Information on the "Ike Dike" Coastal Barrier

January 28: The Washington Examiner: Trump and Netanyahu get
down to business while enemies circle
President Trump unveiled what he called his “deal of the century” for peace in the Middle East announcing a four-year halt to Israeli settlement building as the basis for finding a “realistic” two-state solution.  His plan calls for what would be the world’s longest tunnel, linking Gaza to the West Bank, and other bold proposals such as allowing Israel to annex the Jordan Valley in return for Palestinian statehood.  “I was not elected to do small things or shy away from big problems,” said Trump to cheers and applause as he stood beside Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

January 28: Fox News:  Paul Ryan: Trump’s children should sue Schumer for defamation of character
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said Tuesday that President Trump’s children should sue Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for defamation of character after Schumer  accused both them and their father of  illegally making money off of the presidency. Paul said he was "offended" and "shocked" that Schumer would "be so scurrilous" as to accuse the president and his children of making money illegally off of politics when "the only people we know who have actually made money off this have been Hunter Biden and Joe Biden."  He continued "So, Hunter Biden makes a million dollars a year. That's documented.  But, Schumer simply creates and makes up and says, 'Oh, maybe the president's kids are making money.'"

January 28: News One: Trump’s team wraps up impeachment defense; rejects Bolton testimony:
President Donald Trump's legal team argued forcefully against the relevance of testimony from Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton on Tuesday as the lawyers wrapped their defense and the Senate braced for debate on whether to summon Bolton and other witnesses into the impeachment trial.  Attorney Jay Sekulow undermined the credibility of Bolton's book by noting that other administration officials have disputed comments attributed to him.  Trump’s attorneys also argued that the Founding Fathers took care to make sure that impeachment was narrowly defined, with impeachable offenses clearly enumerated.

January 27: The Washington Examiner:  Paul: “Disgruntled, angry” Bolton using
leak to “make a lot more money”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul dismissed claims that former Trump national security adviser John Bolton’s testimony would add anything new to the impeachment case and charged that parts of Bolton's book critical of the president were leaked so he could make more money.  “He’s a disgruntled, angry man who was fired. So you’d have to take him with a grain of salt. He wants to sell a book,” the Kentucky senator told Secrets Monday in comments that echoed those of President Trump.  Paul suggested that the book excerpts leaked to the New York Times were part of a scheme to rally calls that the Senate call witnesses, especially Bolton, which would help the former aide cash in even more on his book,

January 27: The Daily Caller: Hemmer asks impeachment manager Demings
three times why the House didn’t subpoena Bolton
Fox News host Bill Hemmer had to ask House Impeachment Manager Val Demings three times why the House had not subpoenaed former National Security Adviser John Bolton — and even then, she did not give an answer.  Hemmer spoke to Demings during a break Monday in the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.

January 27: Breitbart News:  Trump defense team lays out their case
Trump defense counsel Cipollone made some quick observations before the Senate adjourns. He said he was thinking how Trump’s impeachment would look like on a law school exam. After going over the fact pattern, he said the first thought would be this could not happen in America. He continued one would reject the impeachment. He concluded by saying the most important point is that this choice belongs to the American people and they will get to make their choice months from now. He said there is no basis in the law for Senators to remove the president from the ballot.

January 26: The Washington Examiner: Should Bolton testify don’t expect him to slam dunk Trump
John Bolton is unlikely to drop the bombshell on President Trump hoped for by Democrats should he testify in the Senate impeachment trial, according to those who know him well.  Bolton is a committed hawk who devoted his career inside and outside the government to persuading Republican politicians to adopt his foreign policy agenda. Whatever his opinion of Trump with regard to Ukraine Bolton associates are convinced he would not jeopardize his influence with Republicans on national security matters by testifying against the president.

January 26: The Washington Free Beacon: CNN blames bar shooting on lax gun laws; it
got the facts wrong
A CNN article on a recent Kansas City bar shooting mischaracterized the shooter's criminal history to blame the killing on Missouri's gun laws.   29-year-old Jahron Swift was identified by police as the shooter.  All of Swift's prior arrests and weapons charges came before Missouri's gun law went into effect. Even after it was enacted on Jan. 1, 2017, the permit-less carry law would not have nullified Swift's pending unlawful use of weapons charges. But regardless of the permit-less carry law, Swift was convicted of two felonies and therefore could not have legally carried a gun.

January 26: Fox News: Tennessee law would allow agencies to deny LGBTQ
adoption applications for religious  reasons 
The Governor of Tenseness signed a controversial law Friday that allows adoption agencies within the state to refuse to place children in homes that "violate the agency's written religious or moral convictions or policies.”  The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Bill Lee, was widely condemned by members of the LGBTQ community for providing legal protections to agencies that reject foster care or adoption applications from same-sex homes. It also prohibits the state from denying agencies licenses or grants for public funding because they have a religious objection to placing a child in a certain home.

January 26: Yahoo News: Rocket attack his U.S. embassy in Bagdad injuring at least one
Three rockets slammed into the US embassy in Iraq's capital on Sunday in the first direct hit reported after months of close calls, as thousands kept up anti-government sit-ins across the country.  None of the attacks has been claimed but Washington has repeatedly blamed Iran-backed military factions in Iraq. 

January 25: The Daily Caller: Senator Ernst: Trump legal team shredded
House 24 hour impeachment case in just two hours
Republican Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst on Saturday reacted to the White House counsel’s defense against impeaching President Donald Trump, saying they “shredded” the House managers’ case in just two hours.  “Within two hours I thought that the White House Counsel and their team entirely shredded the case that has been presented by the house managers,” Ernst said to reporters on Capitol Hill after listening to Trump’s lawyers.

