December 26, 2024
Good morning,
We hope you had a Merry Christmas or a happy first evening of Hanukkah. Or both!
Leading the News . . .
Russia-bound passenger plane crash kills at least 38 people in Kazakhstan . . . Footage of the wrecked fuselage appeared to indicate shrapnel damage and some aviation experts suggested the Azerbaijani Airlines plane may have been hit by air defense systems over the Russian republic of Chechnya. Before it went down near the Kazakh city of Aktau, the plane was diverted across the Caspian Sea, from its destination in Chechnya to western Kazakhstan. The Russian government has cautioned against promoting "hypotheses" about the cause of the crash. BBC
Politics
Newly released photos show Hunter and Joe Biden with Chinese officials, biz associates in 2013 . . . The National Archives has released photos of Hunter and Joe Biden meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Chinese high-ranking officials in 2013 during the Obama-Biden administration. In another photo, Biden is seen presenting Hunter to then-Vice President Li Yuanchao, according to Newsweek. The photos were obtained by the conservative legal foundation, America First Legal. The photos include instances in which Joe Biden is pictured with Hunter's business associates from BHR Partners, including Jonathan Li and Ming Xue. Just the News
Cozy little group. Will the US continue to investigate this potentially massive, unprecedented case of corruption after Biden leaves office?
Trump tells 37 people with sentences commuted by Biden to 'go to hell' in lengthy Christmas post . . . "Also, to the 37 most violent criminals, who killed, raped, and plundered like virtually no one before them, but were just given, incredibly, a pardon by Sleepy Joe Biden," Trump wrote in the latter of two Truth Social posts. "I refuse to wish a Merry Christmas to those lucky 'souls' but, instead, will say, GO TO HELL!" The Hill
Well, they will, but not as soon as previously scheduled.
Vance is the likely 2028 frontrunner, but these Republicans may also run for president
Biden Admin Rushes to Hire DEI Staff Ahead of Trump Inauguration . . . Within 10 days of President-elect Donald Trump's landslide victory, 33 DEI-related jobs were posted by the federal government. Now, with barely a month until Trump takes office, The Daily Wire reported that the feds are "currently in the process of hiring as many as 1,200 employees to work on … [diversity, equity, and inclusion]—employees who would be embedded into the permanent federal workforce headed into the Trump administration." Daily Signal
Culture
Amazon blasted for censoring. "It's a Wonderful Life". . . In the Amazon Prime "abridged" version of this classic film, the scene goes from Clarence telling George his has to earn his wings to George running through the streets of Bedford Falls in delirious happiness, resolved to renew his zest for life, all without showing viewers why he made that key turn around from crestfallen and suicidal to joy and happiness. The abridged version apparently exists as an option for viewers for two reasons. One because the suicide scene is "too dark" and secondly there has been a copyright dispute over that segment of the movie because it is supposedly based on a short story that the film's original producers never recognized. Breitbart
National Security
Behind Closed Doors: The Spy World Scientists Who Argued Covid Was a Lab Leak . . . At the time, the FBI was the only agency that concluded a lab leak was likely, but . . . FBI officials were at the briefing to make their case first hand to the president. Three scientists at the National Center for Medical Intelligence, part of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency, conducted a scientific study that concluded that Covid-19 was manipulated in a laboratory in a risky research effort. But that analysis was at odds with the assessment of their parent agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and wasn't incorporated in the report presented to Biden. Wall Street Journal
The deceptions that accompanied the Covid outbreak by Anthony Fauci and others have done more than anything perhaps since Watergate to undermine public trust in government. But this directly affected our health and well-being far more than whatever Nixon did, so in a way, it's worse. But of course, the mainstream media in this case not only questioned little but demonized those "conspiracy theorists" who did.
