Burgum Criticizes RNC Debate Policies as He Suspends Campaign

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Burgum Criticizes RNC Debate Policies as He Suspends Campaign

(Kim Jarrett, The Center Square) North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum suspended his presidential campaign on Monday while criticizing the Republican National Committee’s debate policies.

The RNC’s requirements were “taking the power of democracy away from the engaged, thoughtful citizens of Iowa and New Hampshire,” he said.

Burgum participated in the first two debates for the Republican nominees but failed to meet the threshold for the last one.

“These arbitrary criteria ensure advantages for candidates from major media markets on the coasts versus America’s Heartland,” Burgum said.

“None of their debate criteria relate to the qualifications related to actually doing the job of the president,” he added. “This effort to nationalize the primary system is unhealthy for the future of the party, especially for a party that proclaims to value leadership from outside of Washington.”

Burgum won the 2016 gubernatorial campaign but had no political experience before his election. He founded a software company that was later sold to Microsoft and then worked as a management consultant and investor with various companies.

“Our decision to run for President came from a place of caring deeply about every American and a mission to re-establish trust in America’s leadership and our institutions of democracy,” Burgum said. “While this primary process has shaken my trust in many media organizations and political party institutions, it has only strengthened my trust in America.”

The Republican candidates will square off for the fourth time Wednesday night in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The stage will be without Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who dropped out last month but is likely to be one of the top names floated in the vice presidential sweepstakes for the former President Donald Trump or, perhaps, one of his leading competitors who as the field continues to dwindle.

The debate requirements are polling 6% or more in at least two national polls or one poll from an early primary state and 80,000 donors. At least 200 donors should come from each of 20 or more states.

It is unlikely that former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who missed the previous two debates, will qualify for this one. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he had met the requirements but had not been confirmed by the RNC.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. and Ambassador Nikki Haley, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy are expected to be on the stage.

Trump, once again, is not appearing at the debates.

Residents in Biden’s Hometown Blast His Claims About the Economy

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Residents in Biden’s Hometown Blast His Claims About the Economy

(Headline USA) Residents of President Joe Biden’s hometown blasted the president’s economic agenda this week, arguing that inflation is still hurting their wallets despite his assurances otherwise.

In an effort to push “Bidenomics,” the White House has claimed repeatedly that inflation rates and high prices continue to drop.

In a Nov. 13 tweet, Biden said he knows this is true because he doesn’t “look at the economy through the eyes of Wall Street and Park Avenue,” but through “the people I grew up with in Scranton, Pennsylvania or Claymont, Delaware.”

However, several Scranton residents said it’s clear Biden isn’t seeing the economy from their perspective at all.

Biden is “the worst president we ever had,” resident Robert Jones told Fox News.

“This economy sucks,” Jones continued. “I mean, everything’s going up except paychecks. I just think the economy sucks ever since Biden got in.”

Another local resident, Kevin, agreed that the economy “has gotten worse.” He noted he is a registered Democrat, but said he is “not happy” with Biden’s performance in office.

“I don’t think any of them see through the eyes of the people. I think all of them see it through the eyes of Washington,” he said.

Jason from nearby Moscow, Pa., argued Biden doesn’t get to claim Scranton as his hometown.

“He abandoned Scranton when he was 4 years old. So the fact he keeps using Scranton is hysterical,” he explained.

He also blasted Biden’s claims about the economy as “not accurate” and said Biden “doesn’t see the economy period.”

Biden “has no idea what’s going on,” Jason said. “It’s an absolute mess.”

When asked who they plan to support in the 2024 election, almost every one of the Scranton residents who spoke to Fox News said they plan to vote for former President Donald Trump over Biden.

Disney CEO Blames Abysmal Box Office Sales on COVID, Streaming

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Disney CEO Blames Abysmal Box Office Sales on COVID, Streaming

(Headline USA) As Disney’s latest movies continue to crash and burn at the box office due to backlash over the company’s woke virtue-signaling and pandering to identity politics, CEO Bob Iger blamed the abysmal performances on the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of Disney’s latest busts was The Marvels, which it spent $274.8 million to make.

The film is officially the lowest-grossing installment in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, according to Variety, bringing in only $80 million in ticket sales in North America and $197 million globally.

Disney itself admitted on Sunday that it will stop “weekend reporting of international/global grosses on this title.”

Iger gave his reasons for why he believed The Marvels, in particular was a disaster during the New York Times Dealbook Summit last week.

