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Pro-Stacey Abrams groups fined $300,000
after admitting they broke Georgia campaign
finance law replies
after admitting they broke Georgia campaign
finance law replies
ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia Ethics Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to fine two advocacy groups that were founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams and led by Raphael Warnock before voters elected him to the U.S. Senate. The commission found that the New Georgia Project and its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund illegally did election work for Abrams and others without disclosing their campaign contributions and spending.
The Confirmation Hearings So Far
replies
Several of Donald Trump’s most important cabinet nominees have now undergone confirmation hearings. I have watched them live in bits and pieces as I have been able, and have seen many clips posted here and elsewhere. Some obvious common threads emerge.
First, Trump’s nominees have uniformly done well. Pete Hegseth, Pam Bondi, Marco Rubio and Chris Wright have all come across as competent and likable, in contrast to most of their Democratic interlocutors, who have been shrill at best, and often dim-witted. (My favorite moment so far might be when the bizarre Mazie Hirono asked Pam Bondi whether she had ever made any unwanted sexual advances. Bondi’s puzzlement was understandable.)
We’re all excited about Trump’s coming inauguration, but in light of the recent attempts on his life, it’s a fair question to ask if all the necessary safety precautions are being taken to ensure his safety.
Former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino isn’t sure.
“I've been getting a ton of questions, ‘Dan, how do you feel about this inauguration?’ ‘You think it's going to be safe?’ And the answer is complicated. That's not an easy yes or no question.”
In response to the recent Secret Service and FBI briefing, Bongino stated bluntly, “The inauguration is probably not safe.”
He went on to explain that
There’s been a ‘meaningful shift’
in CEO confidence since Trump’s election,
says Goldman’s Solomon replies
in CEO confidence since Trump’s election,
says Goldman’s Solomon replies
The election of Donald Trump in November and a swing back to Republican power in Washington is already starting to make an impact in the business world, according to Goldman Sachs
CEO David Solomon.
The bank executive said on a conference call Wednesday that other CEOs are feeling better about the direction of the economy and their businesses since the presidential election, even though Trump has yet to take office.
“There has been a meaningful shift in CEO confidence, particularly following the results of the U.S. election,” Solomon said, according to a transcript from FactSet.
“Additionally, there is a significant backlog from sponsors and an overall increased appetite for dealmaking
President Joe Biden declared during his farewell address that an “oligarchy” of the “ultra-wealthy” and powerful is forming that “threatens our entire democracy.”
Joe Biden issued his warning while speaking to the American public from the Oval Office for the final time. (X Video) “…I want to warn the country of some things that give me great concern … and that’s a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of a very few ultra-wealthy people,” Biden said.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power, and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,”
House Speaker Mike Johnson booted Rep. Mike Turner as Chairman of the House Intel Committee at Trump’s request, WaPo reported.
Update: Trump’s team says Trump did not request Mike Johnson oust Mike Turner. (X)
“Speaker Mike Johnson has removed Mike Turner as chair House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, three people familiar with the decision tell POLITICO. Turner has been an outspoken advocate for Ukraine funding and other hawkish national security stances.” – Politico reported.
Newsom Capitulates, Withdraws Bid to Regulate
Electric Vehicles Sales, Phaseout Gas-Powered Ones replies
Electric Vehicles Sales, Phaseout Gas-Powered Ones replies
On December 18, the Environmental Protection Agency greenlit a major piece of California Governor Gavin Newsom's progressive fever dream.
The Biden administration today approved California’s groundbreaking mandate phasing out new gas-powered cars just weeks before the incoming Trump administration poses a threat of overturning electric vehicle and climate rules.
The granting of the waiver by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows California to move forward in requiring 35% of new 2026 model cars sold in the state to be zero-emissions, 68% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. Nearly all zero-emission cars are powered by electricity.
The EPA also today gave the go-ahead to a 2020 California regulation
Yesterday I wrote about the Democrats in Minnesota (their party is officially called the Democrat-Farmer-Labour Party, but that is just the name; they are Democrats) pulling some very insurrection-y shenanigans in an attempt to avoid having to deal with being in the minority due to one of their members having been ruled ineligible to serve because he broke election law.
