This week, a pair of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/house-republicans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">House Republicans</a> proposed bills that could bring to life President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>&#8216;s suggestions for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-announces-u-s-to-change-name-of-the-gulf-of-mexico" target="_blank" rel="noopener">renaming</a> the Gulf of Mexico the &#8220;Gulf of America&#8221; — at least on maps and documents within the United States — and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-former-trump-official-explains-why-trump-may-take-panama-canal-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking back</a> the Panama Canal.
Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/marjorie-taylor-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marjorie Taylor Greene</a> (R-GA) announced on Tuesday that she directed her staff to draft a bill to make the &#8220;Gulf of America&#8221; rebranding happen as soon as Trump brought up the idea.
If the legislation is enacted, any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the Gulf of Mexico shall be deemed to be a reference to the &#8220;Gulf of America.&#8221;
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🚨 READ MY STATEMENT &amp; BILL TEXT 🚨
Mexican cartels currently use the Gulf of Mexico to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else while the Mexican government allows them to do it.
The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime… <a href="https://t.co/m0Nh3a6vuq">pic.twitter.com/m0Nh3a6vuq</a>
&mdash; Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1876756973644837111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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And the commerce secretary, acting through the administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, would oversee the implementation of changing the names in each federal document and map — an overhaul that would be completed in 180 days.
&#8220;It’s our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it’s what the entire world should refer to it as,&#8221; Greene <a href="https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1876756973644837111" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on X, adding later, &#8220;We already have the bill written with legislative council and ready to file first thing Thursday morning. Congress has to take the Trump Agenda mandate seriously and that means acting fast to enact it.&#8221;
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Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) is going to introduce a bill to authorize the president, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to enter into negotiations for the acquisition of the Panama Canal from the Republic of Panama for the &#8220;symbolic&#8221; amount of $1. The bill, according to a screenshot <a href="https://x.com/cami_mondeaux/status/1877058216032379180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> to X by The Washington Examiner&#8217;s Cami Mondeax, also calls for a report to Congress detailing progress on the talks, potential challenges, and anticipated outcomes in 180 days.
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Here’s bill text from <a href="https://twitter.com/DustyJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DustyJohnson</a> to “authorize the President to enter into negotiations for the reacquisition of the Panama Canal from the Republic of Panama for the symbolic amount of $1.” <a href="https://t.co/k9nRSmrE7l">pic.twitter.com/k9nRSmrE7l</a>
&mdash; Cami Mondeaux (@cami_mondeaux) <a href="https://twitter.com/cami_mondeaux/status/1877058216032379180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;President Trump is right to consider repurchasing the Panama Canal. China’s interest in and presence around the canal is a cause for concern,&#8221; Johnson said in a statement <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5074775-republican-bill-panama-canal-trump-purchase/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> by The Hill. &#8220;America must project strength abroad — owning and operating the Panama Canal might be an important step towards a stronger America and a more secure globe.&#8221;

Marjorie Taylor Greene and Donald Trump

Republicans Offer Bills To Realize Trump’s Ideas For ‘Gulf Of America’ And Taking Back Panama Canal

