Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

Monday, December 9, 2024

World Leaders Line Up to Meet Donald Trump in France

Townhall: Before he even assumed office, President-elect Donald Trump met with world leaders to establish early lines of communication. He set the tone for the successive four years of his administration. The meetings came before the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, five years after it was set on fire. Trump showcased his unorthodox approach to foreign relations, focusing on strengthening bilateral ties, asserting America’s interests, and laying the groundwork for his America First agenda. Trump and world leaders discussed various topics, including defense and global security. His blunt style indeed left an unmistakable impression on the worldwide stage… It was also reported that Vice President Kamala Harris was invited to the reopening of Notre Dame, but she declined (Townhall). George: While world leaders are waiting on him to arrive, President Trump is busy greeting U.S. marines stationed in France. He is literally putting America FIRST (X). Benny Johnson: World Leaders are lined up to meet President-elect Trump (X).

Israel Kills Hezbollah Operatives in Violation of Peace Treaty

ABC: The Israeli Air Force struck a storage facility in southern Lebanon where officials alleged Hezbollah was operating “within a weapons storage facility,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a release Sunday. Israeli forces said Hezbollah violated the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon because their members were operating there. Despite the strike, the IDF said they were “operating according to the agreement and understanding between Israel and Lebanon” (ABC). Jerusalem Post: The IDF said on Sunday it killed 25 of Hezbollah’s forces since the ceasefire kicked in last month, and that the Israel Air Force struck dozens of Hezbollah targets, mostly in southern Lebanon… And, although there have been almost no gunfights, the IDF said it has attacked Hezbollah forces or locations when the terrorist group posed a threat to Israeli forces or tried to break through into southern Lebanon (Jerusalem Post).

Ukraine Considers Drafting 18-Year-Olds Amid Western Pressure

Washington Post: For nearly three years, Ukraine has resisted drafting men as young as 18, as is done by so many other wartime armies — a choice that has baffled some of Kyiv’s Western allies but is a deeply sensitive issue at home. As Russia has continued gaining ground on the battlefield with high-attrition-style combat, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is facing increased pressure to deploy more younger people to the front lines. With future aid from Washington uncertain, U.S. officials have warned that Ukraine’s personnel shortage is perhaps more critical right now than its arms deficit (Washington Post). NZ Herald: Even with Ukraine in a precarious battlefield situation, many of the military’s fiercest backers here are against reducing the draft age to 18. They say Ukraine’s young people should be protected most, as they’re the country’s future and are free from the decades of Russian influence past generations experienced (NZ Herald).

President Trump Details First Policies With NBC

National Review: President-elect Donald Trump sat down with NBC News for a wide ranging interview where he made several key promises, including pardons for Capitol rioters, and vowed to follow through on his plan to deport million of illegal immigrants. NBC’s Meet the Press aired the Trump interview Sunday after he sat down Friday with anchor Kristen Welker for more than an hour, his first interview since defeating Vice President Kamala Harris resoundingly in November. Trump renewed his campaign promise to enact mass deportations, beginning with criminals and going from there. For families with mixed immigration status, Trump suggested deporting them all in order to keep them together (National Review). Johnny Maga: Trump responds to Kristen Welker’s hysteria about “breaking up families” when carrying out deportations: “I don’t want to be breaking up families, so the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and send them all back” (X). Collin Rugg: Kristen Welker’s question immediately backfires after she tries pinning America’s “division” on Trump. Welker also tried to get Trump to concede the 2020 election which immediately got shut down (X).

Karine Jean-Pierre Fails to Defend President Biden’s Credibility

Daily Wire: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre snapped at a reporter during Friday’s press briefing when confronted about President Joe Biden lying to the American people about pardoning his son, convicted felon Hunter Biden. The exchange came after Biden pardoned his son last week and then took a trip to Africa and Biden’s White House communications team avoided doing on-air press briefings for several days, likely hoping that they would not be asked on camera about their repeated lying to the American public that Biden would not pardon his son (Daily Wire). Chris Houck: CNN’s MJ Lee: “Zeke asked this question. I just didn’t hear an answer. The next time that the President says he will or won’t do something, why should the American people believe him?” KJP: “I answered that question. I don’t have anything else to add” (X).

