pgnewser

Blurb:

Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA did not reply to a request for comment. Venezuela’s government this week said the US seizure constituted a “theft.” The White House National Security Council did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The US has assembled a target list of several more sanctioned tankers for possible seizure, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.

The US Justice Department and Homeland Security had been planning the seizures for months, according to two of the people.

A reduction or halt in Venezuelan oil exports, the main generator of revenue for the Venezuelan government, would strain the Maduro government’s finances.

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According to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, “we cannot incarcerate our way out of violence.” He justified this by claiming “we tried that and we ended up with the largest prison population in the world without solving the problems of crime and violence.” He added that this is “racist, immoral and unholy” and most certainly “is not the way to drive violence down.”

Now, if Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has a better idea, we would like to hear it, but I certainly hope he’s not advocating for the release of prisoners. Because if there is one thing you would assume we should agree on, it’s holding people accountable when they commit violence — but something tells me he believes otherwise.

Blurb:

Members of the Scottish Parliament, which is the latest Western legislative body to consider expanding assisted suicide, rejected efforts in committee to restrict the practice with young people, disabled people, and others.

Liam McArthur, a member of the body, introduced a bill last year that would “allow terminally ill adults in Scotland, who are eligible, to lawfully request, and be provided with, assistance by health professionals to end their own life.”

The legislation is moving through the committee process.

Some of his colleagues introduced a bill restricting the more shocking cases of assisted suicide, under which patients can legally opt to have a doctor take their lives.

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There must have been a time in American history when six sitting lawmakers urging members of the military to defy the commander-in-chief would have been viewed as outright sedition — and those lawmakers would have quickly faced justice. In the age of Trump, however, those days are long gone.

Touting their prior military and intelligence service, Democratic Sens. Elissa Slotkin (MI), who organized the video, Mark Kelly (AZ), and Reps. Chris Deluzio (PA), Maggie Goodlander (NH), Chrissy Houlahan (PA), and Jason Crow CO), launched a surreal video on Tuesday in which they called on troops to refuse to carry out what they consider to be President Donald Trump’s “illegal” orders.

Here is their statement, which the lawmakers read to viewers in turns:

We want to speak directly to members of the military and the intelligence community who take risks each day to keep Americans safe.

We know you are under enormous stress and pressure right now.

Americans trust their military. But that trust is at risk.

This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens. Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren’t just coming from abroad, but from right here at home.

Blurb:

US Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel have provided Congress with new evidence detailing Clinton Foundation corruption.

The IRS began investigating the Clinton Foundation in 2019 but abruptly stopped and cut off whistleblowers, according to memos obtained by Just The News over the summer.

“Can’t talk about the CF [Clinton Foundation],” one of the memos stated as it cut off the two Clinton Foundation whistleblowers. On Tuesday, Just The News reported that Patel and Bondi have given Congress a new tranche of documents showing the Clinton Foundation took donor money from foreigners seeking influence.

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No, this is not satire. But, I think this man handled those officers rather perfectly, don’t you?

Enoch Burke is an Irish teacher who refused to “call a boy a girl.” According to his father, “he was commanded.” Too bad for Irish authorities, but this teacher does not take orders when he is asked to lie to a student’s face. The left calls that compassion, while the other side does not believe it’s compassionate to affirm falsehood. Nonetheless, the police came to his house to arrest him over this dire offense.

According to MSN:

Gardaí were last night looking for teacher Enoch Burke after failing to find him at the family home.

A female family member filmed three gardaí arriving at the house in Co. Mayo to arrest him yesterday. She immediately remonstrated with them and maintained that Mr Burke was not allowed his constitutional rights.

Blurb:

Brain implant developer Paradromics has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to test its device in an early-stage human trial, the company announced Thursday.

The Austin-based company is aiming to give a digital voice to people who have lost the ability to speak due to severe motor impairment. The trial will assess the long-term safety of the Paradromics device, as well as its ability to enable synthesized speech and text communication.

Paradromics is one of several companies—which include Neuralink, Synchron, Precision Neuroscience, and Cognixion—working on technology to control computers and other devices using brain waves. Known as brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, these systems capture brain signals associated with movement intention and translate them into commands.

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Yesterday, Townhall told you about two horrible crimes in Chicago that happened just this week. In one, a pregnant woman and her child were beaten by a mob of students outside a Chicago school. If that wasn’t bad enough, a 26-year-old woman was set on fire on Chicago’s Blue Line after reportedly getting into an argument with a career criminal named Lawrence Reed.

In the initial reporting, we believed Reed had 22 prior arrests. That’s inexcusable enough, but it turns out Reed had 49 prior arrests, including for arson, as well as ten felony convictions. And it seems Reed’s victim didn’t get into an argument with him at all. Reed just approached her, doused her with a flammable liquid, and set her on fire.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump’s administration announced that it will end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Burmese nationals.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has now concluded that conditions in Burma have stabilized enough for citizens to return.

The move continues the administration’s broader effort to scale back TPS programs that have been repeatedly extended under previous administrations.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the decision returns the program to its intended purpose.

Noem said Burma has made “notable progress in governance and stability,” pointing to the end of its state of emergency, plans for elections, ceasefire agreements, and improvements in local governance.

Burma, also known as Myanmar, was designated for TPS in May 2021 by then–Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Republican Greg Abbot of Texas is calling for a criminal investigation into Islamists operating Sharia courts illegally on Texas soil. Abbot wrote to Texas AG Ken Paxton and relevant law officials, “It has come to my attention that certain entities in Texas—including in Collin and Dallas Counties—may be masquerading as legal “courts” staffed with “judges” issuing orders that purportedly carry the authority to bind individuals to Islamic codes, thereby preempting state and federal laws. Such practices appear to cross the line from permissible internal religious decision-making to violations of state criminal laws.”