January 25: Breitbart News: Senator Hawley (R-MO) plans to force subpoena
votes for Bidens, Schiff, and the Whistleblower
Senator Josh Hawley revealed Saturday he has drafted motions to subpoena former Vice President Biden, his son Hunter, House intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-CA),and the so-called whistleblower.  Hawley will attempt to force a vote on the subpoenas if the Senate approves additional witnesses and documents as part of the upper chamber’s trial.  Hawley’s motion is likely to be opposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has come out against subpoenaing Hunter Biden over concerns that the move will extend the trial longer.

January 24: Real Clear Politics: Trump speaks at March for Life rally in DC
It is my profound honor to be the first President in history to attend the March for Life. We’re here for a very simple reason: to defend the right of every child, born and unborn, to fulfill their God-given potential. For 47 years, Americans of all backgrounds have traveled from across the country to stand for life. And today, as President of the United States, I am truly proud to stand with you

January 24: Fox News: Trump tells defense team, just be honest and tell the truth
President Trump told Fox News Friday that his defense team in the Senate impeachment trial merely has to "be honest" in laying out the case for why he shouldn't be removed from office before calling the proceedings a "fraud."  "What my people have to do is just be honest, just tell the truth," Trump told Raymond Arroyo at the March for Life rally in Washington. "They’ve been testifying, the Democrats, they’ve been telling so many lies, so many fabrications, so much exaggeration. And this is not impeachable."

January 24: Yahoo.Com: Experts fear too late for China virus lockdown
China's bid to contain a deadly new virus by placing cities of millions under quarantine is an unprecedented undertaking but it is unlikely to stop the disease spreading, experts warn.  The contagious virus has already reached elsewhere in China and abroad, and even an authoritarian government has only a small timeframe in which trapped residents will submit to such a lockdown, they say.  "I think we have passed the golden period of control and prevention," said Guan Yi, an expert on viruses at Hong Kong University.

January 24: Fox News: Senator Ernst impeachment “hypocrisy”
Democrats' claim that the Trump Administration broke America's promise to protect  Ukraine from Russia by withholding military aid is just an example of the party's hypocrisy, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) claimed Thursday.  "The Democratic House Managers’ hypocrisy is on full display," Ernst wrote on Twitter.  "They’ve spent most of their time lecturing the Senate on aid to Ukraine, yet four of them voted AGAINST legislation that provided the very same aid they’re lecturing us on."  "What I find very interesting now is that the House Managers are very, very centered on the fact that Russia was invading Ukraine. And military funding to Ukraine," she said during a break from President Trump’s impeachment trial earlier Thursday, reminding reporters that Crimea was invaded in 2014 during the Obama administration.

January 23: The Daily Caller:  Biden: DACA recipients are “More American than most Americans”
Former Vice President Joe Biden said at a campaign event in Iowa on Tuesday that illegal immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program are “more American” than most of their U.S.-born counterparts because they do well in school.  “These kids have come, they’ve done well, most of these kids — there’s a lot of them, and they’re not just Hispanic, they’re Asian-Pacific Islanders as well. and they in fact have done very, very well,” Biden said at an event in Ames, Iowa.

January 23: Fox News: Turnabout is fair play; Oklahoma bans
state travel to California
The governor of Oklahoma has banned all state-funded travel to California after officials there placed a similar ban on travel to his state.  Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the ban in an executive order on Thursday, barring all non-essential travel by state employees to the Golden State, with exceptions for business recruiting trips, college sports games and trips by schools to participate in out-of-state programs.  Stitt’s executive order came as a response to similar travel bans imposed by California where Oklahoma was added after enacting legislation allowing adoption agencies to deny placement services to same-sex parents.

January 23: Fox News:  Key GOP senator “Offended” by Nadler cover up charge
House Democrats' handling of the impeachment to date may be turning off Republicans they need to help them in the final vote.  The first sign of a backlash among that critical group came Wednesday when Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)  said she was offended by House manager Jerry Nadler’s assertion that GOP members voting against allowing new testimony and evidence were engaged in a “cover-up.”  Murkowski’s complaint about Nadler's remarks is particularly noteworthy, as she is among the small group of Republican senators seen as a possible swing vote on impeachment and a possible supporter of allowing more witness testimony later on in the trial. But Murkowski is not alone—Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., on Wednesday said Democrats “took a huge step backward” in their opening.

January 23: The Daily Caller: DOJ concedes that two of its Carter Page FISA orders were “not valid”
The Justice Department recently conceded that two of the four orders to wiretap former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page were “not valid,” Judge James Boasberg said in a court order unsealed Thursday.   The Justice Department made the surprising concession in response to an inspector general’s report that found “significant” errors and omissions in four applications submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to surveil Page.  While the IG report was highly critical of the FBI and Justice Department, it did not weigh in on the validity of the four surveillance applications, which were granted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

January 22: NBC News:  Senate adopts Leader McConnell’s rules for impeachment trial of Trump
The Senate passed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's resolution laying out a blueprint for President Donald Trump's impeachment trial along party lines early Wednesday after 13 hours of back and forth between House prosecutors and attorneys for the White House.  Under the terms of the organizing resolution, the House case managers will have 24 hours over three days to make their arguments to remove the president from office on charges of abuse of power and obstructing Congress. Attorneys for the White House likewise will have 24 hours over three days to state their case for acquittal.

