Wednesday December 17th, 2025
- "It Is Not A Question of Who Is Right Or Wrong But What Is Right Or Wrong That Counts."
- --Geoff Metcalf
- Providing an on line Triage of the news since 1998
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World & Nation
2 Heritage Trustees Resign Over Tucker Carlson Scandal
Two respected
members of The Heritage Foundation's Board of Trustees have resigned
amid an escalating crisis over the think tank's handling of
antisemitism and its president's defense of a controversial interview
between Tucker Carlson with Nick Fuentes.
On Tuesday,
Abby Spencer Moffat and Shane McCullar formally stepped down, citing
deep concerns about the organization's direction and its refusal to
unequivocally condemn antisemitism.
Their
departures mark the latest in a wave of high-profile exits that have
thrown the once influential conservative institution into turmoil and
prompted questions about its leadership under Kevin Roberts, Heritage's
president.
In his
resignation statement, McCullar said he had originally accepted the
position to help advance "the ideals of America's Founding" but could
no longer reconcile his principles with the foundation's actions.
4 Republicans Defy Speaker to Force House Vote on ACA Subsidies
Four Republicans broke from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on
Wednesday and signed on to a Democrat-led petition that will force a
House vole on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era
subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans.
The move comes after House Republican leaders pushed ahead with a GOP
healthcare bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums that
millions of people will soon endure as the tax credits for those who
buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year's end.
Democrats needed 218 signatures to force a floor vote on their bill, which would extend the subsides for three years.
Congress Set to Pass NDAA With Anti-Censorship Provision, Protects Free Speech
The Senate Monday approved a key procedural vote that means the massive
$901 billion National Defense Authorization Act will pass later this
week and be sent to the president for signing.
The final NDAA bill, approved by the House last Wednesday, includes a
strong prohibition on the Department of War from using any advertising
agency that deploys so-called “media monitors” – groups that rate news
outlets for factual accuracy, “misinformation” or other criteria.
Major ad agencies have been using these monitors – including the
left-wing NewsGuard – to censor and blacklist conservative news
organizations.
Republican deal for vote on Obamacare subsidies hits a snag
This is scheduled to be the final week in session for Congress this
year, and lawmakers are trudging to the finish line, hoping to take
care of a few last bits of business while leaving much work to be done
in the new year.
House Republican leaders are planning a Wednesday vote on a healthcare
package they released Friday afternoon called the Lower Health Care
Premiums for All Americans Act — but the 111-page bill does not include
an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at
the e of the month and an agreement between GOP leaders and moderates
in the party for an amendment vote on such an extension, paired with
program reforms, reportedly has run into trouble.
Punchbowl News reported that the agreement with moderates fell apart
due to a disagreement over the amendment text. GOP leaders reportedly
told moderates that they would have to offset the cost of the subsidy
extension, estimated to be $35 billion a year, with other
healthcare-related spending cuts — a demand that left moderates with
“no good options,” per Punchbowl. So instead, the centrist Republicans
will offer their amendment before the House Rules Committee, where it
is likely to be rejected.
The unsettling reason Rob Reiner’s son Nick attended Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party
Nick Reiner reportedly wasn’t invited to Conan O’Brien’s Christmas
party Saturday night — but Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner didn’t
want to leave their son alone.
The Hollywood Reporter claimed on Tuesday that the couple asked the
host whether the 32-year-old could tag along with them to the holiday
bash.
The outlet alleged that Nick’s “often… extreme and stressful behavior”
had escalated and “grown degrees even more concerning in recent weeks.”
Because of this, the stars were “reluctant to leave him home alone in the guesthouse” of their Brentwood, Calif., residence.
IRS whistleblowers tell ‘Pod Force One’ of ‘unprecedented’ corruption swept ‘under rug’ by Hunter Biden pardon
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler discussed in a
wide-ranging “Pod Force One” interview the “unprecedented” level of
corruption they said they observed while investigating Hunter Biden
before a pardon from his presidential dad, Joe Biden, swept everything
“under the rug.”
Shapley and Ziegler, who have since been promoted to leadership
positions in the IRS, said the former first family had undue influence
on their investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances.
“The Biden family lived five miles down from the office or a few miles
down from the office. The guest house where Hunter Biden stayed for a
while, five miles from the office,” Ziegler told The Post’s Miranda
Devine of the five-year probe into the former president’s son’s $1.4
million tax delinquency.