Congress

Donald Trump

Gulf of Mexico

House Republicans

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Panama Canal

Politics

The hosts of left-wing political podcast &#8220;Pod Save America&#8221; — all of whom are veterans of former President Barack Obama&#8217;s administration — complained during a recent episode that President Joe Biden had given an award to former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) rather than their old boss.
The three — Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor — agreed unanimously on one of the awards Biden chose to give: the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation&#8217;s highest civilian honor, to billionaire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-to-award-hillary-clinton-george-soros-with-presidential-medal-of-freedom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Soros</a>.
&#8220;Well-earned Medal of Freedom, if I do say so!&#8221; Lovett said.
Favreau, after noting that Soros was an investor, added, &#8220;There&#8217;s a good one.&#8221;
&#8220;He got one right,&#8221; Vietor agreed before pivoting to complain about the selection process: &#8220;It doesn’t make any sense. You can give it to living people, you can give it to dead people, you can give it to foreign nationals, Colin Powell got it twice for some reason, you can add a ‘with distinction’ flag with no real explanation for what that means.&#8221;
All three then grumbled about the fact that Biden chose to award Cheney — although she received a lesser award, the Presidential Citizens Medal — rather than returning the honor Obama showed Biden when he awarded him the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nbcs-lauer-wept-when-obama-honored-biden-hank-berrien" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Medal of Freedom</a>.
&#8220;Liz Cheney didn’t get the Medal of Freedom, she got the one just below it, which by the way, pissed off some resistance folks on Twitter. I bet Liz Cheney could use a pardon more than the f***ing medal!&#8221; Favreau cracked, referring to rumors that the White House had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-aides-discussing-preemptive-pardons-for-fauci-schiff-cheney-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considered &#8220;pre-emptive&#8221; pardons</a> for those against whom Trump might seek retribution.
Lovett wondered, &#8220;Why is there a silver in this? What are we doing?&#8221;
&#8220;Obama gave [a Medal of Freedom] to Biden, and Biden did not return the favor,&#8221; Favreau complained.
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Lovett aimed a jab at the behind-the-scenes efforts to oust Biden from the 2024 presidential race — an effort that many believe was driven at least in part by Obama — adding, &#8220;I guess they’re not really on speaking terms, I suppose, after all that’s happened!&#8221;
The solution, all three agreed, was to have a more &#8220;objective&#8221; process in selecting those who might be honored for such awards: &#8220;If you want to make it special and a revered honor, you kinda got to have some kind of independent body that is just, like, &#8216;hey, president, here’s where we go.'&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Harris Certifies Trump’s Presidential Win on Jan. 6 Insurrection Anniversary" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PeZ8x2erhec?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

President Obama Gives Tribute To VP Biden In The State Dining Room

Obama Bro Podcasters Ruffled Over Biden Awarding Liz Cheney, Passing Over Their Old Boss

Barack Obama

Joe Biden

Liz Cheney

Media

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> voiced uncertainty when asked whether he believed he could serve another four-year term in the White House if he did not drop out of the 2024 race.
On Wednesday, USA Today <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2025/01/08/joe-biden-interview-transcript/77490912007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">published</a> a transcript of an interview that its Washington Bureau chief, Susan Page, conducted with the 82-year-old Biden over the weekend.  &#8220;Do you think you would&#8217;ve had the vigor to serve another four years in office?&#8221; Page asked.
Biden hearkened back to his winning 2020 campaign, making references to his old boss — former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/barack-obama" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Barack Obama</a> — and his son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015. He also mentioned President-elect <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a>, who won the 2024 contest.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t know,&#8221; the president said in his response. &#8220;That&#8217;s why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack about it, I said I thought I was the person. I had no intention of running after Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump was running again for reelection, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;But I also wasn&#8217;t looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old. And so I did talk about passing the baton. But I don&#8217;t know. Who the hell knows? So far, so good. But who knows what I&#8217;m going to be when I&#8217;m 86 years old?&#8221;
Earlier, Page pressed Biden on whether he believed he could have defeated Trump, who he did beat in 2020. &#8220;Do you believe you could have won in November?&#8221; Page asked.
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&#8220;It&#8217;s presumptuous to say that, but I think yes, based on the polling that&#8230;,&#8221; Biden said.
Although Biden initially embarked on a re-election campaign, Vice President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kamala-harris" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kamala Harris</a> ended up replacing him as the Democrats&#8217; nominee after the president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-drops-out-of-presidential-race" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped out</a> in July following a fumbling debate performance against Trump that led members of his own party to push him aside amid concerns about his age and mental acuity.
As for polling, Jon Favreau, a former Obama aide and host of the &#8220;Pod Save America&#8221; podcast, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4981792-pod-save-america-bidens-internal-polling-showed-trump-winning-400-electoral-votes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Biden&#8217;s internal numbers showed that Trump was going to win &#8220;400 electoral votes&#8221; in a rematch. A source close to Biden <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/politics/pod-save-america-host-says-bidens-internal-polling-showed-trump-winning-400-electoral-votes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disputed</a> that claim to Mediaite. The RealClearPolitics average of public polls <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/general/2024/trump-vs-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">showed</a> Trump had a 3-point advantage.

President Joe Biden

‘Who The Hell Knows?’: Biden Gets Asked If He Would Have The ‘Vigor’ To Serve Another Term

2024 Election

Kamala Harris

U.S.

