The Biden administration is loosening some key immigration restrictions ahead of President-elect Trump's second term, opening the door for thousands more illegal immigrants to enter the country. Trump has indicated that he could declare a national emergency and use military assets to carry out mass deportations. The Biden administration, however, is taking steps to make Trump's plans for the border more difficult. The Biden Department of Homeland Security is launching an ICE Portal app in December that will allow migrants to skip their in-person check-ins at an ICE office and instead check in with immigration officials via an app on a phone or computer, according to reporting by The New York Post. The app reportedly has severe glitching issues and does not track a migrant's location if he or she is using an Android phone or laptop.
Brazil's federal police said Thursday they indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people for allegedly attempting a coup to keep him in office after his defeat in the 2022 elections. Police said their findings were being delivered Thursday to Brazil's Supreme Court, which must decide whether to refer them to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who will either formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. The former right-wing president has denied all claims he tried to stay in office after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 to his rival, leftist President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro has faced a series of legal threats since then. Read more
The charge of falsifying records is disturbing if true. They should move to MN, we have a shortage of providers experienced in providing gender affirming care from all the red state refugees coming here for care.
A woman told police she was sexually assaulted in 2017 by Pete Hegseth after he took her phone, blocked the door to a California hotel room and refused to let her leave, according to 22 pages of graphic investigative reports made public late Wednesday.
Progressives have suddenly found themselves lost in the political wilderness, caught in a self-inflicted trap of anger and fear. From the sound of their fury, they could be there for a long while. (Thoughts and prayers.) With Democrats now irrelevant, the second Trump administration has four years to take a wrecking ball to the Washington establishment, including deep cuts to federal spending and an overhaul of the bloated bureaucracy. To understand why the wrecking ball is needed, look at the annual budget deficit ' $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2024. In a time of relative peace and prosperity, the deficit grew 8% in one year, even though federal revenue increased by 11%. In other words, the Biden-Harris administration collected significantly more money from taxpayers in the last fiscal year but still managed to blow up the deficit by an additional $138 billion. That's simply unsustainable.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett didn't hold back when speaking about oppression in America during a DEI hearing on the House floor. On Wednesday (November 20), Crockett sent a clear message that white men in America have never been oppressed during the House Oversight Committee hearing on the "Dismantle DEI Act." The GOP-sponsored bill would eliminate all federal DEI offices and programs. Crockett called out her Republican colleagues for labeling themselves as oppressed due to DEI. She described their redefinition of the word "oppression" as "nails on a chalkboard." "It seems like you don't understand the definition of oppression and I'd ask you to just refer to Google to help you out," Crockett said.
Chicago bar and restaurant owners joined the opposition to Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2025 budget plan Wednesday, saying the 35% tax hike he wants on liquor sales would be ruinous to their businesses. "There is no negotiation on this tax. We will fight it to all levels," Pat Doerr, director of the Hospitality Business Association of Chicago, told reporters at the Haymarket Brewery in the West Loop. "We have done our part for the city coffers over the last four years, and there was not a point we could agree on in between on this after what we've paid in the past. We're good earners for the city. We've earned enough, and we need a break." Read more
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of Health and Human Services, has a long history of scathing critiques against Trump, labeling him a "threat to democracy," a "bully," and, as recently as July, a "terrible president." But Kennedy's harshest attacks date back to Trump's rise in 2016, when on his radio show "Ring of Fire," Kennedy applauded descriptions of Trump's base as "belligerent idiots" and suggestions that some were "outright Nazis" and "spineless fellow travelers." Kennedy also likened Trump to historical demagogues like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, accusing Trump of exploiting societal insecurities and xenophobia to amass power.
Disturbing new details have emerged in a police report on sexual assault allegations against Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Defense. The city attorney's office of Monterey, California, released the 22-page report Wednesday night in response to a public records request that provides competing narratives about the Oct. 8, 2017, encounter between former Fox News host Pete Hegseth and the California woman, identified by investigators as "Jane Doe," after he spoke at a convention, reported CNN. Doe told investigators that the next thing she remembered after the argument was being in a hotel room with Hegseth. "She told officers that Hegseth 'took her phone from her hands,'" CNN reported. "Then, she said, she 'tried to leave the room, but Hegseth blocked the door with his body.' She said she 'remembered saying no a lot,' but did not remember much else, according to the report."
The place we can gas bag about issues of the day.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has proposed a series of remedies aimed at stopping Google from maintaining its monopoly in online search. In a court filing late on Wednesday, the DOJ said the technology giant should sell off its Chrome web browser. Government lawyers also recommended that District Judge Amit Mehta force the firm to stop entering into contracts with companies - including Apple and Samsung - that make its search engine the default on many smartphones and browsers.
Pollster Nate Silver said President Biden should resign in a post on the social platform X on Wednesday. "Is there any particular reason to assume Biden is competent to be president right now? It's a very difficult job," Silver wrote in his post. "It's a dangerous world. Extremely high-stakes decisions in Ukraine. He should resign and let Harris serve out the last 2 months." Silver's post also featured a screenshot of a report from The Washington Post, and a link to the article. The Post reporting centered on Biden's relationship with the press as he prepares to exit the White House. Biden, according to the Post, did not spend much of his time talking publicly during his recent visit to South America. Read more
California's Unemployment Insurance Fund will end the year with a $21.7 billion debt to the federal government that will continue growing through 2025, according to the latest Unemployment Insurance Fund forecast from the Employment Development Department. The debt triggers an automatic tax increase on employers. The EDD's report stated that the debt triggered a $396 million tax increase on employers in 2023, projected to increase to $812 million this year " a cumulative $1.2 billion tax hike for just those two years. California's UI Fund, responsible for providing financial assistance to unemployed residents, has faced financial challenges since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund ended 2019 with a $3.3 billion surplus, but that reserve was quickly depleted due to a sharp rise in unemployment associated with the pandemic and government-mandated business closures. Read more
Stranger Things
In case you were wondering if Donald Trump would run out of things to license his name on, have no fear. Today he announced that he is officially endorsing guitars, both acoustic and electric. Read more
First snow here. Not enough to play in but a harbinger of good things to come. Scottish comedian said, 'there is no bad weather, just bad clothing.'
Donald Trump's tariff plan could bring us back to the 1930s by Former Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa) and Dan Glickman (D-Kan), opinion contributors 10/04/24 02:00 PM ET