January 22: Fox News: House and White House legal teams tangle causing Justice Roberts
to admonish both
"We've (the President’s legal team) been respectful of the Senate,"  White House counsel Pat Cipollone fired said.   "We've made our arguments to you. And you don't deserve, and we don't deserve, what just happened. Mr. Nadler came up here and made false allegations against our team. He made false allegations against all of you; he accused you of a cover-up. He's been making false allegations against the president. The only one who should be embarrassed, Mr. Nadler is you, for the way you've addressed the United States Senate. This is the United States Senate. You're not in charge here. ... It’s about time we bring this power trip in for a landing."  The attacks went on back and forth causing the Chief Justice to admonish both legal teams

January 22: The UK Daily Mail: Gabbard sues Clinton; I’m no Russian Spy
Tulsi Gabbard is suing  Hillary Clinton for defamation after Clinton indicated she thinks the Hawaii congresswoman is a Russian plant in the 2020 presidential race.  'Rep. Gabbard must defend her good name,' her lawyer said in a statement on Wednesday.  The complaint references Gabbard's military service in the Army National Guard, charges Clinton with hurting her presidential bid, and outlines her belief Clinton made the comments in retaliation for Gabbard endorsing Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary. 

January 21: The UK Daily Mail: Democrats lose their first battle of
Trump's impeachment trial as Senate rejects subpoenaing the White
House for Ukraine documents
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) blasted a proposed rules package and said Trump sought to 'coerce' Ukraine into helping him 'cheat' in the election. Trump denies he committed an impeachable offense and his defense has assailed the Democrats' process and lack of Republican backing. Majority Leader McConnell modified the initial rules to allow 24 hours of debate for each side over three days.  Minority Leader Schumer proposed an amendment that would allow Democrats to subpoena White House documents.  The Senate voted down the Schumer proposal by a 53 to 47 party line vote.   Several moderate GOP lawmakers - who Democrats had hoped to pick off to their side - said they were fine with waiting to vote on subpoenaing documents and witnesses after each side presents its opening argument, which is the same procedure used in Bill Clinton's Senate trial.

January 21: Fox News: Perino: Schumer risks losing public and senate
interest with amendments to the impeachment rules
Fox News cohost Dana Perino said Tuesday Senate Minority Leader Schumer (D-NY) risks losing the public's -- and the U.S. Senate's -- attention if he continues to offer "amendments" to the parameters of the Trump impeachment trial.  Most observers have a "limited amount of attention span," she said.  "He (Schumer) has to make a decision," Perino said.. "Does he want to go through all of these or tell [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell: 'Put these amendments in the record. Table them all at once. Get to the substance right away.'"

January 21: Fox News: Trump addresses World Economic Forum in Switzerland
President Trump on Tuesday addressed the global business community in Davos while his adversaries back home prepared for  his impeachment trial.  Trump took the stage and touted his administration's policies for helping create a historic unemployment level and taking a new proactive stance toward trade. He said recent trade agreements will represent a new model for the 21st Century that is based on fairness and reciprocity.  "Today I'm proud to declare the United States is in the midst of an economic boom, the likes of which the world has never seen before," he said. He went on to vow never to let "radical socialists destroy our economy."

January 20: The Washington Examiner:  White House adds GOP members to defense team
Eight Republican members of the House have joined President Trump's impeachment team ahead of his Senate trial.  The White House released the names including representatives Doug Collins (GA), Mike Johnson (LA), Jim Jordan (OH), Debbie Lesko (AZ), Mark Meadows (NC), John Ratcliffe (TX), Elise Stefanik (NY), and Lee Zeldin (NY). "Throughout this process, these Members of Congress have provided guidance to the White House team, which was prohibited from participating in the proceedings concocted by Democrats in the House of Representatives," the White House said in a statement. "The President looks forward to their continued participation and is confident that the Members will help expeditiously end this brazen political vendetta on behalf of the American people."

January 20: The Jerusalem Post: Iran threatens to pull out of the NPT if Europe
refers it to UN council
Iran said on Monday it could quit the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if European countries refer it to the U.N. Security Council over a nuclear agreement, a move that would overturn diplomacy in its confrontation with the West.  The 1968 NPT has been the foundation of global nuclear arms control since the Cold War, including a 2015 deal Iran signed with world powers that offered it access to global trade in return for accepting curbs to its atomic program.  The fate of the 2015 pact has been in doubt since the United States pulled out of it and reimposed sanctions.

January 20: The Daily Caller: Trump considering crackdown on “Birth Tourism”
Reports say every year, tens of thousands of foreign visitors enter the U.S. and give birth.  The Trump administration is reportedly preparing a crackdown on those who visit the United States with the explicit intention to give birth, taking advantage of the country’s birthright citizen laws. The President  is expected to roll out changes to visa requirements in the coming days in order to stifle the “birth tourism” industry . The proposals would be the latest in the administration’s efforts to clamp down on abuse of the U.S. immigration system.

January 20: The Washington Free Beacon: CNN: While covering a peaceful gun
rights rally, repeatedly mentions instances of gun violence
While reporting on a peaceful gun-rights rally in Richmond, Va., on Monday, CNN kept a chyron up about a shooting the night before in Kansas City. CNN reported on three recent gun-related events: a Monday morning shooting in Honolulu, a Sunday night shooting in Kansas City, and a Monday gun-rights rally in Richmond. As the segment transitioned from the Kansas City shooting to the Richmond protest, the chyron title read "Virginia Gun Fight" with the subtitle "2 Dead, 15 Injured in Kansas City shooting."

January 19: The Daily Caller: Chris Wallace challenges impeachment manager
about “solemn” souvenir pen ceremony
“Fox News Sunday” host Chris Wallace challenged New York Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries directly over the souvenir impeachment pens handed out by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  Jeffries, who was named one of Pelosi’s impeachment managers late last week, spoke with Wallace on Sunday morning and claimed that House Democrats took “no joy” in that ceremony despite the fact that they were all seen smiling, posing for photos and received ceremonial signing pens.

