Ezra 1:2-4

Pentagon fails 7th audit in a row
The Pentagon on Friday failed its seventh audit in a row, with the nation’s largest government agency still unable to fully account for its more than $824 billion budget, though officials stress they are making good progress toward a clean audit in 2028.

Think tank proposes $700 billion in cuts that could get bipartisan support
Some are as simple as closing loopholes in federal programs and making sure Americans pay their full tax bills. Others are more complex.

House Ways and Means chairman lays out plans to deliver Trump tax cuts for seniors, tip workers
"We'll be using reconciliation to extend Trump's tax cuts to make sure that they don't expire and also to address other tax provisions that President Trump campaigned on, like no tax on tips."

WaPo: Democrats thumb their nose at the rule of law in Pennsylvania
Elections need rules, and they must be applied equally and consistently.

Secret Trump voters have post-election coming-out party
They’re donning MAGA hats in cafes, celebrating on social media, and flying Trump flags: Supporters of President-elect Trump in deep blue cities and states are no longer keeping it to themselves.

Christians to bring Thanksgiving feast and hope to hurricane victims in North Carolina
"I want them to see exactly what's going on and see God at work."

Family of Malcolm X Sues FBI, CIA, NYPD over Alleged Roles in Assassination
The $100 million lawsuit, filed Friday in a New York City federal court, was announced at a press conference.

FBI Arrests ISIS Supporter Plotting Houston Terrorist Attack
The 28-year-old admitted to providing material support to ISIS, investigating how to execute an attack on local military recruiting centers, and boasting that he would commit a "9/11-style" attack if he had the necessary resources.

‘We’ve Been Liberated’: McConnell Allies Say Former Top GOP Senator Is Now A Wild Card In Tanking Trump’s Appointments
Sen. John Cornyn, who is also out of Senate leadership having lost the race to replace McConnell, told Punchbowl, “He and I both agree we’ve been liberated.”

McConnell may play key role on Trump’s Cabinet picks
“When he speaks, people will listen,” Graham added.

‘It Won’t Even Be Close’: As Many As 30 Republican Senators Are Reportedly a ‘No’ on Matt Gaetz
A new report from the Wall Street Journal paints a bleak picture of Matt Gaetz’s chances of being confirmed as attorney general.

X: Rick Scott says there will be recess appointments.

Mollie Hemingway Gives Powerful Defense of Gaetz Pick for AG: 'We've Had a Department of Injustice'
"For the last eight years, they have run roughshod over rule of law in this country. They have prosecuted political opponents. They ran the Russia collusion hoax. And too many people in Washington, D.C., did not stand up against what was happening there, and many Americans are upset about it."

Trump announces Brendan Carr as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
“Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans’ Freedoms, and held back our Economy.”

Trump taps Liberty Energy CEO Chris Wright for Department of Energy
"Chris was one of the pioneers who helped launch the American Shale Revolution that fueled American Energy Independence, and transformed the Global Energy Markets and Geopolitics."

Trump taps Karoline Leavitt to be the next White House press secretary
At 27, Leavitt will be the youngest White House press secretary in history.

Adam Schiff is still pushing Russian collusion
"There is evidence of collusion. The Trump campaign manager was meeting with Russian intelligence and giving them internal polling data, just to give you one example."

Democrat Rep. Wasserman Schultz: Gabbard ‘Likely a Russian Asset’
"There’s no question, I consider her someone who is likely a Russian asset, who would be, as the DNI, responsible for managing our entire intelligence community, hold all of our most significant intelligence information and secrets, and, essentially, would be a direct line to our enemies.”

NY Times: How Kamala Harris Burned Through $1.5 Billion in 15 Weeks
This story is a must-read. Oprah's production company actually got $2.5m, and the Harris campaign built a big set for a Pittsburgh event only to have the Secret Service say it couldn't be secured, meaning they had to tear down and build a new set.

