Wednesday, January 8, 2025

January 8, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Los Angeles faces 12 more hours of monstrous wildfires as California elites forced to evacuate . . . Fire-ravaged residents in ritzy suburbs across southern California have been warned to brace for another 12 hours of hell as wildfires turn cataclysmic. Million-dollar mansions in the celebrity enclave of Pacific Palisades were razed last night, with landmark institutions and beloved restaurants leveled as three out-of-control blazes and winds nearing 100mph spread at a rapid rate across Los Angeles. The night sky blazed red and was blanketed in heavy smoke. Daily Mail

Politics

Senate GOP declares war on Biden regulations . . . Senate Republicans, waiting for their House counterparts to figure out their strategy on border security and tax reform, are planning to use the Congressional Review Act to wage a lightning war on regulations implemented by the Biden administration over the past six months. Senate GOP leaders say their first priority will be to confirm President-elect Trump's Cabinet nominees but then they will move quickly to passing Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to overturn an array of Biden-era regs. The Hill

Thune tees up Tuberville's bill to block transgender athletes from women's sports . . . Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Tuesday took the necessary procedural steps to place Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Ala.) bill blocking transgender athletes from women's sports on the Senate calendar. The legislation, dubbed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, would hold under Title IX protections for female athletes that gender is "recognized based solely on a person's reproductive biology and genetics at birth." The Hill

House passes Laken Riley Act to deport illegal immigrants who commit lower-level crimes . . . The House on Tuesday took the first steps toward President-elect Donald Trump's promised immigration crackdown by passing a bill to pressure the Department of Homeland Security to detain and deport illegal immigrants arrested on even minor charges of criminal law violations such as shoplifting. The Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia nursing student killed by an illegal immigrant last year, cleared the House on a 264-159 vote, with four dozen Democrats joining the Republicans in favor. Washington Times

Greene promises bill changing Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America 'ASAP' . . . Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has promised she will introduce a bill "ASAP" to back President-elect Trump's idea to rename the Gulf of Mexico. In a post online, Greene shared a video of Trump pitching the idea to rename the body of water to the "Gulf of America." She said,Greene promises bill renaming Gulf of Mexico 'ASAP' "I will be introducing legislation ASAP to officially change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to its rightful name, the Gulf of America!" The Hill

In case you're not sure where that is, it's just west of the American Ocean.

Majority of Americans say Biden's presidency will be remembered as 'below average' or 'poor' . . . More than half of Americans believe President Biden will be remembered by history as a "poor" to "below average" commander in chief, according to a new poll. The Gallup survey released Tuesday found that 37% expect Biden to be regarded as a "below average" president, while 17% indicated that the 82-year-old commander in chief will be remembered as a "poor" leader of the US. Only 6% of US adults responded that history would remember Biden as an "outstanding" president and 13% thought his legacy would be regarded as "above average." New York Post

Culture

Sen. Elizabeth Warren Pens 33-Page Letter Ranting at Pete Hegseth, Defending Military Wokeness . . . Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Monday sent a 33-page rant to Defense Secretary Nominee Pete Hegseth defending the Biden administration's woke policies in the military and expressing concern that he would reverse them if confirmed. In a letter sent to Hegseth on Tuesday and made public, Warren — who lied on teaching applications about her race — expressed concerns about Hegseth's views opposing Marxist-based diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and wokeness in the military. Breitbart

National Security

Trump refuses to rule out use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal . . . President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared U.S. control of both to be vital to American national security. Speaking to reporters less than two weeks before he takes office on Jan. 20 and as a delegation of aides and advisers that includes Donald Trump Jr. is in Greenland, Trump left open the use of the American military to secure both territories. Associated Press

Betsy Ross has been alerted and is on standby.

Why Trump is likely so interested in Greenland . . . The world's largest island hosts the northernmost U.S. military base, Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Base. The 150 Space Force guardians stationed there serve as an early warning base for an intercontinental ballistic missile launch. Greenland is also situated in the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, a critical strategic maritime route.Washington Examiner

The island has important mineral resources, and China is trying to drop its tentacles in as well. 

