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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 HERE) World & Nation US Economy Expands a Surprising 4.3% in Q3  The U.S. economy expanded at a surprisingly strong 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter as consumer spending, exports and government spending all grew. U.S. gross domestic product from July through September — the economy’s total output of goods and services — rose from its 3.8% growth rate in the April-June quarter, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet forecast growth of 3% in the period. However, inflation remains higher than the Federal Reserve would like. Hunter Biden rips dad Joe’s presidency over immigration, Afghanistan in stunning interview: ‘Obvious f–ing failure’  Disgraced first son Hunter Biden turned on his father, Joe, in a wide-ranging podcast interview this week, acknowledging that the 46th president’s lax immigration policy and move to pull US forces out of Afghanistan were both catastrophic failures. Hunter admitted to interviewer Shawn Ryan that the botched bugout from Afghanistan “was an obvious f—ing failure.” “I think that there was a better way to do it, and … I can blame it on his generals, I can blame it on [other] people [for] the way in which we did it, but — and my dad always knew this also, is that the buck stops with him.” The rushed withdrawal from Afghanistan was punctuated by an ISIS-K suicide bombing at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 US service members who were attempting to process Afghans fleeing the reconquering Taliban. Hunter specified that “I think leaving Afghanistan was the right thing to do,” but agreed with his interviewer when Ryan said, “I cannot f—ing stand the way the Afghan withdrawal happened.” Yanked ‘60 Minutes’ report on Salvadoran prison appears to spread online after streaming on Canadian app  A “60 Minutes” investigation that was abruptly pulled over concerns about its characterization of a Salvadoran mega-prison housing migrants deported from the US — sparking furor within CBS News — has been spreading online after apparently streaming on a Canadian TV app. What appeared to be the shelved segment on El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison circulated online with the Global TV logo after CBS News yanked the report just hours before its scheduled Sunday night broadcast, citing the need for additional reporting. The spread of the piece added a new twist to the explosive internal dispute at CBS, where correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi accused network leadership of killing the story for political reasons. Trump Escalates Feud With NY Times: 'Enemy of the People'  President Donald Trump issued a new attack on The New York Times early Tuesday, accusing the news organization of lying, publishing "fake" stories, and posing "a serious threat" to U.S. national security. In a post published on Truth Social shortly after midnight, Trump sharply criticized the Times' reporting and opinion coverage. "The Failing New York Times, and their lies and purposeful misrepresentations, is a serious threat to the National Security of our Nation," Trump wrote. He accused the Times of "Radical Left, Unhinged Behavior" and said it was "writing FAKE Articles and Opinions in a never ending way."
Oklahoma teaching assistant fired after uproar over flunking Christian student who referenced Bible in essay Samantha Fulnecky filed discrimination claim after receiving zero on assignment about gender norms  Weeks after a University of Oklahoma student's story about being flunked on a paper that touted her Christian faith caused a viral uproar, the teaching assistant behind the grade has been fired. "Based on an examination of the graduate teaching assistant’s prior grading standards and patterns, as well as the graduate teaching assistant’s own statements related to this matter, it was determined that the graduate teaching assistant was arbitrary in the grading of this specific paper," the state's flagship school said in a Monday evening statement. "The graduate teaching assistant will no longer have instructional duties at the University." Samantha Fulnecky, a junior at the school, received zero out of 25 on an assignment in which she referenced the Bible after graduate teaching assistant William "Mel" Curth, who uses she/they pronouns, scored the paper. Rand Paul's 'Festivus Report' calls out cocaine dogs, COVID influencers and a mountain of debt Kentucky senator's annual 'Festivus Report' details $40M for COVID vaccine influencers, $5M for cocaine experiments on dogs  Congress’ top fiscal hawk is back with his yearly government waste report card, this time uncovering over $1.6 trillion in spending on cocaine experiments on dogs, COVID-19 vaccine influencer campaigns and staggering yearly debt payments. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., unveiled his 11th annual "Festivus Report" on Tuesday, detailing the wonky ways that the federal government dumps taxpayer dollars into pet projects. Paul has long been against Congress’ spending habits, routinely voting against appropriations bills and spending packages for not trying to tackle the nation’s growing debt problem. His report highlights that even with several lawmakers pounding their chests on Washington’s spending problem, Congress can’t help but spend more. GOP lawmaker unveils WALZ Act after billions lost in Minnesota fraud scandal The legislation was introduced by Iowa GOP Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks  A Republican lawmaker has reacted to the massive unfolding fraud scandal in Minnesota with legislation aimed at preventing more taxpayer dollars from being wasted at the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has introduced the Welfare Abuse and Laundering Zillions Act, or the "WALZ Act," which would require HHS' Office of Inspector General to open investigations into any program that sees a 