The Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation, until it wasn’t. Joe Biden never met any of the family’s business partners or got proceeds from the ventures, until he did.
Read MoreMonth: January 2024
Johnson and Schumer Spending Deal Ignores Biden’s $106 Billion Request for Israel, Ukraine Aid, and More
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s spending deal doesn’t include President Biden’s $106 billion request for a supplemental foreign aid package, Just the News has learned. Congress faces two appropriations deadlines of Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 before the federal government runs out of money.
Read MoreHunter Biden Makes Surprise Appearance at Contempt Hearing, Leaves When Marjorie Taylor Greene Talks
Hunter Biden made a surprise appearance Wednesday on Capitol Hill as he appeared in the House Oversight Committee hearing about a resolution recommending Congress to hold the first son in contempt.
Read MoreRep. Mark Green Chairs Homeland Security Committee Mayorkas Impeachment Hearing
On one of the most consequential days in the GOP-led House, the process of impeaching United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas begins, the markup of the Hunter Biden contempt charges takes place, and the negotiations over the next spending bill continue as the deadline to avert a government shutdown draws closer.
Read MoreVA Top Story: ICE Arrests Illegal Immigrant Who Allegedly Sexually Abused Child After Virginia County Set Him Free
Top Commentary: Enemies of the Administrative State
Republicans Threaten to Remove Biden from 2024 Ballot, Mirroring Efforts to Jettison Trump
Republicans are calling for President Joe Biden to be removed from the 2024 primary ballot as former President Donald Trump is facing challenges to remove him from ballots in multiple states.
As challenges are brought to disqualify Trump from 2024 GOP primary ballots in more than 30 states for allegedly instigating an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, Republicans are suggesting that Biden should be removed from the ballot in response, but because of the increased volume of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. through the southern border.
Read MoreTSNN Featured: Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, Alleged Lover of Fani Willis, Paid At Least $650,000 to Prosecute Trump in Georgia Election Case —
Turkish Smugglers Use Social Media to Help ‘Citizens of Every Country’ Reach the U.S. Border
Turkish smugglers appear to be using social media platforms to help migrants from across the globe enter the U.S. illegally through the southern border, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of Telegram and TikTok posts.
The advertisements offer arrangements for travel, visas and transportation directly to the U.S.-Mexico border for migrants in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Border Patrol encounters of migrants crossing the southern border illegally have hit numerous records in recent years, with more than 2.2 million encounters in fiscal year 2022 and more than 2 million in fiscal year 2023, according to federal data.
Read MoreBiden Admin Releases New Labor Rule Cracking Down on Independent Contractors
The Department of Labor announced Tuesday the final version of a rule that will force companies to recognize some workers as employees instead of independent contractors.
The new rule goes into effect on March 11 and rescinds a previous rule establishing independent contractors as a separate class of workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act that was put in place in January 2021 under the Trump administration, according to the DOL release. The rule could raise labor costs by up to 30% for employers who utilize independent contractors, such as app-based services like Uber or Lyft, which offer a freelancing model, as employers would have to adhere to minimum wage and overtime laws, according to Reuters.
Read MoreRichmond Mayor Levar Stoney Asks Virginia General Assembly to Approve $100 Million for Sewer Upgrades
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney reportedly wants the Virginia General Assembly to approve $100 million for the city’s sewer upgrades, plus additional revenue for new speeding cameras, and warned Virginians could see their utility rates “skyrocket” without additional state funding.
“We’re asking for more because we know if we are unable to find the needed amount, a lot of this burden will fall on the ratepayers,” Stoney claimed, according to 12 On Your Side. The outlet reported that Stoney warned “utility bills could skyrocket” without additional funding approved by Virginia lawmakers and Governor Glenn Youngkin (R).
Read MoreCommentary: Enemies of the Administrative State
Amid allegations from conservative lawmakers and activists that Washington, D.C.’s most powerful agencies have been weaponized against their critics, one organization has not only played a key role in helping marshal evidence of such malfeasance, but found itself at the center of an emerging government targeting scandal that would seem to only further substantiate the claims of administrative state critics.
That organization is Empower Oversight Whistleblowers & Research. It has represented whistleblowers at the heart of some of the most consequential and contentious congressional investigations in recent years, touching on matters ranging from the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, to alleged FBI inflation of the domestic terror threat.
Read MoreICE Arrests Illegal Immigrant Who Allegedly Sexually Abused Child After Virginia County Set Him Free
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities arrested a criminal illegal immigrant Jan. 4 that a Virginia sheriff let free after his arrest on suspicion of sexually assaulting a minor and production of child sexual abuse material, the agency said Monday.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office arrested the individual in July, charging him with carnal knowledge of a child between the ages of 13 and 14 without force, possession of child sexual abuse material, and producing child sexual abuse material. Later that day, the Pacific Enforcement Response Center lodged an immigration detainer against him with the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center in Fairfax, Virginia, which didn’t comply with the detainer and released the noncitizen without notifying ICE.