January 18: The Hill: Ted Cruz: Having witnesses could extend an impeachment
trial by up to eight weeks
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Sunday that the Senate’s impeachment trial could last as long as eight weeks if the chamber elects to hear from witnesses.  “I think it’s certainly possible that this trial could last one to two weeks. On the other hand, if the Senate makes the decision to go down the road of additional witnesses, that could extend it to six to eight weeks or even longer,” Cruz said. “This week is going to be the first time in a year that the president has had the opportunity to defend himself, to lay out the facts, to lay out the law, to lay out the actual substance,” he added.

January 18: Fox News: McConnell could provide for a “kill switch” for
impeachment trial if Democrats attempt to drag it out
Senate Majority Leader McConnell reportedly is close to finalizing a rule that would allow President Trump's team to move to dismiss the articles of impeachment in the Senate quickly after some evidence has been presented, as a sort of safety valve in case Democrats try to drag out the trial for weeks.  McConnell, R-Ky., wouldn't be obligated to publicize the final version of his resolution setting the parameters of the impeachment trial until Tuesday, but top Republicans have said they supported affording Trump the opportunity to cut the trial short.

January 18: The Daily Caller: Trump asks Supreme Court to allow plan restricting green
cards for benefit-dependent immigrants
he Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court for permission to enforce a new rule that allows authorities to consider a foreign national’s reliance on government benefits when deciding whether to give them a green card.  The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides that aliens should not be admitted if they are “likely at any time to become a public charge.” In the past, the government defined a “public charge” as a person primarily dependent on a cash assistance program, but the Trump administration expanded that definition in August 2019 to include people who use Medicaid, housing benefits or food stamps for a period of months.

January 17: The Washington Times: Sanders supports threaten to stay home if Biden is the nominee
Bernie Sanders supporters are warning that a lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden could bring about the same result that nominating another establishment Democrat did four years ago: electing Donald Trump.   Sanders backers fret the socialist Vermont senator, 78, is being consistently ignored and underestimated by Beltway insiders and a Washington-based press corps — the same bunch, in their view, who failed to predict Trump's 2016 White House win and were sure Hillary Clinton, who beat Sanders for the Democratic nomination, would easily prevail.

January 17: Associated Press: Anti-Trump protests have shrunk
Days after President Donald Trump killed an Iranian general and said he was sending more soldiers to the Middle East, about 100 protesters stood on a pedestrian bridge over Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive with an illuminated sign that read “No War in Iran.”  Some 200 people marched in the bitter cold near Boston, while a few dozen people demonstrated on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall and at similarly sized gatherings across the U.S.   Three years after Trump took office and millions of people swarmed to the Women’s March in Washington and companion marches across the country, these typically modest protests are often the most visible sign of today’s Trump resistance.  Buy the Associated Press believes this should not be confused with “…a lack of energy or motivation to vote Trump out of office come November.”

January 17: Fox News: Gingrich: This impeachment will last “forever” but not how Pelosi thinks
House Speaker Pelosi (D-CA)seemed giddy Wednesday as she announced the impeachment managers who would go to the Senate and attempt to prosecute a case against President Trump.  “He’s been impeached forever,” Pelosi said. “They can never erase that.”  Former Speaker Newt Gingrich said, “The wide repudiation of the House Democratic betrayal of the Constitution is already beginning. As a historian myself, I think it’s important to document these reactions.”

January 17: The Daily Caller: The Supremes’ Cases: State laws on “unfaithful”
electors; religious exemptions to Obamacare
he Supreme Court took up two high-profile disputes Friday as it rounds out its docket for the 2019-2020 term, agreeing to decide on the Trump administration’s bid to enforce exemptions from the Obamacare contraception mandate for religious dissenters, and whether state laws punishing “faithless” presidential electors are unconstitutional.  The latter case will be decided just months before the 2020 election, and could be decisive to the outcome of a closely-fought race.

January 17:  Fox News: Ayatollah lashes out at UK, France, and
Germany as they impose sanctions on Iran
On Friday Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei lashed out at Germany, the U.K. and France, calling them the “footmen of the U.S.,” days after the European countries moved to sanction the Islamic Republic for violating the controversial 2015 nuclear deal.

January 17: The Daily Caller: Starr, Dershowwitz, and Ray to join the
Trump impeachment defense team
President Donald Trump will reportedly add lawyers Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr and Robert Ray to his impeachment legal defense team. Starr helped with former President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, and Dershowitz was the former lawyer of Jeffrey Epstein. Ray replaced Starr at the Office of Independent Counsel during Clinton’s administration.

January 17: Fox News: Virginia Sheriff on Dems’ gun control bill
Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins reacted on Friday to the Virginia state House Democratic majority pushing several gun control measures to the upper senate chamber, calling it an "overreaching agenda against the Second Amendment."  “Never have I, or anyone, seen in the Commonwealth of Virginia someone have a topic so strongly opposed as this issue and suddenly this strong uprising against it,” Jenkins said.

January 16: The Associated Press: New Iowa caucus rules could spark clashes
The Iowa caucuses are never simple. Voters spend hours in high school gymnasiums or public libraries, starting their night by declaring support for their preferred presidential candidate. That’s followed by a feverish round of lobbying in which supporters of eliminated candidates are pressed to make a new pick by the evening’s end. This year, the caucuses could be even more chaotic.

