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Monday, January 22, 2024

Governor Ron DeSantis Backs Out of Presidential Race, Endorses Donald Trump

NBC: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once seen as the most formidable opponent to Donald Trump in the Republican presidential primary, suspended his race Sunday and endorsed the former president. The move comes two days before the New Hampshire primary (NBC). Benny Johnson: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended his 2024 campaign for President and endorsed Donald Trump (X).

American Military Members Injured in Terror Missile Attack in on Iraq Base

CBS: Several U.S. military personnel were injured in a missile attack Saturday night by Iranian-backed rebels on Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, the Pentagon said. At about 6:30 p.m. local time, multiple ballistic missiles and rockets were fired by Iranian-backed militants from western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said in a statement posted to social media. The base’s air defense systems intercepted “most of the missiles,” but “others impacted the base,” CENTCOM reported. This marks the 144th attack on U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Syria since Hamas launched its violent Oct. 7 assault on Israel and sparked the Israel-Hamas war. It’s also one of the largest such attacks, and the second in which militia groups have fired ballistic missiles (CBS). Fox News: The U.S. has 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq on a mission to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large parts of both countries before being defeated (Fox News).

U.S. Targets Houthi Anti-Ship Missile with Airstrike

Bloomberg: US air strikes destroyed a Houthi anti-ship missile that was prepared for launch into the Gulf of Aden, the latest action against the Yemen-based militants that have targeted Red Sea commercial traffic for weeks. US forces struck at about 4 a.m. Saturday in Yemen after determining that the missile presented a threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region, the US Central Command said in a statement. Roughly 12% of global trade flowed through the Red Sea before the Houthis began targeting commercial ships (Bloomberg). Fox News: This is the sixth round of strikes against the Houthis since the U.S. and U.K.-led coalition strikes last Thursday. President Biden said Thursday that U.S. military strikes against the Iran-backed Yemeni group will continue as long as it continues to attack ships in the Red Sea. “When you say working, are they stopping the Houthis, no. Are they going to continue, yes,” Biden told reporters before departing from the White House for a domestic policy speech in North Carolina (Fox News).

4. Biden Cancels Another $5 Billion in Student Debt for 74,000 Borrowers

Fox Business: The Biden administration has approved an additional $5 billion in debt cancelation for roughly 74,000 student loan borrowers. President Biden said many of the borrowers impacted by his latest student loan debt handout are public sector workers, like teachers and firefighters, who will have their debt erased after 10 years of public service. The latest round of student debt cancelation brings the total amount canceled under Biden to $136.6 billion for more than 3.7 million Americans, according to the Department of Education. It comes after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Biden’s initial student loan handout last year, which would have cost more than $400 billion (Fox Business). Washington Times: The Supreme Court in June struck down Mr. Biden’s student debt relief plan, ruling it was unconstitutional because it wasn’t explicitly approved by Congress. In his statement Friday, Mr. Biden said his administration is “continuing to pursue an alternative path to deliver student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible” in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision (Washington Times).

Thousands of Participants Attended the 51st Annual March for Life Even with Snowfall

Daily Mail: The 51st annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., this week drew thousands of pro-life supporters despite frigid temperatures and continual snowfall. The march featured speeches from Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, University of Michigan Football Head Coach Jim Harbaugh, and more. After the rally demonstrators marched down the National Mall toward the U.S. Capitol (Daily Mail). CBS: For many attendees, abortion will be a top issue in upcoming elections and colors how they view presidential candidates. In a Fox News town hall, former president Donald Trump recently bragged about his role in ending Roe v. Wade, as he appointed three of the Supreme Court judges who ruled in the majority of the Dobbs decision that overturned the landmark 1973 ruling (CBS).

White House Acknowledges the Border Security is Important Then Proceeds to List Reasons Illegals Should Come

Townhall: Since Biden took office, the U.S.-Mexico border has seen record amounts of illegal crossings. The fiscal year 2023 alone saw a massive number of illegal aliens storm the southern border, with a record of 3.2 million migrants encountered. This number does not include “gotaways” or those who have avoided detection. At the same time, more than eight million illegal aliens have entered the United States. Yet, the Biden Administration remains ignorant of the crisis it has created. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that border security is “important” and that the Biden Administration is working toward a plan to stem the millions of illegal migrants from entering the U.S. However, at the same time, she bragged about all of the taxpayer-funded services the president has provided to illegal immigrants (Townhall). RNC Research: Karine Jean-Pierre says sending illegal immigrants to Democrat-run sanctuary cities is “inhumane” and “demoralizing,” then brags about all the taxpayer-funded services they’ve provided to illegal immigrants (X).