“‘The Marvels’ was shot during COVID,” Iger said, according to Deadline. “There wasn’t as much supervision on the set, so to speak, where we have executives [that are] really looking over what’s being done day after day after day.”

That much is apparent to any moviegoer who saw the previews featuring an uninspired mishmash of multicultural girl power with an otherwise flimsy premise and a discernible lack of star power.

Iger also blamed streaming services for the other Disney movie flops.

“The experience of accessing [the films] and watching them in the home is better than it ever was,” he said. “And [it’s] a bargain when you think about it. Streaming Disney+ you can get for $7 a month. That’s a lot cheaper than taking your whole family to a film. So, I think the bar is now raised in terms of quality about what gets people out of their homes, into movie theaters.”

According to its November earnings report, Disney’s streaming service lost $387 million in the final quarter of fiscal year 2023, which was actually a considerable improvement over its $1.4 billion loss in Q4 of 2022, Variety reported.

Despite the red flags that emerged in a recent shareholder report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Iger did not attribute the films’ poor numbers to Disney’s embrace of wokeness.

In the SEC filing, it appeared to acknowledge that its leftist agenda has had significant impacts on its financial outlook but gave no indication that it planned to reverse course creatively.

“We face risks relating to misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products, which impact demand for our entertainment offerings and products and the profitability of any of our businesses,” said the filing.

Iger did offer an opaque statement during a companywide “town hall” last week that he hoped to start “building again” but offered few details considering the company’s ongoing financial crisis.

After diving nose-first into a culture-war conflict with Gov. Ron DeSantis over Florida’s anti-grooming laws—the controversy that spurred the resignation of ex-CEO Bob Chapek and the return of Iger—Disney may have stumbled into another conservative boycott for pulling its ads on Twitter.

The company, along with Apple and other woke corporations, joined the George Soros-backed Media Matters in a smear campaign accusing billionaire Elon Musk of anti-Semitism after Musk, ironically, suggested that nominally Jewish open-borders activists like Soros may have helped welcome anti-Semites into the U.S. and other Western nations.

After the companies pulled their advertising, Musk told Iger and others to “go f**k yourself.”

Conservative influencers such as ZeroHedge have since issued a renewed called for boycotts of the boycotters.

Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.

Justice Denied: Whitmer Kidnap Inmates to Remain in Out-of-State Gulags

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Justice Denied: Whitmer Kidnap Inmates to Remain in Out-of-State Gulags

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) In October, Mich. Judge Thomas Wilson demanded answers from prosecutors about why the men convicted on state charges of assisting the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot were transferred to federal prisons outside of Michigan—where they’re unable to regularly communicate with their attorneys or review records for their pending appeals.

“Without that information, it feels like we’re flying blind,” Judge Wilson said at the time in the case of Whitmer defendants Paul Bellar, Joe Morrison and Pete Musico.

But after a hearing on the matter Friday, Wilson changed his tune. He allowed the men to remain in out-of-state prisons, despite a lack of explanation from prosecutors about why they were put there in the first place.

“Following a hearing Friday. Judge Wilson denied all of the requests by Bellar and Morrison. Judge Wilson found that Bellar and Morrison had not met the very high burden required of a prisoner seeking bond pending appeal who was convicted of serious crimes like providing material support for a terrorist act,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a Monday press release.

“Judge Wilson also found that Bellar’s and Morrison’s complaints about serving their sentences in federal prisons were not properly before him.”

Headline USA understands that Musico wasn’t subject to Wilson’s decision because he hadn’t filed a formal request to be moved back to Michigan.

Bellar’s father, Tom Bellar, has expressed fears that his son will miss his crucial appeal deadline due to the restrictive conditions. Along with being held in a Pennsylvania prison, he recently had his phone and email privileges suspended over a minor infraction.

Indeed, Headline USA has previously reported how Bellar, Musico and Morrison have been blocked from speaking to their attorneys or reviewing necessary documents for their appeals.

“The Michigan Department of Corrections has transferred Mr. Bellar to a Federal prison facility in the State of Pennsylvania. Prior to the transfer, communication with Mr. Bellar was convenient, with counsel being able to hold the aforementioned video conference and his mail was being received,” Bellar’s attorney said in a filing last month.

“Since the transfer, however, communication is almost non-existent, with the Federal prison being unable or unwilling to facilitate confidential video and/or telephonic communication and with mail being returned to counsel as being ‘Refused.’”

Meanwhile, the so-called “ringleaders” of the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnap plot—Barry Croft and Adam Fox—also have appeals pending. Justice Department prosecutors have until Nov. 17 to respond to those appeals.