Manslaughter Charge for Daniel Penny Dismissed by Judge; Prosecutors Look For Lesser Charge

Breitbart: Daniel Penny, the 25-year-old former Marine who intervened on a New York City subway to restrain Jordan Neely after the latter began threatening passengers last year, will no longer face a manslaughter charge in Neely’s death. Penny placed Neely in a chokehold for several minutes, then let go; he later died, though he was still alive when police arrived… The defense wanted Judge Maxwell Wiley to declare a mistrial, but prosecutors moved that the manslaughter charge be dismissed instead, urging the judge to allow the jury to consider a “lesser included” charge of negligent homicide (Breitbart). Dinesh D’Souza: BLM activists held a press conference outside the courthouse during the trial of Daniel Penny. They attempted to sow racial division and attempted to intimidate the jurors. This is absurd (X).

GOP Lawmaker Looks to Give Daniel Penny Congressional Gold Medal

Townhall: A House GOP lawmaker wants to award Daniel Penny with the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress. Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) is planning to introduce a resolution to give Daniel Penny, a U.S. Marine veteran who defended himself and others against a rampaging homeless man aboard a busy New York City subway, the Congressional Gold Medal. “Daniel Penny’s actions exemplify what it means to stand against the grain to do right in a world that rewards moral cowardice,” said Crane, a retired Navy SEAL (Townhall). Libs of TikTok: Rep Eli Crane to introduce a resolution to award Daniel Penny a Congressional Gold Medal for his heroic actions (X). USA Today: A judge in Daniel Penny’s case on Friday dismissed a charge of second-degree manslaughter in the death of Jordan Neely, leaving the jury to consider a lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide. Prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss the first more serious count after jurors remained deadlocked Friday afternoon (USA Today).

Syrian Rebels Depose Dictator

National Review: The Assad regime in Syria came to an end Saturday after more than 50 years in power following a rapid rebel offensive that advanced into Damascus and reclaimed the capital city with little resistance. The rebels proclaimed Syria “free” after storming into Damascus and seizing the city as dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country, according to multiple reports. The rebel offensive began on November 27th and fighters quickly took control of the cities of Aleppo and Hama (National Review). Benjamin Netanyahu: This is a historic day for the Middle East. The collapse of the Assad regime, the tyranny in Damascus, offers great opportunity but also is fraught with significant dangers. We send a hand of peace to all those beyond our border in Syria: to the Druze, to the Kurds, to the Christians, and to the Muslims who want to live in peace with Israel (X). Reporter Yashar Ali: The Russian government state media agency Tass reports that Bashar Al-Assad and his family are in Moscow and have been granted political asylum (X).

President Biden Pledges to Help Rebuild Syria After Rebels Oust Regime

Why? CNBC: President Joe Biden cheered the toppling of Syria’s dictatorship in remarks on Sunday, but he warned about the uncertainty during the country’s political transition… The U.S. will support Syria’s neighbors, including Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Israel, during the transition period and send senior officials to the region, Biden said. He also pledged to continue the mission against ISIS and to ensure the security of detention facilities in Syria that hold ISIS fighters… The U.S. will also help “all Syrian groups” establish an independent, sovereign government. That pledge will include humanitarian aid to help Syria after 13 years of civil war (CNBC). End Wokeness: In the past 7 days, Biden has pledged: $1,000,000,000 to help rebuild Africa. 988,000,000+ more aid for Ukraine. Unspecified amount to rebuild Syria. Meanwhile, in North Carolina (X). Ibrahim Kaban: Fighter groups affiliated with the Syrian opposition, after toppling the regime of dictator Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on December 8, 2024, vow to liberate Jerusalem and eliminate the State of Israel (X).

10.

Majority of Fortune 500 Companies Continue Commitment to DEI

Fox News: A new report looked at company statements, annual reports and other publicly available documents from every Fortune 500 company and found that virtually all of them have maintained their commitments to “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) despite a trend of private companies relinquishing these commitments amid growing criticism. Walmart, last week, became the latest major company to roll back its DEI commitments…While pressure on private companies to relinquish their DEI commitments has yielded some change, 485 of the country’s 500 largest companies continue to maintain some form of DEI commitment (Fox News). Heritage DataViz: Businesses and corporations are beginning to delete their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) statements from their websites and to remove DEI staff. However, nearly all Fortune 500 companies still list commitments to the DEI ideology on their websites (X).