Paul began by saying that Republicans are united on keeping tax breaks and expanding drilling.

He added, “The things that [have] potential at dividing us would be raising the debt ceiling with this bill. So, if there’s an attempt to raise the debt ceiling, I won’t vote for the bill. And the reason is, is I haven’t voted for the spending. I’ve voted every time against expanding the spending. I’ve voted for balanced budgets. I’ve introduced balanced budgets. The people who need to be ashamed or need to be participating in a day of shame and voting for the raising of the debt ceiling are the Democrats and the big government Republicans who vote for the spending. It’s the way it’s always been done in the past. Conservatives have never voted to raise the debt ceiling, because we don’t vote for the spending. It’s not our responsibility. It’s the people who vote for the spending and for the debt to vote for it. So, hopefully, they’ll keep that off of the reconciliation bill. If they do, I think we can stay united enough to pass the bill.”

Later in the segment, Paul said that he wants reductions in spending to be part of the package. […]

— Read More: www.breitbart.com

Jeffries claimed, according to a report from the Washington Examiner, that, “House Democrats believe that we are not sent to Washington to invade Greenland, rename the Gulf of Mexico, or seize the Panama Canal by force.”

Those three options all have been discussed by Trump as he prepares to move into the White House and again work to enhance America’s security, and indeed, the security of the world.

The threat being addressed is China’s increasing influence over other nations through its various Belt and Road infrastructure investment plans, through which is routinely takes control of transportation routes and facilities by building the projects, and then running them.

Trump, in fact, has mentioned the concepts of America being in control of Greenland, and Canada joining the U.S., as various ways to enhance America’s security internationally. For example, a military base on Greenland would be only a short 2,000-mile flight from Moscow.

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said, “President Trump is right to consider repurchasing the Panama Canal. China’s interest in and presence around the canal is a cause for concern. America must project strength abroad – owning and operating the Panama Canal might be an important step towards a stronger America and a more secure globe.”

Johnson has introduced a bill that would empower Trump to negotiate over the canal management.

It also would have Trump report to Congress on the possible outcomes and ramifications.

Some Republicans long have objected to the agreement that provided Panama with supervision over the canal, as the U.S. built it and paid for it.

Panamanian officials said they own the canal … “every square meter.”

Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@wndnewscenter.org.

Crowley’s warning was sent out in a memo on Dec. 4, more than a month before a string of large fires threatened Los Angeles County, after what is normally the off-season for wildfires. Fire season in Southern California typically runs from the summer through October.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass approved the changes to the budget last June.

The fire chief claimed that the budget reduction left many administrative jobs unfilled. It also pulled funding from the overtime budget which had been used for training and fire prevention, including the Federal Aviation Administration’s mandated pilot training and helicopter coordination staffing for wildfire suppression.

“The reduction … has severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires,” Crowley wrote in the memo. “Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished. […]

— Read More: justthenews.com

Paddy McCully from Reclaim Finance described the banks’ withdrawal as a calculated move to sidestep challenges from Trump. McCully noted that while climate commitments were previously emphasized, with changing political winds, such priorities seem less central.

The NZBA aims to align financial practices with a goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. Citigroup, a founding member, and JP Morgan both claim they will continue independently pursuing low-carbon technologies, but from outside the organization. The NZBA’s membership count still stands at 141 banks after the departures, with significant participation from European banks.

The American banks are just the latest companies to abandon leftist policies after President-elect Trump’s victory last November. Over the last year, several other major companies have abandoned woke policies related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and climate change.

In October, Democrats attempted to preserve DEI initiatives, telling corporations not to abandon them despite public and shareholder backlash. […]

— Read More: thenationalpulse.com

This is the highest total in Texas history – shattering last year’s record by nearly $1 billion.

What the industry paid in one year, $27.3 billion, is more than what 34 states received in total tax revenues.

It translates to $74.8 million paid every day for a range of public services, including toward Texas’ public schools, universities, roads, first responders and other essential services.

“Remarkably, 2024 was yet another record-breaking year as the Texas oil and natural gas industry does its part to help reach Governor Abbott’s goal for our state’s economy to surpass France as the 7th largest economy in the world,” TXOGA president Todd Staples said. “From tax revenues and production to pipelines, storage, processing, refining, and exports, Texas’ oil and natural gas industry has achieved record-breaking performance across every sector.”

Staples said the industry has been so successful because “Texas leaders embrace policies that recognize oil and natural gas as an asset, not a liability. They view businesses as a partner, not an adversary. For its part, the industry has persevered through hostile federal policies of the outgoing Administration, global unrest and market volatility – including negative prices for natural gas – to shatter its own records, all while protecting and improving the environment.”

The industry primarily funds three major state funds: the Economic Stabilization Fund (Rainy Day Fund), Permanent School Fund and Permanent University Fund.

Since the Texas legislature created the Rainy Day Fund in 1987, it’s received more than $33.9 billion from Texas oil and natural gas production taxes.

The industry is a major funder of Texas public education. In fiscal 2024, 99% of Texas oil and natural gas royalties were deposited into the Permanent School Fund and the Permanent University Fund, $1.5 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively.

