. In his address he gave a shoutout to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff a "great negotiator." Witkoff this past week helped negotiate a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas that's scheduled to take effect on Sunday. The event included a fireworks display.

January 17: The New York Post:
Parent, Paramount Global, has internal talks about settling Trump-CBS News lawsuit
Paramount Global executives have reportedly held internal talks about settling a lawsuit filed by President Trump over CBS News' editing of a 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. They are hoping to close its planned merger with Skydance Media in the coming months but has been sued by Trump for allegedly favorably editing the "60 Minutes" sit-down with Harris just before the election In recent months, it has become clear that Trump's dissatisfaction with CBS News is proving to be a major hurdle, and it will likely need to pony up concessions to win approval to go forward with the merger.

January 17: One America News Network:
Biden pardons/commutes sentences of an additional 2,500 offenders
Joe Biden has issued individual pardons and commutations to nearly 2,490 drug offenders Friday. He announced he was commuting the sentences of 2,490 people convicted of drug offenses. Adding that they are "serving disproportionately long sentences compared to the sentences they would receive today under current law, policy, and practice." Meanwhile he has done nothing for the January 6h offenders, some of whom have been held in jail for long periods without a trial. And Biden has indicated there may be more pardons/commutations on the way prior to President Trump regaining office.

January 17: Fox News: Has he completely lost it?
Biden declares the ERA amendment is part of the Constitution
Legal experts slammed Joe Biden's announcement declaring the 28th Amendment law as "cynical and irrelevant." On Friday Biden released a statement saying the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) should be considered ratified and a new addition to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment, that failed to receive ratification by 75% of the states before it expired in 1979, would prohibit discrimination based on gender. Jonathan Truley, a noted legal and constitutional law expert said in response to Joe Biden's statements that he, Biden, "…seems intent on moving his administration from the odious to the absurd. This was an embarrassingly pandering moment to the most extreme elements in his party. It is a position based on a long-rejected and frankly ridiculous foundation." Meanwhile Andrew McCarthy, a Fox News contributor and former U.S. Attorney, said, "Biden's announcement is both cynical and irrelevant. If he believed what he is saying, he would've said it when his administration started, not when he is on his way out the door as a failed, one-term president. More importantly, the president has no constitutional role in the amendment process, so his view carries no weight."

January 17: Judicial Watch: San Francisco settles lawsuit
The City of San Francisco authorized a settlement agreement in a taxpayer lawsuit, agreeing to discontinue its discriminatory guaranteed-income program that favored transgender individuals with a preference for biological black and Latino men who identify as women. The agreement commits the city to pay $3,250 in attorney's fees and costs and not to create a new guaranteed income program with the same eligibility criteria.

January 16: News Max:
Israel attacks Gaza after Hamas accused of backtracking on ceasefire
Israel carried out fresh air strikes on Gaza on Thursday and accused Hamas of backtracking on parts of a fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal before an expected vote by its Cabinet. The truce, announced by mediators Qatar and the United States on Wednesday, would take effect on Sunday and involve the exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, after which the terms of a permanent end to the war would be finalized. But the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Hamas had "reneged on parts of the agreement reached ... in an effort to extort last-minute concessions." Reportedly the Israeli Cabinet "will not convene until the mediators notify Israel that Hamas has accepted all elements of the agreement." Netanyahu spoke with Presidents Joe Biden and Trump on Wednesday, the Israeli leader's office said, thanking them for their help securing the agreement but also cautioning that "final details" were still being worked on.

January 15: The Daily Caller:
Como slams Democrat senators for wasting time on Hegseth's former marriage
NewsNation host Chris Cuomo criticized Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) on Tuesday for using his time during Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth's confirmation hearing to grill him over his past marriage. Kaine who was the losing Democrat candidate for Vice President in 2016, raised allegations of Hegseth's infidelity, alcoholism and abuse during his questioning rather than prioritizing other queries relevant to the role Hegseth will have as SecDef. Cuomo (D-NY) suggested Kaine's line of questioning was disgusting, condemning both the standard he was holding Hegseth to and the substantive issues he was ignoring. "Let me ask you:" Cuomo asked, "What questions would you have for a potential secretary of defense? 'What are you going to do about China, Russia, terror, Pentagon size, drones — or would your top concern be his marriage?"

January 15: The Washington Times:
Three suspects arrested for Arson of Los Angeles fires
Los Angeles police said three people were charged with arson in separate incidents this week after they were caught lighting fires near where the massive, deadly blazes have torn through parts of Southern California. LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the suspects, who were not identified, were not responsible for starting the infernos in the Pacific Palisades and Eaton that have claimed at least 25 lives since they ignited last week. Authorities said one person was arrested Monday on Van Nuys Boulevard after the person was seen igniting a brush fire. At least five people total have been charged with arson since the wildfires broke out Jan. 7 in the Palisades. For example, an illegal immigrant from Mexico was tackled and held to the ground by wary citizens last week when he was observed with a blowtorch near where the Kenneth fire broke out.

January 15: Breitbart News: The Trump Affect; President-elect announces
Hamas-Israel ceasefire agreement 5 days before he takes office
President-elect Donald Trump was the first to announce a ceasefire deal was reached in Gaza between Israel and Hamas on Wednesday. Israeli officials soon confirmed an agreement was in place to secure the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 atrocities. "We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!" Trump said just after noon EST. "With this deal in place," Trump said, "My National Security team, through the efforts of Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will continue to work closely with Israel and our Allies to make sure Gaza NEVER again becomes a terrorist safe haven." Witkoff traveled to Doha, Qatar, along with representatives of the outgoing Biden administration over the weekend to work with mediators from Israel and Hamas on a deal. Sources familiar with the meetings credited Trump's influence with breaking a long deadlock and setting the stage for the "midnight breakthrough" on Sunday that made a deal possible. Earlier Trump had said to Hamas that "All Hell will breakout" if a hostage return agreement was not met before he takes office January 20th.

January 14: The Daily Caller:
Illegal with blowtorch arrested for starting fires in Los Angeles
A blowtorch-wielding man subdued by Los Angeles residents in a viral online video is living in the United States unlawfully despite multiple arrests and an assault conviction, federal immigration authorities confirmed. Juan Manuel Sierra, a 33-year-old Mexican national, is an illegal migrant "gotaway" who carries an extensive rap sheet with local law enforcement, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson reported. Sierra is currently being held by Los Angeles police on suspicion of contributing to the wildfires that have devastated Southern California in the past several days.

January 14: The Washington Examiner:
Politics as usual as Dems try to tarnish Hegseth's reputation
Pete Hegseth spent several hours in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, where Republicans largely praised his nomination, and Democrats questioned his fitness for the position of secretary of defense (SecDef). The former Fox News host promised to be a "change agent" for a department that he argued, like many Republicans have, has strayed from its mission of lethality and defending U.S. interests abroad. Republicans on the committee defended and praised his nomination and President Trump's plans to overhaul the Department of Defense, while Democrats grilled him over concerns that his past disqualifies him from the role. Despite the Democrats' attacks, they are largely powerless to stop his nomination and any of Trump's Cabinet selections. The Democrats need at least three Republicans to vote against any nomination to block the nominee from assuming the role.

January 14: The Texas Scorecard: State Rep Burrows elected Texas House Speaker with support of Dems and 36 Republicans
Just hours after the new legislative session kicked off in Austin, State Rep. Dustin Burrows was elected to serve as speaker of the House, a move that has already sparked controversy among Texas Republicans. Burrows (R-Lubbock) secured the gavel despite significant opposition from within his own party, ultimately relying on Democrat support to clinch the position. This is despite the fact that Republicans control 88 of the chamber's 150 seats. The election required two rounds of voting. In the first round, Burrows got 71 votes and the GOP Caucus candidate David Cook (R-Mansfield) garnered 56. In the second round Burrows emerge victorious with 85 votes, while Cook, secured 55. Nine members (all Democrats) were recorded as present but not voting. In total, 36 Republicans supported Burrows along with 49 Democrats.

The Republicans voting for Burrows were;
Jeff Barry (Pearland), Cecil Bell (Magnolia), Keith Bell (Forney), Greg Bonnen (Friendswood), Brad Buckley (Salado), Angie Button (Garland), Giovanni Capriglione (Southlake), Tom Craddick (Midland), Drew Darby (San Angelo), Jay Dean (Longview), Caroline Fairly (Amarillo), Gary Gates (Richmond), Stan Gerdes (Smithville), Charlie Geren (Fort Worth), Sam Harless (Spring), Cody Harris (Palestine), Cole Hefner (Mount Pleasant), Lacey Hull (Houston), Todd Hunter (Corpus Christi), Ken King (Canadian), Stan Kitzman (Brookshire), Stan Lambert (Abilene), Brooks Lambert (Odessa), Jeff Leach (Allen), Janie Lopez (San Benito), John McQueeney (Fort Worth), Will Metcalf (Montgonery), Morgan Meyer (Dallas), Angelia Orr (Itasca), Jared Patterson (Frisco), Dade Phelan (Beaumont), Carl Tepper (Lubbock), Gary VanDeaver (New Boston), Denise Villalobos (Corpus Christi), Terry Wilson (Georgetown) and of course Dustin Burrows himself.

January 13: Fox News: President Trump's allies in House are clearing
the runway for him to make good on his vow to acquire Greenland
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) is leading a bill to authorize Trump to enter negotiations with Denmark over purchasing Greenland, a territory located in North America but with longstanding cultural and geopolitical ties to Europe. The bill is reportedly titled the "Make Greenland Great Again Act. "Joe Biden took a blowtorch to our reputation these past four years, and before even taking office, President Trump is telling the world that America First is back. American economic and security interests will no longer take a backseat, and House Republicans are ready to help President Trump deliver for the American people," Ogles said.

January 13: The Gateway Pundit:
Trump no-holds-barred press conference results in stern warning to Hamas
In a no-holds barred press conference at Mar-a-Lago following the certification of his 2024 election victory, President Trump issued a stern warning to Hamas, demanding the immediate release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. With his signature resolve, Trump made it clear that failure to comply by January 20, his Inauguration Day, would result in severe consequences for the region. "All hell will break out. If they're not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East. It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out," Trump warned. He added, "I don't have to say anymore, but that's what it is. They should have given them back a long time ago. They should have never taken them. They should have never committed the attack of October 7. People forget that, but there was, and many people were killed." Following President Trump's ultimatum, Hamas officials announced on Monday they are prepared to make a ceasefire deal with Israel.

January 13: The New York Post:
Special Counsel Weiss slammed Joe Biden's criticism of his investigation
Special counsel David Weiss, who successfully prosecuted first son Hunter Biden on tax fraud and gun charges, slammed President Biden's criticism of his investigation as "gratuitous and wrong" in a report on the years-long investigation released Monday. "Other presidents have pardoned family members, but in doing so, none have taken the occasion as an opportunity to malign the public servants at the Department of Justice based solely on false accusations," Weiss wrote in his report. I prosecuted the two cases against Mr. Biden because he broke the law," wrote Weiss attaching hundreds of pages of court filings. "A unanimous jury — who found Mr. Biden guilty of gun charges — and Mr. Biden himself — who pleaded guilty to tax offenses — agreed. As I have done for twenty years, I applied the Principles of Federal Prosecution and determined that prosecution was warranted." Joe Biden, 82, signed a sweeping pardon for his only surviving son on Dec. 1, arguing the cases against him had been motivated by "raw politics" and constituted a "miscarriage of justice."

January 12: The Washington Examiner:
Trump calls Fetterman "impressive" after meeting
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) did not emerge from his meeting with President-elect Trump with a promise that the Braddock Democrat would be named the "Pope of Greenland," but Trump said Fetterman did earn his admiration for his commonsense approach to governing. "It was a totally fascinating meeting," Trump said. The senator and his wife spent an hour with the President-elect at Mar-a-Lago. "He's a commonsense person, He's not liberal of conservative. He's just a commonsense person, which is beautiful," Trump said.

January 12: Fox News:
Vance: Trump Administration plans on pardons for January 6th protestors
The focus on President Trump's vow to pardon Jan. 6 protesters is sharpening, with his return to the White House just eight days away. Vice President-elect JD Vance — who, like Trump, has been critical of a justice system allegedly weaponized against the protesters — laid out how their offenses might be weighed when considering the pardons. "If you protested peacefully on January 6th, and you've had Merrick Garland's Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned," Vance said on Sunday. "If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn't be pardoned, and there's a little bit of a gray area there, but we're very much committed to seeing the equal administration of law. And there are a lot of people, we think, in the wake of January the 6th who were prosecuted unfairly. We need to rectify that." Vance contended.

January 12: News Max: Former NATO Commander; Greenland acquisition not a crazy idea
President Trump has said the importance of Greenland to national and global security cannot be overstated and former NATO supreme allied commander James Stavridis agreed. Skeptical Democrats, cynical pundits, and liberal media laughed off Trump's suggestions of making the country an official U.S. territory. "It's not a crazy idea," Stavridis told WABC 770 AM-N.Y. "We could do an awful lot in terms of business, investment, box out the Russians, box out the Chinese, and work very closely with Greenland." The former NATO commander called the large Arctic Island a "strategic goldmine for the United States." "It sits at the very top of the North Atlantic; it protects approaches to our own country," Stavridis said. "It's geographically very important. It's full of strategic minerals, rare earth, probably a lot of gold. It's got a lot of natural resources. "It doesn't have to become the 51st state, but it can certainly be an economic objective for us. I think that's how it plays out." For skeptics refusing to listen to Trump's logic, Stavridis reminded all to just listen to Greenland and its people.

January 11: The Gateway Pundit: Are you serious? Purchasing Greenland?
President Trump has been unduly mocked by Democrats and corporate media journalists regarding his desire to purchase Greenland from Denmark. But he now has the Danes and Greenland's full attention. Trump for months has pushed for purchasing the world's largest island and is not ruling out possible military action. He argues that Greenland becoming part of America is absolutely necessary for national security. Trump is, of course, correct, this Arctic Island is rich in natural resources and holds immense geopolitical value due to its proximity to the Arctic Circle and the presence of U.S. military assets, including the Thule Air Base. Moreover, China and Russia are circling Greenland seeking to take advantage of the islands enormous potential. Buying Greenland would enable the U.S. to seize control of the Arctic and deal a heavy blow to the ambitions of their two biggest global adversaries.

