Joy Reid Claims ‘Billionaire Right’ Wants to Take Over Calif. And Make It An ‘Apartheid State’

(Headline USA) MSNBC’s Joy Reid claimed this week that the “billionaire Right” is trying to use the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles to take over California and turn it into an “apartheid state.”

Pointing the finger at so-called “vulture capitalists” who have taken aim at California Democrats over their mismanagement of the state, Reid insisted conservatives who are critical of California’s policies are lying to the public.

“The billionaire Right knows that they cannot take California – home to Hollywood, San Francisco, and Kendrick Lamar – by culture. So they’re looking to try to take it with lies and deceit and by fire,” she said.

To take California, though, Reid said Republicans will have to “drive out the brown people and the black and Asian people, or just sink them into the same apartheid they’ve created in Texas.”

If they succeed, she continued, “they will control enough electoral votes … to never have to worry about another presidential election.”

Reid took specific aim at Republicans’ criticism of Los Angeles’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, which included prioritizing “diverse” hires at the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Republicans are only attacking policies such as these, she claimed, so they can force “immigrants, pregnant women, victimized girls, and LGBTQ+ folks to live in fear.”

The unhinged rant from Reid comes just days after she bizarrely insisted President-elect Donald Trump’s transition to power after his sweeping November victory has been the “most violent” presidential transition in history.

“I hate to be the fly at the picnic table, but you can’t peacefully transfer power to an insurrectionist simply because it took them an extra four years to finish the job,” she said.

Predictably, Reid went on to cite the Jan. 6 Capitol riot — an event that occurred four years ago — as proof that Trump is still “violent.”

“From that date forward, and pretending that this is no longer what today means is, to put it lightly, an insult to every cop that was injured that day, every terrified congressional staffer and member, every Capitol worker who had to clean up the feces the Trump mob smeared on the wall, and to every decent notion anyone ever had about this country,” Reid whined.

Special Counsel David Weiss Admits Hunter Biden Made Millions Off the Family Name

(Headline USA) In his final report on his years-long investigation into Hunter Biden, special counsel David Weiss blasted the embattled first son for deliberately using his family’s “last name and connections” to make millions of dollars in foreign business deals.

“Mr. Biden made … money by using his last name and connections to secure lucrative business opportunities, such as a board seat at a Ukrainian industrial conglomerate, Burisma Holdings Limited, and a joint venture with individuals associated with a Chinese energy conglomerate. He negotiated and executed contracts and agreements that paid him millions of dollars for limited work,” Weiss wrote in the report.

Hunter Biden then failed to properly pay federal taxes on that income, Weiss said.

“As a well-educated lawyer and businessman, Mr. Biden consciously and willfully chose not to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes over a four-year period. From 2016 to 2020, Mr. Biden received more than $7 million in total gross income, including approximately $1.5 million in 2016, $2.3 million in 2017, $2.1 million in 2018, $1 million in 2019 and $188,000 from January through October 15, 2020,” he wrote.

Hunter Biden was convicted of tax fraud last year, but received a sweeping pardon from his father, President Joe Biden, that exonerates him from being held criminally liable for the tax crimes, in addition to any alleged crimes Hunter Biden committed over a 10-year-period.

In a statement announcing the pardon, Joe Biden claimed he was issuing the pardon because Hunter Biden was late paying his taxes “because of serious addictions,” and that his son has since paid the taxes he owed.

In the report, however, Weiss argued Hunter Biden’s tax evasion was not the result of drug addiction, but was a deliberate decision by Hunter Biden to accommodate his lavish lifestyle.

Hunter Biden “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” and “willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes,” Weiss argued.

“These are not ‘inconsequential’ or ‘technical’ tax code violations,” Weiss continued. “Nor can Mr. Biden’s conduct be explained away by his drug use. Most glaringly, Mr. Biden filed his false 2018 return, in which he deliberately underreported his income to lower his tax liability, in February 2020, approximately eight months after he had regained his sobriety.”

Americans Shift Apps Amid TikTok Uncertainty in the U.S.

As the debate over a potential Jan. 19 TikTok ban in the United States intensifies, millions of users are preemptively flocking to another Chinese-owned app, sparking fresh concerns over data privacy and national security.

Meanwhile, lawmakers have urged a pause on the proposed ban to “assess the broader implications.” Chinese-owned RedNote has shot to No. 1 in the app store as TikTok users search for their new platform, deepening the divide over how to address foreign-owned social media platforms in the digital age.

Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-MA, addressed on the U.S. Senate floor the consequences of a TikTok ban and announced his plan to introduce new legislation, adding 270 days to the looming ban.

Markey said he understood the alarm and uncertainty around the ban and the inability to recreate the community users created through the platform.

“The stakes here are high. That’s why I will soon introduce the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act to extend the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by an additional 270 days,” said Markey. “Let me be clear: TikTok has its problems. Like every social media platform, TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people. I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behavior. But a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Backlash concerning government overreach has grown louder on the platform. Now, with five days left, some are mocking the ban.

Markey, Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY., and Congressman Ro Khanna, D-CA, recently submitted a bipartisan, bicameral amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision in TikTok Inc. v. Garland, which upheld the ban.

The ban is being enforced by the bipartisan bill signed by outgoing President Joe Biden in April. The law mandates that the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, become American-owned, or face a ban in the United States, and permanently cut off its American users.

The TikTok ban remains uncertain as lawmakers and users remain divided over the implications and potential consequences for digital privacy, security, and free expression.

The Supreme Court is expected to have an answer regarding the ban this week.

Experts Worry as Deficit Tops $2 Trillion in Last Year

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office released new data showing that in the last calendar year, the federal deficit has risen over $2 trillion.

The CBO released its monthly report on federal spending and revenue to show the increase, which is more than double the deficit levels just a few years ago. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the fiscal year deficit did not top $1 trillion.

Now, Americans are in danger of $2 trillion becoming the new normal.

Recently, the federal figures are even worse. According to the CBO, the federal deficit has already hit $710 billion in the fist three months of the fiscal year.

Now, the federal government is on track to have interest payments on the national debt as its single largest expenditure.

So far, lawmakers have shown little sign of planning significant budget cuts.

“Zombie-Congress is headed in a bad direction,” U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote on X Tuesday. “Plan is to pass a tax cut bill (reconciliation) AND a spending increase (omnibus) … This one-two deficit punch will make bond buyers demand more interest to finance existing debt…”

“We will burn billions more in interest!!” he added.

Many economic and fiscal policy experts continue to raise the alarm about the rising deficit as well as the national debt, which is over $36 trillion and is expected to surpass $37 trillion later this year.

“The 5 year US Treasury yield has just hit 5 percent even as the real yield for the same horizon is above 2.6 percent,” Harvard Professor and former Secretary of the Treasury for President Bill Clinton and Director of the National Economic Council for President Barack Obama, wrote on X. “This confirms concerns about looming budget deficits and a rising neutral rate.”

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, pointed out the hypocrisy of Congress celebrating cutting spending last year only to raise it again the following year.

“There is absolutely no just justification for running a $2 trillion deficit in a year when the economy was strong and we were still fighting inflation,” MacGuineas said in a statement. “And what an expensive about face to have gone from 2023 – a year in which Congress passed legislation that reduced the debt by $1.3 trillion over ten years – to 2024, where they increased it by $1 trillion over the decade.”

Federal debt spending helps fuel inflation since debt spending is partially offset by printing more money, thus increasing the money supply and increasing inflation.

“Under Joe Biden, federal powers ballooned, turning states into mere subjects with $2 trillion deficits as a result,” Heritage Fellow Stephen Moore wrote on X.

North Carolina’s Foxx Will Lead U.S. House Rules Committee

Republican U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina will serve as chairwoman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Rules for the 119th Congress.

Foxx, of the 5th Congressional District in the northwestern part of the state, won her 11th term on Nov. 5 – longest active of the state’s delegation. She was chairwoman of the Committee on Education and Workforce in the last Congress and in the 115th in 2017-18.

In a social media post early Tuesday afternoon, Foxx wrote, “I am humbled and honored to have been selected as Chairwoman of the House Rules Committee – and I thank Speaker Johnson for placing his trust and faith in me to lead this esteemed committee.

“On November 5th, the American people gave President Trump and Congressional Republicans a mandate to turn our Republic around and move towards a brighter and more prosperous future. Our Republican majority in the People’s House will achieve that end, and we will deliver upon President Trump’s agenda with diligence and expediency. I look forward to contributing to this great American turnaround – let’s get to work.”