January 16: Breitbart News: Seven times GAO found the Obama
Admin. violated federal law
Democrats and journalists were excited to learn the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a legal opinion that the Trump Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding (actually delayed) Congressionally appropriated aid to Ukraine last summer. The non-binding opinion was disputed by the OMB, which released a memo last month arguing that the “programmatic” delay sought to fulfill, not oppose, congressional intent.   Nevertheless, if a mere GAO finding is sufficient to justify impeachment, then President Barack Obama ought to have been impeached at least seven times over for each of the cases in which the GAO found that the Obama administration had violated federal law.

January 16: The Daily Caller: Rand Paul: Fears GOP may restrict Trump’s
team from calling witnesses of their choice
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he’s worried that his fellow Republican senators will block testimonies from the witnesses President Donald Trump wants called in his impeachment trial.  Trump previously said he wants Hunter Biden, Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff,  and the whistleblower to testify if the Senate allows witnesses during the impeachment trial.  “Here’s the thing is, fair is fair, and if they’re going to put the president through this, they’re going to have to have witnesses on both sides,” Paul said.

January 16: The New York Times: Justice Dept. appears to be investigating
classified information links, may be focusing on Comey
Federal prosecutors in Washington are investigating a years-old leak of classified information about a Russian intelligence document, and they appear to be focusing on whether the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey illegally provided details to reporters, according to people familiar with the inquiry.  The case is the second time the Justice Department has investigated leaks potentially involving Mr. Comey, a frequent target of President Trump, who has repeatedly called him a “leaker.” Mr. Trump recently suggested without evidence that Mr. Comey should be prosecuted for “unlawful conduct” and spend years in prison.

January 15: Grabien.com: Biden stumbles his way through final Democrat Debate
Democrats’ 2020 front-runner ended the primary debate season much the way he began it: Stumbling and mumbling.  In his final performance before the Iowa caucuses, Biden once again struggled stringing together coherent sentences.  During one of his first answers, Biden attempted explaining his foreign policy toward the Middle East: "It's a mistake to pull out the straw, small number of troops … It's lie that our embassies were going to be bombed."   Discussing North Korea, Biden offered: "I would not meet without Kim absent preconditions." On trade with China, Biden again got tongue-tied: “If we don’t set the rules of the road by going out to our partners, instead of poking our eye — and, uh, excuse me, poking our finger in the eye of our friends ...”

January 15: The Daily Caller: Most of House impeachment team supported
impeachment prior to the “Whistleblower” coming forward
Six of the seven impeachment managers selected by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi supported the impeachment of President Donald Trump before the whistleblower complaint was filed.  House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff is set to be the lead manager. 

January 15: The UK Sun: Speaker appoints impeachment team, sends articles to Senate
House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced today the House prosecutors who will lead the case for the impeachment of Donald Trump.  Pelosi said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chair of the intelligence committee, and Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., chair of the Judiciary Committee, are among the seven prosecutors, or "managers."  The other managers include: Representatives Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, Val Demings, D-FL Jason Crow, D-WI, Sylvia Garcia, D-TX, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-CA.

January 14: NBC Channel 12: Northam declares state of emergency, Capitol
weapon ban ahead of gun rights rally
Fearing a repeat of the deadly violence that engulfed Charlottesville more than two years ago, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a temporary emergency Wednesday banning all weapons, including guns, from Capitol Square ahead of a massive rally planned next week over gun rights.  The governor, a Democrat, announced the plans at a news conference Wednesday afternoon because of credible threats of potential violence and extremism, one official said. Northam’s announcement comes days after Democratic leaders used a special rules committee to ban guns inside the Capitol and a legislative office building. That ban did not include Capitol grounds, which are under the governor’s control and are where thousands of gun-rights advocates are expected to rally Monday.

January 14: Fox News: Hume: Dems push for witnesses is a “Hail Mary Pass”
Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume said Tuesday that Democrats are depending on completing a  "Hail Mary pass" by pushing for witness testimony in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial of President Trump.  "I think that witnesses could happen. But make no mistake about what this is. This is a Hail Mary pass being encouraged mostly by a Democratic prosecution, House prosecutors who obviously don't think that the evidence that they have introduced so far is sufficient for a conviction… …And they're trying now at the last minute to get further witness testimony," Hume said

January 14: CNS News: Federal spending sets record through December
The federal government spent a record $1,163,090,000,000 in the first three months of fiscal 2020 (October through December),  according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released Monday.  That was up $48,008,200,000 from the $1,115,081,800,000 (in constant December 2019 dollars) that the federal government spent in the first three months of fiscal 2019.

January 14: Jerusalem Post: Iranian protests enter third day, injuries reported,
internet disrupted
Iranians continued protests in multiple cities throughout the country on Monday as students and citizens expressed anger at the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 and the failure of the Iranian government to admit their involvement.  Security forces continued to face off with demonstrators, as some reports claimed that protests were violently suppressed.   Internet watchdog Netblocks tweeted that internet connectivity dropped at the Sharif University in Tehran on Monday amid protests, but that national connectivity remained stable. In protests in November, internet connection was shut off around the country for over four days.

January 13: The Daily Caller: Ex-Treasury Department official pleads guilty to
leaking Trump Associates’ financial documents to BuzzFeed
A former Treasury Department official pleaded guilty in federal court in New York City to leaking sensitive financial records of multiple Trump associates and figures in the Trump-Russia investigation to a reporter at BuzzFeed News.  Natalie Mayflower Sours Edwards, who served as a senior adviser at the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network pleaded guilty to conspiring to disclose Suspicious Activities Reports, known from October 2017 until her arrest in October 2018.  They were used in around a dozen stories published at BuzzFeed by reporter Jason Leopold, according to prosecutors.

July 13: Breitbart News: Rabbi Shmuley: Booker lost because he followed
“Ilhan Omar wing” of the party
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a former close friend of Senator  Booker (D-NJ) said Booker had suffered a decline in his political fortunes because he sided with the “Ilhan Omar wing” of his party. 