By the end of fiscal 2024, the value of the funds totaled $57.3 billion and $31.7 billion, respectively.

“The Texas Permanent School Fund is larger than Harvard’s endowment and is the largest education endowment in the nation,” Staples notes. “The oil and natural gas industry is the only significant contributor of fresh investment capital to these critical Texas education funds.”

In addition to these funds, in fiscal 2024, Texas school districts directly received $2.92 billion in property taxes from mineral properties producing oil and natural gas, pipelines, and gas utilities. Counties directly received $1.03 billion in industry property taxes.

According to TXOGA data of ISDs, the districts that received the most oil and natural gas industry property taxes are in west Texas in the Permian Basin. In these and many districts, the industry represents the majority of the tax base.

Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD received the most of $304.4 million, with industry taxes representing 83% of the tax base.

Midland ISD received the next greatest amount of $217.5 million, representing 50.7% of the tax base. Wink-Loving ISD received $184 million, representing 92.4% of the tax base. Rankin ISA received $130 million, representing 92.4% of the tax base.

According to TXOGA data of counties, the top counties receiving the most oil and natural gas property taxes are in West Texas in the Permian Basin.

Reeves County received the most of $110.1 million with industry taxes representing 85% of the tax base. Martin County received the next greatest amount of $54.9 million, with industry taxes representing 94.5% of the tax base; Loving County received 53.6% million, with industry taxes representing 94.7% of the tax base.

In counties where the industry paid significantly less property taxes, it still represented a majority share of the county’s tax base. In Andrews County. for example, the industry paid $23.2 million in property taxes but represented 80.5% of the tax base; it paid $13.2 million in Crockett County representing 83% of the county’s tax base.

The Texas oil and natural gas industry has paid more than $257.6 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties since TXOGA began compiling the data in 2007. The total excludes hundreds of billions of dollars in payroll for some of the highest paying jobs in the state. It also excludes taxes paid on office buildings and personal property, as well as other service jobs that depend on the industry and taxes paid by other sectors benefitting from the industry, TXOGA notes.

On Truth Social, he posted:

One of the best and most beautiful parts of the United States of America is burning down to the ground. It’s ashes, and Gavin Newscum should resign. This is all his fault!!!

Trump has been hammering Newsom non-stop since the fires started ravaging Los Angeles County, killing at least five people and destroying thousands of buildings and homes. Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Trump said:

“It’s very sad because I’ve been trying to get Gavin Newsom to allow water to come – you’d have tremendous water up there, they send it out from the Pacific – because they’re trying to protect a tiny little fish. For the sake of a smelt, they have no water… It’s a mistake of the governor, and you could say, the administration.”

Newsom’s press office offered a feeble excuse:

“LADWP said that because of the high water demand, pump stations at lower elevations did not have enough pressure refill tanks at higher elevations, and the ongoing fire hampered the ability of crews to access the pumps. Broadly speaking, there is no water shortage in Southern California right now, despite Trump’s claims that he would open some imaginary spigot.”

Democrats across the state have been taking heat. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was lambasted for not answering basic questions from a Sky News reporter when she arrived from her vacation in Africa.

To make matters worse, she botched her press conference by reading “URL” instead of giving the actual URL that residents should visit:

The fires continue to rage across the county with 0% containment as of Wednesday night.

Pelosi’s portfolio grew 70.9% between Dec. 29, 2023, and Dec. 30, 2024, compared to the S&P 500’s 24.9% return for the period, according to financial data platform Unusual Whales’ 2024 Congress Trading Report. The former speaker’s 2024 investment results exceeded her stellar 2023 performance, when she secured a return of 65.5% — outperforming that year’s S&P 500 return of 24.8% by approximately 164%. (RELATED: Meet The 9 Lawmakers Who Out-Traded Nancy Pelosi In The Stock Market Last Year)

Pelosi outdid many of the world’s oldest and largest hedge funds in 2024, including Citadel, which had $66 billion in assets under management as of December, and Discovery Capital, which has been around for over 25 years and had $15 billion in assets under management at its peak. She also outperformed legendary investor Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, more than doubling its 27.1% 2024 return.

Another day, another all-time high for Pelosi's portfolio.

She has made $2.7M in the stock market so far today, per our estimates.

We estimate that she is now worth $274M: pic.twitter.com/oL8zCxoKPU

— Quiver Quantitative (@QuiverQuant) December 11, 2024

BREAKING

I have just released the full report on politicians trading in 2023.

Like every year since 2020, US politicians beat the market.

And many in Congress made unusually timed trades resulting in huge gains.

Here are the top performers of 2023. pic.twitter.com/ykf9VICsBw

— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) January 2, 2024

Pelosi’s trades are executed on her behalf by her husband, Paul, an investment banker whose strategy largely consists of buying call options — financial contracts that provide buyers with the right to purchase an asset at a predetermined price — in large technology companies after they experience price drops, according to Unusual Whales. The strategy appeared successful in 2024, with Pelosi’s contracts to purchase chipmaker Nvidia finishing the year up 273% and her contracts to purchase cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks up 93% as of Jan. 7.

“Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,” a spokesman for Pelosi’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation. […]

— Read More: dailycaller.com

Despite voters’ strong desire to reduce the federal bureaucracy and size of government in Washington, D.C., nearly half—49 percent—are unconvinced Congress will achieve cuts. A smaller 44 percent say they think a reduction in the federal government is likely to happen with the Republican-controlled Congress.

Among ideological groups, conservatives were most likely to desire Congress to cut the size of the federal government, with 86 percent saying they approve. Fifty-four percent of political moderates also back government cuts. However, among liberals, just 28 percent said they approved reducing the government’s size.

Conservative voters were also the most likely to believe this Congress will follow through on federal spending cuts, with 56 percent saying it is likely to happen. Moderates and liberals are far less confident cuts to the federal government will happen, with just 36 percent and 34 percent, respectively, saying they believe cuts are likely.

Eliminating federal government waste, fraud, and abuse is one of several top priorities of President-elect Donald J. Trump. Aiding the effort is the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), spearheaded by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. The two men intend to end unnecessary, duplicative programs that needlessly siphon taxpayer dollars. […]

— Read More: thenationalpulse.com

The deal encompasses all items discussed for the new contract, with both parties agreeing to continue operations under the current contract until a ratification vote can be scheduled. Details of the tentative agreement have not been disclosed publicly, as they are pending review and approval by ILA rank-and-file members and USMX members.

A key aspect of the agreement involves compromises on automation and semi-automation, areas that were central to past disputes. Sources indicate that while full automation has been ruled out, USMX retains the right to introduce technology deemed necessary for port modernization. In return, the ILA is guaranteed specific job roles linked to new equipment installations. This technology and labor integration will continue to be managed through a committee process composed of members from both the union and port management.

The joint statement from ILA and USMX highlighted the agreement’s significance: “We are pleased to announce that ILA and USMX have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year ILA-USMX Master Contract, subject to ratification, thus averting any work stoppage on January 15, 2025. This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.”

The statement further described the deal as a “win-win,” emphasizing that it supports American consumers and businesses by maintaining the U.S. as a central hub in global trade.

The agreement comes after previous labor tensions, including a strike in October 2024, which underscored the importance of labor peace in maintaining the efficiency of America’s supply chains. With this tentative deal, both sides aim to foster a stable environment for port operations moving forward.

Article generated from corporate media reports.

Hostin, an orthopedic surgeon, is among nearly 200 defendants named in one of the largest RICO cases filed in New York, according to the Daily Mail. Hostin, along with the other defendants, are accused of performing fraudulent healthcare services and billing American Transit, an insurance firm that covers taxi companies and Uber drivers, in exchange for “kickbacks and/or other compensation which were disguised as dividends or other cash distributions,” according to the lawsuit.

Sunny Hostin's surgeon husband Emmanuel accused of insurance fraud in bombshell lawsuit https://t.co/LE77GwP15U pic.twitter.com/7uSl5U0NJY

— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) January 7, 2025

The lawsuit, filed on Dec. 17, states that Hostin has been the owner of Hostin Orthopaedics in New York City since February 2006, according to the lawsuit. He allegedly “knowingly provided fraudulent medical and other healthcare services” and billed the insurance company.

“Defendant Hostin is the record owner of Hostin Orthopaedics and purportedly provided examinations to Covered Persons through Hostin Orthopaedics, and fraudulently billed American Transit for medical and other healthcare services, pursuant to a fraudulent predetermined treatment protocol irrespective of medical necessity in exchange for kickbacks and/or other financial compensation paid by one or more of the Controllers and/or other entities owned, controlled, and operated by them and/or one or more of the John Does 2 through 20 or ABC Corporations 1 through 20,” the lawsuit stated.

William Natbony, an attorney representing the insurance company, said his client is fighting “no fault fraud” which has reportedly become a major problem in the state of New York.

“American Transit filed a lawsuit as part of its statutory responsibility to fight such fraud,” Natbony said.

Daniel Thwaites, an attorney for Hostin, said his client denies all of the allegations and called the lawsuit a “blanket, scattershot, meritless lawsuit by a near-bankrupt insurance carrier,” according to the Daily Mail. The attorney accused the insurance company of “abusing the legal system to limit and restrict healthcare benefits” to its customers.

“[The lawsuit] is meant to intimidate and harass doctors from collecting for care given to American Transit insureds and their passengers,” Thwaites said.

The lawsuit accused Hostin of seeing two patients in January 2023 who were involved in “low impact” collisions that would have caused “no more than soft tissue injuries,” according to the Daily Mail. The surgeon reportedly performed arthroscopic surgery on the patients within two months without checking to see if they had recovered through less invasive care.

The insurance company pointed fingers at the “No-Fault Law,” a New York law from 1974 which requires insurers to pay up to $50,000 for medical expenses for those hurt in car accidents regardless of who is at fault, for the reported rise in “rampant” insurance fraud, the Daily Mail reported. American Transit is seeking $450 million in damages, according to the Daily Mail.

Hostin’s wife, Sunny, has previously worked as a federal prosecutor and an attorney for the Justice Department before joining “The View” as a co-host in 2016.

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