In a release Tuesday morning, Johnson said, “For two decades, Dr. Foxx has been a stalwart in the House and a leader in multiple policy areas. Her drive and personality have established her as among the most universally respected members of our Republican Conference. Dr. Foxx is an example of how members should serve, and our conference will benefit greatly with her at the helm of the influential Rules Committee.”

The Rules Committee meets to discuss and set terms of debate for floor consideration. It’s the last stop before major legislation can be considered on the chamber floor.

Foxx, a New York native, earned two degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and doctorate in education from UNC Greensboro.

She was president of Mayland Community College in Spruce Pine from 1987-94; held instructor positions at Appalachian State and Caldwell Community College; owned a landscape nursery; and served as deputy secretary for management at the North Carolina Department of Administration.

Her political career before entering the Beltway included five terms in the North Carolina Senate ending in 2004; and Watauga County Board of Education from 1976-88. Her state Senate and U.S. House election record is 16-0, all in succession.

Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., is the only other woman to lead the committee. Her tenure was 2007-09.

Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole began the last Congress in the post. Republican Rep. Michael Burgess of Texas finished 2024 as the chairman.

The last North Carolinian to serve as chairman of the Rules Committee was Democratic Rep. Edward Pou from 1931-35. Pou also held the post in the 65th Congress from 1917-19.

FBI, DHS Warn of Likely Terrorist Attacks

(The Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Department of Homeland Security are warning that a copycat terrorist attack could occur similar to the New Year’s Day New Orleans attack.

The public service announcement urges Americans to remain vigilant and for those living overseas who encounter kidnapping or hostage situations to call a toll-free number or fill out an online form.

“The FBI and DHS are concerned about possible copycat or retaliatory attacks due to the persistent appeal of vehicle ramming as a tactic for aspiring violent extremist attackers,” the PSA states. “Previous attackers inspired by foreign terrorist organizations who have conducted vehicle attacks in the United States and abroad have used rented, stolen, and personally owned vehicles, which are easy to acquire. Some have used additional weapons, such as firearms and knives, to attack individuals after the vehicle has stopped.

“Additionally, attackers may attempt to conceal and pre-position improvised explosive devices to supplement a vehicle attack. Targets have included pedestrians, law enforcement or military members, and crowded public venues, including festivals and commercial centers, which generally are accessible from roadways.”

The PSA urges members of the public to “remain vigilant” about terrorist attacks, report suspicious activity to local FBI field offices and call 911 to report emergencies.

For U.S. citizens living overseas, the PSA encourages them to report “missing persons or individuals taken as hostages” by calling the Department of State’s Overseas Citizens Services toll-free hotline at (888) 407-4747 or complete a Crisis Intake Form.

Both agencies were unsuccessful in negotiating the return of American hostages held by Hamas. Hostages who are still alive remain in captivity since Oct. 7, 2023. The Biden administration’s toll-free hotline, and online form did not help them, critics argue.

President-elect Donald Trump has warned Hamas to release all hostages before he’s sworn into office next week or “there will be hell to pay.”

Islamic terrorist incidents significantly increased under the Biden administration and the greatest number on the U.S. terrorist watch list were apprehended trying to illegally enter the country, The Center Square reported.

Terrorist incidents increased nationwide, including an Iranian man in Massachusetts linked to murders of U.S. service members and an ISIS-linked Houston man allegedly planning a 9/11 style terrorist attack, among others.

Last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned about an ISIS smuggling ring illegally crossing the border and of increased security risks posed by China and Iran. Prior to the election, hundreds of members of ISIS were confirmed to have illegally entered the U.S., with officials saying vetting wasn’t occurring.

Congressional Republicans demanded answers about terrorist threats, including the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, which published a report citing more than 50 jihadist cases in 29 states under the Biden administration, The Center Square reported.

“Foreign jihadist networks and homegrown violent extremists” represent a “persistent terror threat to America,” it said, citing the Biden administration’s “chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal and the spillover effects of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks against our ally Israel to the vulnerabilities caused by our wide-open borders.”

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called for greater northern border security due Hamas members entering from Canada and sounded the alarm as Jewish Americans, he and others were targeted by pro-Hamas rioters, The Center Square reported.

Last year, within a few months, three assassination attempts were foiled against Trump, including by an Iran-linked Pakistani and Iranian assassination plot.

In September, Cruz warned, “We are living on borrowed time” in an interview with The Center Square. At the time, he said the U.S. “was at a greater risk for a major terrorist attack than we have been at any point since Sept. 11, 2001” because of Biden administration policies.