Croft and Fox have been subjected to similarly harsh treatment from the federal prisons system. Initially held in Michigan and communicating with a journalist about their cases, both men were suddenly transferred to supermax facilities in February, and they haven’t been heard from publicly since.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

Judge Rejected Kari Lake’s Request to Examine 2022 Ballots

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Judge Rejected Kari Lake’s Request to Examine 2022 Ballots

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was reported that Kari Lake’s lawsuit request to view signed ballots of 1.3 million early voters in Arizona was rejected by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge.

Judge John Hannah’s ruling that was filed on Nov. 30, 2023, denied Lake from gaining access to the envelopes in connection to the 2022 gubernatorial race that she supposedly “lost” to Katie Hobbs, according to The Hill.

Hannah tried justifying the covering up of the actual results of the state’s 2022 election by arguing that the release of the ballot envelopes and their signatures would undermine the ballot verification process for future elections.

“The broad right of electoral participation outweighs the narrow interests of those who would continue to pick at the machinery of democracy,” he wrote.

The Arizona Republic obtained the filings that indicated that 84% of the ballots that were processed during last year’s general election cycle were early ballots.

It was also reported that the County Recorder’s office that was responsible for verifying the ballots found 16,000 inconsistent signatures, later determining that 14,200 of them were lawful voting citizens, with the remaining 1,800 envelopes never being opened or counted, The Hill wrote.

The case was filed in April by Lake against County Recorder Stephen Richer’s office under the Arizona Public Records Law.

Giving the ballots to Lake creates a “risk of widespread fraud where none exists at present” since the envelopes contain personal information like names, addresses and phone numbers of voters, according to Hannah’s ruling.

In the state of Arizona, early voting envelopes serve as an affidavit in which voters declare that they are registered to vote and haven’t already voted in that election.

Hannah also said that it creates the “real possibility of voter harassment,” adding that it could corrode public confidence in the electoral process.

The 12-page ruling also detailed how during the case’s trial in September, a former election worker testified about her receiving threats after videos were posted online showing her preparing equipment for a subpoena from the state Senate’s review of the 2020 election.

New Evidence Shows Monthly Payments to President Biden from Hunter’s Business

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New Evidence Shows Monthly Payments to President Biden from Hunter’s Business

(Casey Harper, The Center Square) House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., released evidence Monday of regular monthly payments from one of Hunter Biden’s business entities to his father, President Joe Biden.

Comer released bank records obtained via subpoena that allegedly show direct monthly payments from one of Hunter Biden’s business entities, Owasco PC, which is also under investigation by the Justice Department for tax-related issues.

Owasco PC was Hunter’s joint venture with a Chinese national that received $5 million from from Northern International Capital Holdings, an entity which is linked to the Chinese government.

“Today, the House Oversight Committee is releasing subpoenaed bank records that show Hunter Biden’s business entity, Owasco PC, made direct monthly payments to Joe Biden,” Comer said in a video released Monday. “This wasn’t a payment from Hunter Biden’s personal account but an account for his corporation that received payments from China and other shady corners of the world.”

According to bank documents provided by the committee, the payments appear to be monthly for $1,380.

This is the latest development in a steady stream of pieces of evidence released by the committee as part of the impeachment inquiry into the president. Comer also released copies of two checks from the Biden family to the president totaling $240,000.

Comer alleges that the timing and shuffling of money between accounts shows that a portion of the money given to the Biden family and associates via overseas deals was eventually funneled to the president.

IRS testimony, bank records, and an interview with Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer show that the Biden family and business associates received more than $20 million from entities in China, Ukraine, Russia and more.

That testimony also showed that the president participated in group phone calls with Hunter Biden and his business partners and that the Department of Justice pressured IRS investigators to back off interviewing the president for Hunter Biden’s tax crime investigation.

“When Joe Biden was Vice President, he spoke by phone, attended dinners, and had coffee with his son’s foreign business associates,” Comer said. “He allowed his son to catch a ride on Air Force Two at least a dozen times to sell the ‘Biden Brand’ around the world.

“Hunter Biden requested office keys to be made for his ‘office mate’ Joe Biden in space he planned to share with a Chinese energy company,” Comer added.

Hunter Biden is expected to meet with the committee this month.

Appeals Court Signals it May Overturn Pro-Trump Prankster’s Conviction for Posting Memes

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Appeals Court Signals it May Overturn Pro-Trump Prankster’s Conviction for Posting Memes

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) An appeals court has signaled that it might overturn the conviction for Douglass Mackey, who was found guilty of election interference earlier this year because he posted a meme in 2016 about voting for then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton via text message.