January 12: CBS News Denver: First Time! Colorado judge denies confiscation
request under red flag law
For the first time, a judge has denied a request to take away a man’s guns under Colorado’s new red flag law. A Limon woman claimed a man who she had a relationship with threatened her with a gun and filed the request.  Since the law took effect, the red flag law has had many gun owners seeing red. At least four requests have been filed since the first of 2020; CBS4 is aware of them being filed in Denver, in Larimer County and this one — in Lincoln County. Many gun owners, like Jak Gruenberg, despise it. “Red flag laws just allow for harassment of legal gun owners,” he said.

January12: Sacramento Bee: Boy are you in trouble! Police pull over woman with
child in the back seat
Alarmed drivers on a Northern California highway spotted a young girl Saturday evening in a vehicle holding up a handmade sign that read “Help me, she’s not my mom!! Help!!” California Highway Patrol officers say.  After motorists on Highway 99 south of Elk Grove called 911, CHP officers and a K9 unit performed a high-risk stop on the vehicle near 8 Mile Road in Stockton, CHP officers wrote in a release. Then they discovered it was just a hoax cooked up by the girl, who “thought it was a fun thing to do,” CHP officers wrote. The girl’s mom, who was driving, was not in on the prank. After confirming the incident was bogus, officers let the mother and daughter go, the CHP reported.

January 12: Fox News: Kerry deflects question about why he
released money to Iran
Former Secretary of State John Kerry faced a question about his role in releasing billions of dollars to Iran during the Obama administration and responded by first attacking President Trump’s criticism of the move.  President Trump has claimed that Iran’s recent aggression against the U.S. in Iraq was funded by $150 billion that the Obama administration gave to Iran. Kerry insists that this is false, although in the past he recognized the at least some of the money – which was frozen due to sanctions and held in banks around the world before being released at roughly the same time the Iran nuclear deal was made – would end up in the hands of terrorists.

January 12: The Jerusalem Post: Trump expressed support for protestors demanding Khamenei quit
US President Donald Trump has tweeted his support to the people of Iran, saying "I've stood with you since the beginning of my Presidency."  Hundreds of Iranian protesters demanded Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down on Saturday after Tehran admitted that its military had mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board.  “Commander-in-chief [Khamenei] resign, resign,” videos posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people chanting in front of Tehran’s Amir Kabir university.

January 11: Yahoo News: Iran admits shooting down Ukrainian airliner; Ukraine demands compensation
Tehran admitted Saturday that it accidentally downed the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane, killing all 176 people on board on Wednesday, shortly after launching missiles at bases hosting US forces in Iraq.  Ukraine on Saturday demanded that Iran punish those guilty for the incident and compensation. Ukrainian officials said "We expect Iran... to bring the guilty to the courts," the Ukrainian leader wrote on Facebook, calling also for the "payment of compensation" and the return of remains.

January 10: CNN News: Video; Russian ship steams within 60 yards of US destroyer in Middle East
A Russian warship "aggressively approached" a US Navy destroyer while it was operating in the North Arabian Sea Thursday, ignoring warnings from the US vessel and increasing the risk of a collision, the US Navy said Friday.  Video of the incident shows the Russian warship rapidly approaching the USS Farragut, coming as close as 180 feet to the US ship before changing course, according to two defense officials.

January 10: The Daily Caller: Trump would use Executive privilege if Bolton called to testify”
President Donald Trump said in a new interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” that he would use executive privilege to prevent former White House aide John Bolton from testifying in an impeachment trial.

January 10: Breitbart News: Game Over; Pelosi to transmit impeachment
articles to the Senate later this week
Speaker Pelosi told Democrats Friday that she is prepared to sent the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial next week.  “I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate,” Pelosi wrote in the letter. “I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting.”  Pelosi’s announcement marked a sudden reversal of her decision to delay the trial and try to force Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to commit to calling additional witnesses and evidence in the trial.  Senate Democrats pressured Pelosi to drop her attempt to draw out concessions from McConnell.

January 10: The Washington Free Beacon: Texas becomes first state to reject refugees
Texas governor Greg Abbott (R.) on Friday told the State Department that his state will become the first in the nation to refuse federal refugee resettlement.  In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Abbott wrote that in the wake of the border crisis that rocked the state in 2019, Texas lacks the state and private capacity to deal with even more demand on its humanitarian resources.  "At this time, the state and non-profit organizations have a responsibility to dedicate available resources to those who are already here, including refugees, migrants, and the homeless—indeed, all Texans," Abbott wrote. "As a result, Texas cannot consent to initial refugee resettlement for FY2020."

January 10: Fox News: Not charged -- Mississippi homeowner shoots home invasion suspect
A Mississippi homeowner who reportedly shot and killed a man who broke into his home in broad daylight Tuesday morning will not be charged.  Walter Williams, 31, was named as the suspect shot before noon in Pascagoula, Miss., by the homeowner, according to Harrison County Coroner Brian Switzer. He was pronounced dead at the scene.  The name of the homeowner -- who was identified as a longtime employee of the coroner's office -- is not being released because he hasn't been charged with a crime at this time.

January 9: Associated Press:  US Officials: “Highly likely” Iran shot down Ukrainian Jetliner
Two U.S. officials said Thursday it was “highly likely” that an Iranian anti-aircraft missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday, killing all 176 people on board.  The crash came just a few hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops amid a confrontation with Washington over the U.S. drone strike that killed an Iranian Revolutionary Guard general last week.  “Somebody could have made a mistake on the other side,” Trump said, noting the plane was flying in a “pretty rough neighborhood.”

