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 My son has narrated the last book I wrote. Please consider listening to it and encouraging others to do so too. (Click on Book Cover) World & Nation Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair  President Donald Trump said Friday he is nominating Kevin Warsh to serve as chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, ending weeks of speculation over who would lead the central bank when Chair Jerome Powell's term expires in May. "I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Kevin Warsh to be the CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM," Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling Warsh "one of the GREAT Fed Chairmen, maybe the best." Warsh, a former Fed governor who has become a prominent critic of the central bank, would take over at a moment when Trump has repeatedly pressed the Fed to cut interest rates faster. The Fed held its benchmark short-term rate steady this week after three consecutive cuts last year, drawing a fresh rebuke from Trump.
Former CNN journalist arrested in connection with Minnesota protest  Former CNN journalist Don Lemon was arrested early Friday morning in connection with an incident in which anti-ICE protesters disrupted a service at a Minnesota church, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The incident unfolded on Jan. 18, when protesters entered Cities Church in St. Paul. The protesters said one of the pastors is the acting field director of the St. Paul ICE field office. Bondi said on social media that Lemon and three others were arrested early Friday "at my direction" "in connection with the coordinated attack on Cities Church." Lowell said on Friday that Lemon was taken into custody by federal agents while he was covering the Grammy Awards. Deal Reached Advancing Spending Bills to Avert New Govt. Shutdown  A deal was reached Thursday to advance a major package of federal spending bills that would avert a government shutdown for most agencies beginning Saturday, according to a Senate Democrat leadership aide cited by Reuters. The agreement would split the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill from the broader package and fund DHS at current levels for roughly two weeks while negotiations continue. President Donald Trump said Thursday afternoon that he was working hard with Democrats to reach a deal and warned that a shutdown could slow the U.S. economy.
Graham blocks Trump-backed spending plan, calls it a 'bad deal' as shutdown nears South Carolina senator's hold slows Senate's march to advance Trump-backed funding package  The Senate has a deal to fund the government, but Republican anger over the nature of the deal, earmarks and what changes could come to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) derailed its progress Thursday night. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and President Donald Trump agreed to strip out the much-maligned DHS funding bill from a broader, six-bill funding package, and instead fund the agency with a two-week continuing resolution (CR), while lawmakers haggled over tweaks to the bill. Even though there is a deal backed by the White House that has key Democratic buy-in, there will still be a partial government shutdown this weekend, given that the House must weigh in on the package. This state isn’t just growing — its economy is getting richer per resident The Lone Star State posted a sharp jump in economic output per resident, a key measure of rising prosperity  Everything’s bigger in Texas — including its economy. And it’s not just because more people are moving there. Strip out population growth and Texas is generating thousands of dollars more per resident than it did just three years ago. That kind of growth matters politically. It signals rising living standards, a stronger tax base and greater leverage to fund infrastructure, education and other priorities without raising taxes. Texas’ success story gives Republicans a clear example to argue that low taxes, light regulation and strong energy production deliver real economic advantages, not just population churn. CCP-connected millionaire allegedly bankrolls Minneapolis agitator groups through dark money network Who is Neville Roy Singham? Meet the China-based millionaire allegedly bankrolling Minnesota agitators  As agitators and federal law enforcement continue to clash in Minneapolis, the funding behind the groups fueling the anti-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unrest is beginning to come to light. One of the alleged financial backers of these agitators is a Chinese Communist Party advocate traced to a multitude of dark money organizations known to fuel far-left, CCP-influenced extremism in the U.S. and across the globe. Earlier this week, a Fox News Digital investigation found several organizations are acting as lead voices in physically mobilizing agitators in Minneapolis, as well as communicating through multiple channels to encourage agitators to take to the streets in Minnesota and other cities. The Party for Socialism and Liberation and The People’s Forum are two of the core groups who allegedly have been behind facilitating and pushing agitators to organize on multiple occasions. Gaza's Rafah Crossing With Egypt to Reopen on Sunday  Israel will reopen the Rafah border crossing on Sunday for people to travel between Gaza and Egypt, the Israeli government agency that coordinates civilian policy in Gaza, COGAT, said on Friday. "The return of residents from Egypt to the Gaza Strip will be permitted, in coordination with Egypt, for residents who left Gaza during the course of the war only, and only after prior security clearance by Israel," COGAT said. The Rafah crossing is effectively the sole route in or out of Gaza for nearly all of the more than 2 million people who live there. Russia Halts Strikes on Kyiv Until Sunday at Trump's Request, Zelenskyy to Reciprocate  Russia has agreed to a request from President Donald Trump to halt airstrikes on Kyiv until Feb. 1 amid harsh winter temperatures, and Ukraine said it was ready to reciprocate as Washington pushes for a diplomatic solution to end the war. But as the Ukrainian capital braces for another bitterly cold spell from Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday there was no formal truce between the two countries. He added that Russia had shifted to hitting Ukrainian logistics. Russia has bombed Ukraine's roads and railways in recent days. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had accepted Trump's request to stop bombarding Kyiv to create "favorable conditions" for peace talks. In recent weeks, Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in Kyiv have left hundreds of thousands of people without heating in their homes for days on end at times as temperatures have dipped below minus 15 degrees Celsius. Trump Weighs Iran Strikes to Inspire Renewed Protests  President Donald Trump is weighing options against Iran that include targeted strikes on security forces and leaders to inspire protesters, multiple sources said, even as Israeli and Arab officials said air power alone would not topple the clerical rulers. Two U.S. sources familiar with the discussions said Trump wanted to create conditions for "regime change" after a crackdown crushed a nationwide protest movement earlier this month, killing thousands of people. To do so, he was looking at options to hit commanders and institutions Washington holds responsible for the violence, to give protesters the confidence that they could overrun government and security buildings, they said. Trump has not yet made a final decision on a course of action including whether to take the military path, one of the sources and a U.S. official said.
Alex Pretti was no protester — here’s who bears blame for his death By Rich Lowry
Alex Pretti wasn’t killed while “protesting.” This is a common description of what he was doing on a Minneapolis street Saturday, when a confrontation with federal immigration agents ended in his tragic shooting. If Pretti had been a mere protester, he’d very likely be alive today. Now that we’ve seen videos of an earlier struggle with federal agents and learned more about the organized nature of the anti-ICE resistance, it’s become clear that the better word for Pretti was agitator, or perhaps even operative. A protester, as typically understood, is someone who is making a point, often as part of a gathering of other like-minded people and, usually but not always, in opposition to something. Stop thinking like it’s 2003 — toppling Iran’s mullahs does not risk mistakes of Iraq War Almost 20 years ago, in 2007, the Iranian Revolutionary Government kidnapped 15 members of the British Royal Navy and other British Marine personnel. The Iranians claimed that the British vessel had strayed from Iraqi waters into Iranian territorial waters. And so for almost two weeks the Iranians used the captured Brits as pawns, paraded them on their nightly TV shows, and forced the captives as well as the British government into a grovelling, humiliating apology. Eventually the captured Brits were returned home with some humiliating goody-bags. I suspect that the story will be different today if the Iranian navy attempts to capture any American vessels. If they try that in the days to come they should expect a very different sort of outcome. |
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