Meanwhile, Axios reports the Danes are sending private messages to Trump expressing willingness to discuss boosting security in Greenland or increasing the U.S. military presence on the island, two sources with knowledge of the issue said. Greenland (pop. 56,000) is largely autonomous, but Denmark maintains responsibility for defense. Trump has repeatedly declared that controlling Greenland — the world's largest island — is necessary for U.S. national security vis-a-vis Russia and China. His son Don Junior visited Greenland this week bearing MAGA hats.

January 11: Fox News:
Abbott to send help to California firefighters
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday announced he would be sending firefighters and firefighting resources to California to assist with the ongoing wildfires. Along with more than 135 firefighters, it will include emergency management and medical personnel, more than 45 fire engines, ambulances, command vehicles, and equipment. "Our hearts grieve with the entire Los Angeles community as they continue to respond to these destructive wildfires," Abbott said.

January 10: Axios: SCOTUS likely to uphold ban on Tik Tok
The Supreme Court seemed inclined Friday to uphold a law that would ban Tik Tok in the U.S. meaning one of the most popular social media apps in the country may disappear or at least not be able to get updates next week. The court heard oral arguments Friday over the new law that requires TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to either sell TikTok or shut it down in the U.S by Jan. 19. The law passed last year with broad bipartisan support and was signed by President Biden.

January 10: The Washington Examiner:
Michigan state Rep. Karen Whitsett (D) won't causus with her party
Michigan state Rep. Karen Whitsett (D) who has criticized colleagues for being profoundly "disconnected" from voters, announced this week she would no longer be caucusing with her party. Whitsett cited her "close" relationship with Matt Hall, the incoming Republican leader in the state House, as her reason for exiting the caucus, saying she worried about being accused of leaking information to the GOP lawmaker. "I don't want anyone thinking that if, by happenstance, someone said something in the Dem caucus, and the speaker just happens to mention something similar to that — I don't want anyone thinking that I told him anything and vice versa," the rogue Democrat said. During a phone interview Friday, Whitsett spoke warmly of working with Republicans and President Trump to advance an agenda touching issues such as infant mortality, justice reform, and public safety — "just the numerous amount of things that could possibly go through that would be beneficial for bipartisan support."

January 10: The Epoch Times: Trump to face sentencing before inauguration
President Trump is expected to undergo sentencing in his business records case just 10 days before his inauguration, marking a milestone in the lengthy legal battles that he has, in all but this case, won as his opponents have used lawfare against him since he left office in 2021. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has already indicated he won't impose any term of prison or any other meaningful punishment. Nonetheless, Merchan is expected to use the hearing to enter a judgment of conviction and to take his final shot at Trump, offering a rebuke of how the incoming president has treated the third branch of government.

January 10: News Max: Trump vows to appeal Manhattan conviction after sentencing
President Trump took to social media shortly after being sentenced in his New York case Friday and said he will appeal and seek a dismissal of the entire case. He appeared remotely with his attorney and was formally sentenced by Democrat Judge Juan M. Merchan who declined to impose any punishment.

January 9: The Gateway Pundit:
Prince William takes on more responsibility for his father
In the last few months, a growing number of reports have been coming out of the United Kingdom that Royal heir to the throne Prince William has begun 'flexing his royal muscles'. The Prince of Wales has reportedly ramped-up preparations for his upcoming rule, and even now is said to be 'seizing more power' from his ailing father, King Charles. "It's no secret that anyone who pushes back against him will be swiftly shown the door," a palace insider said. "He's not willing to take any nonsense and the word is he's already on his way to being the toughest ruler the family has ever seen."

January 9: One America News Network:
Judge overturns Biden attempt to redefine Title IX, protecting women's sports and spaces
After the Biden administration attempted to redefine sex in Title IX as "gender identity," a federal judge in Kentucky shot down the shift nationwide. The case of Cardona v. Tennessee was decided on Thursday by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, Northern Division. After concluding that the 1,500-page regulation was "fatally" polluted by legal flaws, U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves struck it down. "Another massive win for TN and the country!" said Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. "This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin's radical new Title IX rule nationwide. The court's order is [a] resounding victory for the protection of girls' privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns."

January 9: The Times of Israel:
US House votes to sanction ICC over arrest warrant for Israeli leadership
Nearly all House Republicans, several Democrats back legislation punishing the ICC for going after Netanyahu and Gallant, but measure may face bumpier path through Senate. The US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to sanction the International Criminal Court to protest its decision to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over Israel's campaign against the Hamas terror group in Gaza. Lawmakers voted 243 to 140 in favor of the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," which would urge sanctions on any ICC official or entities backing The Hague who advance "any effort to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies." The sanctions include blocking or revoking visas and prohibiting US property transactions. The legislation states that the US and Israel are not signatories to the Rome Statute that created the ICC, which accordingly has no jurisdiction over their conduct. Forty-five Democrats joined 198 Republicans in backing the bill. No Republicans voted against the measure.

January 9: The Daily Wire:
OK Senator blast Gabbard opponents;
"She's not a Pete Buttigieg"
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) says he got to know Tulsi Gabbard at the gym when they both served in the House of Representatives. At the time, Mullin a Republican and Gabbard was a Democrat, but the respect they built for each other in the weightroom bridged the political divide. The pair have remained close friends ever since. Mullin is now a senator and Gabbard, who joined the Republican Party in October, is President Trump's pick to be the next director of national intelligence. "When you start looking at her background, she served four terms in the United States House of Representatives – I don't know if that's a bragging point, but we'll still talk about it – twenty-two years in the service, combat veteran, lieutenant colonel right now, and she's currently over the reserve unit in Oklahoma and Missouri. I don't know what [other] qualifications you need," Mullin said. "I mean, you're not Pete Buttigieg," Mullin said, referring to the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who was vaulted into heading the Department of Transportation during the Biden administration despite having absolutely no relevant past experience in a transportation-related role.

January 8: The Washington Times:
Trump meets with Senate Republicans to hammer out legislative agenda
President Trump visited the Capitol on Wednesday meeting with Senate Republicans and discussing the party's legislative agenda. Republicans have been united on their broad goals — to secure the border, restore American energy dominance, cut taxes and rein in spending — but seem divided on the best strategy for passage given their narrow House and Senate majorities. The debate centers on whether to package all those priorities into a single bill, which would take several months to produce, or to quickly move some of the border and energy provisions first. Trump's preference is for "one big," but he also remained open to the two-bill approach as senators pitched him on it.

Ted Cruz (R-TX) prefers the two-bill approach, securing two victories. Cruz said the reason to hold an extension and expansion of the 2017 Trump tax cuts for a second bill is not lack of support but the time it will take to put together such a bill and figure out the revenue offsets. "Every Republican wants to extend the tax cuts," he said. "There's not a single Republican that wants a $4 trillion tax increase." Senator Graham (R-SC), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, will play a key role because Republicans will use the budget reconciliation process to advance their agenda thereby blocking the Democrat's use of a filibuster, passing the bill with all Republicans if need be.

Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) said Trump likes a horse race, so he suggested the president allow the Senate and House to pursue their different approaches and pick one later based on which chamber has gotten furthest in producing a work product. "When I suggested the horse race, he said, 'Well we'll see.' He was kind of open but not relinquishing his preference for the one [bill]," Hoeven said.

January 8: SCOTUS Blog: Trump files petition with SCOTUS to put a hold
Friday on sentencing in Manhattan case President Donald Trump came to the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning, asking the justices to halt the criminal sentencing scheduled for Friday morning in his Manhattan case. The 40-page filing by Trump's intended nominee for Solicitor General, John Sauer, urged the court to put the proceedings on hold to allow an appeal of the case. "Forcing President Trump to prepare for a criminal sentencing in a felony case while he is preparing to lead the free world as President of the United States in less than two weeks imposes an intolerable, unconstitutional burden on him that undermines these vital national interests," the filing said. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who handles emergency appeals from New York, directed the prosecutors to respond to Trump's request by Thursday at 10 a.m.

January 8: The Epoch Times:
Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says he is considering running for Governor
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz says he may launch a gubernatorial bid. "I am starting to think about running for governor," Gaetz told the Tampa Bay Times in an interview. Gaetz, 42, stepped down from the House in 2024 after President Donald Trump selected him to be U.S. attorney general. With key senators opposing Gaetz's nomination, he decided to withdraw from consideration before Trump was inaugurated. Trump has since picked Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, to head the Department of Justice. Gaetz, at least for now, has accepted a position as a host for the cable network One America News. Now, he's floated launching a bid to become Florida's next governor, in what could be a competitive race to succeed term-limited Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Florida governors can only hold two consecutive terms, making the position an open seat.

January 7: The Gateway Pundit: NC Supreme Court blocks state from certifying Dem incumbent Justice as winner of election amid GOP challenges of "shady ballots"
The North Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday in a 5-1 vote blocked the state from certifying Democrat incumbent justice Allison Riggs as the winner of the race as her GOP opponent, Jefferson Griffin, challenges the election. North Carolina's Supreme Court race headed for a recount due to a close final tally as the Democrat pulled ahead two weeks after Election Day. Democrat incumbent Sarah Riggs closed the race pulling ahead by a mire 625 votes in an election with over 2,770,000 votes cast. The race went to a recount because of the close vote count. Republican Griffin was leading the race until all of a sudden Democrat Riggs overcame her opponent weeks after the election. Reportedly Griffin is challenging 60,000 ballots that he claims should not have been counted. The North Carolina Supreme Court granted Griffin's request and issued a temporary stay blocking the certification of the election.

January 7: Fox News: 30,000 people threatened by Southern California wild fire; forced to flee for their lives
A fire was burning out of control Tuesday in Pacific Palisades (Southern California), destroying homes and forcing residents to abandon their vehicles and flee amid a potentially "life-threatening and destructive fires driven by strong winds. Most of Pacific Palisades was under an evacuation order by this afternoon as residents fought traffic jams and heavy smoke trying to escape the nearby flames. The fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. and was pushed by intense wind gusts that officials had warned could fuel any spark into a fast-moving and erratic wildfire. It had burned more than 770 acres in just the first five hours. [Editor's Note: My former 1970-1973 Washington, DC housemate is among those evacuating this blaze]

January 7: The Washington Times: Trump looks beyond the current U.S. borders
President Trump on Tuesday outlined an ambitious plan for U.S. expansion by working to get control of Greenland, the Panama Canal, and maybe working with conservative allies in Canada. In a news conference he refused to take any actions off the table regarding getting Greenland and the canal under the U.S. umbrella. He questioned left-leaning Denmark's legal claim to Greenland and there are indications some of the 50,000 residents of country – the largest island in the world – might favor being an independent territorial state under the U.S. Trump also criticized China's role in operating the Panama Canal and the late President Jimmy Carter's transferring the canal to Panama in 1979, saying it was given to Panama and not communist China. Meanwhile Donald Trump Jr. has made a non-official trip to Greenland.

January 7: News Max: Senate "green lights" Trump nominations;
hearings scheduled before Trump's swearing in
The Hill reports that the Senate took the procedural step of approving committee assignments for the next two years, a move that also allows committee hearings to begin next week on President Trump's cabinet nominees. With Jan. 14 being the earliest that hearings can take place, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Pete Hegseth, Brooke Rollins, and former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin are among those scheduled to appear next week. Reportedly Hegseth's hearing is scheduled for Jan. 14; Rollins (Trump's pick for Agriculture secretary) will be Jan. 15 and Rubio's Jan. 15. Zeldin's hearing is expected to be held Jan. 15 or 16. The scheduling of the hearing for Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for attorney general, has been delayed over paperwork issues with the Judiciary Committee, The Hill reports.

January 6: Fox News: Justin Trudeau steps down as Canadian PM as his support tanks
Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau announced on Monday that he intends to resign as party leader and prime minister after pressure from within his own Liberal Party increasingly grew amid heightened criticisms over his handling of the economy and threats levied by President Trump. He said he will resign once the party selects a new leader. "I intend to resign as party leader, as Prime Minister, after the party selects its next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process," Trudeau told reporters. Trudeau, who led the nation for nearly a decade, has been grappling for months with significant drops in his approval ratings over mounting frustration relating to issues like the soaring cost of living and rising inflation. Though there was no official path for his party to boot him from the top job, the now nearly-former prime minister faced either the threat of a Parliamentary vote of no confidence, or a lengthy fight to hold on to his position until the October 2025 elections – either option was expected to see a crushing end to Trudeau's time in office.

January 6: News Max:
Trump's legal team seeks delay in sentencing while appeal in process
President Trump's legal team asked a judge Monday to halt this week's sentencing in his New York case while they appeal a ruling upholding the verdict. Trump's lawyers said they plan to ask a state appeals court to reverse Judge Juan M. Merchan's decision last week, which set the case for sentencing on Friday. Trump's lawyers argued their appeal should trigger what's known as an automatic stay, or pause, in the proceedings. If that doesn't happen, they argued, Merchan should then grant a pause and prevent sentencing from happening on Friday as scheduled. The problem is the judge wants to allow Trump's opponents to call him the only convicted felony who is president of the United States. As reported earlier, there are those who believe the Democrat Governor of New York might pardon Trump after sentencing and before the case is appealed thereby foreclosing the Trump legal team from appealing the case. Meanwhile, there are numerous legal scholars from different sides of the political aisle who believe that if the case is appealed the convictions will certainly be overturned. The Democrat judge signaled he is not likely to sentence Trump, a Republican, to any punishment for his historic conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

January 5: The UK Telegraph: Ukraine presses further into Russian territory
Ukraine has launched a surprise counter offensive inside Russia, forcing Vladimir Putin to dispatch one of his top generals to the front line. Russian military bloggers first reported the attacks by Ukrainian tanks and infantry shortly after dawn on Sunday. Both Ukrainian and Russian officials have confirmed the attacks, likely launched to strengthen Kyiv's position ahead of potential peace talks once Donald Trump takes office. Reportedly the Ukrainian attack have Russian forces scared and worried. Recent reports say that Russia' army has been decimated and is apparently relying upon North Korean soldiers to carry on a major part of the war effort. The reaction from the Kremlin suggested that it was taking the threat seriously. It dispatched one of its top generals to Kursk within hours of the attack to organize a response. Zelensky claims the Kremlin's losses in the region were mounting and on Saturday contended the Kremlin had lost an entire battalion of North Korean soldiers in the Kursk region in the past two days. A battalion usually numbers about 500 soldiers.

