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Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Donald Trump Attends SpaceX Starship Rocket Launch With Elon Musk

The biggest rocket ever built. Fox Business: President-elect Trump traveled to Texas Tuesday to watch the SpaceX launch. SpaceX’s Starship rocket launched its sixth test flight to space just before sunset Tuesday… The announcers on the SpaceX feed appeared pleased with the performance of the rocket and said scientists were pushing this rocket to the max in order to learn as much as possible about the heat shields, and which shields and configurations of shields might perform best, among other things (Fox Business). CNBC: SpaceX designed Starship to be a reusable, new vehicle for flying cargo and people beyond Earth. The company won a multibillion-dollar contract from the federal government to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander as part of NASA’s Artemis moon program (CNBC). Charlie Kirk: This successful rocket launch is a metaphor for why Trump won. SpaceX was one failed rocket launch away from bankruptcy. Everyone thought they were a joke and wouldn’t succeed. SpaceX has now run circles around the taxpayer-funded NASA, setting the gold standard for space travel around the globe. Trump watching this rocket ascend into outer space is a harbinger for a new regime coming to DC (X).

Texas Offers Donald Trump Over 1,400 Acres of Land to Stage Deportation Operation

U.S. News: Texas is offering 1,402 acres (567 hectares) of land along the border with Mexico to the incoming Trump administration to lease as part of a plan for the mass deportation of immigrants, the Texas General Land Office said on Tuesday. Donald Trump is expected to mobilize agencies across the U.S. government to help him deport record numbers of immigrants, building on efforts in his first term to tap all available resources and pressure so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions to cooperate (U.S. News). Fox News: Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has written to President-elect Donald Trump offering him the land in Starr County, which the state purchased from a ranch owner in October. The 1,402 acres are in the Rio Grande Valley sector near the border. Her letter to Trump, obtained by Fox News Digital, says her office is “fully prepared to enter into an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or the United States Border Patrol to allow a facility to be built for the processing, detention, and coordination of the largest deportation of violent criminals in the nation’s history.” The Trump plan is likely to face opposition in other states, including Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts, where governors have indicated they will oppose deportation efforts by the Trump administration. But that is unlikely to stop the incoming administration from conducting its operation (Fox News).

Judge Merchan Adjourns Sentencing in Donald Trump’s “Hush Money” Case; AG Bragg Asks to Freeze Case for Four Years

Just the News: Donald Trump’s sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 26, has been adjourned with no explanation by the judge in his New York ‘hush money’ case. Judge Juan Merchan is still considering how to proceed with sentencing given that Trump is now the president-elect and is preparing to take office in January. The sentencing had already faced a delay from the judge as he considers whether to toss the charges. Merchan is also expected to decide whether to throw out the conviction in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity (Just the News). Townhall: In 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) charged Trump with 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges (Townhall). New York Post: Manhattan prosecutors on Tuesday rebuffed President-elect Donald J. Trump’s request to dismiss his criminal conviction in the wake of his electoral victory, signaling instead their willingness to freeze the case while he holds office. In a letter to the judge overseeing the case, the prosecutors emphasized that a jury had already convicted Mr. Trump of falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. But acknowledging the unprecedented nature of the case — Mr. Trump would be the first felon to serve as president — the prosecutors raised the prospect of a four-year freeze (New York Post).

FEMA Director Promises to Request Inspector General Investigation Into Accusations Employees Avoided Pro-Trump Homes in Aid Distribution

Fox News: FEMA Director Deanne Criswell vowed to request an inspector general investigation into orders that FEMA employees avoid homes of Trump supporters during relief efforts for Hurricane Milton. Criswell made the commitment during her testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Tuesday. Criswell has insisted that orders to avoid pro-Trump homes originated from a lone employee and were not part of a wider directive. Committee Chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., asked Criswell whether FEMA’s ongoing internal investigation included officials above Marn’i Washington, the employee confirmed to have issued the order… Criswell’s claims contradict Washington, who asserts that she is being scapegoated by the agency for a wider policy of avoiding pro-Trump homes in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Washington emphasized to Fox News that FEMA prioritizes “avoidance” and “de-escalation” in situations where some employees may feel unsafe, and that is not necessarily politically targeted at Trump supporters. This could include other situations, like urban areas where there are unleashed dogs (Fox News). Washington Times: Ms. Criswell said they have probed and found no evidence of anyone else, including her supervisors, ordering disparate treatment of Trump homes. “We find no information at this point that there was anything beyond her direction to her employees,” the director said. The director also rejected Ms. Washington’s argument that it was a matter of security, not politics (Washington Times).