President-elect Donald Trump slammed California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday for his poor management of the state&#8217;s resources, saying he has contributed to the scale of the fires that have rapidly spread throughout Los Angeles County over the last 24 hours.
&#8220;Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,&#8221; Trump published on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113793724958051185">social media</a>.
&#8220;He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Now the ultimate price is being paid.&#8221;
Trump added that he &#8220;will demand that this incompetent governor allow beautiful, clean, fresh water to FLOW INTO CALIFORNIA!&#8221;
&#8220;He is the blame for this,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;On top of it all, no water for fire hydrants, not firefighting planes. A true disaster!&#8221;
Up to 80,000 people throughout the area were told to evacuate as the fires have burned through thousands of acres in several spots.
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The main fire, the Palisades Fire, quickly erupted to well over 3,000 acres within hours. Three other fires erupted around L.A. County, including the Eaton Fire, which consumed more than 2,000 acres by Wednesday morning; the Hurst Fire in Sylmar in the San Fernando Valley, which consumed more than 500 acres by Tuesday night, and the the Woodley Fire, a small fire that only burned a couple dozen acres and was quickly contained.
Well over a thousand structures were destroyed, The New York Times reported, as officials worried that the worst will still yet to come with well over 15,000 structures at risk of being destroyed. Approximately 300,000 people were without power as of Wednesday morning local time.

Press conference of California Governor Gavin Newsom

Trump Rips Gavin Newsom Over Poor Resource Management During Fires

Gavin Newsom

Natural Disaster

CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings sparked reactions from the others around the table during a panel discussion on President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s more recent &#8220;expansionist&#8221; rhetoric.
Referencing Trump&#8217;s assertions regarding the United States potentially taking control of the Panama Canal and Greenland — despite objections from those who currently control those two areas — host Abby Phillip said that Trump was marking a clear departure from an America that promoted peace over expansion.
WATCH:
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🔥NEW: Scott Jennings drops truth nuke on CNN panel fretting over Trump&#39;s “expansionist” rhetoric:
“What Donald Trump is saying to the world is we are not a shrinking violet anymore.&quot;
&quot;We are the United States of America. We&#39;re the preeminent superpower. And reporters keep… <a href="https://t.co/8rVsJf6pCF">pic.twitter.com/8rVsJf6pCF</a>
&mdash; Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1876834243336090073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We helped create a world order in which we said, you cannot just decide you want that country and then take your military and go into that country and take it,&#8221; Phillip began. &#8220;Okay, so that is the era of not being in an expansionist military era for the United States. And you&#8217;re saying that&#8217;s not true. Why is it not true?&#8221;
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&#8220;Well, you can think small if you want to, but I think Trump&#8217;s thinking big, and he&#8217;s thinking about U.S. interests,&#8221; Jennings replied. &#8220;There are U.S. interests in Greenland, they have rare earth minerals, we already have some kind of space facility there, and it would help fortify us against the Russians. The Panama Canal is of course of interest when you consider the Chinese incursions and influence in this hemisphere.&#8221;
&#8220;What Donald Trump is saying to the world is we are not a shrinking violet anymore,&#8221; Jennings continued. &#8220;We are the United States of America. We are the preeminent superpower. And reporters keep asking him to rule things out and take things off the table, and it would be the height of stupidity to do so now or do anything else before he takes office. Why would he tell the rest of the world what he may or may not do?&#8221;
Trump has also repeatedly ribbed Canadian officials — particularly Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation earlier this week — about the possibility that the United States&#8217; neighbor to the north could become the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-calls-trudeau-governor-of-the-great-state-of-canada" target="_blank" rel="noopener">51st state</a>.

President-Elect Donald Trump Meets Prince William In Paris Ahead Of Notre-Dame Reopening