If the Democrats followed election law, there would be a tie between Republicans and Democrats, but until there is a special election to fill the seat, the Republicans have a one-vote majority, and they are using it to good effect,
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Israel must withdraw its forces from Syria or it will cause “unfavorable outcomes for everyone.”
“The aggressive actions of the forces attacking Syrian territory, Israel, in particular, must come to an end as soon as possible,” he said during a meeting of his party in Ankara.
“Everyone should take their hands off Syria and we, along with our Syrian brothers, will crush the heads of Islamic State, the YPG and other terrorist organizations in a short time.”
Mike Johnson replaces powerful Intelligence
Committee chairman after Russian nuclear
threat warning replies
Committee chairman after Russian nuclear
threat warning replies
Speaker Mike Johnson is replacing Rep. Mike Turner as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee after a debacle that started with a warning about Russian space nuclear technology last year, a source familiar with the decision confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Johnson, R-La., was unhappy with Turner, R-Ohio, after a seemingly unexpected warning he issued about the need to declassify information about Russian anti-satellite technology.
A hawk by nature, Turner sometimes went up against the Trumpist wing of his Republican Party on matters like support for Ukraine aid and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The decision to replace Turner took many by surprise.
President Joe Biden bade 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue adieu in a roughly 18-minute long Oval Office address Wednesday evening, five days before his predecessor and 2020 general election opponent, President-elect Donald Trump, is set to take office.
In his final address to the American people, Biden thanked the public for the honor of serving as president and wished Trump “success,” before pivoting to an ominous message about the alleged threat posed by a newly ascendant American oligarchy.
“Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights, the freedoms and the fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” Biden said.
A controversial Canadian Islamic group called Hizb ut Tahrir Canada has resumed its annual Khilafah Conference, an event that calls for rule by a global “caliphate” under sharia law.
Hizb ut-Tahrir (“Party of Liberation”) is a worldwide Islamist militant organization whose British branch was banned as a terrorist entity in January 2024. The group has urged violence to annihilate Israel and “liberate” the Palestinians and openly supports the October 7 atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. Its manifesto calls for Islam to “encapsulate” the world, imposing strict Muslim law in every nation.
“Hizb ut-Tahrir is an antisemitic organization that actively promotes and encourages terrorism, including praising and celebrating the appalling 7 October attacks,”
President Joe Biden claimed credit for the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, but President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, reportedly headed up key negotiations last week.
After a press conference Wednesday, in which Biden praised his national security officials who failed for months to reach a deal, a reporter asked whether he or Trump deserved credit for reaching an agreement.“Is that a joke?” Biden responded, walking away from reporters.
During the press conference, Biden credited “many peacemakers” with bringing about the deal, including outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and Vice President Kamala Harris for reaching the agreement.
President Joe Biden’s State Department is admitting that President-elect Donald Trump’s team was critical in securing a peace deal between Israel and Hamas.
State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller praised Trump and his team during Wednesday’s State Department press briefing.“When it comes to the involvement of President-elect Trump’s team, it has been absolutely critical in getting this deal over the line,” Miller said.
Miller added the involvement is critical because of the multiple phases in the agreement, which the Trump administration will essentially have to carry out considering Biden leaves office on Monday.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on Tuesday that his country had stopped the crew of a Russia-linked oil tanker just minutes before it caused catastrophic damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea."Had it continued for another 12 minutes, the carnage would have been much worse than the four basic cables that were there," Stubb told reporters at this week's Baltic-focused NATO summit in Helsinki.
The tanker, the Eagle S, was seized in late December as Finland probed recent damage to its Estlink-2 power line, one of two vital cables carrying electricity in the Baltic Sea.
Tucker Carlson has made a shocking claim about the mysterious drones that plagued New Jersey for over a month, saying they were controlled by Chinese mothership satellite.
The first sightings appeared over the Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway and President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster in November, followed by thousands more in the skies.
While the US government was quick to dismiss claims they were foreign adversaries, Carlson claimed he was told otherwise.