January 5: The Washington Examiner: Schumer; who is leading the Democrat Party?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declined to say Sunday who the new leader of the Democratic Party is following Vice President Harris's electoral loss to President Donald Trump. Schumer on NBC News's Meet the Press on Sunday for the show's first broadcast of 2025, where he denied that Democrats misled the public about Joe Biden's health but claimed that the party should have shown more "empathy" to voters regarding their economic concerns heading into the November election. The senator would not answer a question about whether he should be viewed as the party's de facto leader once Biden leaves office on January 20. "Look, I think we have a lot of great leaders in our party.

Meanwhile Fox News reported about Schumer's being calling Biden's health Republican propaganda. Schumer said Sunday that they didn't mislead Americans about Biden's decline or ability to serve despite the president dropping out of the race after being faced with a February 2024 clip of him declaring the debate over Biden's health was "right-wing propaganda." Back then Schumer said, "His mental acuity is great. It's fine. It's as good as it's been over the years. All this right-wing propaganda that his mental acuity has declined is wrong."

January 5: The Gateway Pundit:
40% of all murders in the US take place in cities with Soros-backed prosecutors
According to a report from the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF), 40% of homicides in the US take place in districts with a Soros-funded prosecutors. As Pamela Geller states, Biden should have given him jail time instead of giving George Soros the Medal of Freedom. Geller cites an article by Paul Schnee, in which he states, "What's next? Is Biden going to posthumously award the Medal of Freedom to Benedict Arnold?" "The amount of serious damage Soros has done to America is incalculable. His lifetime of public mischief has been spent wearing the mask of compassion to undo our civilized order by subverting all of our institutions particularly academia and undermining law & order by financing D.A.s whose main interest is in protecting criminals at the expense of justice for their victims. The man is a traitor, but BLM and Antifa love him."

January 4: The Washington Examiner:
One or two bills to get Trump's agenda flowing
President Trump is pushing for one reconciliation bill that will include his border, energy, and tax policy priorities, House Speaker Michael Johnson (R-LA) reportedly told Republicans in a closed-door meeting on Saturday. The move sets up a contentious vote as Trump attempts to move his ambitious agenda into one piece of legislation ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20, which is at odds with some in the House and Senate Republican leadership. In late December House and Senate Republicans endorsed a two-step approach to enact Trump's agenda early next Congress, ensuring a border security-focused reconciliation bill is prioritized in January 2025, followed by tax legislation that would extend the Trump administration tax cuts while "including necessary spending reforms and cuts." Reconciliation bills require only a simple majority vote and cannot be blocked by a 60% closure threshold (a filibuster). Senate leader Thune had suggested the GOP focus their first reconciliation resolution on border funding, energy production, and defense spending while leaving tax-related measures for a second piece of legislation later in the year. Trump is urging one package given the tight speaker's race, which saw Johnson secure reelection in the first round of votes on Friday, that could make maneuvering both bills more complicated on top of an already difficult situation in the House. Some in the House, including Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), who endorsed a single bill from the start, has long championed one single package. "It shows the best and quickest approach to deliver for President Trump is one beautiful, big package," Smith said in December.

January 4: The Epoch Times: They lost all their cases except one; they
want to call Trump the only convicted felon elected as President
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan has rejected an attempt by President Trump to dismiss his business records case and ordered sentencing for Jan. 10. He had originally scheduled sentencing in the case for 2029, after Trump leaves office. However, moving the sentencing forward reportedly could hamper Trump's legal team from appealing the conviction because Manhattan DA Bragg then wants the Governor of New York to pardon Trump which would cut off the ability to appeal the conviction -- allowing Trump to be labeled a convicted felon. An important note is that legal experts from all spectrums believe an appeal would be successful because to actions taken by Merchan (such as saying Trump was guilty before the trail even started and having a daughter who has profited from the case). Merchan said in his order that he wasn't inclined to impose a prison term on the president-elect. Citing concerns about presidential immunity, he also said that "a sentence of unconditional discharge appears to be the most viable solution to ensure finality and allow the Defendant to pursue his appellate options," while not addressing reports of the NY Governor pardoning the conviction. Meanwhile, there are reports that Merchan could be facing the possibility of being disbarred and even being indicted of violating Donald Trump's civil rights (a Federal criminal indictment) based upon his actions prior to and during the trial.

January 3: News Max: New Senate Majority Leader not sure all GOP
members will vote to confirm all of Trump's nominees
New Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said there isn't "clarity" just yet if all of President Trump's Cabinet nominees will have the full support of all the Republican senators. He predicted that "a lot of them will get through, and we'll see about all of them." Thune was asked if he knew of Republican senators who might not vote to confirm Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and/or Kash Patel for FBI director to which he responded we don't have clarity at this point. Republicans have a 53-47 advantage plus a vote by JD Vance (if necessary) over Democrats, but there has been pushback from a handful of GOP senators over Hegseth, Patel, and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence.

January 2: The Epoch Times:
County Clerk being investigated; 200 ballots in Wisconsin not counted
Almost 200 absentee ballots were left uncounted in Madison, Wisconsin, after the 2024 general election, causing state election officials to launch an investigation on Jan. 2 to determine whether the city clerk broke state law. The Wisconsin Elections Commission will investigate whether Madison City Clerk Maribeth Wetzel-Biehl flouted state laws or abused her discretion, after it voted unanimously to open a probe on Thursday. The commission is concerned that Wetzel-Biehl's office did not notify it of the problem until the end of December, which is nearly a month and a half after the election and several weeks after Commission Chair Ann Jacobs certified the state election results on Nov. 29.

January 2: The Washingbton Times:
Trump has long warned Biden of Islamist terrorism
President-elect Donald Trump has long warned that the Biden Administration was not fortifying the country against Islamist terrorism on U.S. soil, and his supporters say New Year's Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas hammered home the point. Trump and his allies blamed the massacre of 14 pedestrians by an ISIS-inspired terrorist on Joe Biden's open border policies and weak leadership. They faulted the Biden Administration's focus on investigating White nationalism, religious organizations and activist parents who complain at school board meetings. "Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World! This is what happens when you have open borders, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership," Trump posted on Truth Social.

January 2: The Daily Citizen: Federal appeals court rules employers have
a right to make personnel decisions based on religious principles
A federal appeals court has upheld the right of religious employers to hire employees in accordance with the organization's faith and mission. On January 2, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of several groups challenging a New York law that prohibits "discrimination based on an employee's or a dependent's reproductive health decision making." Several organizations challenged the law which alleged the law violates their First Amendment rights. The law, which applies to churches, religious schools, faith-based pregnancy care centers, and religious nonprofits, requires them to "undermine their own beliefs about abortion, contraception, and sexual morality by forcing them to employ those who cannot effectively convey the groups' message because they refuse to abide by the organizations' statements of faith and core principles about such issues." Under the law a pro-life pregnancy resource center would be required to hire a pro-abortion advocate who has had multiple abortions. Churches who are deeply pro-life could be required to hire employees who are pro-abortion. And the list goes on.

January 2: The Gateway Pundit:
FBI continues to withhold info to House
committee; Jan 6th pipe bomber
A new report released by the Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight into the January 6 pipe bomber shows the FBI stopped looking for the suspect and covered up evidence. The FBI is now refusing to cooperate with Congressional investigators. In September, former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino said according to a whistleblower, after the pipe bombs were found at the RNC and DNC headquarters, "assets on the ground, including a whistleblower, was briefed about the pipe bombs the next day and show a picture of a guy in a hoodie." However, the law enforcement agents were told to stand down two days later. Bongino said "… two days later after the pipe bombs, … without explanation, they were told to stand down! No need to look for the guy anymore." This directly contradicts previous statements by FBI Director Christopher Wray.


January 1, 2025: Breitbart News:
Ukraine shuts off Russian gas that flows
through them to Europe
Despite nearly three years of war, Russian energy has continued to transit unimpeded through Ukrainian territory every day until now, with the taps being firmly closed on New Year's Day. Zero Russian gas is flowing to European customers through Ukrainian pipelines for the first time in decades today, confirmation there was to be no last-minute deal to keep the route open, sending energy prices spiking on Tuesday. The route has seen billions of cubic feet of gas delivered since the end of the Cold War, and a five-year contract between Moscow and Kyiv governing the transit of gas continued to be observed, remarkably, right to the last moment when it expired at midnight. But no new contract has been signed, and Ukraine, through its state media, has announced today they "ceased the transportation of Russian natural gas through its territory in the interests of national security". Its energy minister said: "We have blocked the transit of Russian gas, this is a historic event. Russia is losing markets, it will suffer financial losses".

December 31: Fox News:
New charges; 2009 kidnapper gets two home invasion charges added
Prosecutors announced new charges against a man who kidnapped and sexually assaulted a Northern California woman, which was originally thought to be a hoax but ended up being a real case. Matthew Muller, 47, the man who abducted Denise Huskins in Vallejo in 2015, is now being charged in two home invasion cases from 15 years ago. Muller broke into women's homes in Palo Alto and Mountain View California in 2009, with the intent to rape them, according to the Santa Clara District Attorney's Office. Thanks to a new lead and advances in forensic DNA testing, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, along with Palo Alto and Mountain View Police, were able to ID Muller in the cases.

December 30: One America News Network:
With so much crime in NYC, the Guardian Angels have been revitalized
The founder of the Guardian Angles revealed that the vigilante group will resume patrols of the New York City subway system following the shocking arson murder of a woman on a subway car last week. Founded in 1979, the Guardian Angels is a volunteer vigilante patrol squad. "We're going to have to increase our numbers, increase the training and increase our presence as we did back in 1979," founder Sliwa stated on Sunday at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island subway station, where a woman was killed after being lit on fire by an illegal migrant, which authorities believe was intentional. "We went from 13 to 1,000 [members] back then within a period of a year," he continued. "Because the need was there. The need is here now once again. We're going to step up. We're going to make sure we have a visual presence just like we had in the '70s, '80s and '90s." A post on Twitter said, They're Back: If incompetent NY Governor Kathy Hochul won't do her job, the Guardian Angels are now going to start patrolling the subways again! Looks like the Calvary has arrived.

December 30: The Daily Signal:
Trump endorses Johnson (R-LA) to continue as House Speaker
President Donald Trump endorsed House Speaker Mike Johnson for another round as leader of the House of Representatives Monday. Conservatives had wondered if Trump would oppose Johnson's bid after the president-elect effectively killed the first massive spending bill to fund the government earlier this month. "We are the Party of common sense, a primary reason that we WON, in a landslide, the magnificent and historic Presidential Election of 2024," Trump began in a post on Truth Social. The president-elect celebrated the fact that he won every swing state, 312 Electoral College votes, and more votes than Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.


December 30: The Epoch Times:
President Carter, 100, passes in Plains, Georgia
Former President Jimmy Carter, the longest-lived president in U.S. history, died at his home, his family and the Carter Center confirmed Sunday. He was 100. In a statement his foundation, the Carter Center, wrote: "Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia." "My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love," said Chip Carter, the former president's son. "My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs."


December 29: The Washington Examiner: Gingrich slams destructive efforts to unseat speaker Johnson
Former GOP Rep. Newt Gingrich praised House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) for his handling of the continuing resolution drama before Christmas as Johnson hopes to coast in this week's speaker election. Johnson will face his first House speaker election since he first won the job in October 2023, but during the fight over continuing resolutions earlier this month, some House Republicans expressed doubt about whether they would support him. Gingrich, himself a former House speaker, offered his praise and hit at "totally destructive" Republicans. "Mike Johnson, speaker of the House, is doing an extraordinary job. I tell everybody, I was a pretty effective speaker. I could never do his job. He has no margins. Any two or three members can rebel at any moment," Gingrich said. Gingrich stressed that Republicans should stay focused on key issues, such as tax cuts, but also be a unified front as the GOP takes over control in the Senate and the White House next month. "They need a Republican unity program for the next two years."

December 29: The Epoch Times:
COSTCO board encourages shareholders not to reject its DEI practices
Costco's board of directors has encouraged shareholders to vote to support its "diversity, equity, and inclusion" (DEI) program after it received a proposal to reject the practice. The National Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank, had urged Costco's shareholders and board to strike DEI because it promoted discriminatory practices, according to the Kirkland, Washington-based retailer in a statement to shareholders. Several companies, including Tractor Supply Co., Harley Davidson, John Deere, Lowes, and others, have announced they'll repeal their DEI policies after facing pushback from conservatives and lawmakers. "It's clear that DEI holds litigation, reputational and financial risks to the Company, and therefore financial risks to shareholders," the National Center for Public Policy said in its proposal to Costco, according to the statement. "With 310,000 employees, Costco likely has at least 200,000 employees who are potentially victims of this type of illegal discrimination because they are white, Asian, male or straight," it added.

December 28: News Max: Trump supports H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday sided with key supporter and billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk in a public dispute over the use of the H-1B visa, saying he fully backs the program for foreign tech workers opposed by some of his supporters. Trump's remarks followed a series of social media posts from Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who vowed late Friday to go to "war" to defend the visa program for foreign tech workers. Trump, who moved to limit the visas' use during his first presidency, told The New York Post on Saturday he was likewise in favor of the visa program. "I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great program," he was quoted as saying. Musk, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in South Africa, has held an H-1B visa, and his electric-car company Tesla obtained 724 of the visas this year. H-1B visas are typically for three-year periods, though holders can extend them or apply for green cards.

