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Friday, January 10, 2025

Supreme Court Declines to Delay Trump Sentencing

Wall Street journal: The Supreme Court refused to block President-elect Donald Trump’s criminal sentencing for covering up hush money paid to adult-film star Stormy Daniels, clearing the way for an unprecedented court proceeding Friday in New York. A state jury found Trump guilty last May of 34 felonies for falsifying business records, part of a conspiracy that prosecutors said was intended to suppress damaging information before his victory in the November 2016 presidential election. The trial judge, Justice Juan Merchan, indicated last week that in light of Trump’s coming inauguration, a prison term was off the table and an unconditional discharge, or sentence with no punishment, was “the most viable solution” (Wall Street Journal). Reuters: New York’s top court rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to delay his sentencing Friday for his conviction on criminal charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star (Reuters).

All Living Presidents Gather to Pay Respects at Jimmy Carter’s Funeral

NBC: In a rare show of unity in these tumultuous times, every living American president filed into pews together Thursday to honor one of their own at the funeral for President Jimmy Carter at the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday. Carter, who died late last month at 100 years old, is being remembered as a compassionate Christian and ahead-of-his-time progressive, despite serving a single term in the White House that was seen as a disappointment at the time (NBC). Collin Rugg: Donald Trump seen cracking jokes with former President Barack Obama at Jimmy Carter’s funeral in Washington D.C. Kamala Harris was seen looking back as the two men appeared to be getting along (X).

Los Angeles Wildfire Damage Costs an Estimated $50 Billion

Wall Street Journal: The Los Angeles wildfires are set to be the costliest blaze in U.S. history, analysts said Thursday, as the first initial estimates of damage from the infernos soared with their unchecked spread. Total economic losses from the fires are now pegged at close to $50 billion, double the estimate of a day earlier, according to JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar. That includes insured losses which he estimated at more than $20 billion and “even more if the fires are not controlled.” Other initial estimates of the fire’s economic toll also placed the disaster as among the nation’s most expensive (Wall Street Journal). Bay Area State of Mind: The most expensive natural disaster in California’s history (X).

73 Percent of Voters Believe Biden Made America Less Safe

Just the News: A vast majority of registered voters think the U.S. has become less safe over the last four years under President Joe Biden, a new poll shows. The Napolitan News Service poll results released on Thursday revealed that 73% of voters believe the U.S. has become less safe over the past four years. The breakdown of that total includes 82% of Republicans and 61% of Democrats. According to the survey results, 48% of voters believe the country will become more safe under President-elect Donald Trump while 39% think it will become less safe (Just the News). Mario Nawfal: Even 61% of Democrats aren’t buying that “steady hand” narrative (X).

Jack Smith’s Investigation Officially Concludes

National Review: Attorney General Merrick Garland has formally alerted the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees that Jack Smith’s special counsel investigation of (now) President-elect Trump is closed. Smith, the AG’s letter adds, has delivered to Garland a two-volume final report — volume 1 on the January 6 investigation, volume 2 on the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation… Garland informed the committees that he is prepared to issue the January 6 portion of the report. He qualified, however, that the Justice Department is temporarily enjoined from publicly releasing any of the report because of an order by Judge Aileen Cannon of the federal district court in South Florida (National Review). ABC: The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals is weighing whether to block the release of the report after Cannon, the judge who dismissed Trump’s classified documents case, temporarily blocked the report’s release in order to prevent “irreparable harm,” while the matter is considered by the Eleventh Circuit. Trump’s lawyers filed an amicus brief with the Eleventh Circuit late Wednesday, arguing that the release of the report would harm the transition to his presidency (ABC).

