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Monday, December 1, 2025

Trump Gives Ultimatum to Maduro: Resign and Leave

New York Post reports: President Trump gave Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro a strongly worded ultimatum as tensions flared with the South American nation — telling him to resign and leave or else, according to a bombshell report. During a call between Trump and Maduro, the socialist president demanded that he be allowed to maintain control of Venezuela’s military if he paved the way for free elections there, said the Miami Herald, citing sources. Maduro also reportedly sought global amnesty for all of his alleged crimes. Trump’s refusal on both counts was said to be swift as he followed up with an offer that Maduro may not be able to refuse: Leave now or else…. After the phone call between Trump and Maduro failed to reach a detente, the US president announced he was closing the airspace around the South American country — as America’s largest warship, the USS Gerald F. Ford, and a Marine Expeditionary Unit — capable of amphibious invasion — float offshore. Trump also warned over the weekend that military operations inside Venezuela could begin “very soon” (New York Post).

A Response to Critics of Trump Decrying His Action Against Drug Cartels

Hugh Hewitt sets the record straight: Many “Con Law experts” on X have many opinions on President Trump’s decision to order strikes on drug boats. They worry he may escalate to “kinetic actions” against Maduro, cartels and other narco-states. They seek to persuade that President Trump is violating “international law,” but they do not evidence even a basic understanding of Article II’s grant of authorities to the president —all presidents, the ones they love and applaud, and those they hate and boo…. If and when Congress directs the president to stop, then the issue would be joined. Until then the key is 89 years ago SCOTUS summarized the power of the president when it declared “political society cannot endure without a supreme will somewhere,” and added, “[s]overeignty is never held in suspense.” The reality of all these cases (and the pending decision in the tariffs case) is that every POTUS has vast powers in foreign affairs, and courts (and especially pundits) do not. The criminal nations poisoning our people should know that and not rely on the “X experts” arguing otherwise (Hewitt).

The US Desperately Needs Warships: We Just Can’t Build Them

The most recent example comes from the cancellation of four Constellation-class frigates. Wall Street Journal: The U.S. Navy plans to cancel orders for four new warships after the government’s extensive design modifications set back construction by years. The cancellation spells the end of a planned Constellation-class frigate program that the Navy first ordered from Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri in 2020. Officials said the contractor will continue work on two ships already under construction, and drop plans for four others to free up space for vessels that can be more quickly designed and assembled…. Warships built in U.S. shipyards take longer and cost more to build than in other industrialized nations. Of 20 different frigates made recently or set for completion soon in 10 different countries, all but one were or will be built in less time than the USS Constellation, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis earlier this year. Frigates are medium-size warships used for submarine warfare and escorting larger ships, among other tasks (Wall Street Journal). Hugh Hewitt: the country is in a bind: We cannot build any warships on time and on budget. Not sure we can build anything in big numbers. The PLAN has no problem delivering ships. But we can’t do it (Hewitt).

Rubio Reports Progress Towards Peace in Ukraine

After meetings in Miami on Sunday. Axios reports: The negotiations on Sunday in Miami between the U.S. and Ukraine on President Trump’s peace plan made additional progress, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ukraine’s national security adviser Rustem Umerov said. The U.S. and Ukraine are working to finalize understandings on the U.S. peace plan, which has been heavily revised over several days of talks to be more palatable to Kyiv. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to present that document to Putin on Tuesday. After five hours of talks Rubio and Umerov gave a short statement to the press without taking questions. “We had a very productive session. We don’t want to only end the war but make Ukraine safe forever,” Rubio said (Axios). More from Rubio’s statement: So much work remains, but today was again a very productive and useful session where I think additional progress was made, and we continue to be realistic about how difficult this is, but optimistic particularly given the fact that, as we’ve made progress, I think there is a shared vision here that this is not just about ending the war, which is very important; it is about securing Ukraine’s future, a future that we hope will be more prosperous than it’s ever been (State).