He said 'an intel person' told him that the drones 'were in fact Chinese,' explaining the US government took down a Chinese satellite 'that was a command and control satellite for these drones.'
On January 20, 2025, America will enter a new era—a Golden Era—of strength and prosperity with the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th president of the United States. However, President Trump’s triumphant return to the Oval Office is just the first step in our fight to restore America’s greatness.The Biden-Harris administration has left nothing but turmoil in its wake. Our economy has stalled, Americans across the country are reeling from natural disasters, our enemies are emboldened and the southern border is wide open, our college campuses and Ivy League universities have become safe havens for antisemitism and terrorist sympathizers, and our reputation on the world stage has been tarnished.
Outgoing first lady Jill Biden has admitted that it was “disappointing” that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was the one whose decisive intervention pushed President Biden out of the 2024 campaign.
“We were friends for 50 years,” Jill, 73, told the Washington Post in an interview published Wednesday that was billed as her final sit-down while in the White House
“It was disappointing.” (Photos) The Bidens have largely bitten their tongues when discussing the internal revolt following the president’s disastrous showing in his one debate against Republican Donald Trump on June 27.While Joe Biden, 82, had initially insisted that he would carry on in the race,
Michelle Obama is skipping Donald Trump’s inauguration because she’s “no phony,” we’re told.
While her husband appears to be playing nice with the president-elect, Michelle won’t do the same.
Former President Barack Obama and Trump appeared chummy at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral, but Michelle was nowhere in sight because she was reportedly on an “extended holiday vacation” in Hawaii. (Photo)
She isn’t even giving an excuse for Jan. 20.
The Office of Barack and Michelle Obama simply announced that Michelle “will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” in a statement to the Associated Press on Tuesday. And a source familiar with the Obamas’ circle told Page Six it’s “deliberate.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), during Pam Bondi’s attorney general confirmation hearing, lashed out at the Biden administration’s immigration policies amid the ongoing border crisis.The lawmaker indicated that President Joe Biden’s handling of the border crisis was so abysmal that it made him miss the days of the Obama administration. He noted that “there’s another aspect of politicization and lawlessness, and that is refusing to follow the law, utterly defying federal statutory law.”
I think there's no area where this has been more egregious than as it concerns our immigration laws. We have had four years of a wide open Southern border.
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) said Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he was concerned President-elect Donald Trump’s Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi will conduct a campaign of retribution against his political enemies.
Co-host Jonathan Lemire said, “Let’s zero in on the hearing for attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, in particular, much has been made of Donald Trump’s wish for the department of justice to carry out a campaign of retribution against his political foes and the like. What sort of questions do you want to pose to her about that particular topic? How grave of a concern is it?”
Supreme Court seems open to age checks
for online porn, though some free-speech
questions remain replies
for online porn, though some free-speech
questions remain replies
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday seemed open to a Texas law aimed at blocking kids from seeing online pornography, though the justices could still send it back to a lower court for more consideration of how the age verification measure affects adults’ free-speech rights.
Texas is among more than a dozen states with such laws aimed at blocking young children and teenagers from viewing pornography. The states argue the laws are necessary as online porn, including hardcore obscene material, has become almost instantaneous to access on smartphones online.
MSNBC host Joe Scarborough on Wednesday doubled down on his claim that President Joe Biden appeared mentally fit before his June debate against President-elect Donald Trump, despite widespread reporting to the contrary.
Special counsel Robert Hur and publications like The Wall Street Journal released reports indicating Biden’s mental acuity was in decline before the debate. Yet Scarborough, on “Morning Joe,” who claimed in March that Biden was at his intellectual peak, continued to assert how “sharp” Biden appeared during his time in office, even as Financial Times columnist Edward Luce contradicted his view. “I spent, as I’ve said before, two and a half, three hours with Joe Biden
WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas have reached a ceasefire-and-hostage deal that will end fighting in Gaza, and added it was reached by working alongside the incoming Donald Trump administration. "I can announce a ceasefire and a hostage deal has been reached between Israel and Hamas," Biden said at the White House. The deal was reached after 15 months of suffering, he said, and will be followed by a surge of humanitarian aid in Gaza.