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Thursday, December 12, 2024

Donald Trump Named TIME Magazine’s “Person of the Year”

Politico: Donald Trump is expected to be named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” — and to celebrate the unveiling of the cover, the president-elect will ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning (Politico). Eric Daugherty: Trump will be named TIME “Person of the Year…” Trump was also person of the year in 2016 (X).

UK Votes to Protect Minors From Puberty Blockers

Daily Mail: Puberty blockers for under-18s with gender dysphoria will be banned in the UK, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced. Following official advice from medical experts, existing emergency measures banning puberty blockers will be made indefinite, the Government said. The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) published expert advice that there is ‘currently an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children’. The commission recommended indefinite restrictions while work is done to ensure the safety of children and young people (Daily Mail). Kristen Waggoner: Other countries are waking up, following the science, and taking action to protect our kids. Time for the United States to do the same (X).

President Trump Responds to FBI Director Chris Wray’s Resignation

Katie Pavlich: President-elect Donald Trump, who hired outgoing FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2017 for a ten year term at the Bureau, is responding to news Wray submitted his resignation. “The resignation of Christopher Wray is a great day for America as it will end the Weaponization of what has become known as the United States Department of Injustice. I just don’t know what happened to him. We will now restore the Rule of Law for all Americans. Under the leadership of Christopher Wray, the FBI illegally raided my home, without cause, worked diligently on illegally impeaching and indicting me, and has done everything else to interfere with the success and future of America,” Trump posted on Truth Social (Townhall). Trump War Room: FBI Director Chris Wray has resigned — making way for President Trump’s nominee Kash Patel (X). Tommy Tuberville: Just met with the next FBI Director, Kash Patel. He will support our law enforcement officers and get the FBI back to working for the PEOPLE again (X).

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Looks to Burn Through Cash in Effort to Hurt Trump

Where is oversight? Politico: Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is on an urgent mission: get as much high-tech spending out the door before Donald Trump takes office. The Biden administration is aiming to commit nearly every unspent dollar in its $50 billion microchip-subsidy program before President-elect Donald Trump takes over in January, an effort that would effectively cement a massive industrial legacy before the GOP can reverse course. “I’d like to have really almost all of the money obligated by the time we leave,” Raimondo said in an interview with POLITICO. “That’s the goal, and I certainly want to have all the major announcements done as it relates to the big, leading-edge companies” (Politico).

Justin Trudeau Expresses Disappointment With Americans For Not Electing Kamala Harris

Perhaps he should concern himself primarily with Canadians. CBC: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Kamala Harris’s loss in the U.S. presidential election was a setback for women’s progress — and cited several recent incidents that he said suggest women’s rights are under attack by “regressive” and “reactionary” political forces. In an address to an Ottawa gala for Equal Voice, an organization that works to get more women elected to public office, Trudeau said politicians who are hostile to women’s rights — particularly a woman’s right to choose abortion — are “winning too often, unfortunately.” He said feminists like himself have to be “lucid” about the challenges ahead (CBC). Libs of TikTok: Justin Trudeau is mad the US didn’t elect a woman and declares he’s a “proud feminist” (X). Townhall: Trudeau’s comments Tuesday evening at the annual Equal Voice Foundation gala, which was aimed at increasing the representation of women in Canadian politics, come as Canada faces the threat of a 25 percent tariff hike under Trump (Townhall).

San Diego Board Votes to Become “Super” Sanctuary County

Townhall: The San Diego Board of Supervisors voted to turn the county into a “super” sanctuary county by preventing police from notifying immigration authorities about illegal aliens (Townhall). Supervisor Jim Desmond: Today’s outrageous decision to turn San Diego County into a “Super” Sanctuary County is an affront to every law-abiding citizen who values safety and justice. The Board of Supervisors’ 3-1 vote to embrace this radical policy is a direct betrayal of the people we are sworn to protect (X). Libs of TikTok: San Diego County Sheriff says they will not follow the Board’s resolution to turn San Diego into a super sanctuary city to protect illegals. Incredible (X).