December 28: The Post Newspaper:
God has a plan; A personal Christmas message
This week Christians around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus. Some used to make a pilgrimage to Bethlehem as part of the observance. There are several reasons the birthplace of Jesus is important. One is that it fulfilled a prophesy of the Old Testament about the coming Jewish Messiah. He was to be born in Bethlehem of Ephrathah (Mich 5:2). Unlike the birth of Jesus, we don't need to go to Bethlehem to meet Him. We could be in church, on the beach, in our car; on a park bench, or even at home… It doesn't matter. In my case I was in my office in Washington, DC when I was introduced to the Jewish Messiah. Before I met Him, I was bouncing around from one thing to another. After I met Him there was a purpose for, and in, my life. This Christmas, know that God has a plan for you. You don't need to be perfect for the Lord to meet you and use you. He will meet you wherever you are, at the right time and at the right place. Know that He loves you, that He will bless you, and that He will use you in ways you can never imagine.
[Read the entire column]

December 28: News Max: Judge orders Biden White House to stop selling border wall materials
A federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to stop selling border wall materials, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Friday. "We have successfully blocked the Biden Administration from disposing of any further border wall materials before President Trump takes office," Paxton said. "This follows our major victory forcing Biden to build the wall, and we will hold his Administration accountable for illegally subverting our Nation's border security until their very last day in power, especially where their actions are clearly motivated by a desire to thwart President-elect Trump's immigration agenda," he added.

December 28: Breitbart News: Seattle residents vow not to tip after minimum wage raises prices
Residents in Seattle, Washington, plan to stop tipping as a minimum wage hike in the Democrat-run city looms. The city's minimum wage is supposed to go from $19.97 to $20.76 an hour on January 1. Tipping workers on top of the approaching hourly rate hike does not appear to be a popular idea with some residents who have said they will no longer be shelling out the extra money for workers. Seattle's minimum wage rate is among the highest in America, KTTH radio host Jason Rantz rote in an opinion piece on Thursday. He noted that Seattle's minimum wage ordinance requires the increases based on inflation and then said "Seattle restaurant operators are panicked ahead of a minimum wage update that will now prevent tips and benefits from being deducted from hourly wages. For some Seattle restaurants, it will add about $45,000 in expenses per month that they don't have."

December 27: The Gateway Pundit:
Hunters are becoming the hunted as Jack Smith's prosecutors are lawyering up
The hunters are becoming the hunted. Earlier this month it was reported Jack Smith's team of prosecutors are lawyering up as they brace for President Trump. Reportedly Smith's team of prosecutors are also combing through their private and professional communications to make sure they haven't written anything that can be subpoenaed. Some are asking "Are they deleting evidence of misconduct and anti-Trump bias?" CNN reported, "One former senior White House official said aides inside the White House and across various federal agencies are intensely worried about the possibility that the incoming Trump administration will prosecute anyone deemed as having antagonized the president-elect," Rolling Stone magazine reported that many of Jack Smith's prosecutors are afraid they will go bankrupt [similar to what happened to Rudy Giuliani after the left wing lawfare used against him] and are inquiring about taking steps to protect their family's assets.

December 27: Fox 5 Atlanta:
Fulton County judge says GA State Senate has right to subpoena record of
DA Willis in their investigation of whether any misconduct was undertaken
A judge has ruled that the Georgia state Senate can subpoena Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of an inquiry into whether she engaged in misconduct during her prosecution of President Donald Trump but is giving Willis the chance to contest whether lawmakers' demands are overly broad. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram filed the order Monday, telling Willis she has until Jan. 13 to submit arguments over whether the subpoenas seek legally shielded or confidential information. Ingram wrote that she would issue a final order later saying what Willis had to respond to. The Senate committee leading the investigation has offered to narrow the scopes of the documents if doing so is necessary. Willis, reportedly, wants the judge's ruling overturned. Last month a state appeals court removed Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump.

December 27: The Daily Caller:
Another Florida Dem. State Representative switches parties
Florida State Rep. Hillary Cassel has become the second Democrat to leave her party and become a Republican. She cited her concerns over the Democratic Party's "failure to unequivocally support Israel" and what she calls its disconnect from everyday Floridians. "As a proud Jewish woman," she said. "I have been increasingly troubled by the Democratic Party's failure to unequivocally support Israel and its willingness to tolerate extreme progressive voices that justify or condone acts of terrorism. I'm constantly troubled by the inability of the current Democratic Party to relate to everyday Floridians. I can no longer remain in a party that doesn't represent my values."

December 26: News Max:
Farmers in California's central valley bracing for mass deportations and a loss of Mexican laborers
Voters in California's Central Valley, the agricultural center of the state, are grappling with the potential for mass deportations under President-elect Donald Trump, which could gut their workforce. The Central Valley voted for Trump in November, a red bastion in a deep blue state, despite Trump's vow to deport undocumented immigrants, which make up half the state's agriculture workforce. "To say it would have an impact on California would be an understatement," said Chris Reardon, vice president of policy advocacy at the industry group California Farm Bureau Federation. Some are calling for temporary visas for agricultural workers, similar to the Bracero program initiated under Franklin Roosevelt in 1942 and which ended in 1964.

December 26: The Daily Caller: Under Trump California may see
federal funds dry up if Newsom flaunts immigration laws
Rep. Greg Murphy(R-NC) said Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California could put federal funds for the state at risk if he defied President-elect Donald Trump's plans to deport illegal immigrants. "What he wants to do is basically break the law. You know, we saw this a long time ago, when states did not want to integrate, and they wanted to continue with segregation," Murphy said. "These are laws, these are national laws. He doesn't get to pick and choose which one he gets." "We're not going to send in the National Guard, but you know what, they get a lot of federal money, and if they want their state to dry up even quicker because of his nasty policies, I don't think he'd last long, and this time, when the recount comes, he's gone," Murphy continued. "You can't keep flaunting and caring more about people coming in this country illegally than the people of our country. This is nonsense, the day is coming, they are going to rue the day they continue these asinine and ridiculous policies."

December 26: The Washington Examiner:
Baltic Sea power cable cut; sabotage cannot be ruled out
A power cable connecting Finland and Estonia under the Baltic Sea suffered a power outage on Wednesday, prompting an investigation. The electrical transmission through the Estline 2 connection between the two European nations was cut on Wednesday afternoon local time. Arto Pakhin, Fingrid's operations manager, told a local news organization that "the possibility of sabotage cannot be ruled out." Finnish authorities said they took control of an oil tanker on Thursday traveling from Russia under the suspicion that it could be responsible for the outage. Reportedly an anchor of the vessel that is under investigation as a possible cause of the damage. Estonian Foreign Affairs Minister Margus Tsahkna said they "can't rule out deliberate damage to the cable," and added, "there have been too many incidents at Baltic Sea that coincidences are becoming unlikely."

December 25: The Epoch Times: Interesting timing; Trump speaks, Denmark acts
The government of Denmark, which controls key aspects of the autonomous territory of Greenland, has announced a major boost to the Arctic island's defense spending, just hours after President Trump repeated his desire to purchase Greenland, citing security imperatives. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten on Dec. 24 that the defense package would amount to at least $1.5 billion. Trump said on Dec. 22 that U.S. control and ownership of Greenland — a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark — is "an absolute necessity" for "national security and freedom throughout the world." Denmark's defense package reportedly includes new inspection ships, drones, dog sled teams, upgraded Arctic Command staffing, and an F-35 capable airport upgrade. "We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years, now we are planning a stronger presence," he said. Greenland, which runs its own domestic matters but whose foreign affairs including defense are controlled by Denmark, is strategically important to the United States

December 25: The Washington Times:
Mexico prepares shelters needed for Trump's remain in Mexico policy
The Mexican government will open 25 new shelters to house illegal immigrants deported from the United States in preparation for a border crackdown when President Trump regains office next month. Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Avila Olmeda said in a meeting Monday that the country is taking Trump threat of deportation seriously. Five of the shelters will be in the city of Tijuana, with two others in Mexicali, the capital city in Baja. She did not further specify the shelters' locations. "This is a strategic plan to accommodate exclusively people who get deported after Jan. 20," Ms. Ávila Olmeda said. "What we do know, throughout his campaign, he threatened to do this, and since he was already president of the United States, we believe this time he will be stricter and tougher when it comes to deportations," she said. "We are working to get ready and receive our migrants." The migrants will only be able to stay in the shelters that can house up to 500 people for a few days before they will be sent back to their hometowns. Some will hold men, while others will hold women, families, and unaccompanied minors.

December 25: Axios:
Bald Eagle is now "officially" the symbol of the USA
The bald eagle is now officially the national bird of the U.S. after Joe Biden signed into law legislation amending a code to formally recognize the previously unofficial American emblem. "The Bald Eagle has symbolized American ideals since its placement on the Great Seal in 1782," Preston Cook, co-chair of the National Bird Initiative for the National Eagle Center, said after Congress passed the bill earlier this month. "With this legislation, we honor its historic role and solidify its place as our national bird and an emblem of our national identity," he Cook. Cook spearheaded the effort to get this bipartisan legislation enacted.

December 25: Breitbart News:
Santa Cruz (CA) wharf collapse after environmental lawsuit delays needed repairs
Repairs to the historic wharf in Santa Cruz, which collapsed in heavy swell on Monday, were reportedly delayed after an environmental and preservationist group's lawsuit delayed changes to the 110-year-old structure by several years. Waves were unusually high on Monday up and down the West Coast, bringing Christmas joy to surfers, who flocked to popular surf spots, north and south, to catch the swell; but it brought destruction to Santa Cruz. No one was hurt, but three workers had to be rescued from the detached end of the wharf, which floated out to sea. The San Francisco Chronicle recalled Tuesday that the city had planned to reinforce the wharf, but that the proposal had faced a lawsuit by a group of environmentalists and preservationists called "Don't Morph the Wharf," which caused repairs to be delayed and also caused part of the project to be abandoned.

December 24: The Washington Examiner:
Biden takes heat for vetoing a bill that would add additional judicial positions
Federal judiciary leaders have sharply criticized Joe Biden's veto of the Judges Ace, a bipartisan bill that sought to add 66 new federal judgeships to address mounting caseloads in courts across the United States. Biden fulfilled his promise to veto the bill Monday evening and has since drawn widespread rebuke from judges, lawmakers, and court watchers who stressed the urgent need for expanded judicial resources. U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, described the veto as "extremely disappointing" in a letter addressed to Biden on Dec. 16 that was released Tuesday. Conrad, an appointee of Republican former President George W. Bush, emphasized that Biden's decision reflects a "regrettable failure" by the administration to support the judiciary and warned that it would exacerbate growing caseloads, further delaying justice for litigants.

December 24: The New York Post: Trump serious about buying Greenland
Greenland's 836,330 square miles slightly exceed the 827,987 square miles that America gained with the Louisiana Purchase, a deal struck between then-President Thomas Jefferson and France. Most of sparsely populated Greenland's 56,000 residents are mainly Inuit — related to other indigenous groups along the northernmost fringe of Canada and Alaska — and in principle have been given permission by Copenhagen (Denmark has control over the island) under a 2009 law to sever ties should they so choose. Currently, the relatively poor residents depend heavily on an annual block grant from Denmark's government. According to the US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration, the roughly half-billion-dollar grant contributes about 20% of Greenland's GDP and half of the public budget. "It's almost like an indenture of old, where the Greenlanders remain reliant on an economic subsidy that Denmark sends them and essentially have to bootstrap their way to a new future," one observer said. "They're an asset-rich and cash-poor — kind of frozen in place."

December 23: One America News Network: Navy FA-18 Hornet shot down by friendly fire; pilots survive; investigation underway
The U.S. Central Command reported two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea in a "friendly fire" incident on Sunday. Both pilots safely ejected the jet, however, one suffered minor injuries. The two pilots were in an F/A-18 fighter jet from the USS Harry S. Truman Strike Group, when it was "mistakenly fired on and hit," by the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg. It was not immediately clear how the Gettysburg mistook the F/A-18 fighter jet for an enemy aircraft, however Central Command added that a "full investigation is underway." The friendly fire incident follows after Central Command announced that it had conducted precision airstrikes against the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Saturday, reportedly targeting a missile storage facility, along with a command-and-control facility. The attacks against the Houthis have been an ongoing effort to respond to the Houthi missile attacks against cargo ships, threatening the global supply chain as an estimated 12% of global supplies pass through the Red Sea shipping lanes.

December 23: The Gateway Pundit: President Clinton admitted to hospital for fever
Former President Bill Clinton, 78, was hospitalized with a fever on Monday. "President Clinton was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center this afternoon for testing and observation after developing a fever. He remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving." Clinton's aide said.

December 23: News Max: China could shut down Panama Canal at will
A China expert warned that China's strategic influence over the Panama Canal poses a potential risk to global maritime trade and U.S. naval operations. Gordon Chang, a prominent journalist and China expert, cautioned Monday that China can shut down the Panama Canal if it chooses. The canal, a critical maritime artery, is increasingly under Beijing's influence, raising concerns about its strategic implications for the United States and global trade. President Trump recently claimed that the canal is a "vital national asset" for the U.S.; threatening to reassert control over it. "Well, he's certainly right," Chang said when asked about President Donald Trump's warning that China seeks to control the waterway. "China's port facilities are at both ends of the canal. And when General Laura Richardson took a helicopter ride over the Canal Zone, this was the middle of 2022; she said she 'looked down and saw all of these dual-use facilities.'" shut Chang further cited Evan Ellis, a leading expert on Latin America, who stated that "the Chinese could down the canal if it wanted to." He explained that China's infrastructure development in the area, including bridges, could be used to disrupt the canal's operations during a conflict. "If you build a bridge over the canal, you can take a bridge down over the canal, block the waterway. And that's what I think the Chinese are up to with this new infrastructure project of theirs because, at a time of war, they could make the canal totally useless," Chang said.

