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Your First Look at Today's Top Stories
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Thursday, December 22, 2022
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Don't miss The Daybreak Daily — scroll to the bottom of these top news stories
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To our valued readers: Merry Christmas! As we observe the holiday, we will continue tracking with news and stories you care about. Look for Daybreak Insider to return to your inbox on Tuesday, December 27. All the best to you and yours!
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Visits White House, Addresses Congress
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Hill: President Biden on Wednesday pledged to stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes” during a press conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, vowing to help Kyiv win on the battlefield before any peace talks could take place with Moscow ( Hill). Wall Street Journal: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would never surrender in its fight against Russia and urged Washington to ramp up military aid in an impassioned speech before Congress that unfolded as the war entered its tenth month. Speaking in a packed House chamber, a defiant Mr. Zelensky touted Ukraine’s successes on the battlefield and said the West was united in its opposition to Russia’s invasion ( Wall Street Journal). CSPAN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “Against all odds and doom-and-gloom scenarios, Ukraine didn’t fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking” ( Twitter).
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Pelosi’s $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Bill Contains Billions in Wasteful Spending
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Daily Wire: Critics are howling at spending perks and rules littered throughout the $1.7 trillion “omnibus” bill meant to fund the federal government for another fiscal year. The legislation was unveiled in the Senate early Tuesday and boasts $858 billion in defense funding as well as $772.5 billion for non-defense “discretionary programs,” according to a summary. Time is of the essence as funding expires Friday at midnight, leaving some lawmakers to grumble while poring over the legislation that is more than 4,000 pages long ( Daily Wire). Rep. Andy Biggs: The Democrats’ reckless omnibus bill spends YOUR money on a “Michelle Obama Trail,” a “Ukraine Independence Park” in DC, and a “Speaker Pelosi Federal Building” in San Francisco. Are you ok with all of this ( Twitter)?
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Omnibus Bill Contains Hundreds of Millions for Border Security… for Middle Eastern Countries
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Breitbart: The spending bill includes $410 million “for enhanced border security” in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman. At least $150 million of the funding is to be used to help Jordan secure its borders. The hundreds of millions of dollars for border security thousands of miles away from the U.S. comes after Republicans and Democrats negotiated a similar plan in March that saw about $370 million go to border security initiatives in the Middle East and North Africa ( Breitbart). World Time Today: The spending bill provides that $1.5 billion will be allocated for “US Customs and Border Protection border management requirements,” but none of the funds allocated in this section may be used to hire or “acquire, to maintain or enhance border security technology and capabilities, excluding technology and capabilities to enhance border protection processing” ( World Time Today). Rep. Dan Bishop: It expressly prohibits CBP funding from being used to improve border security ( Twitter).
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US, Allies Increase Military Spending
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Military Times: The Department of Defense would see a 9% funding boost over fiscal 2022 spending levels — including enough money to fund a 4.6% pay raise for troops next month — under a compromise full-year federal appropriations bill unveiled by lawmakers Tuesday ( Military Times). National Review: Real deterrence against the near-term possibility of Chinese aggression is a complex puzzle. Japanese defense spending will reach 2 percent of GDP within five years, shedding the previous cap on military expenditures that had kept it at merely a percent of GDP. At the end of that period, annual defense spending will be close to $75 billion, giving Japan the third-largest military budget in the world ( National Review). Earlier this year, Taiwan increased their defense budget in order to combat the threats from China ( Kyodo News).
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Without a Speaker, Republicans Are Nonexistent
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Dissenters to Kevin McCarthy are playing a serious, dangerous game. Congressman Mike Gallagher: Well, we don’t exist until we have a speaker. No committees do. Because you need a speaker. Then you pass the rules package, which instantiates various committees. The standing committees get set up first and then the select committees. The Intel Committee and then the Select Committee on China will be the last to get set up. So, every day we delay on that speaker vote is a day we delay in setting up the Select Committee on China. I used to have a saying with my staff, which is that if you win the first quarter, you win the Congress. So much needs to get done in that first quarter. If you find yourself behind the curve, other things start to happen. The looming threat of the next election sets into Congress. So, you really have to be aggressive out of the gates ( Daybreak Daily).
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Home Sales Decline for 10th Consecutive Month
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Wall Street Journal: U.S. existing-home sales slid in November for a 10th straight month, extending a record streak of declines as high mortgage rates and home prices pushed many buyers out of the market. Sales of previously owned homes declined 7.7% in November from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million, the weakest rate since May 2020. November sales fell 35.4% from a year earlier. The streak of declines is the longest on record in data going back to 1999 ( Wall Street Journal). Reuters: The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged to above 7% a few months ago, the highest since 2002. Though the rate has since retreated to 6.31% last week, it is double what it was that time a year ago ( Reuters).
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Sam Bankman-Fried Agrees to Face Justice in the United States
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Politico: Sam Bankman-Fried agreed to be extradited from the Bahamas to the U.S. to face criminal charges alleging that he oversaw a multibillion-dollar fraud scheme through his crypto exchange FTX, his spokesperson said. Bankman-Fried, who was taken into custody by Bahamian officials at the request of federal prosecutors early last week, had initially signaled that he would fight being transferred back to the U.S. ( Politico). Associated Press: The 30-year-old could potentially spend the rest of his life in jail… Once he’s back in the U.S., Bankman-Fried’s attorney will be able to request that he be released on bail ( Associated Press).