Senior Taliban Minister Killed in Suicide Bombing

Wall Street Journal: A suicide bombing in Kabul on Wednesday killed a Taliban minister who was a senior member of the notorious Haqqani family, with a U.S. bounty on his head for terrorist activities, in the highest-profile casualty since the group took power in Afghanistan three years ago. Khalil Haqqani, Taliban minister for refugees and repatriation, was killed inside the ministry by an alleged Islamic State suicide bomber who evaded security and entered the building, according to the interior ministry. Three other people were killed in the blast, the ministry said. Haqqani, who died at 58, was part of a fearsome family of the same name, which nurtured ties to al Qaeda since the 1980s and spearheaded the Taliban’s most violent thrust against American forces and the Western-backed government in Kabul until its collapse and the frantic U.S. withdrawal in August of 2021. One of the most senior members of the Haqqani network, Khalil was responsible for fundraising during the 20-year Taliban insurgency, using his close ties in the Gulf region. The U.S. had designated him a terrorist with links to al Qaeda and offered a $5 million reward for information on him (Wall Street Journal). Washington Post: The Taliban faces opposition from ISIS-K, which portrays the Taliban as too moderate, and from the National Resistance Front, an anti-Taliban movement led by former officials of the toppled U.S.-backed Afghan government. For either group, committing an attack on a high-profile target inside a heavily secured Taliban ministry would be unprecedented (Washington Post).

Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Pilot “Phone-Free” Program at Schools Sees Success

NDT: Arkansas has officially implemented a “phone-free” pilot program at school districts across the state. The program, championed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is currently underway at 112 school districts throughout the state. The initiative to establish “phone-free” schools was implemented to enhance students’ mental health and reduce screen addiction. The initiative is financed by $7 million in state funding that allows schools to buy pouches or lock mechanisms for students to store their phones, as well as provides grants to participating schools for mental health programs (NDT). Sarah Huckabee Sanders: As Jon Haidt said, no school regrets going phone-free. We are doing this in Arkansas and hope to see more states follow our lead (X)! ABC: Haidt argues that schoolchildren today are worse off due to early smartphone usage… He notes that after 2012, there was a significant increase in the number of students diagnosed with anxiety and mental illness. He suggests that this rise is no coincidence, as it coincided with the period when people began replacing their old flip phones with smartphones, bringing the stresses of the internet and social media into the palm of their hands (ABC).

Bashar al-Assad Allegedly Transferred $135 Billion to Russia

United24: Former intelligence officer Khalid Beyye claimed that Bashar al-Assad transported $135 billion in assets to Russia during his escape, according to Turkiye Gazetesi on December 10. “The Assad family transferred the nation’s resources into their own pockets during the years of civil war,” Beyye stated. “As the regime collapsed, they took a large portion of the country’s economy with them.” According to Turkiye Gazetesi these claims have drawn international attention, with many questioning the origins of the fortune and how it will be managed by the Assad family, now in exile in Moscow. Uncertainty also remains about whether legal action will be pursued to recover the assets (United24). Cheryl: Just let this sink in, because it’s mind numbing: Bashar Assad transferred $135 billion to Russia when he fled. $135 billion!!! Now we know why Russia welcomed him and protect him (X).

10.

Congressional Task Force Deems First Assassination Attempt of Trump Was Preventable; Multiple Agencies Failed to Produce Reports of Second Attempt

Axios: The attempted assassination of President-elect Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13 was “preventable and should not have happened,” a bipartisan task force concluded in a report released Tuesday. In a 180-page report, the House panel blamed institutional breakdowns in the Secret Service as well as failures in security planning and execution, most notably missteps in securing the building complex where the shooter fired eight shots. The shooting by a lone gunman killed one person and wounded the then-Republican presidential nominee and two others (Axios). Daily Wire: Led by Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), the committee visited West Palm Beach on November 16 as part of its probe. The lawmakers added that multiple federal agencies had yet to provide them with information on a second assassination attempt. “The Task Force notes that as of the date of publication of this report, DHS, USSS, FBI, and ATF have not produced any documents responsive to the Task Force’s requests regarding the preparation for, events of, and response to the second assassination attempt that occurred on September 15,” the lawmakers wrote (Daily Wire).