International
Israelis See a Chance to Remake Middle East in War's Wake . . . Israel has hobbled Hamas in Gaza, severely damaged Shiite militia Hezbollah in Lebanon and fended off missile salvos from Tehran while landing its own blows in Iran.Current and former Israeli officials are pushing for aggressive steps to build an Israeli, American and moderate Arab alliance that includes Saudi Arabia and is aimed at checking Iran's influence. The re-election of Donald Trump, who confronted Iran in his first term and is returning to the presidency next month, has raised hopes for such an alliance. Wall Street Journal
State Department, U.S. intel memos unmask longtime terrorism ties of Syria's new regime . . . State Department and Director of National Intelligence memos reviewed by Just the News provide unvarnished assessments of the brutality of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group – designated a foreign terrorist organization for more than a decade. As recently as last year the State Department raised strong objections to HTS in the agency's annual human rights report on Syria. "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham committed a wide range of abuses, including killings, kidnappings, physical abuse, and recruitment or use of child soldiers," the report noted. Just the News
Pope Francis kicks off a yearlong Jubilee that will test his stamina . . . The ceremony inaugurated the once-every-25-year tradition of a Jubilee, in which the Catholic faithful make pilgrimages to Rome. Francis has dedicated the 2025 Jubilee to the theme of hope, and he will underscore that message when he opens a Holy Door on Thursday at Rome's Rebibbia prison in a bid to give inmates hope for a better future. His health and stamina are a concern given the rigorous calendar of events during the Holy Year. Associated Press
Money
Mark Zuckerberg and Meta got a big win. They have the House GOP to thank . . . Congress left Washington without passing the Kids Online Safety Act after coming closer than ever to imposing rules on social media to prevent the addiction and mental health harms the sites are widely agreed to cause. Zuckerberg can thank House Speaker Mike Johnson for closing the door on it this Congress. Once reviled by Republicans for kicking Trump off Facebook, the outcome shows how well Zuckerberg and Meta have restored a rapport. Politico
Corporate America falls in line behind Trump despite pledges after Jan 6 by many to oppose him . . . According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal, Ford, Toyota, Intuit, and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America are each giving $1 million. Other big donors include General Motors, Bank of America, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, and Stanley Black & Decker. Corporate representatives have been making trips to Mar-a-Lago to meet with the president-elect and his team in an attempt to get the incoming administration on their side. Trump has met with the leaders of Amazon, Google, Eli Lily, Meta, Pfizer and others within the last month. Washington Examiner
You should also know
At CNN, lower TV ratings and heightened anxieties about what's ahead . . . "People look at the performance of Congress and say, 'Why should we give them more money?'" CNN's Manu Raju asked. "What about the media?" Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., countered. "Half of your listeners are not there anymore, and you're still getting the same paycheck. What's going on?" The questions are particularly loud at CNN, which has seen a decline in viewership over the past few years, a trend that accelerated after the Nov. 5 election. Since the election, CNN has seen a 45 percent drop in prime-time viewership, down to only 394,000 total viewers. Washington Post
Some Of Hollywood's Biggest Names Are Turning Away From Depravity, Towards Jesus
Santa braves the sticky heat of the Amazon jungle to bring gifts to children in Brazilian village . . . Santa Claus braved the sticky heat of the Amazon rainforest this weekend, taking two boats to bring gifts to children in a village near the Brazilian city of Manaus. More than 600 children from different villages gathered in Catalao to receive presents from Santa, who dressed in his traditional nightcap, white gloves and red suit, while enduring the stifling jungle heat. To get to the kids, the Brazilian Santa sailed on a large boat down the Amazon river, then paddled a canoe along a swampy tributary. Associated Press
Guilty Pleasures
Elon Musk admits to being on Ozempic-like weight loss drug in Santa Claus post on Christmas . . . The billionaire Tesla CEO said he takes Mounjaro, a drug that typically treats type-2 diabetes by lowering a person's blood sugar levels. Musk posted a picture of himself in a Santa costume posing in front of a Christmas tree and wrote, 'Ozempic Santa.' Daily Mail
| 8:8 PM • Dec 25, 2024 12701 | Retweets | 210270 | Likes |
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