Read MoreRay Epps, Accused of Being FBI Informant on January 6, Sentenced to One Year Probation
An Arizona man who was believed to an FBI plant in the Jan 6. Capitol riot, was sentenced Tuesday to one-year probation for his participation in the incident.
The rioter, 62-year-old Ray Epps, was sentenced to probation in deal with federal prosecutors, after pleading guilty in September to a single charge of engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, according to The Hill newspaper.
Read MoreCommentary: Out of Office
Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has apparently been in the hospital, following complications from a surgery for an unknown ailment. He had the surgery and passed the baton to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, but did not inform the President, the National Security Advisor, and a bunch of other people who should have been kept in the loop.
Worse, Austin’s deputy was apparently on vacation when she was put in charge. This all matters because the military functions through a chain of command, and the Secretary of Defense is a crucial link in that chain, the interface between the uniformed military and the President.
Read Morega-va Top Story: Businesses Are Getting Crushed ‘Beneath the Surface’ of Economy, New Figures Show
Top Commentary: American Society Has Been Turned Upside-Down and Our Rendezvous with the Unthinkable Draws Near
New Poll Shows Trump Ahead in Six Battleground States
Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in all six battleground states surveyed for a 2024 hypothetical matchup, according to a Monday poll.
Trump beat Biden in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida anywhere from 1 to 11 points, according to a Redfield & Wilton Strategies survey. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was also on the ballot for the six swing states polled, receiving his largest margins in North Carolina and Arizona.
Read MoreGroups Behind Seattle Highway Blockade Allegedly Tied to Terrorism, Major Left-Wing Money
An activist group with alleged ties to Palestinian terrorists and an organization backed by major left-wing nonprofits blocked a Washington state highway for hours over the weekend to demand a ceasefire amid the ongoing conflict in Israel.
Read MoreTSNN Featured: ACLU Calls Ohio Governor’s Ban of Trans Surgeries for Minors ‘Dangerous’
Almost a Quarter of All Jobs Added in 2023 Didn’t Actually Exist
The original number of jobs reported by the federal government in 2023 was revised down by a total of 749,000 jobs, meaning nearly one-fourth of jobs thought to be created in the year were not actually there, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) analyzed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The sum of the initial estimate from each of the government’s monthly job growth reports in 2023 totaled 3,140,000 new jobs, with later reports revising down the number of jobs added by a collective 443,000, according to the BLS. The BLS also announced in August a revision in total employment for March, subtracting another 306,000 jobs.
Read MoreVirginia Department of Education Creates Behavioral Health and Wellness Office as Youngkin Seeks Additional $500 Million in Budget
The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) created its new Office of Behavioral Health and Wellness on Friday, and the agency explained it will operate using resources made available by the Right Help, Right Now program created at the behest of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) last year.
A press release from the Virginia agency explained the new office seeks to “address the unprecedented rise in mental health and behavioral challenges facing Virginia students post pandemic” with what one spokesman called “wraparound services” to keep students emotionally capable of learning in school.
Read MoreCommentary: American Society Has Been Turned Upside-Down and Our Rendezvous with the Unthinkable Draws Near
In the last six months, we have borne witness to many iconic moments evidencing the collapse of American culture.
The signs are everywhere and cover the gamut of politics, the economy, education, social life, popular culture, foreign policy, and the military. These symptoms of decay share common themes.
Read MoreCommentary: The Immediacy of the PRC Threat Requires Shift from a Focus on Land Power to Maritime Power
One of the biggest news stories coming out of Asia for the New Year was the alleged purge of senior People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers, most notably the former PRC Minister of Defense Li Shangfu who went missing in late August 2023 and was formally removed from his position in October. This so-called purge, which also included three senior defense industry officials, was in fact the result of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) annual announcement of the new slate of delegates for the upcoming Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body of the PRC’s annual National People’s Congress (NPC), that is held each year, usually in early March.
Read MoreBusinesses Are Getting Crushed ‘Beneath the Surface’ of Economy, New Figures Show
In recent years, mid-sized companies between $100 million and $750 million in yearly revenue have been increasingly struggling compared to large businesses, taking the brunt of poor economic conditions and high interest rates, according to asset manager Marblegate.
