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    Air Marshalls Reportedly Planning Revolt Over Biden’s Border Demand

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    CBP Photography, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    U.S. air marshalls are reportedly planning to rebel against a recent order from the White House instructing them to leave positions on commercial flights to take up new posts at the border.

    Air Marshal National Council President David Londo says dozens of air marshalls have confirmed their plans to reject President Biden’s demand.

    President Joe Biden has reportedly ordered U.S. air marshals to the southern border to make up for a lack of Border Patrol agents. The move is expected to leave the marshals at one-eighth of their normal coverage of U.S. flights- especially as the country heads into its busiest travel season.

    The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has denied Londo’s claim.

    It is “entirely inaccurate and does not reflect the critical and professional law enforcement role these officers perform,” the TSA said in a statement.

    According to The Daily Wire, Londo wrote to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, TSA Administrator David Pekoske, and Federal Air Marshal Service Director Tirrell Stevenson that the marshals had lost “confidence” in the officials’ ability to lead.

    “As it stands today, we believe that many FAMs will refuse to deploy, believing the order is reckless and leaving our country vulnerable to attack,” Londo wrote. “On behalf of our membership, stop these dangerous and irresponsible deployments before our adversaries take advantage of the opportunity this policy has provided.”

    “The Federal Air Marshal Service is understaffed and covering the fewest number of flights since before September 11, 2001,” the association said. “We strongly question the decision by the Department of Homeland Security to divert much-needed aviation security to the southern border especially as we enter the busiest travel season of the year, particularly as a federal emergency has not been declared at the border.”

    The Department of Homeland Security pushed back against Londo’s claims.

    “The suggestion that flights are being left unprotected is completely false,” the department said in a statement to Fox News. “TSA takes its responsibility to secure the skies for the traveling public very seriously. We will continue to protect commercial flights though [sic] our multi-layered security processes, including through the Federal Air Marshal Service which supports this critical mission on the ground and onboard aircrafts.”

    Last year, The Federal Air Marshal Service asked marshals to volunteer to spend a 30-day period at the southern border assisting agents processing migrants. However, the Biden administration made the deployments mandatory last month.

    The U.S.-Mexico border has seen an explosion in migrant crossings since Biden’s inauguration. On Thursday, new data revealed more than 73,000 illegal immigrants evaded Border Patrol agents in November alone.

    According to Fox News, the number of gotaways for November means that there are already over 137,000 gotaways so far this fiscal year, which began in October. In FY2022 there were nearly 600,000 gotaways. There were 389,155 gotaways at the border in FY2021.

    There were more than 2.3 million migrant encounters in FY2022 and more than 1.7 million in FY2021. So far, FY2023 is on track to exceed both of those numbers. 

    Democrat Senators Pressure Biden to Reconsider Rescinding Trump-era Title 42

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Trump at the border wall via Wikimedia Commons

    Americans need Joe Biden to get some common sense and address the crisis at the border.

    Democrat senators are asking Homeland Security Department officials to reconsider ending the Trump-era Title 42 border policy used to expel some migrants.

    In a November letter to Sec. Mayorkas, Democrat Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Mark Kelly of Arizona, John Tester of Montana and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire argued that the Biden administration isn’t prepared for the surge of illegal migrants expected at the border when the policy end, according to The Daily Caller.

    “Since the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued the Public Health Determination and terminated the Title 42 Order on April 1, 2022, we have expressed concern with DHS’ preparations for the end of Title 42, especially as the situation has deteriorated at times,” the senators wrote.

    “Record annual encounters have led to untenable situations. In Arizona, shelters have been forced well beyond capacity. This month, El Paso has seen over 700 migrants released directly onto city streets due to overcrowding. This is not safe, and creates a dangerous situation for migrants and communities,” they added.

    A federal judge ruled on Nov. 15 that the Biden administration must end Title 42, which has resulted in the expulsion of more than 2 million illegal migrants.

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered more than 2.3 million migrants at the southern border in the fiscal year 2022 and upwards of 230,000 migrants in October alone.