Voters Approve of Transition to Trump

Morning Consult: Trump’s 54% transition approval rating is only slightly less than how voters rated Biden’s four years ago, when 60% approved. Trump’s current approval rating is bolstered by backing from 1 in 5 Democrats, more independents than not and more than 9 in 10 Republican voters (Morning Consult). Trump War Room: A majority of Americans, including a plurality of independent voters, approve of President Trump’s transition performance (X).

House Republicans Protect Women’s Bathrooms on Capitol Hill

Daily Wire: Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a bill on Monday that would force “members, officers, and employees of the House” to use bathrooms that correspond to their biological sex. The bill noted that “allowing biological males into single-sex facilities, such as restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms designed for women, jeopardizes the safety and dignity of Members, officers, and employees of the House who are female.” The Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives would be in charge of enforcing the prohibition of men from being able to use facilities designated for women. The bill was introduced as Democrats are preparing for their new member, Sarah McBride from Delaware, to become the first transgender member of Congress (Daily Wire). Olivia Beavers: Speaker Mike Johnson told the GOP conference today that transgender women won’t be allowed to use the women’s bathrooms in the Capitol, per two sources. It comes as Rep. Mace puts forward a bill on the matter (X). End Wokeness: Woke reporter asks Rep. Nancy Mace (R) why she wants to exclude men from the female bathroom in Congress (X).

Ukraine Uses U.S.-Supplied Long-Range Missiles Deep in Russian Territory

Wall Street Journal: Ukraine fired long-range missiles provided by the U.S. into Russia for the first time Tuesday, posing a test for Russian President Vladimir Putin after Moscow’s threats to retaliate for such a move. Ukraine used the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, to strike an ammunition storage facility in Russia’s Bryansk region. The strike came just days after President Biden gave approval for their use. On Tuesday, Putin signed amendments to Russia’s nuclear doctrine—a move that appeared to be timed to send an additional warning to the West (Wall Street Journal). CNN: Ukraine fired six ballistic missiles at a facility in Bryansk, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. It said that American-made ATACMS missiles had been used in the attack. Russian air defenses said they shot down five of the missiles and another was damaged. Fragments from the damaged missile fell on the territory of a military facility, causing a fire that has since been extinguished. There were no casualties or damage (CNN). Fox News: Putin has previously said that giving Ukraine the green light on missile use would effectively mean that the U.S. and NATO are “in the war” (Fox News).

Iran Looks to Increase Stockpile of Weapons-Grade Uranium Before Trump Comes Into Office

Wall Street Journal: Iran sharply increased its stockpile of nearly weapons-grade uranium amid its confrontation with Israel, according to the United Nations atomic-energy agency, in a challenge to the incoming Trump administration. Iran’s decision to expand its stockpiles of nuclear fuel and its failure to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, which monitors Tehran’s work, is set to trigger fresh diplomatic pressure from Europe. Concerns are growing in Western capitals that Iran could decide to develop a nuclear weapon, after comments by senior Iranian officials that Tehran has mastered most of the techniques for doing so (Wall Street Journal).

Obama’s Nuclear Deal With Russia Only Strengthens Putin’s War Effort Now

Just the News: The U.S. nuclear energy sector’s dependence on Russian uranium created during a failed Obama-era reset with Moscow is coming back to bite Americans as the Kremlin moves to block future exports of the vital fuel. Vladimir Putin’s new restrictions on uranium exports to the U.S., announced last week, come as the country’s war in Ukraine continues to heighten tensions with the United States and the West. His announcement created an immediate impact, as uranium prices soared and worries grew that American utilities might have trouble meeting electric demand next year. It’s the latest fallout from a series of foreign policy decisions crafted by Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton that inexplicably strengthened Putin’s ability to wage economic warfare with energy supplies such as natural gas and uranium (Just the News).

10.

Venezuelan Gang Expands Territory to 16 States; DHS Memo Claims Gang Is Increasing Violence

New York Post: The vicious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua has expanded its territory to at least 16 US states — an area that includes half of America’s population, The Post has learned. Homeland Security officials last week were warned in an internal department intelligence memo about TdA’s growing presence across the country, most recently in Washington, DC, Virginia, Montana and Wyoming… The gang has only increased its “violent tendencies” as it spreads, the memo added (New York Post). Reporter Jennie Taer: The vicious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua has expanded its territory to at least 16 US states — an area that includes half of America’s population, per a DHS memo we obtained (X).