Birthday Party in California Turns Deadly: 15 Shot, 4 Killed

A devasting situation in Stockton—near Sacramento. Sacramento Bee: The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said the deceased victims were 8, 9 and 14 years old, along with a 21-year-old adult. In total, 15 people were shot in the attack, which occurred just before 6 p.m. Saturday at a banquet venue in the 1900 block of Lucile Avenue, north of Stockton city limits… Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Heather Brent said no arrests have been made. Investigators were exploring “all possibilities,” she said, and have not identified a suspect or motive (Sac Bee). Townhall, quoting the sheriff’s office: “We are urging anyone with information, video footage, or who may have witnessed any part of this incident to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office immediately,” the sheriff’s office said. “Community assistance is vital in helping us identify those responsible and bring justice to the victims and their loved ones.” Authorities urged the public to share information about the shooter. Related: “This is a very active and ongoing investigation, and information remains limited. Early indications suggest this may be a targeted incident, and investigators are exploring all possibilities. Detectives are actively working to determine the circumstances leading up to this tragedy (Townhall).

Minnesotans Coming to Grip With Extent of Fraud: “We’re losing our way of life in Minnesota in a very real way”

That quote comes from Joseph Thomson—a federal prosector overseeing the fraud cases. Even the New York Times has an elevated level of concern: The fraud scandal that rattled Minnesota was staggering in its scale and brazenness. Federal prosecutors charged dozens of people with felonies, accusing them of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from a government program meant to keep children fed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Outrage has swelled among Minnesotans, and fraud has turned into a potent political issue in a competitive campaign season…. “No one was doing anything about the red flags,” [attorney Ryan Pacyga] said. “It was like someone was stealing money from the cookie jar and they kept refilling it” (New York Times).

Governor Walz Getting Blame Over Rampant Fraud

Including strong words from Minnesota’s Department of Human Service Employees: Tim Walz is 100% responsible for massive fraud in Minnesota. We let Tim Walz know of fraud early on, hoping for a partnership in stopping fraud but no, we got the opposite response. Tim Walz systematically retaliated against whistleblowers using monitoring, threats, repression, and did his best to discredit fraud reports. Instead of partnership, we got the full weight of retaliation by Tim Walz, certain DFL members and an indifferent mainstream media. It’s scary, isolating and left us wondering who we can turn to… Fundamentally, Tim Walz is dishonest, lacks ethics and integrity, has poor leadership abilities, and has never taken any accountability for his role in fraud. Instead, Tim Walz deflects by blaming national politics for his own failings and distracts the public with inveterate lying (MDHS). All of this jeopardizes Walz’s effort for a third term next year (Politico). Democrats have control of both chambers of the state legislature, but the margin is so narrow, Republicans have a chance to gain control of one or both the Assembly or the Senate (NCSL).

Afghan Shooter of National Guard Members Was Radicalized Here

That announcement came from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem—and paints a disturbing picture on the movement towards radicalization in our nation. Salem News Channel: Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and ABC’s “This Week,” Noem said authorities think that alleged shooter Rahmanullah Lakanwal was already living in Washington state when he became radicalized. Investigators are seeking more information from family members and others, Noem said (Salem News Channel). Red State, quoting Noem: We do believe it was through connections in his home community and state, and we’re going to continue to talk to those who interacted with him, who were his family members — talk to them. So far, we’ve had some participation. But anyone who has information on this needs to know that we will be coming after you, and we will bring you to justice. We absolutely will persecute you, because we do know that we will never allow this to continue to happen in our country, allow individuals who came to our country that were unvetted by Joe Biden, allowed to run free and loose. We are going to bring them to justice and make sure that they’re returned out of this country if they aren’t here for the purposes of being an American (Red State).

Trump to Immediately Pause Immigration From Third World Countries

From a posting on Thanksgiving weekend: Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many. I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization. These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process. Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation (Trump).

10.

AI Tools Drive $11.8 Billion in Online Black Friday Spending; Up 9.1 Percent Over 2024

Reuters reports: “Consumers are using new tools to get to what they need faster,” said Suzy Davidkhanian, an analyst at eMarketer. “Gift giving can be stressful, and LLMs (large language models) make the discovery process feel quicker and more guided.” … AI-powered shopping tools helped drive a surge in U.S. online spending on Black Friday, as shoppers bypassed crowded stores and turned to chatbots to compare prices and secure discounts amid concerns about tariff-driven price hikes. U.S. shoppers spent a record $11.8 billion online, up 9.1% from 2024 on the year’s biggest shopping day, according to Adobe Analytics, which tracks 1 trillion visits that shoppers make to online retail websites (Reuters). National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett: “We just had the best Black Friday that we’ve ever seen… Retailers expect that both online and in-store sales are going to be the highest we’ve ever seen” (Rapid Response).

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