Cruz demanded answers on the “incredible lapses in vetting and screening illegal aliens at airports,” adding, “it is only a matter of time before another major terrorist attack is likely to occur.”

As Cruz’s demands for increased security went unanswered, DHS, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center published resources “to help mitigate potential risks from a variety of threat actors.”

Months after Cruz’s warning, and two weeks after the New Orleans attack, the agencies issued the PSA, stating, “Due to the highly personal nature of radicalization to violence and mobilization to violence, it can be difficult to assess specific characteristics indicating the intent of US-based violent extremists to conduct violence.”

Federal agencies also published a U.S. Violent Extremist Mobilization Indicators resource to help the public identify “all ideologically motivated, US-based violent extremists,” and a “Bystander Awareness eLearning” resource to understand “Targeted Violence Prevention.”

Bennie Thompson Says He’ll Accept Preemptive Pardon from Biden if Offered One

(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chaired the Democratic January 6th Commission, has said that he’ll accept a preemptive pardon from outgoing President Joe Biden if offered one.

“I believe Donald Trump when he says he’s going to inflict retribution on this. I believe when he says my name and Liz Cheney and the others. I believe him,” Thompson told Punchbowl News on Monday night. Cheney was his vice chair.

Thompson’s remarks come on the heels of House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chair Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., revealing that the Jan. 6th Commission destroyed evidence and engaged in witness tampering.

According to a report from Loudermilk’s committee, Thompson and Cheney failed to turn over video recordings of witness interviews and depositions despite using these recordings in their high-profile, primetime hearings.

The subcommittee also found that Cheney secretly communicated with the J6 Commission’s “star witness,” Cassidy Hutchinson, and may have pressured her to fire her attorney. Additionally, Hutchinson was caught changing her testimony during the course of the Jan. 6 Committee hearings, as has been widely documented.

Loudermilk has called for the FBI to investigate Cheney.

“Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” his committee’s report said.

Biden, for his part, told USA Today last week that he’s still considering whether to preemptively pardon the likes of Cheney before Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. The lame-duck President said he spoke about the issue when he met with Trump at the White House last month.

“I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores,” Biden said in an interview USA Today published last Wednesday.

According to Biden, Trump didn’t give a direct response to his advice. “He didn’t say, ‘No, I’m going to…’ You know. He didn’t reinforce it. He just basically listened,” Biden told USA Today.

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

Police Carry Screaming Protester Out of Pete Hegseth’s Confirmation Hearing

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) U.S. Capitol Police officers picked up and carried out a screaming protester from Tuesday’s Senate confirmation hearing of President-elect Donald Trump’s defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth.

Multiple Code Pink activists interrupted Hegseth’s hearing, holding signs characterizing the former Fox News personality a “religious extremist” and a supporter of “Christian Jihad.” One by one, authorities plucked protesters from the room as they yelled about “murdering babies.”

Video showed officers quickly carry a male demonstrator out the door before Hegseth continued his opening statement.

“The Department of Defense under Donald Trump will achieve peace through strength. And in pursuing these America First National security goals, will remain patriotically apolitical and stridently constitutional,” Hegseth told senators, bashing the Biden administration for injecting politics into military matters.

“We are not Republicans. We are not Democrats,” he added. “We are American warriors.”

There was “a striking difference” between the few leftist protesters that infiltrated Hegseth’s hearing and the hundreds of U.S. military veterans marching in support of Trump’s defense pick in Washington, D.C., Fox News Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst identified.

Various Democrat senators on the Armed Services Committee tried to paint Hegseth as being drunk on the job, an allegation that surfaced from a bogus, anonymously sourced NBC News report.

They also attempted to smear Hegseth as an enemy of women by citing his previously expressed concerns about women in combat roles and the former Fox News host’s history with false allegations of sexual misconduct.

Hegseth stood strong against the left’s desperate attacks, and Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., torched “hypocritical” Democrats who come drunk to vote and cheat on their spouses.

“How many senators have shown up drunk to vote at night? Have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen it, because I know you have,” Mullin said.

The GOP senator continued, “And then how many senators do you know have gotten a divorce for cheating on their wives? Did you ask them to step down? No. But it’s for show.”

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.