Harris’ campaign blew $2.6M on private jets in final weeks of campaign, more than $12M overall
The reliance on private jets, which can be up to 14 times more polluting than commercial flights, flies in the face of her 2019 doom-saying that global warming is an “existential threat” to humanity.

Joe Rogan changed his opinion of Barack Obama after watching him campaign for Harris
"Watching him straight up lie about Trump, with the ‘very fine people,’ thing, the white supremacist thing, which I think worked back in 2017 but people don’t believe it anymore, changed my opinion of him."

Whoopi Goldberg ‘joins’ anti-Trump sex strike as she rages 'you don’t get any’
“I’m just going to say this. You didn’t get here by yourself, men. You can’t do this without us. And if we don’t let you, you don’t get any. It’s that simple.”

Video: Biden wanders into the forest. Hope he's OK.

Democrats Draw Up an Entirely New Anti-Trump Battle Plan
The party’s early preparations to oppose the next Trump administration are heavily focused on legal fights and consolidating state power, rather than marching in the streets.

Schumer to Republicans: Please don’t do to us what we were going to do to you
When Schumer’s party loses, he instantly turns around and becomes Mr. Bipartisanship. For that, there should be a word that goes beyond mere hypocrisy.

Axios: House Democrats Frustrated With Pelosi, Say She’s Undermining Jeffries' Leadership
Some Democrats are clearly frustrated Pelosi isn't fading into the sunset like she promised when she lost the gavel two years ago. "She needs to take a seat," said one senior Democratic lawmaker.

Alex Soros explains why ‘super candidate’ Trump won
"He was a ‘super candidate’ with increasing appeal to a broader electorate — likely beyond the reach of both Democrats and Republicans. The president-elect outperformed Republicans across the country this year."

Former Jill Biden spokesman tells Democrats to drop ‘white supremacist’ name calling
“This s*** has to stop,” LaRosa wrote. “Opposing DEI initiatives does not make you a white supremacist. Conversations and demonization like this are a big part of the reason we got our asses kicked.”

Pollster who predicted Harris would win Iowa retires after massive miss
J. Ann Selzer is retiring from election polling just weeks after her once-respected poll showed that Kamala was leading in Iowa — only for Trump to win the state by more than 13 percentage points on Election Day.

What Does HUD Have to Show for the Trillions It’s Spent?
The U.S. homeownership rate was 64% in 1967, two years after the department opened. Now it’s ... 64%.

Bernie Sanders Open To Working With Trump On 10% Credit Card Rate Cap
Good luck getting a credit card if you're high risk.

Comcast, Disney, and IBM Are Among Advertisers Returning to X After Ad Freeze
In November 2023, the brands ceased advertising on X after their ads appeared next to anti-Semitic content and other content that they deemed "hate speech."

Advance Auto Parts shutting 500 stores
Says demand for vehicle parts has taken a hit from fewer consumers opting to repair their cars.

US Health officials report first known case of new, more severe strain of monkeypox
The patient became infected with the clade 1 strain after traveling to Eastern Africa, where there is an ongoing outbreak of the virus, according to the California Department of Public Health.

Mike Lee gives an example of why Pete Hegseth must be confirmed by the Senate
"I recently spoke with the father of a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet. He told me that the Air Force Academy’s official forms refer to him (the cadet’s father) as the cadet’s 'non-birthing parent.'"

Trump Can Help a New Generation Learn to Appreciate Our Veterans
One of the simplest — and subtlest — ways that President Trump can restore respect for our troops and veterans is by preserving and enhancing the beauty of our national cemeteries.

Pope calls for probe into whether Israel is committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza
While Francis has avoided using the word "genocide" publicly, the comments appear in a new book for his jubilee year over which he had editorial control.

Trump Foreign Policy Picks Are ‘Dream Team’ for Israel
"This is a great reassurance from Israel’s perspective," former Israeli diplomat Jacob Dayan wrote for Israel’s Channel 12 news.