December 22: Breitbart News:
Trump plans to leave the UN's W.H.O. upon inauguration
The U.S. will exit the globalist World Health Organization (W.H.O.) on day one of President-elect Donald Trump's new administration taking power, a report Sunday predicts. The U.S. is the W.H.O.'s largest single donor. It provides the home to over 8,000 career bureaucrats with about 16 percent of its budget which in 2024 stood at U.S.$6.83 billion. It has previously been criticized by conservative voices for its extraordinary drain on U.S. taxpayer funds while Trump has called it a slave to China's own global ambitions.

December 22: The Post Newspaper: Can we trust Election Returns?
Prior to the 2024 election, approximately two-thirds of American voters worried about election integrity. That same number believed that deceit determined the 2020 outcome. After November 2024, voter tone softened with only 20% expressing worry. Should voters feel more confident in future results? Election integrity is still on the mind of voters. More than three-fourths of those surveyed support significant reductions in the number of days in Early Voting (we have twelve in Texas). They want results reported within 12 hours after the polls are closed, and they want to have a paper backup for all votes cast.

December 22: iHeartMedia/KTRH:
Border wall materials taken off the market after lawsuit filed to stop the sale
Border wall materials that were set to be sold by the federal government have reportedly been pulled from an auction site after Texas and Missouri filed a motion earlier this week in a district court in the southern district of Texas to hold a status conference to determine if the federal government is in breach of the court's permanent injunction from earlier this year. Additionally, President Trump filed an amicus brief this week to try and stop the Biden administration from selling off border wall materials. The original listings for the sale by GovPlanet were scheduled for an Dec. 18 auction with starting bids for the materials at $5. Joe Biden has been trying to sell off the pieces of border wall prior to Donald Trump taking office. Texas leaders including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that the state would be first in line to purchase any border wall parts to give back to President Trump if they were to be auctioned off.

December 22: Fox News: Fact Checking; Sen. Warren's (D-MA ) allegation that Trump stopped funding for child cancer debunked
The GOP has dismantled a narrative put forth by Democratic lawmakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren that Republicans blocked funding for childhood cancer research in the spending bill, pointing to a stand-alone bill that had languished in the Democrat-controlled Senate for months. While the Democrat Party's "war room" published a press release declaring: "Trump and his MAGA minions in Congress have decided to threaten a government shutdown for his political gain — and now they've stooped as low as cutting child cancer research," Elon Musk and Trump allies slammed the narrative pointing to a standalone bill that passed in the Republican-led House back in March, and had for months languished in the Democrat-led Senate.

December 21: The Gateway Pundit: Dems caught doing exactly what they accused Trump of doing – cutting Social Security
Democrats have been caught doing the very thing they've been accusing President Trump of doing: Cutting Social Security. On Wednesday, the U.K. Daily Mail reported Senate Democrats are trying to push through a Social Security reform bill they want to see signed by Joe Biden before Trump takes office. The Social Security Fairness Act aims to repeal provisions that reduce payouts to public sector employees like police officers, firefighters, teachers, and post workers. The Mail cites The Committee for a Responsible Budget (CRFB) in their article, and that group states this would make Social Security insolvent six months earlier than current projections by giving increased benefits to 3 million people who paid into their state or local pensions that DID NOT pay Social Security. The CRFB also states, "As a result, we estimate a typical dual-income couple retiring in 2033 would see their benefits cut by an additional $25,000 over their lifetime."

December 21: The Daily Caller: Lame Duck President under pressure to fund defund police/Anti-Israel non-profit with taxpayer dollars
The Biden administration is facing mounting pressure to dole out tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to a left-wing nonprofit that advocates for defunding the police, prison abolition and the "liberation" of Palestinian territories before President Trump takes office. The left-wing advocates lobbying Joe Biden include members of his own administration's staff. A group of federal government employees, dubbed the "federal environment and energy workers for justice in Palestine," wrote an open letter to the White House, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday. The anonymous career staffers are demanding that the administration disburse all designated federal funds to the Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) and end collaboration with Israel.

December 20: The Washington Times: SCOTUS to consider No-Fly List case
A group of Americans represented by the Council on American-Islamic Relations asked the Supreme Court on Friday to review the legality of the government's watchlist. Adis Kava, one of the plaintiffs, was interrogated when he tried to board a plane. The Department of Homeland Security later confirmed he was on the no-fly list, according to the filing. Kovac and the other plaintiffs sued to be removed from the watchlist, alleging the compilation of the list runs afoul of federal law and that the agencies don't have clear authorization from Congress. The petition claims that the government can place citizens on the watchlist without probable cause for something like associating with someone already on the no-fly list or traveling to a majority Muslim country. The complaint says such action infringes on the freedom to associate. "And watch list inclusion can affect everything from a person's ability to travel on airplanes to how he is treated during traffic stops to whether he can exercise his Second Amendment right to purchase a firearm," the filing read. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the feds' watchlist, reasoning that Congress authorized it. That decision prompted the group's appeal to the justices. A spokesperson for the Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the case.

December 20: News Max: House passes stop-gap funding bill,
the ball in the Democrat-controlled Senate's court
The third time was the charm for the House on Friday as it passed a stopgap bill that funds the federal government through March and provides disaster relief and aid to farmers without addressing the federal debt limit. The ball is now in the court of the Democrat-controlled Senate and Joe Biden, which faced a midnight Friday deadline to avoid a government shutdown and suspension of many services. C-SPAN reported that the Senate will take up the legislation Saturday. The final vote was 366-34, with one Democrat voting present. All 34 voting against were Republicans. The legislation faced long odds of passing because Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., suspended House rules, requiring a two-thirds majority, or 290 votes, to pass. That meant a large number of Democrats would have to support the bill without too many Republican defections. Earlier in the day, Johnson said Republicans reached a consensus on a deal to fund the government but provided no details on its measures.

December 20: Breitbart News:
Judge rules on eligibility of candidate, gives GOP a slim majority in MN House
A Minnesota judge ruled that a Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Party candidate is ineligible to be sworn in after not meeting residency requirements, giving Republicans a majority in the Minnesota House. In a ruling issued on Friday, Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro stated that DFL candidate Curtis Johnson, who won his race to represent Minnesota's House District 40B, did not meet the residency requirements of living in "the district" for "six months before the election." Due to Castro's ruling, the balance of power goes from a 67-67 tie between Democrats and Republicans to giving Republicans a "one-seat" majority in Minnesota's House

December 19: The Daily Caller: Speaker's broken promises on CR may cost him his job
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is facing serious blowback from those in his own party for trying to push through a continuing resolution filled with unnecessary spending. Sources on Capitol Hill, including both lawmakers and their staff, have speculated Johnson may have cost himself the Speaker's job with the poorly-received funding gambit right before Christmas. The 1,574-page spending measure will receive votes from both Democrats and Republicans, but Johnson broke several promises in the process of putting forth the bill. Johnson said in September that he has "no intention of going back" to the "terrible tradition" of a Christmas omnibus bill. A senior house aide said many in the House Republicans have lost trust in Johnson and that it will be hard for him to recover from. "It's not a competence or leadership question for some folks now. It's a trust question. That's gonna be tough to come back from," the aide said. Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk and President Trump and Vice President Vance all opposed the CR measure. Johnson also promised the spending bill would be written by committee leaders in an open process and members would have at least 72 hours to read it before voting, but in reality, the new CR was negotiated behind closed doors by leadership and didn't meet the 72 hour promised deadline.

December 19: News Max:
House rejects plan B to fund government; partial shutdown likely
The House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly rejected the funding bill (mentioned above) which was aimed at averting a government shutdown. The contentious legislation would have suspended the country's borrowing limit for President Trump's first two years in office and dozens of debt hawks in the Republican ranks rebelled against their own leadership to sink the package. The retooled version (Plan B) was considered under a fast-track method that required two-thirds support but Democrats had been clear that they would deny Republicans the votes they needed to make up for the rebels in their ranks and it failed to win even a straightforward majority. Republicans will likely try again with a more pared-down version, although the party leadership offered no clear path forward, telling reporters they would have to meet to discuss a Plan C. A shutdown looks almost certain, potentially sending almost a million workers home without pay over Christmas. That said, if history proves us right, in the past federal workers are compensated once the government opens up again, in essence giving them a paid vacation.

December 19: The Daily Signal:
Appeals Court: Fani Willis booted from Georgia's case against Trump
A Georgia appeals court on Thursday disqualified Fani Willis, the scandal-plagued prosecutor leading a racketeering case against Donald Trump and his 2020 campaign supporters. The appeals court left the criminal charges in Georgia stemming from the 2020 presidential election in place but booted Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and determined that a new prosecutor needs to be appointed for the case. The court ruled, "We cannot conclude that the record also supports the imposition of the extreme sanction of dismissal of the indictment." Willis, who had appointed Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor in the Trump case and later admitted to having an affair with him. The appeals court ruled that this "significant appearance of impropriety" could taint the case in the eyes of the public.

December 19: The Gateway Pundit: Trump's border czar will go after AZ
governor Hobbs if she fails to go along with deportation efforts
The incoming Trump Border Czar Tom Homan came out swinging against radical left state officials who defy federal border policy Wednesday, saying that Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D), who some contend stole the election from Kari Lake, may face "multiple" criminal charges and jail time. Katie Hobbs recently declared that she would not comply with President Trump's promised mass deportation policies during a border PR appearance. This comes after Trump confirmed on Monday that he will declare a 'National Emergency' on immigration and deploy the military to initiate mass deportations. Hobbs fearmongered, claiming Trump's border policies will "harm or terrorize our communities." Her solution: continue facilitating the largest invasion in American history and allow rapists, murderers, and poisonous fentanyl to flood American cities.

December 18: News Max:
Continuing Resolution scrapped as Speaker reconsiders position
Reportedly the bipartisan federal spending plan heralded by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), to avert a partial government shutdown has been scrapped as House Republicans, President Trump and Elon Musk joined in criticizing the deal. Criticism of the spending package built steadily throughout the day and culminated with a lengthy statement by Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance posted on Vance's Twitter account this afternoon. It has forced Johnson back to the drawing board on a plan to prevent a possible Christmastime shutdown. "Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead," Musk posted on Twitter. "The voice of the people has triumphed!" If a deal is not reached by 12:01 a.m. Saturday, funding for many federal programs will cease. Trump and Vance are also encouraging House Republicans to deal with the federal debt ceiling, which is expected to be reinstated on Jan. 1, instead of waiting for their administration, which begins Jan. 20. The debt ceiling was suspended at $31.4 trillion when lawmakers passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 and its reinstatement, with the national debt now at $36.1 trillion, will force the Treasury Department to keep the government from defaulting on its debt if it the ceiling is not raised.

December 18: The Daily Signal: GOP in Washington in a tough spot; they don't have control for another month but the government still needs to be funded
President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance want House Speaker Mike Johnson and Republicans on Capitol Hill to play hardball with obstructionist Democrats in the ongoing government funding fight. On Tuesday night, Congressional leadership released the 1,500+ page text of the continuing resolution that will fund the government until March 14, 2025. With funding set to expire on Dec. 20, Congress needs to act in order to avert a government shutdown on the eve of a new Congress and the presidential transition of power. Republicans are in a tough spot—especially Johnson. Though the GOP earned a mandate victory in November, they won't actually have their trifecta until January. A Democrat Senate and president still have to sign off on any plan to fund the government. Meanwhile, recent polling shows that 53% of the populus feels it's okay to have a shutdown in order to cut spending. The bill includes over $100 billion in additional government spending. The bulk of the additional funding is for disaster relief aid, ostensibly for damage caused by hurricanes Helene and Milton. But the bill also has the federal government paying for the rebuilding of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, $10 billion in aid to farmers, and changes in healthcare policy. And the kicker? It includes a raise for Congressmen and Senators!

December 17: The Epoch Times: Russian General assassinated in Moscow by bomb
The head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, was killed on Dec. 17 by a bomb planted near an apartment block in Moscow. Russia's Investigative Committee said that Kirillov's assistant also died when an explosive device, hidden in a scooter parked near the apartment block, detonated. On Dec. 16, Kirillov, 54, was sentenced in absentia by a Ukrainian court over Russia's alleged use of banned chemical weapons during the conflict with Ukraine, which began in February 2022. Ukraine's Security Service, the SBU, said they had recorded more than 4,800 uses of chemical weapons on the battlefield since 2022. Most of those uses involved K-51 combat grenades. In May, the U.S. State Department said it had recorded the use of chloropicrin—a chemical weapon that was invented during World War I—against Ukrainian troops.

December 17: The Daily Caller: Trump's NY case blows up media's narrative
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley argued Tuesday that Judge Juan Merchan's refusal to toss President-elect Donald Trump's conviction blew up the media's narrative about the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. Merchan rejected Trump's lawyers' request Monday night to dismiss the president's 34-count conviction for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Turley said this decision contradicted the media's panicking about the Supreme Court's ruling in July that presidents are immune from prosecution for official acts taken while they are in office.

December 17: The Washington Times: Speaker Johnson (R-LA) bracing
for pushback from his own party over CR's spending levels
Congress' sprint to avert a government shutdown kicked off with the unveiling Tuesday of the latest short-term funding patch, which is crammed with disaster aid, economic assistance for farmers and legislation that could help attract the Washington Commanders back to the District. But the road to passing the stopgap bill, or continuing resolution as it is known on Capitol Hill, won't be easy for Speaker Johnson (R-LA) as he braces for a wave of defections from House Republicans. Congress has until Friday to avoid a government shutdown. The latest funding patch would extend government funding until March 14, well into President Trump's first 100 days, and includes over $100 billion for disaster aid, fulfilling most of President Biden's previous request, $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, and a proposal by House Oversight Chairman James Comer to help bring Washington's NFL team into the District of Columbia. The legislation from Mr. Comer, Kentucky Republican, would transfer from the federal government to the District of Columbia the lease of the 174-acre site where the decaying Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium now sits. The lease would last for 99 years at no cost and could give the District a leg up in a bidding war with neighboring Maryland and Virginia to attract the Commanders.