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Media Outlets Encourage Readers to Not Have Children
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Fox News: Several media outlets and talking heads have encouraged parents to rethink having children because human beings — even small ones like kids — risk polluting the world and causing global climate destruction. News and op-ed headlines have come out in unabashed support of having few or even zero children over the years. One example is from NBC News Think in 2017: “Science proves kids are bad for the earth. Morality suggests we stop having them.” Another headline from the Guardian that year declared that the answer to saving the planet was simple: “Want to save the planet? Have fewer children.” Or as one New York Times writer asked in 2021: “To Breed or Not to Breed” ( Fox News).
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University of Oklahoma Bans Tiktok for Students, Faculty Use
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Washington Examiner: The University of Oklahoma students and staff received a letter Tuesday saying they will no longer be allowed to access the social media app TikTok on campus. The university announced it was banning the app following Gov. Kevin Stitt’s Dec. 8 executive order that barred the app from state-owned and state-leased devices ( Washington Examiner). Governor Kevin Stitt: TikTok is now banned from state devices and state networks in Oklahoma. We will not participate in helping the Chinese Communist Party gain access to government information ( Twitter). Daily Caller: The University System of Georgia, which encompasses 26 universities and colleges, also banned the use of TikTok, as well as WeChat and Telegram, on university-owned devices Tuesday. Unlike OU, University of Georgia students, faculty and staff can still access TikTok on their personal computers and phones only as long as they don’t also use those devices to access personal information or sensitive information related to university business ( Daily Caller).
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Legendary NFL Running Back Franco Harris Passes Away at 72
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ESPN: Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame running back whose heads-up thinking authored the “Immaculate Reception,” considered the most iconic play in NFL history, has died. He was 72. His death comes two days before the 50th anniversary of the play that provided the jolt that helped transform the Pittsburgh Steelers from also-rans into NFL elite and three days before the team is scheduled to retire his No. 32 during a ceremony at halftime of its game against the Las Vegas Raiders ( ESPN). NFL Network: Terry Bradshaw joins @gmfb to reflect on his former teammate and friend, Franco Harris ( Twitter).
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Julie Hartman exposes the contempt for Christmas, Christians and, indeed, Western culture, when a public library in Dedham, Massachusetts, refuses to put up Christmas decorations
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Julie Hartman: It is almost Christmas time, and as happy as I am about that, there seem to be some others who are not as thrilled. There is a fascinating story that emerged last week coming from the Endicott branch of a public library in Dedham, Massachusetts, where the library decided not to put...
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Dinesh D’Souza digs into the Twitter files to expose just how deep the corruption goes
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Dinesh D’Souza: Now, it’s become clear from the January 6th cases and also from other cases that the FBI functions kind of like a criminal gang. It’s more dangerous than a normal gang for the simple reason that these are thugs with badges. They have the authority to get subpoenas. They can...
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Eric Metaxas talks with stream.org’s John Zmirak about the metastatic corruption of big tech, hastened by the misapplication of Section 230
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Eric Metaxas: John, thank you for coming on. I want to ask you the same question I always ask you. What have you been writing about at stream.org? What shall we discuss first, my friend?
John Zmirak: I’ve been closely following the Twitter revelations and what they show us about the internal...
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Mike Gallagher offers his take on Elon Musk's "should I step down as head of Twitter" poll
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Mike Gallagher: Holy cow, Elon Musk is gonna step down as head of Twitter! This is pretty wild. Do you think that when Elon Musk decided Sunday night to throw up a poll question saying, “Should I step down as head of Twitter,” that it would go well for him?
I don’t know. I have no idea what...
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Brandon Tatum takes issue with Trump’s “major announcement,” which turns out to be major disappointment
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Officer Tatum: So, I guess Trump launched the NFT and then he made a speech saying the same the same stuff he’s been saying since 2016. I guess he’s walking out what he said he’s gonna do once he gets elected.
Let me just put it this way. This is the weirdest thing that I have ever seen Trump...
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Charlie Kirk talks with Kirk Cameron about how libraries host drag queen story hours but consider Cameron’s new children’s book off limits
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Charlie Kirk: Joining us now is Kirk Cameron, a great American, and really someone I enjoy. Kirk, welcome back to the program.
Kirk Cameron: Hey, Charlie, great to be talking with you. I’m a grateful American and I’m really thankful to be talking with you today.
Charlie Kirk: So Kirk, you’ve...
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Dennis Prager celebrates news of Governor DeSantis impaneling a grand jury to investigate evidence of vaccine injury
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Dennis Prager: I am about to report a major development. I believe it’s from The Florida Standard, Will Witt’s great creation in Florida. “DeSantis announces Florida grand jury investigation to hold vaccine manufacturers accountable.”
I must say that DeSantis is almost too good to be true....
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Hugh Hewitt talks with Alaska senator Dan Sullivan about Biden’s job-killing delay and cancellation of Alaska oil exploration
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Hugh Hewitt: Senator Sullivan, let’s talk now about Alaska and oil drilling. President Biden and his team keep going out and saying there are thousands and thousands of unused permits. Is he actually obstructing oil and gas development in Alaska?
Sen. Dan Sullivan: A hundred and ten percent,...
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