Scott Jennings Puts CNN Panel In A Tailspin Over Trump’s ‘Expansionist’ Rhetoric

Scott Jennings Puts CNN Panel In A Tailspin Over Trump's 'Expansionist' Rhetoric

Canada

Greenland

President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to pause his sentencing in the New York hush money case.
Trump’s sentencing, scheduled for Friday morning, violates the president-elect’s presidential immunity as outlined in a Supreme Court decision in July, according to Trump’s legal team. Allowing the sentencing to move forward would be a “grave injustice and harm to the institution of the Presidency and the operations of the federal government,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
“President Trump’s legal team filed an emergency petition with the United States Supreme Court, asking the Court to correct the unjust actions by New York courts and stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung <a href="https://x.com/mrddmia/status/1876992687141745145?s=46&amp;t=o-U3qwC25WnWaylJ0oeG7Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Constitution, and established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed.”
The legal <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24A666/336760/20250107212856360_2025-01-07%20-%20Trump%20v.%20New%20York%20-%20Supreme%20Court%20Stay%20Application.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a> states that the hush money case and Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts is on poor legal footing. Part of the evidence used at trial to secure the conviction was based on official acts of the president and should have been shielded from the court.
“These included, without limitation, statements issued through his official Presidential Twitter account to the American people in 2018, statements to the press in official Presidential media appearances, documentary evidence reflecting official Presidential actions, and testimony of former White House employees regarding official actions taken by President Trump during his first term as President,” the filing states.
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The legal team also argued that legal immunity for sitting presidents covers the transition period between the election and when a president assumes office.
“[T]he doctrine of sitting-President immunity shields [Trump] from criminal process during the brief but crucial period of Presidential transition, while he engages in the extraordinarily demanding task of preparing to assume the Executive power of the United States,” the filing says.d
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor ordered Bragg’s office to respond to the Trump team’s filing by 10 a.m. Thursday.
The Trump team made an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court a day after a New York appeals court rejected a similar petition.
In a legal filing to the appeals court, Bragg’s office <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trumps-lawyers-ask-new-york-appeals-court-halt-friday-hush-money-sente-rcna186586" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> that Trump as president-elect “has no viable claim of presidential immunity from ordinary criminal process.” Prosecutors said that Trump “is not yet engaged in any official presidential functions that would be disrupted by the sentencing.”

Supreme Court

Trump Appeals To SCOTUS To Pause Sentencing In Hush Money Case

Alvin Bragg

Courts

Executive

New York

SCOTUS

Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso ripped into Democrat Mayor Karen Bass, saying that &#8220;absolute mismanagement by the city&#8221; caused the city&#8217;s fire hydrants to run dry as the area went up in flames.
The Los Angeles Times <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-08/lack-of-water-from-hydrants-in-palisades-fire-is-hampering-firefighters-caruso-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in the early hours of Wednesday morning that firefighters battling the blaze in Pacific Palisades had begun to report over radios that fire hydrants were losing pressure and running out of water entirely.
&#8220;The hydrants are down,&#8221; and, &#8220;Water supply just dropped,&#8221; they said, according to the outlet.
The Department of Water and Power provided a statement to the Times acknowledging the hydrants were running out of water but did not give any indication as to how widespread the issue was.
&#8220;This area is served by water tanks and close coordination is underway to continue supplying the area,&#8221; the statement said.
Caruso, a developer in Los Angeles, commented on the still-unfolding tragedy: &#8220;There’s no water in the fire hydrants. The firefighters are there [in the neighborhood], and there’s nothing they can do — we’ve got neighborhoods burning, homes burning, and businesses burning. &#8230; It should never happen.&#8221;
Calling in to a local news station, Caruso revealed that his daughter&#8217;s home was among the 1000 structures that had burned thus far — and said that if the city was better managed, the situation could have been much less disastrous.
WATCH:
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&quot;This is like a 3rd world country&quot;
Rick Caruso says there is 0 water coming out of the fire hydrants. Mayor Bass is in Ghana. <a href="https://t.co/GPXmDVvLS1">pic.twitter.com/GPXmDVvLS1</a>
&mdash; End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/1876894002336686220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;My heart goes out obviously to the people with their homes, and I&#8217;m watching the small businesses around us go up in flames, you know this is people&#8217;s livelihoods,&#8221; Caruso said. &#8220;So it&#8217;s devastating. but what is most concerning to me is our first responders and our firefighters who are trying to battle this, there&#8217;s no water in the Palisades.&#8221;
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Caruso went on to point the finger at the mismanagement of resources, saying that reservoirs had not been refilled and noting the fact that Mayor Bass is out of the country, traveling in Ghana.
&#8220;There&#8217;s no water coming out of the fire hydrants. This is an absolute mismanagement by the city,&#8221; he added. &#8220;It&#8217;s not the firefighters&#8217; fault, but it&#8217;s by the city. And I&#8217;ve got to be very honest, we&#8217;ve got a mayor that&#8217;s out of the country, and we&#8217;ve got a city that&#8217;s burning, and there&#8217;s no resources to put out fires.&#8221;
&#8220;So if you look at your pictures, you don&#8217;t see the firefighters there because there&#8217;s nothing they can do,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;It looks like we&#8217;re in a third-world country here.&#8221;
Caruso went on to say that the people needed to ask some tough questions of their local representatives, saying that he did not believe much had been done in the way of mitigation in the last couple of decades: &#8220;What&#8217;s predictable is preventable.&#8221;