December 17: News Max: Rep. McCaul (R-TX) I suspect some of the drones are China's
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-TX) asserted Tuesday that at least some of the unidentified aircraft that have been roaming the skies over the East Coast are Chinese "spy drones." McCaul made the comments to reporters prior to receiving a classified briefing about the drone activity, the New York Post reported. "I was with the NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, he said that these drones have been reported over military sites, military bases. I would not think those are friendly. I would think those are adversarial," McCaul said. "We need to identify who is behind these drones. My judgment based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People's Republic of China."

December 16: The Gateway Pundit: Canadian PM may be considering resignation
Trudeau is currently "considering his options" after the shock resignation of his Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. In a public resignation letter, Freeland said that Canada faces a "grave challenge" from the incoming Trump administration, which she described as "pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 per cent tariffs." Her letter said, We need to take that threat extremely seriously. That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war. That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment."

December 15: The Epoch Times:
In twilight of his term Biden wants to expand clemency and spend more money
The White House in a new memo on Dec. 15 has outlined Joe Biden's key priorities to accomplish his stated goals before leaving office next month. His priorities include expanding clemency and pardons, advancing climate-related initiatives, providing student debt relief, and addressing concerns about artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new memo by Ben LaBolt, senior advisor to the president and communications director. Biden will also prioritize allocating additional funds from his signature laws including the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the CHIPS Act. "The President has been clear to his team that we need to make every day count, and build on the historic progress we have made," LaBolt said in the memo. "In the coming weeks, you will see him do just that."

December 15: Fox News: There are so many drones it may seem like mosquitos in July but it could be a US classified operation
Former CIA operations officer Laura Ballman told Fox News the mysterious drone sightings are "extremely unsettling" as the public seeks answers. Drone sightings across New Jersey have unsettled residents for weeks with no official explanations being offered. Ballman argued that circumstances around the drone sightings suggest it may be a U.S. operation. "Deducing the statements from [National Security spokesman] John Kirby that these drones are not operating illegally, coupled with several op-eds that have been out there in the last 24 hours about the need to look at our detection systems, makes me think perhaps this is actually a classified exercise to test either evasion technology or detection technology in urban areas," Ballman said. Ballman went on to say she would be "shocked" if the drones were related to the CIA, saying it is "not their mandate to operate in the United States." She added that she is "troubled" by why the U.S. government has not been forthcoming with information regarding the drones.

December 15: NewsMax: Trump's National Security Advisor; We need stricter consequences for foreign hackers that target the U.S.
Incoming White House national security adviser, Rep. Mike Waltz, (R-FL), said that the incoming Trump administration plans to impose much stricter consequences on foreign hackers targeting the U.S. When asked about communist China's recent hack against the U.S., which officials stated was the largest breach in U.S. history, Waltz said that "we have been over the years trying to play better and better defense when it comes to cyber," he said. "We need to start going on offense and start imposing, I think, higher costs and consequences to private actors and nation-state actors that continue to steal our data, that continue to spy on us, and that, even worse, with the [Chinese hack], they are literally putting cyber time bombs on our infrastructure, our water systems, our grids, even our ports."

December 15: The Washington Times:
Three Federal judges have rescinded their retirement plans based upon Trump's election win; reactions
A federal appeals court judge has rescinded his decision to retire, becoming the third judge to decide not to give President-elect Donald Trump a chance to fill his seat. Judge James Andrew Wynn, who sits on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, announced his decision in a letter Friday to President Biden. Two district judges had previously revoked their retirements but Republicans said Judge Wynn is the first appeals court judge in history to rescind a retirement because of partisan political calculations. He had notified Biden in January 2024 that he would take what's known as "senior" status, a sort of retirement that would let him still hear some cases but would allow a president to pick a replacement. He was awaiting confirmation of Biden's pick to finalize his move. But after the Senate made clear it won't be confirming any Biden pick, Judge Wynn revoked his decision, effectively blocking Donald Trump from naming a replacement. Judge Wynn's decision drew condemnation from Republicans who called it a grim moment for the judiciary and a "brazenly partisan decision... … that demonstrates some judges are nothing more than politicians in robes," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), the top Republican in the chamber, had warned Wynn earlier this month that if he revoked his retirement, he could face ethics complaints. McConnell has also encouraged the Trump administration to demand recusals of Judge Wynn and the two district judges who rescinded their retirements, saying they are proven to be tainted. "It's hard to conclude that this is anything other than open partisanship," Mr. McConnell said at the time. "They rolled the dice that a Democrat could replace them and now that he won't, they're changing their plans to keep a Republican from doing it."

December 15: The Times of Israel:
Israel closing Dublin (Ireland) embassy over nation's anti-Israeli policies
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris says that the decision by Israel to close its Dublin embassy is "deeply regrettable." "I utterly reject the assertion that Ireland is anti-Israel," Harris wrote on Twitter. "Ireland is pro-peace, pro-human rights and pro-international law." "Ireland wants a two-state solution and for Israel and Palestine to live in peace and security. Ireland will always speak up for human rights and international law," he adds. Of course, a two-state solution doesn't match with Scripture. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced that he would be closing the embassy earlier today, citing the "extreme anti-Israel policy of the Irish government" as his reason for doing so. Israel recalled its ambassador in May after Ireland became one of three EU countries that said they would unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state. Ireland has not recalled its envoy to Israel.

December 15: Breitbart News:
Mayorkas; Limited in our authority to deal with drones being flown over our country
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that his agency was "limited" in its authority to shoot down drones. He said, "There are thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones. That is the reality, and in September of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules so that drones could fly at night, and that may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk. So that is the reality, but I want to assure the American public that we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities, and it is critical, as we all have said, for a number of years, that we need from Congress, additional authorities to address the drone situation. Our authorities currently are limited, and they are set to expire. We need them extended and expanded."

December 14: The Washington Free Beacon:
Biden Admin. tries to take credit for Israeli victories he tried to prevent
Biden administration officials have claimed credit this week for the ongoing collapse of the Iranian axis, seeking to recast their role in a series of Israeli victories that they worked to thwart. Hours after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria on Sunday, Joe Biden touted "the unflagging support of the United States" for Israel's war against "Iran and its proxies," Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Biden noted that Israel had weakened the coalition of tyrants and terrorists in the region to a point where it became "impossible ... for them to prop up the Assad regime." The Biden administration has overseen crucial U.S. military and diplomatic support for Israel during the past 14 months of the war. But from the outset, Biden and his aides have also pressed Israel to reach accommodation with its enemies — criticizing, threatening, and punishing the U.S. ally in the name of regional de-escalation. By early this year, before Israel had militarily defeated Hamas or seriously retaliated against Hezbollah or Iran, Biden was already publicly calling for an end to the fighting. "Biden tried to prevent us from winning this war in every way he could," Gadi Taub, a historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said "Now that we're winning in defiance of him, he's pretending that he was with us all along."

December 14: iHeartMedia/KTRH:
Residents want answers about drones, Trump wants them shot down
East coast officials and residents are still looking for answers on the unidentified drones that are flying in their area. Sightings were reported overnight Friday and Saturday morning near U.S. military installations and over residences in New Jersey. People also say they saw drones in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut. Many residents on the east coast are on high alert. Others are frustrated with the White House over a lack of response. Government officials said the sightings are actually lawfully operated manned aircraft. The FBI and DHS also added that there is no evidence of a national security or public safety threat or of foreign involvement. But elected officials from both parties have expressed discomfort with the Biden White House response. Meanwhile, President Trump is calling for the government to shoot down the drones. In a Truth Social post Trump said, "Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge. I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!"


December 14: The Washington Times:
ABC to pay Trump $15 million for deformation in legal settlement
ABC has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by President Trump, ending the dispute that centered on anchor George Stephanopoulos'' inaccurate comments surrounding a civil lawsuit against Trump. The money will be transferred to an escrow account managed by Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, and will go toward the president's presidential library, according to the legal filing made public on Saturday. The network must transfer the funds within 10 days and are also on the hook for Brito's $1 million in attorney fees.


December 13: Gateway Pundit: Daylight Savings Time repealed? Time is ticking!
President Trump has announced a commitment to abolish Daylight Saving Time (DST), calling it "inconvenient and very costly to our nation." In a recent Truth Social post, Trump wrote: "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation." Daylight Saving Time was brought into practice with the Uniform Time Act of 1966, aiming to conserve energy and make better use of daylight. However, its effectiveness has been debated, with studies showing minimal energy savings and highlighting potential health risks, such as increased heart attacks and workplace injuries following the time changes. [Additionally, it drives our dogs crazy thinking we forgot to feed them on time!!!]

December 13: One America News Network: Trump & Vance invite Penny to the Army-Navy game
Vice President-elect JD Vance invited recently acquitted Marine veteran Daniel Penny to the Army-Navy football game slated for this Saturday, multiple sources have confirmed. =Penny is expected to join Vance (R-OH) and President Trump in his suite at the game scheduled to play in Landover, Maryland. The Marine veteran had all charges dismissed this week in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless subway rider. Neely was threatening passengers in a subway car in New York City last year and Penny intervened during the threats by putting him in a chokehold. And oh yes, NAVY WON!

December 13: Fox News:
Biden commutes sentences for 1,500 inmates, some victims aren't happy
Joe Biden has sparked anger among Pennsylvanians after he commuted the sentence of a corrupt judge who was jailed for more than 17 years after he was caught taking kickbacks for sending juveniles to for-profit detention facilities. In the "kids-for-cash" scandal, former Judge Michael Conahan shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and shared $2.8 million in illegal payments from the builder and co-owner of two for-profit lockups. Another judge, Mark Ciavarella, was also involved in the illicit scheme, the effects of which are still felt today among victims and families. The scandal is considered Pennsylvania's largest-ever judicial corruption scheme with the state's supreme court throwing out some 4,000 juvenile convictions involving more than 2,300 kids after the scheme was uncovered.

December 13: The Washington Examiner: October 7, 2023 completely changed the Middle East
While the massacre of October 7th attack on Israel was one of the most traumatic events in modern Jewish history, it's obvious now that it was a massive, perhaps existential, blunder by Islamic State, and a stunning defeat for its allies both in the Middle East and Washington. Oct. 7 transformed the Middle East in ways that seemed impossible only a few years ago. Hamas, perhaps the most immediate threat to both Jewish and Arab lives in the region, is largely eradicated. Hezbollah, the theocratic militia that's kept Lebanon in a state of turmoil and war for decades, is reeling. Indeed, it was Israel's success against the latter that helped send Bashar al-Assad, a real-world genocidal dictator, into Russian exile. Most of all, events have left Iran, which spent decades building its proxies throughout the Middle East, impotent. Barack Obama and his cronies in the Biden Administration approved another #10 billion in sanctions relief for the mullahs by waiving restriction payment transfers from the Iraqi government. These are the same people who had attempted to lift Hamas and propped up its benefactors in Iran with planeloads of cash. And the same people did everything possible to handcuff Israel in its war against Hamas and Hezbollah. Not only had the Biden White House threatened to withhold aid if the IDF went into Rafah to eliminate Hamas battalions cowering behind women and children, when Israel pulled off its ingenious pager operation, wounding and killing hundreds of Hezbollah operatives, our uncannily misguided Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that "all parties" should "avoid escalating conflict," treating our close allies and Islamists, in this case a group that once murdered 220 Marines in Beirut, as equals.

December 12: The Gateway Pundit:
CNN should consider making casseroles on air in order to regain ratings!
CNN is in serious trouble. A few weeks ago, it was revealed that the far left network was being beaten in the rating ballot by the Hallmark channel. Now, they are being beaten in the ratings. ratings by the Food Network. More people want to watch pies and cakes being baked than hear Anderson Cooper or Jake Tapper analyze the day's news. How much lower can they go before people start getting cut left and right? Perhaps Anderson Cooper can whip up a casserole on camera or make a pizza to help CNN's struggling primetime lineup that had a smaller audience than the Food Network last week. CNN finished No. 17 among cable stations during primetime last week amid a news cycle that included the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the ensuing manhunt for his killer, a slew of news related to President Trump's Cabinet picks, the fallout from Joe Biden announcing he would pardon his son, Hunter, and a rebel alliance's challenging Bashar al-Assad in Syria. During prime time viewing last week CNN only had 367,000 total viewers compared to 2.5 million for the Fox News Channel.

December 12: The New York Post:
The smearing of Trump's nominees shows the irrelativeness of the drive by media
Suffice it to say that much of our increasingly irrelevant media believe that their new mission -- after failing to defeat Donald Trump in the 2024 election -- is to take out as many of his cabinet picks as possible. But is it working? take the case of Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's choice for Director of National Intelligence. She is former military, having served on the front lines in Iraq. She also served several terms in Congress on the House Armed Services Committee. She ran for president as a Democrat in 2020 — and even earned more delegates than Kamala Harris in that contest. But when her party left her by embracing wars, Gabbard joined Team Trump on the campaign trail. As if on cue, the attacks flowed in once Trump named her to his cabinet.
- USA Today: "Syria is now free from Assad. And this Trump nominee has some explaining to do,"
- The Bulwark: "The Curious Case of Tulsi Gabbard: Is She a Russian Asset or a Dupe?"
- Washington Post: "Gabbard, Trump Intel pick who visited Assad, meets with senators after dictator's fall."
If legacy media had the influence they once did, one would expect these nominees to have zero shot at being confirmed. But here's the disconnect: No GOP senator is on record saying he or she opposes Gabbard.

December 12: Axios: Ron Paul questions the cost of deporting so many illegals
Senator Ron Paul (R-KY) will be gaining power next Congress. Paul, an infamous deficit hawk and libertarian, will chair the committee that oversees the Department of Homeland Security. While the Incoming Senate GOP leader John Thune is prioritizing a border package in Trump's first 100 days it is likely to include a huge cash infusion of more than $100 billion into border security and the infrastructure to carry out Trump's mass deportation promises. Paul is questioning the cost and the ability to cover same. "I'm not a big fan of what Republicans are saying, they're going to spend $100 billion on the border, another $200 billion on military to bust the military caps," Paul said. ."I think it's a terrible way to start."