January 8: The Hill: Graham: The impeachment dam is cracking; anticipate trial will
start in about a week
Sen. Lindsey Grahan (R-SC) said on Wednesday that the Senate will start its impeachment proceedings next week, signaling an end to the stalemate over the articles which have sat in the House since December.  Graham argued that Speaker Pelosi’s (D-CA)  "impeachment dam has broken," pointing to growing calls from some Senate Democrats for her to transmit the two articles of impeachment to the Senate.  "You said it was urgent; if you believe it to be urgent, send it to the Senate for disposition," Graham said. "She's losing Democrats in the Senate. The impeachment dam of Nancy Pelosi is about to crack."

January 8: The UK Daily Mail: Trump: Obama gave the Iranians the
cash they need to buy missiles flung at U.S. bases; offers peace but
warns of “hypersonic weapons” and fast attacks
'The missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration,' Trump said, citing $150 billion in frozen assets that the previous president released and $1.5 billion in cash flown by the U.S. to Tehran. 'Under construction are many hypersonic missiles,' Trump warned, and that he was not afraid to use additional force.  However, minutes later he offered an olive branch, urging European nations to make 'a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place' and allows Iran to explore its 'untapped potential' as a mainstream trading partner.  'We want you to have a future, and a great future,' he told Iran's people, claiming its military 'appears to be standing down.’

January 8: Fox News: Fast and Furious: Brian Terry’s killer gets life sentence
The man convicted of the shooting and killing U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in 2010 – a case that exposed the government’s botched “Fast and Furious” gun-running operation – was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.  Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, who was convicted of  first-degree murder and other charges following his extradition from Mexico, was given the life sentence after U.S. District Judge David C. Bury heard tearful statement’s from Terry’s sisters. The agent's death exposed Operation Fast and Furious, an Obama era  Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) operation in which the federal government allowed criminals to buy guns in Phoenix-area shops with the intention of tracking them once they made their way into Mexico.

January 8: The Jerusalem Post: Israel unveils breakthrough laser to intercept missiles, aerial threats
The Defense Ministry has made a technological breakthrough in the development of lasers that can intercept aerial threats, including rockets and antitank guided missiles, it announced Wednesday.  New laser technology “makes the security apparatus more lethal, more powerful and more advanced,” Defense Minister Naftali Bennett said Wednesday evening.  Speaking about this new addition to the existing tools of war employed by Israel, he said that “we will add a laser sword when dealing with threats from the North or the South.”

January 8: The U.K. Sun: Ukrainian jetliner shot down?  Iran refuses to release the black box
Iran has refused to hand over to international investigators the black box of a plane that crashed killing 176 people.  The Kiev-bound airliner crashed after taking off from Tehran.  The tragedy came just hours after Tehran fired at least 15 ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Iraq, sparking fears it could have been shot down by mistake by jittery Iranian air defenses.  And chilling images show pieces of the aircraft's fuselage peppered with shrapnel holes - which some experts say points to a "shoot-down" event.

January 7: Fox News: Iran retaliates with ballistic missile attack
Iran fired "more than a dozen ballistic missiles" into Iraq, targeting U.S. military and coalition forces early Wednesday, Pentagon officials said, in a major retaliation by the rogue regime after the U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Quds Force Gen. Soleimani last week.  The missiles launched by Iran targeted military bases in Al-Assad and Erbil, the Pentagon added.  Initial assessments showed "no U.S. casualties," a U.S. military official in Baghdad told Fox News, adding that the U.S. was continuing to look into possible damage.

January 7: Fox News: Senators introduce resolution to dismiss articles of impeachment if they aren’t transmitted to them soon
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri joined with a host of fellow Republicans to introduce a resolution allowing the chamber to dismiss articles of impeachment against President Trump for lack of prosecution, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi delays sending the case for trial.  The resolution specifically would update Senate rules to allow the chamber to bring a motion dismissing the articles.  “In the real world, when a prosecutor brings a case but refuses to try it, the court has the ability and the defendant has the right to have those articles, those indictments, those charges dismissed," Hawley said.  "That is precisely the action that I am proposing today.”

January 6: The Hill: Battle lines harden ahead of pivotal impeachment week
Both sides are digging in as lawmakers enter a pivotal week in the entrenched fight over President Trump’s impeachment trial.  The hardening battle lines come as the two articles of impeachment could be transmitted to the Senate as soon as this week. The House returns to Washington on Tuesday for the first time this year, and Democrats will meet on Wednesday, setting the stage for a crucial decision time.

January 6: Fox News: Pentagon deploys B-52 bombers
to Diego Garcia in Indian Ocean
The U.S. Air Force is deploying six B-52 bombers to Diego Garcia, an island base in the Indian Ocean, amid the rising threat from Iran after the U.S.-led airstrike killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.  The move, which CNN first reported, was the latest in efforts by U.S. military officials to bolster resources near the Middle East.  The B-52 bombers reportedly were spotted departing from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to Diego Garcia, which is located 2,300 miles south of Iran’s southernmost tip.

January 6: The Daily Caller:  How many abortions has Planned Parenthood
perform ed within a year?
The Planned Parenthood Federation of America performed 345,672 abortions during the 2018 fiscal year, the organization’s annual report shows.  Planned Parenthood’s 2018-2019 annual report shows that the organization performed 12,915 more killings during the 2018 fiscal year than the organization did between 2017-2018. Abortion killings made up 95% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy resolution services, according to the Susan B. Anthony List.