US-WEATHER-FIRE

‘There’s Nothing They Can Do’: Firefighters Stymied As L.A. Hydrants Run Dry

'There's Nothing They Can Do': Firefighters Stymied As L.A. Hydrants Run Dry

California

Karen Bass

Los Angeles

Rick Caruso

Wildfires

President-elect Donald Trump has made no bones about the United States possibly acquiring Greenland, the vast territory currently owned by Denmark. There are excellent reasons for Trump to do so, considering Greenland’s necessity for U.S. security purposes and its vital rare earth mineral deposits that could protect the U.S. as communist China maneuvers to get global control of those essential minerals. Greenland has the world&#8217;s largest deposits of rare earth minerals outside of China.
First, a little history: The Norwegian explorer Erik the Red is credited with <a href="https://visitgreenland.com/about-greenland/erik-the-red/">naming</a> the island Greenland in the 10th century to make it sound more welcoming. In 1380, Norway came under Danish rule. Around the end of the 19th century, some American explorers, including Robert Peary, explored the northern sections of Greenland, leading to claims that America had territorial rights in the area.
Germany sank the Lusitania in 1915 during World War I; President Woodrow Wilson and Secretary of State Robert Lansing thought that Germany might annex Denmark, permitting Germany to grab the Danish West Indies as a naval or submarine base and then attack shipping in the Caribbean and the Atlantic. Denmark required the U.S. to first recognize the Danish claim over the whole of Greenland; the United States government then bought the West Indies and changed the name to the Virgin Islands of the United States. Denmark formally declared sovereignty over all of Greenland in 1921.
The administration of President Harry Truman <a href="https://apnews.com/article/9d4a8021c3650800fdf6dd5903f68972">reportedly</a> considered buying Greenland in 1946 for $100 million, but Denmark refused to sell it.
In 1951, the U.S. and Denmark signed the <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/den001.asp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Defense of Greenland Agreement</a>. It stated that “armed forces of the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization may make use of facilities in Greenland in defense of Greenland and the rest of the North Atlantic Treaty area.”
“A decades-old defense treaty between Denmark and the U.S. gives the U.S. military virtually unlimited rights in Greenland at America’s northernmost base, Thule Air Base,” The Wall Street Journal<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-eyes-a-new-real-estate-purchase-greenland-11565904223" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> reported</a> in 2019. “Located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle, it includes a radar station that is part of a U.S. ballistic missile early-warning system. The base is also used by the U.S. Air Force Space Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.”
As Matthew Shoemaker<a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/5057818-greenland-security-us-control/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> noted</a> in The Hill: “Greenland’s strategic importance has only increased. A warming Arctic is opening new shipping routes and exposing vast mineral resources, attracting the attention of global powers like China and Russia. &#8230; The island’s proximity to North America — just a few hours’ flight from major U.S. cities — underscores its critical role in homeland defense.”
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In 2018, the Trump administration warned Denmark not to allow China, which wanted to build three airports in Greenland, to do so. China could potentially use the airports for warplanes.
As far as the threat of China gaining global control over rare earth minerals, it is important to note the following:
“Rare earth elements (REEs) – a group of 17 critical metals – are indispensable components in<a href="https://www.army-technology.com/features/securing-the-rare-earth-supply-chain-is-crucial-for-defence/?cf-view" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> military defense systems</a>,<a href="https://versae.com/the-most-important-metals-in-electronics-manufacturing-rare-earth-metals/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> consumer electronics</a> and <a href="https://www.stanfordmaterials.com/blog/major-applications-of-rare-earth-elements-in-renewable-energy.html#:~:text=Rare%20earth%20elements%20are%20indispensable,hydrogen%20production%2C%20and%20catalytic%20converters." target="_blank" rel="noopener">renewable energy technologies</a>,” NewsSecurityBeat <a href="https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2024/08/mine-the-tech-gap-why-chinas-rare-earth-dominance-persists/#:~:text=China%20has%20an%20effective%20monopoly,)%20and%20Praseodymium%20(Pr).">reported</a>. “Despite more than a decade of sustained efforts by Western countries and companies to loosen China’s grip, Beijing, by far remains the<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/14/rare-earth-mines-00071102" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> top player</a> in the REE global mining, processing and refining sectors. &#8230; China has an effective<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/12/14/rare-earth-mines-00071102" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> monopoly</a> over processing major heavy rare earths – Dysprosium (Dy) and Terbium (Tb), and Light Rare Earths – Neodymium (Nd) and Praseodymium (Pr). &#8230; From 1950 to October 2018, China filed over 25,000 <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301420721002440" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rare earth patents</a>, surpassing the US’ 10,000.“
“Greenland contains some of the largest deposits of rare earth elements (REE) on Earth, such as yttrium, scandium, neodymium and dysprosium,” Innovation News Network <a href="https://www.innovationnewsnetwork.com/why-world-turning-to-greenlands-rare-earth-metals/32694/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>. “These REEs have unique properties that make them ideal for several industrial applications due to their ability to withstand extreme temperatures or chemical agents.”
In addition, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that there could be 17.5 billion undiscovered barrels of oil and 148 trillion cubic feet of natural gas off the coast of Greenland, and the Arctic Circle possibly has another 90 billion barrels of oil.