After he was found guilty of election interference in March over his actions, Mackey was sentenced to seven months imprisonment in October.

He was supposed to report to prison in January. But in a major win, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals granted him bond on Monday.

“The Second Circuit Court of Appeals just overruled the District Court in granting our motion for bond pending appeal. This ruling is huge because it means that the appeals court decided that my appeal presents ‘substantial’ and ‘debatable’ issues of law that, if resolved in my favor, will result in my conviction being vacated,” Mackey said on Twitter.

“The prosecution, on the other hand, argued that my appeal was frivolous and that this was a typical election crime case like any other in U.S. history. This is a very encouraging step towards vindication.”

Mackey’s appeal brief is due by Jan. 5, while the government must respond by Feb. 5.

Mackey has maintained that the memes were clearly satire, while the U.S. government claims his actions were designed to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote.

During the trial, one of the government’s testifying witnesses was an FBI informant who still actively operates anonymous right-wing Twitter accounts. According to prosecutors, the informant operates accounts similar to the Ricky Vaughn account. They claimed that the two worked in tandem to spread “misinformation.”

The informant plead guilty to the same charge that Mackey has been found guilty of. His identity has been protected because he is allegedly still working with the FBI in respect to other Twitter users.

“The [informant] is presently involved in multiple, ongoing investigations and other activities in which he or she is using assumed internet names and ‘handles’ that do not reveal his or her true identity,” prosecutors said during the criminal proceedings.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

All-Female Catholic College to Admit Men Who ‘Identify’ as Women

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All-Female Catholic College to Admit Men Who ‘Identify’ as Women

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) An all-girls Catholic college abandoned its religious roots by changing its admissions policy to admit men who “identify” as women.

A newly adopted policy that will “now consider admission for undergraduate applicants whose sex is female or who consistently live and identify as women” was announced by Saint Mary’s College, which first opened its doors in 1844 in the conservative reaches of Notre Dame, Ind., according to the Epoch Times.

“[Admitting men who ‘identify’ as women] encompasses our commitment to operate as a Catholic women’s college,” College President Katie Conboy said in a statement on the new “transgender” admissions policy.

Indiana Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Fort-Wayne South Bend Diocese disagreed by calling the new policy “at odds with Catholic teaching” and asking the school to “correct” the policy and reject ideologies that contradict the teachings of the Catholic church on “human person, sex, and gender” in a Nov. 27, 2023 statement that was posted on the Diocese website.

“The desire of Saint Mary’s College to show hospitality to people who identify as transgender is not the problem. The problem is a Catholic women’s college embracing a definition of woman that is not Catholic,” the bishop wrote in the letter.

Bishop Rhoades added that he was disappointed that he wasn’t consulted or informed about the policy, saying that “bishops have a particular responsibility to promote and assist in the preservation and strengthening of the Catholic identity of the Catholic colleges and universities in their dioceses.”

According to him, the school violated its obligation to abide by the teaching authority of the Church “in matters of faith and morals.”

“In this new admissions policy, Saint Mary’s departs from fundamental Catholic teaching on the nature of woman and thus compromises its very identity as a Catholic woman’s college,” he wrote.

British Parliament Moves to Strip Harry and Meghan of Royal Titles

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British Parliament Moves to Strip Harry and Meghan of Royal Titles

(Headline USA) British expatriates Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could formally be stripped of their royal titles under a new law proposed by a conservative member of Parliament.

The insufferably woke couple, who renounced their duties as working royals in February 2020, currently reside in a $14.65 million mansion in California’s posh Montecito, but are eyeing a move closer to Los Angeles.

Bob Seely, an Isle of Wight MP, introduced legislation in the House of Commons this week that would “strip the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” and any other Royal Family members who “trash” the institution of their royal titles. 

Seely called his bill, the Titles Deprivation 1917 Act Amendment Bill, the “nuclear option.”

Prince Harry and his wife “can be Mr. and Mrs. like the rest of us,” he argued, according to the Daily Mail. “My aim is simple: if someone doesn’t want to be royal, that is a decision we respect—but they should not keep the titles and privileges if they trash an institution that plays an important part in our nation’s life.”

The lawmaker said he was motivated to introduce the bill after the latest bout of drama between Prince Harry, Meghan, and the rest of the royal family.