10% or greater increase in total payments over any six-month period within a fiscal year. Under the bill, HHS would no longer have discretion to ignore sudden billing increases that critics say often signal fraud schemes, particularly in large entitlement programs. Jim Beam to close one of its distilleries for a year Kentucky bourbon giant shifts operations to another facility while investing in Clermont site enhancements  American Whiskey Association President and CEO Michael Bilello joins 'Mornings with Maria' to discuss how tariffs and shifting consumer trends are impacting U.S. whiskey exports. World-famous Kentucky whiskey brand Jim Beam is reportedly closing its production facility in Clermont starting Jan. 1 through the end of 2026. The company is shifting production to its larger Booker Noe distillery in Boston, Kentucky. The James B. Beam Distilling Co. said in a statement that it is "always assessing production levels to best meet consumer demand." It added that there was a recent discussion of its 2026 volumes. "We’ve shared with our teams that while we will continue to distill at our FBN craft distillery in Clermont and at our larger Booker Noe distillery in Boston, we plan to pause distillation at our main distillery on the James B. Beam campus for 2026 while we take the opportunity to invest in site enhancements," the company said in its statement. Trump Says It Would Be 'Smart' for Venezuela's Maduro to Step Down  President Donald Trump said Monday it would be "smart" for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to step down, as U.S naval forces pressed a blockade on the South American country's oil wealth. Venezuela's key ally Moscow, however, expressed its "full support" for Maduro's government, as Washington has dialed up military operations and threats against Caracas. Asked by reporters at his Florida home if Washington's threats were designed to force Maduro to leave office after 12 years, Trump said: "That's up to him, what he wants to do. I think it would be smart for him to do that." But he added: "If he wants to do something — if he plays tough, it'll be the last time he's ever able to play tough."
Senate Republicans block Schiff effort to force release of Caribbean strike footage Sen Markwayne Mullin argued on the floor that Adam Schiff's motives may have been politically influenced  Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to force the release of unedited footage to Congress and the public of the U.S. military's controversial Sept. 2 double-tap strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. Schiff’s move Wednesday afternoon followed passage of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a provision to require the Pentagon to release all unedited footage of the strikes in the Caribbean to Congress in exchange for full funding of the Department of War’s travel expenses. His bill went a step further and was specifically geared toward the early September double strike against an alleged drug boat that has divided lawmakers in recent weeks, particularly over whether the strikes were legal. Quinnipiac survey shows only 43% of Democratic voters approve of their own party's congressional performance  A new national poll is raising alarms for Democrats as the party works to rebound from last year's election setbacks. Only 18% of voters questioned in a Quinnipiac University survey released on Wednesday said they approve of the way Democrats in Congress are handling their job, while 73% percent disapproved. That's the lowest job approval rating for the Democrats in Congress since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question 16 years ago. MORNING GLORY: The president ends 2025 with a clear declaration of the Trump doctrine And he used all caps to do so America has many allies in what promises to be a decades-long Cold War 2.0 between the U.S. and its allies and the alliance of tyrants, led by the People’s Republic of China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. This quartet of dictators has some fourth-string powers allied with it in our hemisphere, like Venezuela’s Maduro and Cuba’s Miguel Díaz-Canel, who succeeded the Castro brothers (though Raul is still doddering around at 94 with some influence.) President Donald Trump is in the process of securing the Western Hemisphere against this alliance by placing a quarantine on Maduro’s oil and drug exports from Venezuela. Cuba can only export sugar and secret police and is already in an advanced state of economic collapse. It is heavily dependent on Venezuelan oil, and the spigot for that has been turned off by 45-47. Xi, Putin and Khamenei can’t live forever, and succession battles within tyrannies are never guaranteed to run smoothly for the bad guys. So the United States, already in possession of the most powerful military in the world, is modernizing it — especially its Navy — and can count on its allies around the world to contain "the evil-doers," as President George W. Bush once memorably and accurately put it. It’s time to treat Bill Clinton like Prince Andrew — and banish him from polite society The man formerly known as Prince Andrew has had a catastrophic year. Due to growing public disgust over his relationship with infamous pedo Jeffrey Epstein, he’s had his given and hereditary titles stripped and is being booted out of his home. Across the pond, we have our own problematic prince — or, rather, problematic former president. And he needs to be banished, too. Late last week, the Justice Department unveiled a trove of photographs once owned by Epstein. Among them are several of Bill Clinton in what look like compromising positions. He’s lounging in a hot tub with an unidentified woman in one. A different pic shows him frolicking in a pool with Epstein’s now-convicted madam Ghislaine Maxwell and a second woman. In another, a woman in a tank top sits almost on his lap, their arms around each other. |
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