DENMARK-US-GREENLAND-DIPLOMACY-GOVERNMENT

Why Greenland Matters: National Security, Rare Earth Minerals, And Oil

Emmanuel &#8220;Manny&#8221; Hostin, husband of ABC News personality Sunny Hostin, is one of 200 defendants who were named in a massive RICO case filed in New York City just before Christmas.
According to an <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-14243993/The-View-Sunny-Hostin-surgeon-husband-Emmanuel-insurance-fraud-claim.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusive report</a> published by The Daily Mail, Hostin and many others have been accused of taking &#8220;kickbacks&#8221; and submitting fraudulent bills to an insurance company that typically insures Uber and Lyft drivers and cab companies.
The lawsuit, filed December 17, alleges that &#8220;Hostin knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services including arthroscopic surgeries,&#8221; and then reportedly billed American Transit insurance &#8220;in exchange for kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions.&#8221;
Daniel Thwaites, an attorney representing Hostin, gave a statement to The Daily Mail, saying that his client &#8220;denies each and every allegation&#8221; and referring to the suit as a &#8220;blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier.&#8221;
Thwaites further alleged that the insurance company was intentionally &#8220;abusing the legal system&#8221; in an effort to &#8220;restrict health care benefits to its insureds and their passengers, and write off its proper obligations.&#8221;
&#8220;It is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers,&#8221; Thwaites added. &#8220;American Transit has rushed into the lawsuit without ever conducting an examination of Dr. Hostin or expressing any concerns to his lawyers.&#8221;
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Sunny Hostin, who regularly cohosts ABC&#8217;s midday talk show &#8220;The View,&#8221; also serves as a senior legal correspondent and analyst for the network. She is an attorney who previously worked as a federal prosecutor.
The Media Research Center&#8217;s Nick Fondacaro <a href="https://x.com/NickFondacaro/status/1876745897989550477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1876745897989550477%7Ctwgr%5E5450f4be7f8ffab684d534e044296dd199741a9b%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.dailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D854899action%3Dedit">posted a clip</a> from &#8220;The View&#8221; in which Hostin references her husband&#8217;s work, including his alleged attempts to recover payment from health insurance companies by suing them. &#8220;[He] operates on someone even though they don&#8217;t have insurance and then has to sue health insurance companies to get paid for the work that he&#8217;s been trained his whole life to do,&#8221; says Hostin.

2024 Bezos Courage and Civility Awards

‘The View’ Host’s Husband Caught Up In RICO Lawsuit Alleging Medical Insurance Fraud

'The View' Host's Husband Caught Up In RICO Lawsuit Alleging Medical Insurance Fraud

