January 5, 2024 Good morning, Leading the News . . . Pressure to curb illegal immigration becomes bipartisan . . . President Biden is under growing pressure to curb record numbers of migrants crossing into the United States — not just from the usual Republican critics, but also from Democratic mayors and governors in cities thousands of miles from the border. What used to be a clear-cut,
ideological fight between Democrats and Republicans has become a bipartisan demand for action, and some of the most intense pressure on Mr. Biden is coming from places like Boston, Denver, Chicago and New York, where leaders in the president’s own party are issuing cries for help. New York
Times Republicans cleverly undermined liberal hypocrisy on illegal immigration by spreading the pain to . . . liberals
Trump sets up potential expectations game problem . . . Expectations for a romp are sky high and Trump himself has set them there. On the cusp of
the Iowa caucuses and, shortly after, the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire, Haley doesn’t have to beat Trump in either state to wound him. She can inflict damage simply by beating his high bar. “Trump is out there saying, ‘Listen, I’m 70 points up here, I’m 60 points up here. He’s setting this up, and this has always been his M.O. — of winning, of inevitability,” said Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist. Politico The
presidential primaries are a little like financial markets. The expectation gets built in, and the deviation from the expectation moves the needle. If DeSantis does better than expected in Iowa, his value as a political commodity will grow. Same for Haley in New Hampshire. Biden treating Harris as
a joke . . . Vice President Kamala Harris is so bad at her job that the first family and key aides are freezing her out of major decisions and consider her ability to help the president’s agenda “a joke.” According to a new biography, Amateur Hour, the president and first lady have been so standoffish that they have yet to host a family dinner for Harris and second husband Doug Emhoff, and the president has reneged on his promise to have weekly lunches with his No. 2. Washington Examiner Well, Biden can't always be wrong. Of course, he's the one who wrote the joke, which is on the American people. Bill Clinton allegedly threatened Vanity Fair staffers over story about "good friend" Epstein . . . Former President Bill Clinton allegedly stormed into the Vanity Fair newsroom and “threatened” staffers to not publish stories about sex trafficking allegations
against “his good friend” Jeffrey Epstein, according to newly unsealed court documents. The claim about Clinton, included in the latest batch of files tied to Jeffrey Epstein that were released Thursday night, was mentioned by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre in a 2011 email exchange with a journalist from the Daily Mail, Sharon Churcher. New York Post Newsom meets with CAIR despite group's celebration of Oct. 7 attack on Israel . . . California governor Gavin Newsom (D.) met Thursday with the state's Council on American-Islamic Relations chapter (CAIR) just weeks after the group's leader said he was "happy to see" Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel. By meeting with CAIR, Newsom provides a high-profile
platform to an activist group with longstanding ties to Hamas. Federal prosecutors named CAIR an "unindicted co-conspirator" of Hamas front groups in 2009. Awad in November claimed Israel "does not have a right to defend itself." Washington Free
Beacon Biden energy loan czar set to bankroll company he invested in . . . Biden energy loan czar Jigar Shah was a major investor in a struggling green energy company that is in advanced talks to receive a $1.5 billion loan from his office. The Department of Energy’s loan office, where Shah serves as director, is working to fast-track the funding to Plug Power, a hydrogen fuel company on the brink of bankruptcy. But the
ties between Plug Power and Shah could add to concerns from lawmakers about conflicts of interest in the federal loan program. Washington Free Beacon Second
Biden official resigns over Gaza . . . A senior Biden education adviser on Wednesday became the second administration official to resign from his post over the White House’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, the latest instance of internal turmoil over the war. In a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, Tariq Habash, a policy adviser in
the department’s Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, accused the U.S. of endangering Palestinians and accused the Israeli government of ethnic cleansing. Politico
African illegal migration to US soars as Europe cracks down . . . The young men from Guinea had decided it was time to leave their impoverished
homeland in West Africa. But instead of seeking a new life in Europe, where so many African migrants have settled, they set out for what has become a far safer bet of late: the United States. “Getting into the United States is certain compared to European countries, and so I came,” said Sekuba Keita, 30, who was at a migrant center in San Diego on a recent afternoon after an odyssey that took him by plane to Turkey, Colombia, El Salvador and Nicaragua, then by land to the Mexico-U.S.
border. New York Times Video || Karine Jean-Pierre says she Has “Not seen any data” to show Biden Border Policies border crisis
Israel to take over Gaza security after the war . . . Defense Minister Yoav Gallant Hamas would no longer control Gaza and Israel would retain
overall security control, he added. A multi-national force would take charge of rebuilding the territory after the widespread destruction caused by Israeli bombing. Neighbouring Egypt would also have an unspecified role to play under the plan. But the document adds that Palestinians would be responsible for running the territory. BBC Islamic State claims responsibility for Iran bombings Oscar Pistorius released from prison . . . Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been freed on
parole from a South African jail, nearly 11 years after murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Ms Steenkamp's mother said she accepted the decision to release the former athlete - but added her family was the one "serving a life sentence". Pistorius, now 37, shot Ms Steenkamp multiple times in 2013 through a door. The double amputee later claimed he had mistaken her for a burglar. BBC
Getting away with murder . . . it's
always perplexing how lightly other nations treat convicted murderers. Calls grow to prosecute Prince Andrew for Epstein activities . . . Prince Andrew has been
reported to the police by an anti-monarchy campaign group after allegations of sexual assault were made against him in unsealed court documents. The Duke of York, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was reported to the Metropolitan Police by Republic after he was referenced multiple times in files relating to disgraced paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. This was matched by similar calls from a US attorney who represented some of Epstein's victims. Daily Mail
Money Surging stock market a mixed blessing for retirees . . . A surging stock market pushed many retirement account balances to new highs in the waning days of 2023. But for those already spending their retirement nest eggs, these higher balances are a mixed
blessing. The reason has to do with rules that require older people to start taking money out of their traditional pretax 401(k) and individual retirement accounts each year, called required minimum distributions or RMDs. A rising balance at year-end 2023 means the amount of money many retirees have to take out of retirement accounts in 2024 will increase. And along with it, the amount of money they owe in taxes will also rise. Wall Street Journal Economy added 216,000 jobs in December
Meet the latest global warming threat: Houseplants . . . There are plenty of benefits to raising indoor houseplants: They beautify your home or office, they have been correlated with lower levels of stress and anxiety, and they may slightly improve air quality. But, ironically, greening indoor spaces can also come at an environmental cost. The trucks that transport plants spew carbon emissions, plastic pots and synthetic fertilizers are made from petroleum and the harvesting of soil components
like peat can tear up slow-forming habitats. Washington Post Yes, the Washington Post reported this with a straight face. Video || Cat saves dog from
coyotes
Editor removes recipe for Chicken Parmesan from the Bible . . . “Someone was on a lunch break, they copied a recipe, and then when they got back to
their computer, they inadvertently hit the shortcut key for paste,” Chris Hudson said. “When we got the proofs to review, there’s a full recipe in there for chicken Parmesan.” Mr. Hudson is president of Peachtree Proofreading Services. Washington Times Ridiculous. Everyone knows that a good Chicken Parmesan is a religious event.
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