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Your First Look at Today's Top Stories
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Don't miss The Daybreak Daily — scroll to the bottom of these top news stories
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McCarthy Agrees to Key Concessions as He Seeks to Lock Down Speakership
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CNN: House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy outlined some of the concessions that he has agreed to in his campaign for speaker on a Sunday evening conference call – including making it easier to topple the speaker, according to multiple GOP sources on the call. But McCarthy could not say whether he would have the votes for the speakership, even after giving in to some of the right’s most hardline demands. Not long after Sunday’s call, a group of nine hardliners – who had outlined their demands to McCarthy last month – put out a new letter saying some of the concessions he announced are insufficient and making clear they’re still not sold on him, though they did say progress is being made ( CNN). New York Times: Mr. McCarthy has pledged to fight for the speakership on the House floor until the very end, even if it requires lawmakers to vote more than once, a prospect that now appears to be a distinct possibility. If he were to fail to win a majority on Tuesday, members would take successive votes until someone — Mr. McCarthy or a different nominee — secured enough supporters to prevail. That could prompt chaos not seen in the House floor in a century ( New York Times). Hugh Hewitt: The House has important work to do—and the GOP needs to get on with the hard work of governing. The new Select Committee on China must get underway. The hearings into the FBI and Twitter and Big Tech’s collusion with the Democrats to suppress the Hunter Biden story are long overdue. Indeed: Much more should have been organized and ready to go already, so they could start on January 3 ( Townhall Review).
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Pope Benedict XVI Dies at Age 95
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CBS News: Thousands filed past the body of Benedict XVI on Monday as the pope emeritus, who died Saturday at age 95, lay in state at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. He will be buried by his successor, Pope Francis, on Thursday ( CBS News). Carl Trueman: Before he was Pope Benedict XVI, he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger. As John Paul II’s Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had the reputation of being the pope’s enforcer, doubling down on traditional church teaching on sexuality and contraception while also moving against the liberation theology being promoted particularly by South American priests such as Leonardo Boff ( World). Wall Street Journal: Toward the end of his life, he described himself as a “pope between the times.” He added, “You only see in retrospect how the forces of history are proceeding.” Whatever the future holds, the Catholic world has lost one of its most brilliant minds and articulate voices. His memory will endure ( Wall Street Journal).
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Ukrainian Strike Kills Russian Troops, Exact Number Contested Between Belligerents
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BBC: Ukraine has confirmed it carried out a strike in the occupied region of Donetsk, which it earlier claimed killed 400 Russian troops. Russian officials contested the figure, saying only 63 troops were killed. Neither claim has been verified, and access to the site is restricted. The attack on New Year’s Day hit a building in the city of Makiivka, where Russian forces were stationed. It is extremely rare for Moscow to confirm any battlefield casualties. But this was such a deadly attack, says the BBC’s Russia editor Steve Rosenberg, that staying silent most probably wasn’t an option. It is the highest number of deaths acknowledged by Moscow in a single incident since the war began ten months ago. In a statement on Monday, Russia’s defence ministry said Ukrainian forces fired six rockets using the US-made Himars rocket system at a building housing Russian troops. Two of them were shot down, it added. A number of Russian commentators and bloggers acknowledged the attack – but said the numbers were lower than claimed by Ukraine. But Igor Girkin, a pro-Russian commentator, said hundreds had been killed and wounded, although the exact number was still unknown because of the large number still missing ( BBC).
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US Capitol Now Open to Visitors for First Time in Almost Three Years
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Washington Examiner: Visitors will once again have public access to the Capitol and all House office buildings beginning on Tuesday, opening up to tours and official business for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The buildings will officially reopen at noon on Tuesday, the exact time the new Congress will be sworn into office and Republicans take control of the House chamber, according to a notice sent to House members and staff from the sergeant-at-arms on Friday. Access to the Capitol Visitor Center is also set to fully reopen in March 2023 ( Washington Examiner). The Hill: The public will also be able to access House galleries with a pass obtained from a member’s office. The Capitol Visitor Center is expected to fully reopen in March. On Jan. 7, staff-led Saturday tours will resume, but they will be limited to the Hall of Columns, Crypt, Rotunda and Statuary Hall ( The Hill).