International

Canada's Pierre Poilievre Makes Bid for Power as Canadian Version of Trump . . . Just two months after the election of Donald Trump, Canada is on track to receive a Trumpian leader of its own—Pierre Poilievre of the Conservative Party. Poilievre, a 45-year-old from the province of Alberta who has served in Canada's Parliament for most of his adult life, is poised to become prime minister in the wake of Justin Trudeau's resignation announcement. Daily Signal

Broadcasters around the world oppose the move because his name is impossible to pronounce.

UK's Liberal Gov't Is Imploding As Mass Rape Scandal Roils Country . . . The liberal parliament in the United Kingdom is on the brink of a collapse after a scandal involving mass rape perpetrated by migrant gangs rocked national politics across the pond. Jess Phillips, the Home Office Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls and a Labour Party member, blocked an inquiry by the town of Oldham into Prime Minister Keir Starmer's conduct while overseeing the prosecution of a migrant grooming gang's sexual abuse of children in the town from 2011 to 2014, according to a Jan. 2 report from the Telegraph. Daily Caller

Money

Zuckerberg rolls back Meta censorship ahead of Donald Trump's return to White House . . . Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced in a video Tuesday that he was scrapping hired fact-checkers for his Facebook and Instagram platforms and leaving it to users to add information and context. Mr. Zuckerberg called the November elections, which swept Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans into power, "a cultural tipping point toward once again prioritizing speech." The Washington Times

A 'Hidden Force' That Can Bring Mortgage Rates Down . . . One big thing that could help fuel a move lower in rates—even without those big macroeconomic variables changing—would be a shift in what some have called the "hidden force" behind mortgage rates: The unusually wide gap between mortgage rates and Treasury yields. That gap has been unusually big for a couple of years now, well above the sub-1 point gap seen back in 2019. Wall Street Journal

You should also know

'The Great Pandemic Is Coming': Ex-CDC Chief Warns of Looming Bird Flu Threat . . . There have been 66 reported cases of bird flu in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the risk remains low, the CDC's former director has urged Americans to take the virus seriously. Robert Redfield, who led the CDC during the first Trump administration, spoke with The Daily Signal last year about bird flu. He predicted bird flu, also known as H5N1, would be "much more catastrophic than the COVID pandemic." Daily Signal

Musk Vaulted to Top of a Popular Videogame. Everyone's Asking Where He Found the Time . . . The head of six companies says he recently became one of the world's top 'Diablo IV' players, a milestone gamers say would have required playing 'all day, every day.' Such an accomplishment requires more than just expertise in monster slashing. It takes dozens of hours just to reach the highest tier, which is level 150. The Pit was only added to the game in May and the latest season kicked off on Oct. 7, resetting all players' progression to level 1. That suggests Musk made his way to the top level in 45 days or less. Wall Street Journal

Peter Yarrow, Folk Music Great With Peter, Paul and Mary, Dead at 86 . . . Peter Yarrow, a major figure of the Sixties folk revival with Peter, Paul and Mary who was convicted of molesting a 14-year-old girl and later received a presidential pardon, died today, The New York Times reports. He was 86. Yarrow died from bladder cancer at his home in Manhattan. With their distinctive three-part harmonies, Peter, Paul and Mary — with Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers — became one of the biggest and most commercially successful acts to emerge out of the Greenwich Village folk scene. Rolling Stone

Guilty Pleasures

Man trapped inside driverless car as it spins in circles . . . A tech entrepreneur based in Los Angeles became trapped in a malfunctioning self-driving car for several minutes last month, causing him to nearly miss a flight, he said. Mike Johns was riding in an autonomous Waymo car on his way to Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix when the vehicle began driving around a parking lot repeatedly, circling eight times as he was on the phone seeking help from the company. The Guardian