Lawsuit

Sunny Hostin

The View

Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) became the first Senate Democrat to sponsor the Laken Riley Act, which passed the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
News broke of Fetterman&#8217;s plan to sponsor the bill just ahead of a vote for the measure took place in the House.
&#8220;BREAKING: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) sponsors the Laken Riley Act in the Senate. Fetterman is the first Senate Democrat to sponsor it. This bill will ensure detention and deportations of criminal aliens before they can commit heinous crimes like what happened to Laken Riley,&#8221; Eric Daugherty posted.
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BREAKING: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) sponsors the Laken Riley Act in the Senate.
Fetterman is the first Senate Democrat to sponsor it.
This bill will ensure detention and deportations of criminal aliens before they can commit heinous crimes like what happened to Laken Riley.… <a href="https://t.co/SBqGifP5VB">pic.twitter.com/SBqGifP5VB</a>
&mdash; Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1876635042866221500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Fetterman issued a statement in support of the bill, which is named for the Georgia nursing student who was brutally murdered by an illegal migrant who had previously been arrested but not deported.
&#8220;Laken Riley’s story is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake when our systems fail to protect people. No family should have to endure the pain of losing a loved one to preventable violence,&#8221; Fetterman&#8217;s statement read.
&#8220;Immigration is what makes our country great,&#8221; Fetterman <a href="https://www.britt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/u-s-senators-katie-britt-ted-budd-john-thune-john-fetterman-colleagues-introduce-laken-riley-act-in-119th-congress/">continued</a>. &#8220;I support giving authorities the tools to prevent tragedies like this one while we work on comprehensive solutions to our broken system.&#8221;
The Laken Riley Act, introduced in the Republican-led House by Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-again-passes-laken-riley-act-159-dems-vote-against-it" target="_blank" rel="noopener">passed the lower chamber</a> on Tuesday. Forty-eight Democrats voted with 216 Republicans to pass the bill, which was opposed by 159 Democrats.
As previously reported, if signed into law, the Laken Riley Act would compel federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants charged with theft in the U.S. In addition, it opens the door for individual states to sue federal officials for “injunctive relief” if immigration actions or policies implemented by the federal government have an adverse impact on citizens in their state.
Rep. Collins thanked Fetterman for supporting the bill in a post on X, saying, &#8220;This bill sells itself, but I will be living in the Senate hallways until it passes if need be. Very grateful for @SenFettermanPA. Now we need Georgia&#8217;s Senators to step up.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This bill sells itself, but I will be living in the Senate hallways until it passes if need be. Very grateful for <a href="https://twitter.com/SenFettermanPA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SenFettermanPA</a>. Now we need Georgia&#39;s Senators to step up. <a href="https://t.co/GD8tTeFpFs">https://t.co/GD8tTeFpFs</a>
&mdash; Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMikeCollins/status/1876648944450633888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Challenges in Preserving the U.S. Housing Stock

John Fetterman Is First Senate Democrat To Step Up, Sponsor Laken Riley Act

John Fetterman

Laken Riley

U.S. Senate

President-elect Donald Trump&#8217;s request to delay the January 10 sentencing hearing in his hush-money trial was denied by a New York appeals court judge on Tuesday.
Trump&#8217;s legal team filed a 502-page lawsuit with a New York appeals court to delay the sentencing hearing in his hush-money trial, which is scheduled for this Friday, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/01/07/us-news/trump-files-appeal-in-effort-to-stop-sentencing-in-manhattan-hush-money-case/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Hours later, Judge Ellen Gesmer, who serves on New York&#8217;s midlevel appeals court, rejected Trump&#8217;s petition. The appeals court decision comes after Judge Juan Merchan <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-merchan-denies-trumps-request-to-delay-hush-money-sentencing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denied</a> Trump&#8217;s request to delay the sentencing hearing, which is scheduled to take place just 10 days before Trump is sworn into office.
In their legal filing, Trump&#8217;s team argued that the jury&#8217;s verdict in the hush-money trial was &#8220;erroneous&#8221; because they were presented with evidence related to Trump&#8217;s official acts as president. Trump&#8217;s lawyers also argued that his &#8220;undisputed absolute immunity&#8221; extends to his time as president-elect, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-files-500-page-lawsuit-judge-manhattan-da/story?id=117418143" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Gesmer questioned Trump&#8217;s lawyers about whether presidential immunity extends to a president-elect. Trump&#8217;s lawyer, Todd Blanche, replied that there isn&#8217;t support for the presidential immunity extending to presidents-elect, adding, &#8220;There has never been a case like this before.&#8221;
Steven Wu of the Manhattan District Attorney&#8217;s Office argued, &#8220;There is a compelling public interest in seeing this process come to an end.&#8221;
&#8220;If sentencing is to happen at all, now is the best time for it to happen,&#8221; Wu said.
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Trump can still take his request to delay the sentencing before the court&#8217;s full panel as he appeals his conviction, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5071977-appeals-court-trump-sentencing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Trump has requested a sentencing hearing date of January 27, a week after he is sworn into office. By then, the case is expected to be frozen since Trump will be the sitting president.
In their petition to the appeals court, Trump&#8217;s lawyers wrote, “Justice Merchan is without authority under the law to proceed to sentencing while President Trump exercises his federal constitutional right to challenge these rulings.”
Judge Merchan has signaled that he will issue a sentence of an “unconditional discharge,” meaning Trump would not face any punishment.
Trump was found guilty on all charges in the hush money case last May. He was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to hide payments that were allegedly sent to porn actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence on an alleged extramarital affair. Trump has denied the charges and said that the trial was politically motivated.