Seely cited a recent allegation made in the book Endgame by author Omid Scobie, that King Charles and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, had speculated about the skin tone of Prince Archie—Harry’s and Meghan’s 4-year-old, mixed-race son—prior to his birth.

The accusation is “poisonously insidious,” Seely argued, noting that although sources close to Harry and Meghan have denied leveling the accusation, “I suspect that few people believe such denials.”

In fact, Harry and Meghan did make a similar claim against fellow members of their family during an interview with Oprah Winfrey more than two years ago.

Markle said in the interview that there were “several” conversations within the royal family about Archie’s skin.

“About how dark your baby is going to be?” Winfrey asked.

Markle replied: “Potentially, and what that would mean or look like.”

Harry agreed with Meghan’s characterization but vowed to never name the relative in question. However, they ruled out the then-reigning Queen Elizabeth, who died in September 2022, and her husband, Prince Philip, who predeceased her.

Harry and Meghan already are unable to use the titles “His and Her Royal Highness” under the 2020 deal in which they gave up official royal duties. But polling of the United Kingdom public found that 51% thinks they should have their “Duke” and “Duchess” titles revoked too.

Bitcoin Soars Past $41K for 1st Time in 20 Months

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Bitcoin Soars Past $41K for 1st Time in 20 Months

(Headline USA) Bitcoin is once again having a moment.

On Monday, the world’s largest cryptocurrency soared past $41,000 for the first time in over a year and a half—and marking a 150% rise so far this year.

Volatile bitcoin rocketed from just over $5,000 at the start of the pandemic to nearly $68,000 in November 2021, according to FactSet, a period marked by a surge in demand for technology products.

Prices fell back to earth during an aggressive series of Federal Reserve rate hikes aimed at taming inflation and then the collapse of FTX, one of the biggest companies in crypto.

When 2023 began, a single bitcoin could be had for less than $17,000 after losing more than 75% of its value.

Investors, however, began returning in large numbers as inflation started to cool. And the collapse of prominent tech-focused banks actually led more investors to turn to crypto as they bailed out of positions in Silicon Valley start-ups and other risky bets.

But fueling this latest rally are prospects for the possible approval of spot bitcoin exchange traded funds—a pooled investment security that can be bought and sold like stocks.

Industry advocates say this new way of investing in bitcoin at spot prices, instead of futures, could make it easier for anyone to enter the cryptoverse while lowering some of the well-documented risks associated with investing in cryptocurrencies.

Regulators have previously rejected bitcoin spot ETF applications, but recent wins for some crypto fund managers have improved odds for a first approval, perhaps as soon as next month.

“The longer-term catalyst [for bitcoin] is a lot of optimism related to the potential approval of a spot ETF,” Kaiko research analyst Riyad Carey said Monday. He noted, however, that a regulatory green light doesn’t promise continued gains.

While analysts expect the potential approval of spot bitcoin ETFs to create a much larger pool of crypto investors, future volumes could go either way, Carey added. That could either boost or undermine bitcoin’s value.

Bitcoin’s current rally also arrives during an incredibly disruptive period for cryptocurrencies. Just last month, the U.S. government slapped Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, with a $4 billion fine as its founder Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to a felony charge.

But Binance continues to operate and maintain its market share, Carey noted. In some ways, the company’s settlement “propelled the market forward more by removing one of the … more ominous overhangs that was a sort of a big question mark,” he said, noting bitcoin’s gains in the two weeks since the settlement was announced.

Despite the recent excitement around bitcoin, experts still maintain that crypto is a risky bet with wildly unpredictable fluctuations in value. In short, investors can lose money as quickly as they make it.

Last year’s collapse of crypto exchange giant FTX also “left a big scar” on the public’s confidence in the crypto industry and crushed retail investors, Edward Moya, a former senior market analyst at Oanda, previously told the Associated Press—noting that institutional money, like hedge funds, are behind the bulk of current crypto investing.

Carey added that liquidity in cryptocurrency markets has yet to return to where it was before FTX collapsed, and lower liquidity can exacerbate price fluctuations.

“In the past few months, that has normally been the price moving up—but people should always be aware it can go in the reverse and quickly,” he said.

As of around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time Monday, the price of bitcoin stood at $41,709.

The stocks of some other crypto players have also seen rises over recent months, but not with the same speed or heights as bitcoin.

Ethereum, for example, stood at $2,223 Monday afternoon, up 85% since the start of 2023. Meanwhile, Binance Coin and Dash are down about 5.25% and 24.37% for the year, respectively, with Monday afternoon prices of roughly $231 and $32.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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