January 6: Fox News: Soleimani’s killilng ignites Russia vs Iran schism in Syria
The death of Iranian commander Soleimani at the orders of President Trump last week, not only has cast a murky shadow on the future of Iraq’s leadership, but also has sent schisms through Syria's leadership, multiple sources say. Over the weekend, Syrian government forces and Iranian associates were documented to have fired several shells at the Conoco gas field in the Deir Ezzor area of eastern Syria, which U.S troops still in the embattled country have been tasked with protecting. Aside from the apparent act of retaliation, sources said that the surprise attack on Soleimani las  While some analysts have speculated that Soleimani’s death will empower Russia in the region, they’ve largely observed a stronger Assad-led tilt toward Tehran over Moscow.t week has prompted deeper divisions within the Syrian government itself.

January 5: The UK Daily Mail: Iran puts $80M bounty on Trump’s head; threatens
to attack the White House
Iran has placed an $80million bounty on Donald Trump's head and threatened to attack the White House in response to the president's warning that any strike on American interests in the region will bring massive retaliation.  Iran has also announced it they will no longer abide by any of the limits of its 2015 nuclear deal.  Earlier on Sunday, the Iraqi parliament voted for US troops to be expelled from the country. The vote will 'obligate the government to work towards ending the presence of all foreign troops on Iraqi soil,' the country's media office stated.

January 5: Reuters: Iraqi parliament passes non-binding resolution calling for
removal of all foreign troops
The Iraqi parliament called on the government on Sunday to work to end all foreign troop presence as a backlash grew after the killing of a top Iranian military commander and an Iraqi militia leader in a U.S. strike in Baghdad.  A resolution passed by a special session of parliament said the government should cancel its request for assistance from a U.S.-led coalition.  Parliament resolutions, unlike laws, are non-binding to the government. But this one is likely to be heeded: Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi had earlier called on parliament to end foreign troop presence as soon as possible.

January 4: Yahoo News: Fear Hits Tehran Over What Might Come Next
Their supreme leader promised revenge and thousands gathered in Tehran to watch American flags burn, but any show of defiance after the assassination of their most prominent military man is laced with anguish for many Iranians.  In the capital, the strike that took out Al Quds commander Qassem Soleimani capped a year that had already been dominated by turmoil and fear as the country’s finances crumbled, the authorities struggled to contain civil unrest, and provocation of the U.S. backfired.

January 4: The Daily Caller: Trump Administration presses Supreme Court on
LA abortion regulations
The Trump administration pressed the Supreme Court Thursday to protect a contested Louisiana rule that requires abortion providers have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. An abortion clinic and two physicians challenging the law, called Act 620, warn that two of Louisiana’s three abortion clinics will close if the regulation takes effect. The Trump administration said the plaintiffs have not made good faith efforts to comply with the law, such that any adverse consequences for abortion access would be their fault and not the state’s.

January 4: The Washington Free Beacon: NRA promises “Strong presence” to
block VA ban on guns
The National Rifle Association said hursday it will work with gun owners to swamp the first hearing of the Virginia Senate committee considering new gun bans in an effort to beat back the gun-control proposals from Governor Ralph Northam (D-VA).  If gun-rights supporters can convince just a handful of Democrats to oppose a new gun-control measure, it will not become law. NRA spokesperson Mortensen said the Courts of Justice committee is the first stop for those new gun-control proposals, and gun owners in the state need to show their opposition to those bills face-to-face.

January 3: Washington Post: Guaido seeks reelection in Venezuela
Venezuela's opposition faces a critical test on Sunday, when its leader, Juan Guaidó, will seek reelection as head of the National Assembly - a title that forms the basis of his recognition as Venezuela's true head of state by nearly 60 countries around the globe.  For Guaidó, the vote amounts to a do-or-die moment. One year ago, he declared President Nicolás Maduro a usurper for claiming victory in tainted elections and declared himself Venezuela's rightful leader - an assertion based on Guaidó's status as head of the assembly. But after a year of failed attempts to oust Maduro, Guaidó is now struggling to maintain opposition unity, confronting flagging domestic support and scrambling to counter an alleged plot against him.

January 3: The Daily Caller: ICE apprehends illegal allegedly behind deadly
hit-and-run and released by local authorities
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was able to apprehend an illegal alien who, after getting arrested for a deadly hit-and-run accident, was immediately released by local authorities.  ICE agents on Monday arrested Jorge Flores-Villalba, a Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally, on Monday following his release from police custody in New York, the agency announced in a press statement on Friday. The arrest by federal immigration authorities is the latest example of ICE’s work to apprehend illegal aliens despite a growing lack of cooperation by local and state law enforcement. 

January 2: The Daily Caller: Over 200 members of Congress urge the Supreme
Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade
More than 200 members of Congress urged the Supreme Court to reconsider Roe v. Wade on Thursday, ahead of a March case concerning the constitutionality of a Louisiana regulation on abortion providers.  The lawmakers, who include 39 senators and 168 members of the House of Representatives, filed a legal brief arguing abortion case law is haphazard and inconsistent, such that reconsideration of Roe is in order.  “Forty-six years after Roe was decided, it remains a radically unsettled precedent: two of the seven Justices who originally joined the majority subsequently repudiated it in whole or in part, and virtually every abortion decision since has been closely divided,” the brief reads.

January 2: The UK Daily Mail: Army paratroopers deployed to Middle East in response to the attack on U.S. embassy
The first wave of hundreds of U.S. Army paratroopers from a rapid reaction force has deployed to Kuwait in response to the assault on the U.S. embassy in Baghdad by pro-Iran militiamen, with thousands more soldiers on alert for snap deployment.  The initial force included 650 troops and equipment.  One hundred U.S. Marines have already been added to the security force at the embassy in Baghdad.  [Editorial Comment:  This sure is different response than when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State and U.S. forces in Benghazi were attacked.]