From 2019 to the end of 2022, mid-sized companies had a 24 percent drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) compared to public companies, which had their earnings rise 18 percent, according to a study by Marblegate acquired by Axios. The discrepancy between large and midsized companies is in part due to the increased cost of credit for smaller businesses, which are more affected by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, with the federal funds rate currently being placed in a range of 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent, the highest point in 22 years.
Read MoreCommentary: An Economic Bill of Rights for the 21st Century
Beginning April 1, the minimum wage for employees working in California’s fast food chains and health care industries will rise to $20 per hour and, in some cases, up to $23 per hour. Many employers managing independent restaurants, retail, and other industries will have to match the higher hourly rate to retain employees. And for hourly employees whose wages are indexed to the minimum wage, mostly in California’s unionized public sector, wages will rise proportionately.
There is no national consensus on the impact of minimum-wage laws. It is part of a much larger debate over what constitutes an optimal economic environment to enable, quoting from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “economic security and independence.”
Read MoreFederal Debt Up $6.2 Trillion Under Biden – $47,462 per Household
The federal debt increased by $6,238,231,285,652.06 between Jan. 20, 2021, the day President Joe Biden was inaugurated, and Jan. 2, 2023, the last day for which the debt has been reported.
That equals $47,462.84 for each of the 131,434,000 households that the Census Bureau estimates were in the United States in 2023.
Read MoreBillionaire CEO Announces Plagiarism Probe Targeting MIT, and Beyond
Hedge fund founder Bill Ackman announced on Friday he would launch an AI plagiarism review of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s faculty and leaders with possible plans to extend the probe to other elite universities.
Read MoreCommentary: America’s Last Stand Is the Most Important Book in America
Nearly two and a half centuries ago, the 18th-century American colonists were confronted with a choice: whether or not to continue living their lives as British subjects and supporting the crown or to sever their ties with Great Britain and declare their independence. The choice may seem obvious and easy today, but at the time—circa 1776—a great many colonists were hesitant to choose freedom, and others even supported the crown. They needed persuading.
Fortunately, a virtually unknown immigrant named Thomas Paine felt compelled to persuade the American colonists to choose freedom. His pamphlet, Common Sense, was published on January 10, 1776, and its influence cannot be overstated. It was read by the modern equivalent of 15 million people at the time and provided the fuel the colonists needed to choose independence.
Read MoreInternal Secret Service Records Undercut Another Key J6 Committee Democrat Narrative
It has become one of the enduring messages of the House Democrats’ final report on the Jan. 6 riot: Donald Trump had a plan and an intention to go directly to the U.S. Capitol to join those disrupting the certification of the 2020 election results.
Read MoreHouse Freedom Caucus Calls Speaker Johnson’s Proposed Spending Deal with Schumer ‘Total Failure’
The conservative House Freedom Caucus slammed House Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposed top-line spending deal with Senate Democrats as a “total failure,” arguing the potential agreement costs about $68 billion more than the Louisiana Republican said it would.
Read MorePope Calls for Global Ban on Surrogacy, Calls Process ‘Deplorable,’ Equates to Human Trafficking
Pope Francis on Monday slammed surrogacy as a “deplorable” practice comparable to human trafficking, and he called for a global ban on it.
Read MoreCommentary: As DOJ Threatens to Charge ‘Thousands’ over J6 Trespassing, Judges Signal Skepticism
In a brazen act of political theater worthy of an ethics investigation, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves gave an hourlong rehash of the events of January 6 to a handful of reporters last week. Graves, a Biden 2020 campaign advisor who was appointed by Biden in November 2021, is overseeing the Department of Justice’s unprecedented and ongoing criminal investigation into the four-hour disturbance that has so far resulted in the arrest of more than 1,200 Americans.
Read MorePark Service to Remove William Penn Statue in Philadelphia, in Inclusivity Push
The National Parks Service says it is rehabilitating Philadelphia’s Welcome Park to ensure it is “more welcoming, accurate, and inclusive” for visitors, and part of that plan includes removing a statue of the city’s founder, William Penn.
Read Moreva Top Story: Government Employees Exceed 23 Million for the First Time
Top Commentary: 2024 Will Test the Longevity of the Civil Society
Government Employees Number More than 23 Million for the First Time
Government employees in the United States topped 23 million for the first time in December, according to the employment numbers released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In November, according to BLS, there were 22,951,000 people employed by the local, state and federal governments in the United States. In December, there were 23,003,000.
Read MoreThree More Texas Counties Declare Invasion, Bringing Total to 50
Three years into the border crisis, 50 Texas counties have now declared an invasion.