    Republicans have also mulled impeaching Mayorkas once the GOP retakes control of Congress in January.

    McCarthy Signals Incoming Jan. 6 Panel Investigation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    9
    Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer attend medal ceremony via Wikimedia Commons

    House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) is threatening to investigate Nancy Pelosi’s partisan Jan. 6th committee when Republicans officially take control of Congress in January.

    In a letter to Select Committee chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), McCarthy told the panel to save all documents because the coming Republican majority plans to review its work, according to The Hill.

    “It is imperative that all information collected be preserved not just for institutional prerogatives but for transparency to the American people,” McCarthy wrote.

    “The American people have a right to know that the allegations you have made are supported by the facts and to be able to view the transcripts.”

    Rep. Thompson responded to McCarthy’s letter noting that multiple Republican lawmakers were offered seats on the panel and noted the committee was originally planning to release its findings to the public.

    “He had a chance to have members on the committee. So he had a chance to come and testify before the committee. So I think the horse has left the barn. And we will do our work, we will end Dec. 31. If he wants to conduct whatever he wants as Speaker, it’s his choice. But we sunset Dec. 31. He can read the report. We won’t have anything in our possession after Dec. 31,” Thompson said.

    “The subpoena I signed for him to come and testify before the committee will be part of the record.”

    McCarthy’s threat comes as the panel is set to meet Friday to evaluate how to deal with the five Republican lawmakers who failed to comply with their subpoenas- which includes McCarthy. The Select Committee meeting will also cover whether to make criminal referrals to the Justice Department.

    So far the committee has made four such referrals to the DOJ, which ultimately chose to pursue charges in two cases: against former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.

    CNN Begins Mass Layoffs Ahead of Holidays

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

    Is this CNN’s idea of spreading Christmas cheer?

    The left-of-center news network has been undergoing major changes since CEO Chris Licht took the reigns, eager to undo the damage inflicted on the network and its audience by disgraced CNN President Jeff Zucker. To close out a difficult year for CNN, now Licht says hundreds of employees will be laid off as part of his budget cute strategy.

    CNN’s senior media reporter, Oliver Darcy, shared a companywide letter from Licht on Wednesday.

    Licht announced that the first round of layoffs will impact the network’s paid contributors, and the network’s remaining staff would be informed of these changes tomorrow.

    Read the letter below:

    To my CNN colleagues,

    Our people are the heart and soul of this organization. It is incredibly hard to say goodbye to any one member of the CNN team, much less many. I recently described this process as a gut punch, because I know that is how it feels for all of us.

    Today we will notify a limited number of individuals, largely some of our paid contributors, as part of a recalibrated reporting strategy. Tomorrow, we will notify impacted employees, and tomorrow afternoon I will follow up with more details on these changes.

    It will be a difficult time for everyone. If your job has been impacted, you will learn more through an in-person meeting or via Zoom, depending on your location. In those meetings, you will receive information specific to you about notice period or any severance that would apply, and your anticipated last day. I want to be clear that everyone who is bonus eligible will still receive their 2022 bonuses, which are determined by company performance.

    I know these changes affect both our departing colleagues and those who remain, and we have resources designed to support you. I will include a link to those resources in my follow-up email tomorrow.

    Let’s take care of each other this week.

    Chris

    Since taking over at CNN, Licht has been vocal about his goal to reorient the network and remove much of its hyper-partisan slant.

    “Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter was among those up first on the chopping bloc while primetime host Don Lemon was recently demoted to a morning talk show.

    Republican Senator Files to Run for Indiana Governor

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

    Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) filed campaign paperwork with the Secretary of State’s office on Wednesday to run for governor.

    “That filing did occur yesterday,” Braun said in a brief phone conversation with Politico. “We’ll talk to you down the road.”

    “Mike Braun has filed his paperwork to run for governor and will be making an official announcement of his candidacy very soon,” Josh Kelley, chief of staff and senior political advisor to Braun, said in a statement.