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Transitioning Kids: As Sweden Pulls Back, America Boldly (and Barbarically) Pushes Forward
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National Review: Sweden’s national board of health just updated its guidelines on the care of children with gender dysphoria, and “caution” is its new watchword. It declares that extended psychosocial explorations are key ( National Review). US News: The Swiss government on Wednesday rejected the idea of introducing a third gender option or no-gender option for official records, a position which differs from that of some neighboring countries. Responding to two proposals from parliament, the governing Federal Council said “the binary gender model is still strongly anchored in Swiss society” ( US News). The Hill: The past year saw more than two dozen states attempt to enact measures to heavily restrict or ban access to such health care, and at least 20 bills targeting transgender medical care have been pre-filed in at least nine states for 2023. But three states are going in the other direction, with lawmakers filing legislation to protect medical care for transgender people ( The Hill). Dennis Prager: We are, I believe, the worst society in the world in terms of hurting children deliberately in our medical professions. I’m referring specifically to the hormone blockers, mastectomies on girls who are perfectly healthy, and the like. I think we’re the worst society in the world in that regard ( Daybreak Daily).
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Texas Father: “My children are now subject to being chemically castrated in California”
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RedState: The case of James Younger, a seven-year-old boy from Texas who was recently the central figure in a custody battle between a father trying to protect his son from an abusive mother, has now taken a much larger spotlight on the national stage. The case revolves around James’s supposed decision to be a transgender girl. The father, Jeff Younger, maintains that James prefers to be a boy and only seems to act as if he wants to be feminine around his mother, Anne Georgulas, and that these thoughts of transgenderism are a direct result of his mother’s influence ( RedState). Jeff Younger: The Supreme Court of Texas denied my Mandamus, effectively terminating my parental rights. My children are now subject to being chemically castrated in California. Texas is an empire of child abuse, led by Texas judges ( Twitter). HotAir: What makes the case especially disturbing is that Younger’s wife has fled to California, which come tomorrow will be a “sanctuary state” for people bringing children for medical transgender treatments. That means that Younger’s rights to protect his son from chemical or surgical castration have essentially been terminated. … Younger is not giving up. This will inevitably lead to challenges of the California law in federal court, given that California is clearly violating the “full faith and credit” clause of the Constitution ( HotAir).
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House Republicans to Create a Panel to Investigate Abuse by the Federal Government
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Wall Street Journal: Sources tell me that House Republicans plan to set up a panel under the House Judiciary Committee, tentatively called the “Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.” Such a panel was among the demands of some GOP holdouts to Kevin McCarthy’s bid for speaker. The Republican leader has publicly expressed his support for the subcommittee’s creation, which hinges on the rebels’ willingness to join the rest of their conference and back him in next Tuesday’s vote. The committee’s title is a recognition that the recent revelations about government meddling in speech and politics go beyond the FBI. There’s plenty yet to discover about the bureau’s sordid Russia-collusion hoax, its duping of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, and its efforts to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story. And a recent batch of Twitter files from journalist Matt Taibbi includes documents showing a shocking intimacy between the FBI and Twitter as they policed online speech. The nation needs a GOP Congress to get to the bottom of government abuse ( Wall Street Journal).
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‘Space Race’: NASA Official Warns China May Claim to ‘Own’ Lunar Resources
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Politico: The race to the moon between the United States and China is getting tighter and the next two years could determine who gains the upper hand. So says NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, who warns that Beijing could establish a foothold and try to dominate the most resource-rich locations on the lunar surface — or even keep the U.S. out ( Politico). Guardian: “It is a fact: we’re in a space race,” Nelson told Politico. “And it is true that we better watch out that they don’t get to a place on the moon under the guise of scientific research. And it is not beyond the realm of possibility that they say, ‘Keep out, we’re here, this is our territory’” ( Guardian).