MURDOCK: Senate Confirmation of Kash Patel Will Force the FBI to Pay Its Dues

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(Deroy Murdock, Headline USA) Kash Patel, President re-elect Donald J. Trump’s FBI nominee, soon will face Senate confirmation hearings. His critics will warn that Patel would turn the FBI upside-down.

As well he should.

The FBI’s decent, diligent field agents might be the people most betrayed by their Washington, D.C., headquarters. The bureau’s leftist command clique has abused its infinite police powers to oppress Trump and his advisors, supporters, and those who jeopardize liberal priorities. For nine years, top FBI officials have perpetrated the inappropriate, the illegal, and the unconstitutional:

  • The FBI spied on Trump’s 2016 campaign, starting with advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos.
  • In a stinging letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Sen. Charles Grassley, R – Iowa, wrote that “the Steele Dossier was pushed by the FBI to be included in the Intelligence Community Assessment about Russian meddling in the 2016 election, despite concerns over its lack of verification.” Grassley’s Dec. 9 missive continued: “This is some of the most egregious, Orwellian conduct I’ve witnessed in my nearly 50 years in the Congress.”

These illegal outrages—which launched the three-year Russia hoax—were Watergate without the break-in.

“In 2021, senior officials from the Biden Administration, including the White House, repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire,” Mark Zuckerberg likewise complained last Aug. 26, in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee.

“These people from the Biden administration would call up our team and scream at them and curse,” the Facebook founder elaborated on Friday’s Joe Rogan Experience.

“No such raid took place at Hillary Clinton’s premises, even though she and her staff mishandled highly classified information while using a non-government server after repeated warnings from State Department security personnel it was a security risk, and despite the fact her associates destroyed potentially incriminating evidence,” Grassley noted. “No such raid occurred on the home of President Biden, even though his records were consciously divided up, some stored at his home in a garage next to his Corvette. … A double standard in a nation that rightly boasts that ‘justice is blind’ is no standard at all.”

The incoming Republican Senate should confirm Kash Patel swiftly, so he can flip the FBI 180 degrees from its current police-state status and dislodge the crooks and thugs who infest its top echelons.

​Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor.

Michelle Obama to Skip Trump’s Inauguration. Will Barack Be There?

(Julianna Frieman, Headline USA) Former First Lady Michelle Obama will break tradition and skip President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, her office revealed on Tuesday.

The office did not provide an explanation for Michelle Obama’s planned absence, but confirmed that former President Barack Obama would be in attendance as Trump is sworn in, CNN reported.

“Former President Barack Obama is confirmed to attend the 60th Inaugural Ceremonies. Former First Lady Michelle Obama will not attend the upcoming inauguration,” a statement from the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama said, according to the outlet.

Michelle Obama’s snub to Trump comes after the former Democrat first lady refrained from joining her husband at former President Jimmy Carter’s funeral on Jan. 9.

At the funeral, which was attended by other former first ladies, Obama appeared without his wife.

The Democrat kingmaker went viral for sharing a laugh and friendly chatter with Trump, a change in optics from the “Hitler” comparisons he made of Trump on the campaign trail.

CNN reported that Michelle Obama had a “scheduling conflict” that prevented her from making it to the 39th president’s funeral—she was still on a holiday vacation in Hawaii. However, Fox News co-hosts suggested thereafter that the Obamas were facing “trouble in paradise.”

Jesse Watters said on The Five, “President dies, everyone in the world shows up, and she doesn’t break her vacation? It’s not like she doesn’t have access to a jet. Something is going on. Let’s speculate.”

Could Michelle and Barack Obama’s marriage be on the rocks? Watters thought it was possible.

The Fox News host suggested Michelle Obama could have undergone surgery, wanted to avoid sitting next to Trump, or that she could be hurdling towards divorce with her husband, the 44th president.

“I’ve heard things, I’m not gonna substantiate that by repeating these rumors on national TV like I just did. But I’m just saying, it’s very odd that she’s not there,” Watters said.

Social media users smelled what Watters was stepping in as many speculated Tuesday that Michelle Obama was either “classless” and “petty” for choosing not to go to Trump’s inauguration, or that she was having marital issues.

Others added that Michelle Obama “hates America.”

“I guess Michelle Obama finally took the Low Road,” one X user commented, referencing the former first lady’s infamous “When they go low, we go high.”

Julianna Frieman is a freelance writer published by the Daily Caller, Headline USA, The Federalist, and the American Spectator. Follow her on Twitter at @JuliannaFrieman.