December 12: Fox News: Former Stripper admits lying about gang rape by Duke Lacrosse players
Former stripper and current murder convict Crystal Mangum confessed to lying about being raped by Duke Lacrosse players in an interview with an independent media outlet. "I testified falsely against them by saying that they raped me when they didn't and that was wrong, and I betrayed the trust of a lot of other people who believed in me," Mangum said. "[I] made up a story that wasn't true because I wanted validation from people and not from God." Mangum, who is serving a prison sentence for murdering her boyfriend, falsely accused three Duke players of raping her while she was performing at a team party in March 2006. The players she accused were arrested, igniting a national controversy and conversations about racism.

December 11: One American News Network:
Inflation continues to rise; 2.7% in November
Inflation rose for the second consecutive month in November, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showing a 2.7% annual increase—still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. Monthly costs climbed 0.3%, marking the sharpest rise since April, driven by higher food and gas prices.

December 11: Washington Free Beacon:
Blinken: "No one anticipated" the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan
Secretary of State Antony Blinken testified before Congress on the Biden administration's chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal in a long-awaited hearing that was originally scheduled for September. Though he claimed that "no one" in the Biden State Department anticipated the Afghan government's swift collapse, a group of diplomats warned Blinken of that very prospect roughly one month before the Taliban captured Kabul. The twenty-six diplomats, sent Blinken a dissent cable in mid-July 2021 — one month before the fall of Kabul and six weeks before a suicide bombing attack killed 13 American servicemembers — warning of Afghanistan's rapid deterioration. Asked why he ignored that cable, Blinken responded, "Very simply because no one anticipated the government and Afghan forces would collapse as quickly as they did." During several hours of testimony, Blinken faced pointed questions about his agency's failure to prepare for the Taliban's resurgence and the hurried U.S. evacuation effort that left thousands of Americans stranded in the country under terrorist rule. Blinken blamed the failure on American military leaders and the U.S. intelligence community, which he said failed to predict the Afghan government's imminent collapse.

December 11: News Max:
Drones over NJ are not from an "Iranian Mothership" nor are they from the U.S. military
The Pentagon said on Wednesday that there was no evidence that drones that had been spotted over New Jersey were from a foreign entity or adversary and dismissed a claim by a U.S. lawmaker that they were being launched from an Iranian "mothership." "What we've uncovered is alarming—drones flying in from the direction of the ocean, possibly linked to a missing Iranian mothership," Congressman Jeff Van Drew suggested on Twitter. Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said. "There is no truth to that. There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there's no so-called 'mothership' launching drones towards the United States." Singh said that drones spotted were not from the U.S. military either and the issue was being investigated by local law enforcement.

December 10: Fox News: Is there any question as to why the murder happened
when students get indoctrinated by extreme left wing professors
A University of Pennsylvania professor made some of her social media accounts private and appeared to take down her TikTok account after going viral for appearing to celebrate that the suspected killer of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson was a graduate of the Ivy League school. The 26-year-old is accused of executing the former insurance executive on a New York City sidewalk last week. He was taken into custody on Monday at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was wanted in New York for charges including Murder in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree. After he was taken into custody as a person of interest on Monday, UPenn professor Julia Alekseyeva appeared to share several social media posts fawning over the murder suspect. The text on screen reads, "Have never been prouder to be a professor at the University of Pennsylvania," she wrote.

December 10: The Daily Caller:
Sen. Hawley confronts witness explain how flooding job market helps Americans
Sen. Josh Hawley confronted American Immigration Council senior fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday about how flooding the job market with illegal immigrants benefits Americans. Melnick had contended that mass deportations would be detrimental to many American industries, including hospitality, construction and agriculture. During a hearing on President Trump's mass deportation policy, Hawley argued during a heated exchange with Melnick that Democrats plan to continue hurting the economy and allowing wages to go down by allowing illegal immigrants to be part of the American workforce. "Why would you want American citizens and those who are here lawfully to have to compete against illegal immigrants who by the way are not always paid minimum wage, who are not given the federally mandated benefits precisely because they are here illegally. Why would you want to drive down the wages of millions of working Americans who can't get those jobs in construction, infrastructure and hospitality because illegal immigrants are getting them [and] suppressing wages in the meantime. Why would you want to do that?" Hawley asked.

December 10: The Daily Caller:
Sen. Kennedy (R-LA) asks former General and anti-Trump person, "Did I read that accurately?"
Sen. John Kennedy clashed with retired Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner over the general's criticism of President Trump and his supporters during a Tuesday hearing, with Kennedy asking the former officer if he considered himself "more virtuous" than Trump's supporters. Manner had appeared on CNN in October claiming Trump's supporters were "fascists themselves" while being interviewed. Kennedy brought up Manner's comments during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "How Mass Deportations Will Separate American Families, harm our Armed Forces, and Devastate Our Economy."

December 10: The New York Post:
Capitol police arrest man for assault of Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC)
Rep. Nancy Mace said she was "physically accosted" at the US Capitol building complex Tuesday by a transgender rights activist who was later arrested by the Capitol Police. "I was physically accosted at the Capitol tonight by a pro-trans man," the congresswoman wrote. "One new brace for my wrist and some ice for my arm and it'll heal just fine," she added, suggesting she suffered minor injuries as a result of the incident. Mace, who has pushed to limit access to single-sex facilities inside the Capitol complex, indicated that the incident was sparked "over my fight to protect women." Capitol Police said James McIntyre, 33, was arrested inside the Rayburn House Office Building in connection with the incident.

December 10: The Texas Scorecard:
Texas mayoral candidate pleads guilty – Election tampering
More than four years after he was caught with a box full of fraudulently obtained mail-in ballots, Carrollton mayoral candidate Zul Mohamed pleaded guilty Monday to 109 voter fraud felonies. The punishment could be between 2 and 20 years in prison or probation. In September 2020, Denton County Elections officials received dozens of suspicious ballot-by-mail applications, all with similar writing and requesting ballots be sent to the same address—which turned out to be a commercial mailbox store. The Sheriff's Office investigators placed trackers in a box of ballots, staked out the store, and it led them to Mohamed. The candidate presumably intended to fill out the ballots for himself. He was arrested in October 2020 and charged with 84 counts of submitting fraudulent mail ballot applications and 25 counts of possessing mail ballots or carrier envelopes without the voter's knowledge or request. The number of offenses increased the violations to second-degree felonies. He pleaded guilty to all charges. A jury will determine what sentence should be applied.

December 8: The Gateway Pundit:
A Biden pardon of Fauci will not shield him from state and civil lawsuits
Regardless of whether a presidential pardon is issued, Dr. Anthony Fauci remains subject to possible prosecution for violations of state criminal codes that he (and other officials) allegedly committed during the COVID-19 pandemic. On behalf of hundreds of aggrieved families of lost loved ones during the pandemic, extensive legal briefs requesting criminal investigations of alleged state crimes have been submitted by the Vires Law Group, West Palm Beach, FL, to attorneys general in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. For example, the recent testimony of Dr. David Martin before members of the Oklahoma state legislature regarding the use of remdesivir is daunting to say the least. His testimony is a strong indictment of those who supported and administered remdesivir, a drug publicly known to be highly toxic, causing kidney and other organ failure contributing to or causing a patient's ultimate death. Additionally the use of ventilators for COVID-19 patients, a National Library of Medicine report indicates that "— of 69 studies with more than 57,000 patients showed fatality rates of 45 percent — the fatality rate increased to 84 percent in older patients."

December 8: News Max: Trump; Day one I will pardon non-violent Jan 6ers
Donald Trump vowed on his "first day" to bring blind justice back in America, weighing pardons for nonviolent Jan. 6 protesters and potential investigations of lawmakers who sought to weaponize Jan. 6 and justice against their political opposition. "I want to look at everything; we're going to look at individual cases, yeah, but I'm going to be acting very quickly: First day," Trump said. Justice for the nonviolent protesters held by Biden's weaponized Justice Department is long overdue. "These people have been" imprisoned, Trump said, noting the inhumane conditions of the Washington, D.C., jail under fire for being unsanitary for years, "how long is it? Three or four years." "They've been in there for years, and they're in a filthy, disgusting place that should not even be allowed to be open." Also, Trump said he believes the House Jan. 6 Select Committee members who weaponized Jan. 6 and justice against their political opposition should be investigated and perhaps go to jail if they broke the law.

December 8: The New York Post: Trump calls on "weakened" Russia for ceasefire in Ukraine as Assad is toppled in Syria
Donald Trump urged Russia to negotiate a halt to the fighting in Ukraine following to fall of the Assad regime in Syria — saying the Kremlin was in a "weakened state" as a result of the war and the "bad economy." "There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse," Trump posted on Truth Social early Sunday morning. "I know Vladimir [Putin] well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!" Moscow has been skeptical about a ceasefire — at least in the public eye, contending that it would give Kyiv time to regroup and strengthen its defense. The Kremlin has demanded Ukraine pull out of Russian-annexed territory in the besieged country despite not having full control over it. The incoming president, who has long signaled a strong desire to end the war, huddled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron during the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Saturday.

December 7: The Washington Times:
Israeli Ambassador; Iranian regime severely weakened by proxy losses in Syria
Israel's recent direct military strikes against Iran and rebel advances in Syria severely weakened the Iranian regime and its proxy forces in the region, Israel's ambassador to the United States said Saturday. Ambassador Michael Herzog said during a defense conference that the Syrian regime of Bashar Assad is in danger of falling. The regime until recently was a key part of Iran's "axis of resistance" to U.S. and Israeli influence in the region. "This is a major blow to Irani and the Iranian axis," Herzog said. Syria also was a vital link for Iran to access the Mediterranean Sea, to arm and support its proxy force Hezbollah in Lebanon, and to gain access to Israel's border, he said. "All of this now is denied," Herzog said, adding that "there are no good guys" in the Syrian rebels who are Islamist radicals.


December 7: The Texas Tribune:
Texas GOP caucus supports Cook for speakership while Burrows claims he has enough
Democrat votes to make him speaker
With the Texas GOP grass roots having made it clear they don't want to have Democrat chairmen in a GOP-controlled House of Representatives, State Rep. Dustin Burrows (Lubbock) is claiming he has enough votes from both Republican and Democrat representatives to secure the speakership for himself. "The speaker's race is over," Burrows claimed at a news conference that lasted less than two minutes. "I have secured enough to be speaker of the House for the next session." He released a list of 76 supporters — 38 Republicans and 38 Democrats as proof. However, three members say they should not be on the list, debasing Burrows' claim to have the necessary votes to be elected speaker. Greg Bonnen (R-Galveston County) appeared next to Burrows at the press conference, indicating his support for Burrows. Burrows' announcement came just minutes after Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield), Burrows' main rival for the speaker's gavel, had been declared the endorsed candidate by the House GOP Caucus by a vote of 48-14 after a contingent of Burrows' supporters dramatically left the meeting after the two rivals had stalemated in the first two rounds.

December 7: The Daily Wire: Prosecution in Penny case withdrawing most serious charge, hopeful that the lessor charge will stick
The prosecution in the Daniel Penny trial on Friday successfully requested the most serious charge -- second-degree manslaughter -- be dismissed while jury deliberations were on-going. The jury will now deliberate on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which holds up to four years behind bars instead of 15 years for the more serious charge. Some legal eagles online, and, most importantly, the defense, are concerned about this tactic by the prosecution. They see it as the state making its request as a desperate move to try to secure some kind of conviction in what many view as an extremely weak case. The defense sees the state's actions as establishing a dangerous precedent for prosecutors to overcharge defendants, knowing that they can maneuver last minute in order to obtain a lesser conviction. According to the police, Penny, a 25-year-old former Marine, put Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, in a six-minute-long chokehold after Neely boarded a NYC subway car acting erratically. Witnesses described Neely yelling and moving erratically, with Penny's attorneys calling Neely "insanely threatening" when Penny put Neely in a chokehold, thereby protecting others in the subway car from injury or harm.

December 7: The Washington Times:
GOP Rep. call upon Biden Admin agencies to stop negotiating collective bargaining deals with bureaucrats; hindering Trump Admin from reducing the size of govt.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) are calling on federal agencies to stop negotiating collective bargaining agreements with the Biden administration, in an attempt to hinder the incoming administration from reducing the size of, and reorganizing, the government. Biden's team has spent the waning weeks of his time in office negotiating or extending union deals that the lawmakers say cede "presidential authority to run the federal government to union allies." The representatives sent 24 letters to federal agencies on Friday demanding an end to the dealmaking. "By employing these short-term tactics to Trump-proof federal agencies, the Biden-Harris administration apparently did not consider — or perhaps did not care — that this abuse of labor law will further convince the public that the civil service considers itself beyond the reach of accountability," they wrote. One of the recent deals the lawmakers pointed out in their letters was struck by Social Security Administration head Martin O'Malley with the American Federation of Government Employees, locking in 42,000 positions at the agency, or 70% of the SSA's workforce, to work from home until 2029. President Trump has vowed to see federal workers return to the office. His new Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, has pledged to trim costs by nixing telework. The Comer-Greene letters follow a report from Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) that was released this week finding that just 6% of the federal workforce is showing up daily for a full day's work.

December 6: The Gateway Pundit:
National Police Association endorses Kash Patel nomination for FBI Director
The National Police Association has given Kash Patel its full-fledged support for FBI Director in an endorsement, urging the Senate to confirm him. "Kash Patel's extensive career in national security, law enforcement, and public service has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to upholding the rule of law, defending justice, and protecting the American people," a new press release states. "We firmly believe that Kash Patel's appointment as FBI Director will mark a pivotal moment for law enforcement and public safety across the United States. His leadership will bring a renewed focus on collaboration, ethical standards, and the relentless pursuit of justice." The NPA is a nonprofit organization that was founded "to educate supporters of law enforcement in how to help police departments accomplish their goals." They also provide legal backing, public education, and advocate to "Support the Police and Back the Blue, because Blue Lives Matter," according to their webpage.

