December 2, 2024
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Welcome to the news for independent thinkers
Leading the News . . .
President Biden pardons son Hunter on tax and gun charges, breaking vow not to do so . . . President Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden on tax and gun charges, condemning the prosecutions as politically motivated while reversing his promise not to use his executive authority to save his son from potential prison sentences. In a statement Sunday night, Mr. Biden called the convictions "a miscarriage of justice" and accused Republicans of injecting "raw politics" into the judicial process. Hunter Biden was scheduled for sentencing Dec. 12 in Wilmington, Delaware, for his conviction on three federal gun charges and Dec. 16 in Los Angeles after his guilty plea to nine federal tax evasion charges. Washington Times
The times Karine Jean-Pierre claimed Biden would not pardon his son.
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In other news, Democrats accused Trump of plotting to abuse our system of justice . . .
Politics
What You Need to Know About Kash Patel – Trump's Choice for FBI Director . . . As a congressional staffer, Kash Patel helped expose FBI misconduct. Now, he's President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to replace Christopher Wray as the bureau's director. In another major announcement of house cleaning, Trump announced Saturday on Truth Social that the former Pentagon senior official, influential congressional staffer, White House aide and former terrorism prosecutor, would be his nominee to run the FBI, which has been besieged by scandal and whistleblowers in recent years. Daily Signal
Trump Names Massad Boulos, His Daughter's Father-in-Law, as Middle East Adviser . . . President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Massad Boulos, a Lebanese-born billionaire and father-in-law to his daughter Tiffany, to be his senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs, adding another person with family ties to his foreign-policy roster. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Boulos helped court Arab-American voters in Michigan for Trump, playing on widespread dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's support for Israel in the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Wall Street Journal
Culture
Transgender care for minors gets first Supreme Court review . . . The Supreme Court will soon hear arguments in a landmark case that could set a pivotal precedent on states' authority to regulate transgender hormone therapy procedures for minors. At the heart of the set for oral arguments Wednesday is whether Tennessee's Senate Bill 1, a law barring puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries for minors, violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Washington Examiner
National Security
Coast Guard issues second warning: Chinese port cranes pose cybersecurity threat . . . The Coast Guard has issued a second security directive warning that Chinese ship-to-shore cranes used widely in the United States pose a cybersecurity risk. Maritime Security Directive 105-5 calls on port operators to take "risk management" measures to mitigate the threats. Built-in vulnerabilities for remote access and control of the cranes "combined with intelligence regarding China's interest in disrupting U.S. critical infrastructure, necessitate immediate action," according to a portion of the directive. Washington Examiner
International
Ceasefire in Lebanon Is Stopgap Until Trump Takes Over, Israelis Say . . . According to current and former Israeli officials, Israel's government agreed to the ceasefire largely to appease and move on from the Biden administration. President-elect Donald Trump will be back in the White House when the 60-day deadline for troop withdrawals comes around, and they expect he will support a strong response to any violation of the deal as well as Israeli action against Iran and Hamas, a Hezbollah ally and fellow Iran-backed terrorist group. Washington Free Beacon
Who Are the Rebels Leading the Offensive in Syria? . . . Syrian rebels shocked the country with a lightning offensive on its biggest city and the surrounding region starting last week, upending a 13-year-old civil war that had been dormant for several years. The rebels have united under the leadership of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former Al Qaeda affiliate that broke with the older group years ago and came to dominate the last stronghold of Syria's opposition. The group says it wants to replace the Assad government with one inspired by Islamic principles. New York Times
Is it possible both sides can lose?
Money
Trump threatens BRICS nations with 100 percent tariff . . . President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday demanded a group of developing countries commitment to the use of the U.S. dollar as their reserve currency and threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff if they attempt to abandon it. "The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar while we stand by and watch is OVER," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, referring to the acronym for the original group of countries in the bloc — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Politico
Does it not feel like Trump is already president?
You should also know
Supreme Court to evaluate marketing of flavored vapes, effect on youth . . . Community health groups and medical providers are urging the Supreme Court to halt e-cigarette companies' marketing of flavored vaping products, saying the businesses shouldn't make electronic cigarettes attractive to minors. Nearly a dozen medical, public health and community groups said the risks that e-cigarettes pose to youths outweigh any benefit for adults using them to quit cigarettes. Washington Times
Guilty Pleasures
Four arrested in LA for insurance scam after man dressed as bear wrecks cars . . . Four residents from the Los Angeles area were arrested this week after an investigation by the California Department of Insurance revealed that they allegedly used a life-sized bear costume to stage attacks on their vehicles in an attempt to secure a six-figure payout. The suspects have been charged with insurance fraud and conspiracy, according to an announcement made by the department on Wednesday. Their alleged scam cost three insurance companies a total of $141,839. NPR
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