News From Around the Web
#10 Mitt Romney Warns of Those Who “Tear at Our Unity” in Senate Farewell Speech -Kaia Hubbard for CBS News, Juanita Broaddrick, Mad Bull America, Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox, KSL 5 TV, and JP on X
Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who is nearing the end of his Senate term, warned in his farewell address on Wednesday of those who "tear at our unity," urging America to uphold the nation's values as he capped more than two decades in public service. "I have learned that politics alone cannot measure up to the challenges we face," Romney said. "A country's character is a reflection not just of its elected officials, but also of its people. I leave Washington to return to be one among them." Romney announced in September 2023 that he would not seek reelection after his first term in the upper chamber, noting at the time that "it's time for a new generation of leaders." The 77-year-old Utah Republican was the GOP nominee for president in 2012 and also served as the governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 200...
#9 Justice Jackson Criticized for Comparing Ban on Sex Changes for Minors to Interracial Marriage Ban - The Express Tribune, Riley Gaines (community note), Mollie, Doug Billings, I Am Ken, Twitchy Team, Steve and George on X
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is facing backlash after drawing a controversial comparison between Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for minors and laws that once prohibited interracial marriage. Jackson made the comment during oral arguments on Wednesday, suggesting a connection between the two issues. "You can't do something that is 'inconsistent with your own characteristics?' It's sort of the same thing," Jackson said, referencing the landmark Loving v. Virginia case, which struck down Virginia’s ban on interracial marriage. She questioned whether Virginia’s anti-miscegenation law could have survived if the state had argued in a similar manner to Tennessee’s current stance, which she described as a “classification argument.”
#8 You Have Less Than Six Months to Be ‘Real ID Compliant’ - Erin Lawlor for 12 News WBNG, Thomas Massie, Kelley K, IX Amendment, and Jack Paso on X
The deadline to obtain a “Real ID” is rapidly approaching. The New York State Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicle Mark Schroeder explained that Real ID compliance started with TSA. He said that a simple star or check mark added to your license will show TSA you are who you say you are. Schroeder urges people to become real ID compliant as soon as possible. Matter of fact, he said specifically that you have 155 days as of Tuesday.
#7 Johnson Rejects Biden Request for $24 Billion on New Ukraine Aid - Laura Kelly for The Hill, Benny Johnson, Tara Bull, and Chuck Callesto on X
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday rejected a White House request to pass $24 billion in additional aid for Ukraine by the end of the year, saying any further assistance for Kyiv would be decided by President-elect Trump when he assumes office in January. “I’m not planning to do that,” Johnson said in response to a question if he would add aid for Ukraine to a continuing resolution to fund the government. Johnson, speaking during a House Republican Leaders news conference, said Trump’s election victory is changing the dynamic of Russia’s war on Ukraine and that any additional U.S. assistance for Kyiv should be decided under the next administration...
#6 Trump Picks Monica Crowley for Senior State Department Post - Laura Kelly for The Hill, Trump War Room, Steak for Breakfast, and John Strand/Benny Johnson on X
resident-elect Trump on Wednesday nominated Monica Crowley, a former Fox News contributor who faced public scrutiny during Trump’s first term over allegations of plagiarism, for a top public relations post in the State Department. Trump announced Crowley’s nomination for “Ambassador, Assistant Secretary of State, and Chief of Protocol,” a position he said will oversee major U.S.-hosted events including America’s 250th Independence Day anniversary in 2026; the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028...
#5 Trump Taps Former Aide Navarro as Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing - Ari Hawkins for Politico, George, Charlie Kirk, KanekoaTheGreat, C3, and Culture War on X
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday tapped his once-imprisoned former adviser Peter Navarro to be senior counselor for trade and manufacturing in his next administration. Navarro, 75, who served as director of the White House National Trade Council in Trump’s first administration, spent four months in federal prison earlier this year after being held in contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot. “I am pleased to announce that Peter Navarro, a man who was treated horribly by the Deep State, or whatever else you would like to call it, will serve as my Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social...
#4 UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Fatally Shot Outside Hilton Hotel in Midtown in Targeted Attack: Cops - The New York Post, Kyle Becker, Vince Pagano, K, Mrs. SpaceX TM, Sarah Fields, and Shipwreck on X
The CEO of insurance giant UnitedHealthcare was gunned down Wednesday outside a luxury Midtown hotel in a “brazen, targeted attack” by a chillingly methodical killer who used a firearm with a silencer, police said. Brian Thompson, 50, was repeatedly shot by a masked gunman who had been waiting outside the Hilton hotel along Sixth Avenue, where the CEO was hosting an investors’ conference, said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.“Many people passed the suspect, but he appeared to wait for his intended target,” she said...
#3 France Government Collapses Again After Prime Minister Forced Out - Kim Hjelmgaard for USA TODAY, Sudden and Unexpected, Bloomberg, Sumit, and Valentin Erickson on X
France's government collapsed Wednesday after Prime Minister Michel Barnier was forced out in a no-confidence vote in Parliament, reigniting a summertime political crisis for the country as it prepares to face a new year. Barnier is now expected to resign after 331 out of 577 lawmakers in France's National Assembly voted against him. Barnier was appointed in September by President Emmanuel Macron after an inconclusive July parliamentary election. His exit will mean his tenure as prime minister is the shortest-lived in modern French history...
#2 NYC Mayor Says He’ll Work With Trump to Deport Illegal Immigrant Criminals: ‘Cancel Me’ - Alex Welz for The National Review, Eric Daugherty, Shawn Farash, Collin Rugg, and Curtis Sliwa on X
New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday expressed an openness to deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes, further distancing himself from more progressive members of his party on the issue.He said he hopes to meet with President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for border czar, Tom Homan. “I would love to sit down with the border czar and hear his thoughts on how we are going to address those who are harming our citizens,” Adams said on Tuesday. “Find out what his plans are, where our common grounds are. We can work together.” Adams made sure to clarify that deportation out of the Big Apple should only be reserved for violent illegal aliens, not productive illegal immigrants or “Dreamers.”
#1 Incoming Trump Border Czar Tom Homan Visits Arizona-Mexico Border With Dr. Phil - Stephanie Murray for AZ Central, KGUN 9, and King John of Masha/Dr. Phil on X
Incoming border czar Tom Homan visited the Arizona-Mexico border with talk show personality Dr. Phil on Wednesday, saying that he will not wait for the official start of President-elect Donald Trump’s term to lay the groundwork for an immigration crackdown. “We’re 47 days out from the inauguration. We’re not waiting. Game on, today,” said Homan, whom Trump tapped last month to handle his deportation policy. In a video with Phil McGraw, Homan said he is eager to get to work on securing the southern border before Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. The pair, who appeared to be standing on a plane, said they had just arrived in Arizona...