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Behold, Here’s the Conservative Trait Shared by the Happiest Californians
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Red State: The survey appears to bring a lot of good news for the Golden state, with six California cities landing in the top 10, with Sunnyvale ranking the highest. SmartAsset found the top 10 California cities overall had lower percentages of people living in poverty, higher marriage rates, and lower violent crime rates.” But hiding among the SmartAsset stats was one trait that binds all 10 of the happiest U.S. cities together — and it couldn’t be more conservative: Overall, the top 10 happiest cities are also home to the highest marriage in rates. In all but one – Arlington, Virginia – married residents make up the majority of the population. Wait, hold up. People lead happier lives, wherever they happen to live in the U.S. if they’re legally bound to another person? We were told this couldn’t be possible by progressives. Surely, this situation will stifle one’s ability to live out one’s truth, or something. Alas, it’s right there in the survey for all to see. Maybe the Bible was on to something ( RedState).
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Cosmo Mag Promotes Gender-Neutral Baby Names, Says Male-Female Binary is ‘Tired’
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Fox News: Cosmopolitan magazine released a new article on Wednesday recommending “100 Gender-Neutral Names for Your Future Heir,” with the list including baby names such as “Remy,” “Justice” and “Maddox.” “It’s 2022—and more so than ever, people are engaging in open conversations about gender fluidity and actively working to break the very tired male-female binary. And that, naturally, includes baby names,” the piece begins ( Fox News). Meantime, the top baby names 50 years ago. Is your name on it? Fox News: The Social Security Administration (SSA), which started compiling baby name lists in 1997, has retroactively identified 200 of the “most popular” first names given to boys and girls in the 1970s. … The SSA combed through the millions of records and found which names were most prevalent for Gen X babies born between 1970 and 1979 ( Fox News).
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Dennis Prager argues that America’s eagerness to trans kids is reprehensible, especially in light of other countries, like Sweden, reversing course
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Dennis Prager: We are, I believe, the worst society in the world in terms of hurting children deliberately in our medical professions. I’m referring specifically to the hormone blockers, mastectomies on girls who are perfectly healthy, and the like. I think we’re the worst society in the world...
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Julie Hartman sounds the alarm on U.S. readiness to address China’s ambitions in Taiwan
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Julie Hartman: For our first news story of the day: 71 warplanes were detected flying in or near Taiwan’s airspace Sunday, which included 60 fighter jets, according to the Taiwan Defense Ministry.
The People’s Liberation Army of China says that they were conducting a strike drill in response to...
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Charlie Kirk talks with Matt Walsh about how the left is pushing the falsehood of gender ideology into our workplaces, our schools and ourselves
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Charlie Kirk: Everybody, welcome to this episode. Matt Walsh is with us. So Matt, why should we push back against using people’s preferred pronouns?
Matt Walsh: Well, because it is the left is trying to force us to participate in a lie. And that’s really what it comes down to. The pronoun thing...
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Dennis Prager rants about how the medical establishment lied about the vaccine, lockdowns and masks, and how society has paid the price
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Dennis Prager: On the issue of the vaccine, they need to study all health outcomes over the long term, vaxed versus unvaxed. And that was a law but they have ignored it for three and a half decades, and they have not been held accountable.
I have lost all faith in the medical profession and in the...
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Hugh Hewitt explains how and when private enterprises like Twitter cross the line into being government actors
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Hugh Hewitt: I want to lay out for my audience so that you understand. There are two kinds of private companies: private-private companies, and publicly traded private companies. Neither of them are the government, all right? Neither of them are the government. The First Amendment does not apply to...
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Brandon Tatum sees the left’s obsession with Trump’s tax returns as an attempt to shame and humiliate
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Officer Tatum: Now let’s talk about Donald Trump’s tax returns. Now, I was expecting for Donald Trump to have strip clubs and all kinds of stuff on his tax returns, foreign trips to see prostitutes or something on his tax returns, given the way that the left has been begging and pleading for...
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Sebastian Gorka talks with Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn about what’s behind the J6 referrals and ahead for President Trump
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Dr. Sebastian Gorka: Senator Blackburn, I have to ask you: Yesterday, Congress forwarded multiple criminal referrals to the DOJ for the 45th president of the United States, that if they went through and he were convicted, would lead to 40 years in prison for President Trump. Your reaction to the...
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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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