    The filing puts speculation to rest over whether Braun would seek another term in the Senate or if he would pursue the governor’s office.

    Braun’s bid for governor means his seat will be open in 2024 with both Reps. Victoria Spartz and Rep. Jim Banks voicing interest in the seat. However, the two Republicans should expect a crowded primary field in 2024.

    This story is breaking. Stay with Great America News Desk for the latest updates.

    Arizona Judge Rejects RNC’s Election Lawsuit

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    Gavel via Wikimedia Commons Image

    An Arizona judge has thrown out an election lawsuit brought by state attorney general candidate Abraham Hamadeh and the Republican National Committee (RNC) that sought to challenge the state’s election results.

    Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner rejected the lawsuit on Wednesday, arguing the lawsuit was filed prematurely, ruling that the parties can not file a lawsuit until the results are certified, according to The Washington Examiner.

    “Under these statutes there can be no election contest until after the canvass and declaration of results because, until then, no one is ‘declared elected,’” Warner wrote in his ruling. “It is undisputed that the canvass and declaration of results for the November 2022 election have not occurred.”

    Hamadeh does not need to wait until the recount is complete before filing his lawsuit, Warner noted in his ruling. However, he must wait until the statewide certification is official before he can mount a challenge to the election results. Hamadeh has indicated he will refile the lawsuit after the statewide certification is complete.

    The Arizona attorney general race is set to go under a recount once the state canvass is complete but one rural county is threatening to derail the process.

    Two Republican supervisors in Cochise County, Arizona, voted to delay the county’s election results until Friday. The key issue is that the state is required to certify its election results by Dec. 5th.

    The move has triggered legal fights from state officials as they scramble to certify election results statewide, which requires certified results from all 15 counties.

    As Great America News Desk previously reported:

    “The voters of Arizona demand answers and deserve transparency about the gross incompetence and mismanagement of the General Election by certain election officials,” Hamadeh said. “Pervasive errors by our election officials resulted in the disenfranchisement of countless Arizonans who had their voices silenced.” 

    According to Maricopa County election officials, at least 60 voting locations experienced issues with their ballot-on-demand printers. The assistant attorney general is demanding an in-depth report addressing those issues, as well as the “check-out” procedures at each polling location and each location’s official ballot report.

    Hamadeh and the RNC allege that Arizona officials also wrongly disqualified provisional ballots and mis-marked early voters in the system.

    Report: President’s Secret Service Spontaneously Explodes After Leaving for Nantucket Vacation

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    6
    Pixabay free images

    President Biden’s rented Secret Service vehicles burst into flames in a parking lot Monday- one day after he left for a Thanksgiving family vacation in Nantucket, Mass.

     The Secret Service rented five vehicles from Hertz to carry the president and his family, and all five of them caught fire in the parking lot, according to footage first obtained by the Nantucket Current.

    per Fox News:

    Footage shows firefighters spraying down the smoldering remains of one vehicle’s engine block. The five vehicles included a Chevy Suburban, Ford Explorer, Infiniti QX80, Ford Expedition, and a Jeep Gladiator.

    The vehicles were parked at the Nantucket airport and the blaze reportedly spread to just 40 feet away from the facility’s jet fuel tanks. It is currently unknown what caused the fire. Fox News reached out to the  White House for information, but they did not immediately respond.

    “At approximately 5:22 am Airport shift staff observed an active fire in the rental car overflow area through the Airport’s Closed Circuit Television System,” the airport said in a statement to the Current. “Staff activated the Alert system and responded to the fire in Airport-3, where they were met by responding units from Nantucket Fire Department and Nantucket Police Department.”

    “Combined fire resources responded and contained the fire. Several vehicles were damaged. The Airport is currently coordinating with rental car agencies and agency partners to ensure scene safety, There is no longer an active fire at this time: the Airport is open, and aeronautical operations are not affected,” the statement continued.

    This story is developing. Stay with Great America News Desk for more updates.