“Throughout the investigation,” he said, “we heard about Joe Biden
coming into the FBI office. I mean, it was really, really concerning
from like, ‘Is this honestly the best place to work this tax
investigation?'”
Warner Bros. Discovery board urges shareholders to reject Paramount’s hostile takeover bid, throws support behind Netflix merger
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board unanimously urged shareholders to reject
a hostile buyout offer from Paramount Skydance — calling the bid to
break up its merger agreement with Netflix “illusory” and provoking a
heated response from Paramount just hours later.
In a Wednesday statement, the board said the Paramount Skydance bid
fails to meet the bar of a “superior proposal” under WBD’s merger
agreement and can be “terminated or amended” at any time, creating what
it called untenable downside for investors.
“Following a careful evaluation of Paramount’s recently launched tender
offer, the Board concluded that the offer’s value is inadequate, with
significant risks and costs imposed on our shareholders,” board chair
Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr. said.
The board also said the Ellison family has not provided an “equity
backstop” — a firm guarantee that it would make up for any potential
collapse in financing — for the bid and argued there is no material
difference in regulatory risk between the Paramount offer and the
Netflix deal.
Maryland to study slavery reparations after lawmakers override Dem governor's veto
Senate votes 31-14 and House 93-35 to establish commission studying slavery legacy and racial discrimination
The Maryland General Assembly on Tuesday voted to override Gov. Wes
Moore's veto of a bill creating a reparations commission, clearing the
way for the state to begin formally studying how to address the legacy
of slavery and racial discrimination.
The Senate voted 31-14 to override the veto, while the House approved
the override 93–35, exceeding the three-fifths majorities required in
both chambers.
Moore initially vetoed Senate Bill (SB) 587 in May, arguing that
Maryland had already conducted extensive studies on the legacy of
slavery and should focus instead on policies that directly narrow
racial disparities.
Sen Eric Schmitt says he ‘won’t be apologizing’ as China hits him with $50B lawsuit
Schmitt faces retaliation lawsuit from Wuhan government over his 2020 case against China
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said Tuesday that he "won't be apologizing"
to China any time soon, as he opened up about a $50 billion lawsuit
filed against him in retaliation for suing the country during his time
as Missouri’s attorney general.
"It's totally ridiculous. They're just mad that we exposed their lies and their deceit," he told "The Ingraham Angle."
"Missouri got a $24 billion judgment against them, and they don't like
that," Schmitt continued. "They unleashed COVID on the world. We sued
them, and we won."
Trump Orders Total Oil Tanker Blockade on Terror-Linked Venezuelan Regime
President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered what he called "a total and
complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving
Venezuela," sharply escalating U.S. pressure on the socialist Nicolás
Maduro regime after months of rising confrontations, maritime seizures,
and anti-narcotics operations in the region.
Trump announced the decision in a post on Truth Social, saying
Venezuela's regime had engaged in "the theft of our Assets" and was
tied to "Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking," adding that
he was designating the regime a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO)
and directing U.S. authorities to halt all sanctioned tanker traffic.
The president's declaration came one week after U.S. forces seized a
sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, an operation U.S.
officials described as part of an aggressive enforcement push against
illicit oil shipments and sanctions evasion networks.
Hey, Senate GOP, let’s get moving — pass more big, beautiful bills before it’s too late
By John Kennedy
The One Big Beautiful Bill stands alone as the 119th Congress’ most extraordinary piece of legislation — but it doesn’t have to.
Under the Senate’s rules, congressional Republicans can use the
reconciliation process to pass two more big, beautiful bills with a
simple majority vote.
And we would be fools to let this opportunity pass us by.
Here’s the reality: Most of my Democratic colleagues would rather bathe
with their toasters than support any part of President Donald Trump’s
agenda.
Taxpayer cash, zero accountability: Minnesota fraud proves welfare is broken
Minnesota welfare scandal exposes for all to see how our broken federal system enables massive fraud
The U.S. welfare system is broken, and the Minnesota scandal is a blaring warning to that reality.
The failure of political leaders on many fronts bears some of the
blame. But the main culprit is the massive federal welfare system that
annually passes hundreds of billions of dollars down to states to dole
out, with the philosophy that the more people on the rolls, the better.
The structure of the U.S. welfare system creates incentives for states
to expand the rolls – and little incentive for them to ensure that
money is going to those who truly need it. As welfare rolls expand,
programs receive more money. It’s a system based on the Democratic
perspective that government should provide more support to more people.
And the U.S. welfare system is massive. It consists of roughly 90 different programs that cost more than $1 trillion annually.