Israel destroyed active nuclear weapons research facility in Iran, officials say
The strike — which targeted a site previously reported to be inactive — significantly damaged Iran's effort over the past year to resume nuclear weapons research, Israeli and U.S. officials said.

Biden allows Ukraine to use US arms to strike inside Russia
It's possible this gives Trump a bargaining chip as he negotiates a ceasefire. It's also possible it starts a series of escalations that lead to WW3.

Zelenskyy says Russia-Ukraine war will end ‘faster’ under Trump
He said the war “will end faster with the policy of this team that will now lead the White House,” referring to the incoming Trump administration. “This is their approach, their promise to their society, and it is also very important to them,” he added.

Russia limiting exports of enriched uranium to US, potentially endangering nuclear industry
"We don’t have enough enriched uranium here. They should have been stockpiling enriched uranium in anticipation of this happening.”

During meeting with Biden, China’s Xi cautions US to ‘make the wise choice’ to keep relations stable
China’s leader Xi Jinping met for the last time with Biden on Saturday but was already looking ahead to Trump and his “America first” policies, saying Beijing “is ready to work with a new U.S. administration.”

Lame-duck Biden humiliated with back-corner spot in APEC family photo as China’s Xi gets place of honor in front row
The order of world leaders was alphabetical by country — though a review of past APEC family photos shows national positions aren’t fixed, with Trump taking a center spot in 2017.

Rubio and the Return of the Monroe Doctrine
China has become South America's largest trading partner, and it is making inroads across the Western Hemisphere.

How to survive the broligarchy: 20 lessons for the post-truth world
This is McMuskism: it’s McCarthyism on steroids, political persecution + Trump + Musk + Silicon Valley surveillance tools. It’s the dawn of a new age of political witch-hunts, where burning at the stake meets data harvesting and online mobs.

Scientific American chief resigns after blasting Trump supporters as 'fascists' during election
The editor in chief of the left-wing magazine resigned after calling Trump supporters "f***ing fascists."

Second ‘doomsday’ oarfish washes up on California beach in three months
The roughly 10-foot-long dead oarfish — rumored to be a sign of impending earthquakes — was found on a California beach last week.

Thousands of mysterious black balls on Sydney beaches revealed to be mini blobs of poop
Initially believed to be made of tar, scientists confirmed the sticky balls are in fact “fatbergs” — a revolting combination of human feces, human hair, cooking oil, chemicals, fatty acids, illicit drugs, and other compounds.

Senate Democrats Were 'Caught Flat-Footed' by GOP's Transgender Attack Ads: Report
Apparently, Democrats still think that boys in girls' sports and child sex changes are winning issues for them, but they need better messaging.

Academic Claims Geology Is Racist and ‘Linked to White Supremacy’
A professor specializing in “inhuman geography” at a British university has declared the subject of geology as racist, claiming it has been unduly influenced by colonization.

NYT fact-check of RFK Jr. cereal claim backfires
The New York Times’ attempt to debunk RFK Jr.'s criticism of U.S. Froot Loops vs. Canada’s only confirmed his point, highlighting U.S. cereals' use of synthetic dyes and preservatives like BHT.

Software developers want AI to give medical advice, but questions abound about accuracy
Despite the quirks and outright errors, many health care leaders say they remain optimistic about AI chatbots and how they can change the industry.

Study finds people prefer AI over real classic poetry
Readers are unable to reliably differentiate AI-generated from human-written poetry and are more likely to prefer AI poems, according to new research.

Trump gets hero’s welcome at UFC as winning fighter salutes him with signature dance, belt
Trump was greeted Saturday night by a roaring crowd donned in red as he took a brief interlude from building his Cabinet to attend the UFC fight in New York City’s Madison Square Garden, where he held one of his most famous campaign rallies a few weeks earlier.

Netflix gave viewers a shot of Mike Tyson’s bare butt in pre-fight interview
Apparently, this was the most exciting moment of the night.