    CNN Announces Changes to White House Correspondence Team

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

    CNN announced some big changes to its White House coverage.

    Phil Mattingly has been promoted to chief White House correspondent, the network announced on Monday, and reporter MJ Lee has been promoted to senior White House correspondent.

    Per The Hill:

    Mattingly began covering the White House for CNN in January 2021, and was a congressional correspondent for the outlet beforehand. Lee joined CNN’s White House team last year as well after a stint in the network’s New York bureau covering the 2020 elections.

    Mattingly takes over as CNN’s chief White House reporter for Kaitlan Collins, who was earlier this fall tapped by new network boss Chris Licht to serve as a co-host of the channel’s revamped Morning show “CNN This Morning,” along with longtime prime-time host Don Lemon and daytime anchor Poppy Harlow.

    CNN has implemented some big changes since Christ Licht took over as CEO and the network is still planning to make some big layoffs ahead of the holidays.

    California Governor Finally Breaks Silence on 2024 Run

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    4
    Casa Rosada (Argentina Presidency of the Nation), CC BY 2.5 AR via Wikimedia Commons

    California Governor Gavin Newsom is putting rumors to rest that he’s plotting a primary challenge against Joe Biden in the next election cycle.

    Newsom, who has faced increased scrutiny recently due to speculation he’s planning to mount a presidential campaign, told reporters that he’s “all in” on Biden 2024 and has made that same commitment to other White House officials, according to Mediaite.

    “I’ve told everyone in the White House, from the chief of staff to the first lady,” he recounted to me as we sat on the top floor of California’s now-ceremonial governor’s mansion on election night.

    His message to Ron Klain and Jill Biden over the summer — when he visited Washington amid growing speculation, and considerable West Wing irritation, that he was plotting a primary challenge — was to count him as a firm supporter of Biden’s reelection: “I’m all in, count me in,” he said he told them.

    Newsom relayed the same to Biden himself on election night.

    Newsom says when he spoke to Biden on Election Night, he told the president “I’m all in; put me in coach. We have your back.”

    Newsom’s declaration of support for Biden comes as he already faces a 2020 rematch against Donald Trump, who recently announced his own 2024 campaign. However, Trump’s announcement has been met with mixed feelings from Republicans as some say his bombastic character and history make him unlikely to win another national election.

    Over the weekend, Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced he plans to support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president in 2024 if he mounts a bid, despite just reinstating Trump’s Twitter account access.

    “I’m fine with Trump not tweeting,” Musk wrote in reply to a tweet about Trump’s restored account. “The important thing is that Twitter correct a grave mistake in banning his account, despite no violation of the law or terms of service.”

    “Deplatforming a sitting President undermined public trust in Twitter for half of America,” he said.

    In his reply thread, Musk said that in 2024 he wants someone “sensible centrist” in office, and that Biden has not been that. When someone replied to ask him directly whether Ron DeSantis would fit the bill, he said yes.

    Report: Kanye West Asked Trump to be His 2024 Running Mate

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0

    The controversial rapper and fashion mogul “Ye,” previously known as Kanye West, asked Donald Trump to be his vice president in 2024.

    The rapper, in a Twitter video posted Thursday evening, said he mentioned a campaign during a recent meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, also tweeting a series of “Ye 24” graphics, according to The Hill.

    “I think the thing that Trump was most perturbed about, me asking him to be my vice president,” Ye said in the video in the Twitter post. “I think that was like lower on the list of things that caught him off-guard.”

    Ye went on to say Trump screamed at him during the meeting about a run.

    “When Trump started basically screaming at me at the table telling me I was going to lose — I mean has that ever worked for anyone in history,” Ye said in the video. “I’m like hold on, hold on, hold on, Trump, you’re talking to Ye.”

    This isn’t the first time Ye has brought out his presidential ambitions, the rapper mounted a failed presidential run in 2020 but has been a longtime supporter of Trump.

    Donald Trump recently announced his own 2024 run for president while addressing a crowd at Mar-a-Lago.

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