Appeals Court Judge Denies Trump’s Request To Delay Jan. 10 Sentencing Hearing

Appeals Court Judge Denies Trump's Request To Stop Jan. 10 Sentencing Hearing

Inauguration

Juan Merchan

CNN Republican commentator Scott Jennings let all the air out of the balloon being floated by his fellow panelists on Monday, saying that Vice President Kamala Harris did not deserve any special recognition for presiding over the certification of her own election loss.
Jennings noted that Harris, as the sitting vice president and, therefore, the President of the Senate, had only the role of a figurehead with regard to the certification of the Electoral College&#8217;s votes from the November 5 presidential election.
WATCH:
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NEW: Scott Jennings reins in CNN panel that got a little too excited about Kamala Harris. Van Jones&#39; reaction is priceless.
&quot;Before we canonize Saint Kamala here on the high holy day of January 6th, let&#39;s remember: the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 makes it perfectly clear… <a href="https://t.co/Talo9xWoOo">pic.twitter.com/Talo9xWoOo</a>
&mdash; Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1876614241836220697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Before we canonize Saint Kamala here on the high holy day of January 6th, let&#8217;s remember: the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 makes it perfectly clear that the vice president has nothing but purely ministerial duties on this day,&#8221; Jennings began. &#8220;She didn&#8217;t actually certify the results — that was done by the voters and people of the states.&#8221;
&#8220;It was clear as day four years ago,&#8221; fellow panelist Van Jones interjected, aiming a jab at President-elect Donald Trump and those who had expected then Vice President Mike Pence to step in and stop the certification of President Joe Biden&#8217;s victory in 2020.
&#8220;Nobody&#8217;s trying to canonize her &#8230;&#8221; host Abby Phillip protested, repeating Jones&#8217; statement. &#8220;The same thing was true four years ago.&#8221;
&#8220;Oh, they&#8217;re not? She put out a video trying to canonize herself,&#8221; Jennings pushed back, obviously unconvinced.
The video Jennings referenced was posted Monday by the vice president, and in it, she claimed that she was doing her &#8220;sacred&#8221; duty to the U.S. Constitution, and that she was driven only by her &#8220;love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today, I will perform my constitutional duty as Vice President to certify the results of the 2024 election. This duty is a sacred obligation — one I will uphold guided by love of country, loyalty to our Constitution, and unwavering faith in the American people. <a href="https://t.co/w21HzdNxGs">pic.twitter.com/w21HzdNxGs</a>
— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) <a href="https://twitter.com/VP/status/1876260143509192977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Jennings also sparked reactions from the rest of the panel when he argued that Democrats — who have objected to the certification of every Republican presidential victory in more than three decades — had done more to overturn elections than Republicans had.
&#8220;I want to actually congratulate the Democrats today. This is the first election since 19—&#8221; Jennings began.
&#8220;He’s doing it again,&#8221; Jones complained.
&#8220;He’s doing this again!&#8221; former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) echoed.
&#8220;This is the first election since 1988–&#8221; Jennings tried again.
&#8220;Scott, Scott, Scott!  Scott–&#8221; Phillip tried to stop him.
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&#8220;–that a Republican won and Democrats did not try to overturn the results on the floor of the Congress. So, congratulations, Democrats,&#8221; Jennings finished his thought.
&#8220;I’m only interrupting you because we’ve heard this before,&#8221; Phillip claimed.
&#8220;But we’ve heard the truth before, but I thought it was worth repeating!&#8221; Jennings replied.
&#8220;Here’s the thing. You know, parliamentary disputes,&#8221; Phillip attempted to excuse the Democrats.
&#8220;There were not parliamentary disputes,&#8221; Jennings shot back.
&#8220;Mr. Speaker, a point of order,&#8221; Phillip said.
Jennings pushed back: &#8220;No, that’s not what happened. They tried to stop the counting of the votes.&#8221;

US-POLITICS-CONGRESS

Scott Jennings Torches Kamala Over Election Cert: ‘She Put Out A Video Trying To Canonize Herself’

Scott Jennings Torches Kamala Over Election Cert: 'She Put Out A Video Trying To Canonize Herself'

January 6

Scott Jennings

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