December 6: iHeartMedia/KTRH: Dade Phelan drops out of the race for Speaker of the Texas House
Texas State Rep. Dade Phelan has dropped out of the race for House Speaker ahead of the vote tomorrow. He said in a statement, "Out of deep respect for this institution and its members, and after careful consideration and private consultation with colleagues, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the race for Speaker of the Texas House." Phelan has been criticized throughout his career as Speaker for failing to work effectively with both Lt. Governor Dan Patrick in the Senate and for opposing Governor Abbott's long-term push for school choice. He has also been criticized by conservatives for appointing Democrats to chair key House committees, and for pushing the impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton was later acquitted by the Senate, and since then, Phelan has diligently worked to conceal both the cost of the impeachment and the details of the investigation from taxpayers.

December 6: The Times of Israel:
Israel is preparing for possible collapse of Syrian Army
Israel is said to be preparing for the possibility that the Syrian army may collapse in the face of rapidly advancing rebel forces, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding security deliberations on the matter on Thursday night. Israel's Channel 13 reported that the IDF now assesses the rebels may pose a real threat to the continuation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's rule. According to a report on Israel's Channel 12, Israel has been surprised by the weakness of the Syrian army, as it continues to swiftly lose ground to the jihadist-led fighters. The report added that Israel has sent a strong warning to Iran not to send weaponry to Syria that could reach the hands of the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon. The news reported, citing two unnamed sources, that Israel and the United States are "detecting signs of certain collapse" in the Syrian army, and that one of Israel's main concerns is that the rebels will advance as far south as the Israeli border with Syria in the Golan Heights. Israel has reportedly conveyed messages to rebel leaders to stay away from the border.

December 5: The Daily Caller: Follow the Money; GOP senators who received money from the defense industry could derail the Tulsi Gabbard nomination
Senate GOP hawks who receive large sums from the defense industry could be mobilizing to tank one of President Trump's national security nominees. Former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, nominated to take over the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, could face opposition from Senate Republicans with hawkish views on national security over her beliefs on Ukraine and government surveillance powers. Though a considerable number of Trump-aligned senators have endorsed Gabbard, citing her decades-long military service and commitment to reforming the country's intelligence agencies that have been frequently weaponized against the president , GOP senators whose national security views appear to sharply diverge from Gabbard's have mostly refrained from supporting her nomination.

December 5: The Gateway Pundit:
Cornyn: Patel has enough votes to be confirmed as FBI Director
Last month President Trump officially nominated Kash Patel for the role of FBI Director in his next Administration. "Kash is a brilliant lawyer, investigator, and 'America First' fighter who has spent his career exposing corruption, defending Justice, and protecting the American People," Trump said. "He played a pivotal role in uncovering the Russia Hoax, standing as an advocate for truth, accountability, and the Constitution," he continued. "Kash did an incredible job during my First Term where he served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense… Kash has also tried over 60 jury trials. This FBI will end the growing crime epidemic in America, dismantle the migrant criminal gangs, and stop the evil scourge of human and drug trafficking across the Border," Trump contended. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) on Thursday said Kash Patel has the votes and will be confirmed.

December 5: News Max: Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) to introduce DOGE bills
The Blackburn legislation coincides with the new Trump agency's plan to make government more efficient. "... These bills would cut discretionary spending, move federal agencies out of the swamp, freeze federal hiring and salaries for one year, begin the process of a merit-based compensation structure for federal employees, and require agencies to get employees back in the office," the Senator contended. She said further that her legislation will not impact public safety, national security, or public health services.

December 5: Sky News:
Russia's capability to launch full scale battlefield barrages on the decline
Russia's ability to outmatch Ukraine with artillery barrages on the battlefield has significantly reduced to just 1.5 Russian rounds for every Ukrainian shell fired back, Western officials have said. This compares with Russian forces launching at least five times as many artillery rounds as Ukraine could in the war previously - with the ratio at times much higher even than that. Some Western officials put the levelling out down to a "wide variety of factors," including limitations in Russian defense production lines, difficulties with transporting more rounds to the frontline by rail, and strikes by Ukrainian drones against strategic stockpiles of Russian and North Korean ammunition supplies inside Russia. In addition, sources said Western supplies of ammunition were helping to bolster Ukraine's armory.

December 5: The Washington Examiner: TN AG declares victory in ACLU's acknowledgment denial of transgender procedures doesn't raise likelihood of suicide
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti claimed victory in the American Civil Liberties Union's acknowledgment before the SCOTUS on Wednesday that the denial of transgender procedures for minors does not raise suicide rates. The discussion of data on suicide rates among minors experiencing gender dysphoria was one of the most significant moments, Skrmetti said, during oral arguments in the case, a case testing whether the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause precludes state law barring children under the age of 18 from undergoing transgender hormone and puberty-blocking procedures.
[See Related Story]

December 5: The Daily Wire: The idea that if you work for a private health care insurance company you should be murdered is astonishing
On Wednesday, a shocking assassination occurred in New York City, and reportedly some on the Left celebrated. Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare's insurance arm, was fatally shot outside a hotel in Midtown, the center of Manhattan's business and tourist districts. Police said it was a targeted attack. The video footage makes it seem clear this was a professional hit. Thompson walked past the shooter, who appeared to emerge from the shadows. The shooter shot Thompson, shot him again, then calmly walked by him and appeared to shoot him a third time. The suspect fled on foot after the shooting. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said this was not a random act of violence. Thompson's widow said he had been receiving death threats.

December 4: Fox News: SCOTUS hears oral arguments over TN prohibition of gender changing medical procedures for minors
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor on Wednesday, likened the side effects of transgender medical procedures on minors to that of taking an over-the-counter painkiller during oral arguments in the U.S. v. Skrmetti case. "Every medical treatment has a risk, even taking aspirin," Sotomayor said. "There's always going to be a percentage of the population under any medical treatment that's going to suffer a harm. So, the question in my mind is not, 'do policymakers decide whether one person's life is more valuable than the millions of others who get relief from this treatment?'" Sotomayor's comments came after Tennessee Solicitor General Matthew Rice defended his state's ban on transgender medical procedures for minors, which is the first time a case involving transgender procedures has been brought before the high court. Rice argued that countries like Sweden, Finland and the United Kingdom have limited such interventions due to reported irreversible consequences.

December 4: The Daily Caller:
Trump sends warning shot to high tech companies with nomination to DOJ
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will tap economic policy adviser to Vice President J.D. Vance, Gail Slater, as assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice (DOJ). Before his second victory, Trump repeatedly called out Big Tech's involvement in manipulating information behind the scenes, alleging that the companies have "systematically" colluded to advance a "censorship regime." In an announcement on Truth Social, Trump stated the corporations have used their "market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans" and "those of Little Tech."

December 4: The Washington Examiner: Rep. Jordan not happy with results of DOJ investigation into misconduct by Jack Smith's office
The Department of Justice recently briefed the House Judiciary Committee about an internal investigation it had opened into special counsel Jack Smith's office, according to committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). Jordan said the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility official who gave the briefing, that Jordan was unsatisfied with the information Ragsdale provided during it. Ragsdale had said during the briefing, which took place last month, that he opened the inquiry into possible misconduct by Smith's office in June 2023 but that he had not been able to take any further investigative steps while Smith's prosecutions of President-elect Donald Trump remained pending, per Jordan. Ragsdale had said any action he took would have "interfered" with Smith's cases, both of which have been terminated since Trump's election win.

December 4: One American News Network: Democrat Rep. joins "Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency" (DOGE) Caucus
Democrat Rep. Jared Moskowitz has become the first Democrat to join the Congressional "Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency" (DOGE) Caucus, a Republican-led caucus under President Trump that will work in tandem with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy's "Department of Government Efficiency," which is also referred to as DOGE. "Today, I will join the Congressional DOGE Caucus, because I believe that streamlining government processes and reducing ineffective government spending should not be a partisan issue," Moskowitz (D-FL) stated on Tuesday. "I've been clear that there are ways we can reorganize our government to make it work better for the American people."

December 4: The New York Post:
Rumor floating that Biden will give Chaney, Schiff, and Fauci pre-emptive pardons
Joe Biden's top aides are reportedly weighing the idea of issuing "pre-emptive pardons" to current and former government officials ahead of President Trump's inauguration next month. On the list could be former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci has been accused by Republicans and watchdog groups of lying to Congress about the origins of COVID-19, NIH's involvement, and his use of a private email account to do government business. Cheney, an outspoken critic of the president Trump, was a leading figure in the House of Representatives' investigation into Trump's role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol Building. Schiff, a congressman elected to the Senate last month, has long peddled untrue accusations about the Trump campaign's alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 election cycle. If the Biden Administration believes pre-emptive pardons are necessary, just perhaps there are some truths behind the allegations.

December 3: The Galveston County Daily News: The Lawfare against Trump has Failed and May Have Gotten Him Reelected
The Democrat elites' lawfare seems to have failed, while it actually may have helped Trump get reelected. Noted attorney/legal scholar Alan Dershowitz (D) has suggested Trump's legal team file a writ of mandamus to prevent Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and the judge from drawing the case out and holding it over Trumps head for four years – the judge has moved sentencing from this month to 2029 after Trump leaves office. A writ of mandamus is a "legal action that compels a lower court or government official to perform their duties or correct an abuse of discretion." If the writ is denied, it would be appealed and would, most likely, be approved by higher courts. This would force Trump's sentencing which, in turn, would force an appeal of the entire case -- an action which would most likely lead to the entire case being dismissed.

December 3: The Washington Times: South Korean President
backs down on marshal law after pushback from lawmakers
In a night of extraordinary developments in Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in a surprise late-night address to the nation, citing threats from North Korea and from his political opponents at home, only to back down hours later after spontaneous street protests and a unanimous vote against the decree by furious South Korea lawmakers. The head-spinning turn of events threatened to bring an unexpected round of political and security uncertainty to a key U.S. ally that had long considered a model of stable, democratic government in East Asia. Yoon, who sought to cement his power with the move, now faces questions over whether he can survive politically after a humiliating and very public retreat. Under South Korean law, a presidential martial law decree can be lifted with a majority vote from parliament. Meanwhile the embattled president called upon lawmakers "to immediately cease reckless acts such as repeated impeachments, legislative manipulations and budgetary disruptions that are paralyzing the functions of the state."

December 3: News Max: SCOTUS to hear lawsuit whether Docs can prescribe irreversible gender transition drugs to minors
Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) will hear arguments in the dispute over whether states can ban doctors from prescribing irreversible medications to minors for the purpose of gender transition. Lawyers will present their arguments in the case brought by the Biden administration against Tennessee and TN Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti over the state's 2023 law, which blocks puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and other treatments to children under the age of 18. Skrmetti contends the law's intent is "to protect children from irreversible, unproven medical procedures," After a preliminary injunction issued by a federal district judge in Nashville in June 2023 delayed the law from going into effect, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati stayed the injunction a month later. Now the closely watched case lies with the Supreme Court, which will rule on the case next summer.

December 2: The Epoch Times: Canada to strengthen the border
A top Canadian official confirmed the country will strengthen the security of its border with the United States after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with President Donald Trump following the latter's threat of a 25% tariff if nothing is done. Trudeau flew to Florida on Nov. 29 to have dinner with Trump, who last week said he would place tariffs on Canadian imports unless it prevents illegal immigrants and drugs from crossing the border. Trump also warned he would issue a similar tariff on Mexico if the country fails to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said, "We're going to look to procure, for example, additional drones, additional police helicopters, we're going to redeploy personnel ... we believe that the border is secure." "It's important, I think, to show Canadians and the Americans that we're stepping up in a visible and muscular way, and that's exactly what we're going to do," he said, promising more details in the days and weeks to come. Canada sends 75% of its goods and service exports to the United States, meaning that tariffs would badly hurt its economy.

December 1: News Max: Senator says Trump's use of tariffs valid trade strategy
The United States has long used trade as a "strategic tool" in negotiations, as access to its economy is a "privilege" for other nations, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) said Sunday, defending President Trump's plans for tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and other nations. "If you think about it, we've made access to this economy a strategic tool ever since World War II," he said. Trump has threatened 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada if action is not taken on immigration and drug imports, and Saturday said he would impose a 100% tariff on nations that threaten to undermine the U.S. dollar. "Right now, the United States has the most open market of any major economy in the world. We need to take a very hard look at countries that don't have our best interests at heart, countries that are allowing our borders to be violated, and use those tariffs as a tool to achieve our ends." Canada and Mexico, Hagerty said, engage in behavior that is "letting fentanyl flood into our border, that is allowing people to flood into our country, millions of people, undocumented, illegal people," adding that their actions need to stop.

December 1: The Epoch Times:
Trump picks Kash Patel as new FBI Director
This weekend President Trump announced his pick of Kash Patel, a former national security official, to be the new director of the FBI. Leading Republican senator who is in line to become the Senate Judiciary chairman said that President Donald Trump's choice to head the FBI must restore Americans' confidence in the federal law enforcement bureau. Patel, has backed the president's assertions about how government officials weaponized agencies against his administration. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), who is set to become the Senate president pro tempore when Republicans take control of the chamber in January, contended Patel "must prove to Congress he will reform [and] restore public trust in FBI."


December 1: The Washington Examiner:
Trump's plans for seeking a reduction in the deep state may end up before SCOTUS
President Trump and his top advisers have long cited "impoundment," a little-known legal theory, as a means of shrinking the federa; government. But, pursuing that path will almost assuredly bring the incoming administration before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Constitution grants Congress sole authority to appropriate a federal budget, but the "impoundment" theory essentially claims that any president has unilateral authority to ignore Congress's funding bills and withhold or "impound" funds meant for programs, agencies, or departments deemed unsuitable. A president certainly must get Congressional approval in order to use appropriated funds for activities other than for which they were appropriated. But a decision just not to use appropriated funds, in the absence of authorizing language such as "shall, must," or "will" do "X, Y, or Z" is in a gray area. Another catch, Congress passed legislation during the Nixon administration that required the president to spend funds appropriated by Congress. The question is whether it applies to all presidents or just Nixon and his administration.