The latest to do so are the judges and commissioners of Bandera, Schleicher and Uvalde counties. Officials in Bandera and Schleicher counties signed nearly identical resolutions in November as Crockett County’s. Crockett County declared an invasion after its county judge’s family members were killed by an alleged human smuggler. Uvalde County officials signed their invasion resolution in July, when they also joined a coalition led by Atascosa County Judge Weston Cude.
Read MoreBlue States Saw Highest Homeless Rates in 2023
Blue states and the District of Columbia dominated the top spots for homeless residents per capita, according to a December report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
New York and Vermont came in second and third with an estimated 103,200, or 52.4 for every 10,000, and roughly 3,295, or 50.9 per 10,000, respectively, according to rates calculated by Axios from the report. Washington, D.C., had a higher rate of homelessness than all 50 states at 73.3 per 10,000 residents, or an estimated 4,922 people.
Read MoreTSNN Featured Story: Mexican-American Billionaire from New York Funds ‘Tennessee 11’ to Push Gun Control Agenda via ‘Citizen Solutions’ in 2024
Commentary: 2024 Will Test the Longevity of the Civil Society
Unlike in 2020, when then-candidate Joe Biden was leading almost all of the polls — out of 293 national polls taken during that cycle compiled by RealClearPolitics.com, Biden led 285 of them, or 97 percent of them — this time around, former President Donald Trump has an observable advantage in the polls, leading President Biden in 103 out of 214 polls taken, or 48 percent of them. Biden has only led 81, or just 38 percent, and 30 are tied, or 14 percent.
Since, given Democrats’ historical advantage in the popular vote — Republicans have not won the popular vote since 2004 but still managed to eke out Electoral College wins in 2000 and 2016 without it — any potential tie in the popular vote would still bode well for Trump and Republicans in 2024. So, really, about 62 percent of the polls (and rising) showing that at this point in the race, with less than a year to go until November, Trump definitely has an advantage.
Read MoreDemocrats File Resolutions Targeting Amendment Protecting Same-Sex Marriage in Virginia Constitution
Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly filed resolutions on Wednesday to amend the Virginia Constitution to allow same-sex marriage.
State Senator Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Delegate Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax) filed twin versions of SJ 11, which would repeal “the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.”
Read MoreFeds Made $236 Billion in ‘Improper Payments’ Last Year
There were $236 billion worth of “improper payments” made under the Biden administration in fiscal year 2023 alone, more than double the amount in fiscal year 2013, Just the News has learned.
According to the Government Accountability Office, the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse from erroneous payments runs across the spectrum of federal agencies.
Read MoreCommentary: Coal’s Life-Saving Role Ignored by Climate-Obsessed Media
On a recent cold winter day, residents of Munich were surprised to see people skiing in the street. Yes, that is how much snow fell in the German city and other parts of Europe during the early winter of 2023-2024.
Despite a disruption to both ground and air travel, the Germans survived the freezing weather with access to heating and basic utilities. But not everyone in our world is as fortunate as those living off reliable energy sources in Western economies.
Read MoreBill Gates’ Foundation Poured Millions into Chinese Government Organizations in 2022
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation paid out or approved for future payment roughly $23 million in grants to Chinese government organizations during its 2022 reporting period, tax documents show.
The nonprofit listed grants to over 20 different Chinese entities, including Chinese government agencies, labeled as “foreign government” on its 2022 tax forms. The majority of the grants were for projects related to public health research and analysis, including several projects involving diseases and vaccine delivery.
Read MoreDemocrats Support Efforts to Unionize More Auto Plants as EVs Are Projected to Cause Job Losses
Democrats are supporting the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union’s efforts to unionize more auto plants as electric vehicles are projected to result in job loss across the industry within the next 10 years.
Democrats in Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included tax incentives for the purchase of certain electric vehicles as well as funding to expand the EV charging network in the U.S.
Read MoreDOJ to Target Nonviolent Jan. 6 Protesters Who Did Not Enter Capitol
Washington Times The Justice Department says its prosecutors are planning to target “thousands” of Jan. 6 protesters who gathered in “restricted” areas around the Capitol three years ago, regardless of whether they participated in violent acts or entered the Capitol building. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves…
Read MoreSpeaker Johnson Announces Spending Deal to Avert Shutdown
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday said Congressional leaders reached a topline spending deal to avert a federal government shutdown by providing funding through the rest of the fiscal year.
Read MoreCommentary: Biden’s Valley Forge Stunt Shows the Real Threat to Democracy
In his farewell address, George Washington famously warned the American people to temper the passions of faction. Washington and the Founders had, against all odds, thrown off the yoke of tyranny and, through very difficult labor, constructed a government based on the principles of republican liberty. The Americans occupied a big, beautiful country, rich in natural advantages; with “slight shades of difference,” the American people had “the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles,” Washington wrote.
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