Federal Judge Rejects Biden’s Redefinition of Sex in Title IX

Fox News: A federal judge in Kentucky blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine sex in Title IX as “gender identity,” striking down the change nationwide. The U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division made the ruling in Cardona v. Tennessee on Thursday…The sweeping rule was issued in April and clarified that Title IX’s ban on “sex” discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and “pregnancy or related conditions.” The rule took effect Aug. 1, and, for the first time, the law stated that discrimination based on sex includes conduct related to a person’s gender identity (Fox News). Kristen Waggoner: “This is a colossal win for women and girls across the country,” said ADF CEO, President, and General Counsel Kristen Waggoner. “The Biden administration’s radical attempt to redefine sex not only tossed fairness, safety, and privacy for female students out the window, it also threatened free speech and parental rights. With this ruling, the federal court in Kentucky rejected the entire Biden rule and the administration’s illegal actions. We are thankful for the leadership of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and other state attorneys general who challenged this blatant overreach alongside our courageous clients…” (ADF).

In Waning Days of Presidency, Biden Goes to War Against Big Tobacco

National Review: After ditching a controversial proposal to ban menthol cigarettes last year, the Biden administration is working in its final days to push through yet another contentious tobacco proposal. Now, the FDA is looking to limit the amount of nicotine in cigarettes. The specifics of the rule, which cleared an Office of Management and Budget review last week, have not been publicly released but are likely to create a very low nicotine product standard that would be lower than the amount of nicotine that naturally occurs in tobacco plants and is contained in cigarettes (National Review). Breitbart: While Biden administrators believe it may attempt to reduce tobacco use, others believe that it may only boost criminals’ money by incentivizing a black market for cigarettes (Breitbart).

Illegal Immigrant Caught With $1 Million Worth of Fentanyl, AR-15 Rifle

Daily Wire: An illegal alien in possession of a semi-automatic rifle and an estimated $1 million worth of fentanyl was busted by police at a Massachusetts homeless shelter, prompting an investigation of shelters across the state. Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, a 28-year-old illegal alien from the Dominican Republic, was arrested by the Revere Police Department and was in possession of a loaded AR-15 rifle with three magazines and 10 pounds of fentanyl. The illegal alien’s supply of fentanyl — the deadly drug that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans — amounts to an estimated 2.2 million lethal doses (Daily Wire). NBC Boston: The drug charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of probation and a fine up to $10 million. The gun charge carries a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of probation and a fine up to $250,000 (NBC Boston).

Britain Votes Against Investigation Looking Into Mass Rapes

Free Press: It’s the biggest crime—and cover-up—in British history. And most people, at least until recently, haven’t even heard of it. Thousands of young girls, mostly children, were systematically groomed and raped by immigrant gangs across the UK over a period of decades. Police turned the girls away. Detectives were discouraged from investigating. Politicians and prosecutors did their best to sweep it under the rug. Journalists skipped the biggest story of their lives. A culture of silence enveloped the United Kingdom. Why (Free Press)? Fox News: British lawmakers voted against launching a national inquiry into the U.K. grooming gang scandal on Wednesday, after objections to the way the vote was being put forward – and amid international scrutiny of the crisis spearheaded by Elon Musk (Fox News). Dr. Eli David: Britain’s grooming gangs numbers: 250,000 girls were raped since 1980. They took place in over 50 cities. 84% of cases were perpetrated by Pakistani Muslims. 47 police officers were arrested, out of which 0 fired. Yesterday 364 Labour MPs voted to continue the cover up (X).

10.

Colorado Goes After Guns in Aggressive New Bill

Denver7: Lawmakers and lobbyists were back at the Colorado State Capitol on Wednesday for the first day of the 2025 legislative session. Senate Democrats wasted no time introducing a bill they believe will save lives, but one that’s set to face a fierce fight from opponents. Senate Bill 25-003 aims to ban the manufacture, distribution, transfer, sale, or purchase of a “specified semiautomatic firearm,” which includes semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, along with gas-operated semiautomatic handguns that have a detachable ammunition magazine…If the bill became law, violations would be considered a misdemeanor offense. A second violation escalates to a felony charge (Denver7). Townhall: This goes beyond a simple assault weapon ban. This bans literally every semi-automatic rifle and handgun on the market. That means people in Colorado will be relegated to nothing but revolvers, bolt-actions, and lever-actions if they want a repeating firearm for hunting or self-defense(Townhall).