Radical Squad Member Jamaal Bowman Admires Antisemite Who Celebrated October 7 Attacks

New York Post: Rep. Jamaal Bowman offered high praise to a longtime Israel hater who has celebrated Hamas terrorism in Israel. Bowman introduced Norman Finkelstein at a panel discussion in Westchester County on the Israel-Hamas war last Sunday and gushed that he was “a bit starstruck” because he “watched him all the time on YouTube.” Finkelstein is a deeply divisive figure in the Jewish community. His 2000 book “The Holocaust Industry” accused Jews of exploiting the memory of the Nazis to promote Israel (New York Post). National Review: On October 7, Finkelstein compared the massacre of Israelis committed by Hamas to that of Jews stuck in the Warsaw Ghetto amid the Holocaust. “If we honor John Brown’s armed resistance to slavery; if we honor the Jews who revolted in the Warsaw Ghetto — then moral consistency commands that we honor the heroic resistance in Gaza. I, for one, will never begrudge — on the contrary, it warms every fiber of my soul — the scenes of Gaza’s smiling children as their arrogant Jewish supremacist oppressors have, finally, been humbled,” the activist wrote on Substack the day of the atrocities (National Review).

U.S., Egypt and Qatar Putting More Pressure on Israel to Accept Peace Plan

Times of Israel: The US, Egypt and Qatar are pushing Israel and Hamas to accept a comprehensive plan that would end the war, see the release of hostages held in Gaza, and ultimately lead to full normalization for Israel with its neighbors and talks for the establishment of a Palestinian state, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. The plan, whose complete implementation would take 90 days, would reportedly bring all fighting to an extended halt, during which time the Palestinian terror group, in the first stage, would free all civilians. Israel would simultaneously release hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, pull out of Gaza’s cities, allow freedom of movement in the Strip, cease drone surveillance over Gaza, and double the amount of aid entering the Hamas-controlled territory (Times of Israel). Wall Street Journal: Israeli negotiators have continued to push for a two-week halt to fighting to allow for hostage-prisoner exchanges and have been reluctant to discuss plans that envision a permanent cease-fire, Egyptian officials said. Hamas, on the other hand, is seeking to gain maximum advantage from the captives it holds, and only wants to trade them for thousands of Palestinian prisoners and a permanent cease-fire. Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar believes that the Israelis will prioritize hostages over the battlefield and that Hamas needs to hold out as long as possible to exhaust Israel and keep international pressure on it, the officials said (Wall Street Journal).

California Attempts to Reinstitute Affirmative Action

Washington Examiner: In California, leftists are coming back for a third bite at the rotten apple of racial preferences. Having been resoundingly defeated in an affirmative action referendum in 2020, the establishment is trying to reintroduce this pernicious type of racism through the back door. Instead of an up-front referendum reinstating racial preferences, which they know they will lose, the progressives of the once Golden State this time are trying to let the governor find exceptions that will gut the ban on affirmative action (Washington Examiner). Assemblyman Corey Jackson Press Release: In response to the persistent issue of inequities and the recognition of Prop. 209 as an impediment, the California State Assembly approved ACA 7, a measure aimed at amending Prop 209. ACA 7 focuses on enabling evidence-based, culturally specific programs to reduce disparities among specific groups, including marginalized genders and sexual orientations. Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson states, “Yesterday, we took a significant step toward addressing systemic disparities. ACA 7 aims to create positive change and improve outcomes for those disproportionately affected by systemic racism and discrimination” (Press Release).

10.

Alec Baldwin Indicted in Involuntary Manslaughter Charges for Shooting, Killing Film Director on Set

NBC: Alec Baldwin is headed to trial over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed in 2021 after the actor’s prop gun fired a live round of ammunition on the “Rust” film set. The decision to indict Baldwin was announced Friday after a New Mexico grand jury heard evidence presented by special prosecutors Kari Morrissey and Jason Lewis. He was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter. If convicted, Baldwin could face up to 18 months in prison. A trial date has not been set (NBC). Associated Press: Baldwin can enter a formal plea with or without a court arraignment, setting in motion preparations for trial. The indictment provides prosecutors with two alternative standards for the felony involuntary manslaughter charge against Baldwin. One would be based on the negligent use of a firearm. A second alternative for prosecutors is to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Baldwin caused the death of Hutchins without due caution or “circumspection,” also defined as “an act committed with total disregard or indifference for the safety of others” (Associated Press).