Blurb:

Tex Governor Abbot Abbott Calls for Criminal Investigations Into Sharia Courts Operating in Texas – gellerreport.com

We applaud Governor Abbott for addressing this oppressive, parallel government operating in our midst. Under Islamic law, there is no equality for all before the law.

Muslims are the only immigrant group who come to the West with a ready made model of society they believe to be superior to Western law and they work furiously, by all means, to impose it. Under Islam, shariah (Islamic) law supersedes Western law. Anywhere Western law and Shariah law conflict, it is always Western law that must give way. What those of us working in defense of freedom did not expect, was the craven capitulation and cowardice by Western left elites to Islamic supremacy.

Blurb:

President Trump is making sure American children are safe again.

Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced the results of Memphis Safe Street’s task force recent crackdown on crime.

Bondi while speaking to members of the press revealed 3,100 arrests were made by the task force and 121 missing children were found.

Watch Bondi make the announcement here:

Here’s a backup if needed:

Blurb:

Following months of political theater, gamesmanship, and grandstanding in the halls of Congress, President Donald Trump has signed into law the bill to release the Epstein files.

Political leaders on both sides of the aisle have taken victory laps for transparency and are eagerly awaiting the release of documents to score more political points. But like much of what happens in the halls of Congress these days, the Epstein files law is yet another example of Congress appearing to fix a problem and failing to do so. This law is a red herring and is endemic of the much larger problem of weak congressional oversight.

The Epstein legislation is poorly written and contains loopholes large enough to drive a Mack truck through. For example, the legislation applies only to records in the possession of the Justice Department. What about the rest of the U.S. government? There are legitimate questions surrounding Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to the intelligence community. By cabining records in the possession of the Justice Department, the bill leaves a lot of meat on the bone.

Blurb:

California is violating federal law, according to a new lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice.

The state effectively in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, which violates a federal prohibition against the practice. University of California does so, for example, by allowing for in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants who attended school for three years in the state and graduated from high school.

Federal law forbids states from offering better tuition deals to illegal immigrants who reside in the state than it does to Americans from other states.

This illegal “unequal treatment,” according to the lawsuit filed on Nov. 20.

Plaintiffs include Governor Gavin Newsom and the regents for the state university and community college systems.

Blurb:

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed support for the peace plan proposed by the United States to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

President Donald Trump presented the 28-point draft proposal for a peace plan to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian officials last week, according to the Associated Press. The plan included security guarantees for Ukraine, an agreement not to join NATO in the future, Ukraine’s eligibility for membership into the European Union, and territory concessions by Ukraine and Russia, among other details.

While speaking at a press conference during the G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Meloni rejected the idea of needing a counterproposal to the U.S. deal, emphasizing the plan had “many points that were acceptable.” She suggested using the plan as a foundation for a peace agreement, rather than scrapping it and drafting a counterproposal.

Blurb:

The North Dakota Supreme Court on Friday restored a near-total ban on abortions, delivering a major victory for pro-life advocates who hailed the decision as a critical step in safeguarding unborn children across the state.

In a 3-2 ruling, the high court found that the state’s pro-life law banning abortions, enacted by the Legislature in 2023, remains constitutional, rejecting a lower court’s earlier decision to strike down the law.

The measure, Senate Bill 2150, classifies killing a baby in an abortion as a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Exceptions are permitted only to save a patient’s life or protect their health, and such rare abortions must occur in hospital settings.

Blurb:

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito blocked a federal court ruling Friday that struck down Texas’ new congressional map, allowing Republicans to continue using the disputed boundaries while the high court weighs the case.

Alito ordered the League of United Latin American Citizens and other challengers to respond by Monday at 5 p.m. EST, according to the court document. The administrative stay blocks the Nov. 18 order from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas while the Supreme Court considers the case.

The Supreme Court order states the district court’s ruling “is hereby administratively stayed pending further order of the undersigned or of the Court.” Alito signed the order personally on Nov. 21.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump’s administration has revealed sweeping fraud inside the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), top officials have announced.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins revealed that at least 186,000 deceased individuals were receiving benefits.

However, the huge number is expected to grow further once data from Democrat-run states is finally disclosed.

Rollins detailed the findings while addressing concerns surrounding SNAP, describing the scale of fraud as staggering.

Blurb:

On Monday, November 17th, the City Council of Wolfforth, Texas (pop. 9,600) became the 85th city in the nation, and the 68th city in the State of Texas, to pass a Sanctuary City for the Unborn Ordinance.

The “Ordinance Outlawing Abortion, declaring Wolfforth a Sanctuary City for the Unborn” passed in a unanimous 5-0 vote, as part of their consent agenda. The City of Wolfforth, located between Ropesville (pop. 434) and Lubbock (pop. 272,086), is the fifth city in Lubbock County to adopt a Sanctuary for the Unborn Ordinance. Wolfforth is also the 15th city and the 20th political subdivision to pass such a measure in 2025.

Blurb:

The Trump administration on Tuesday made a big move forward in its effort to effectively dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, announcing the agency will transfer a lot of its workload to other federal departments.

The new partnerships with the Labor, Interior, Health and Human Services, and State departments will help streamline and consolidate a lot of bureaucracy and red tape, the Education Department announced in a news release.

“By partnering with agencies that are best positioned to deliver results for students and taxpayers, these [interagency agreements] will streamline federal education activities on the legally required programs, reduce administrative burdens, and refocus programs and activities to better serve students and grantees,” the release stated.

Blurb:

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has announced that federal charges have been filed against a man who threatened to kill a prominent conservative political commentator and friend of the late Charlie Kirk.

George Isbell Jr., 69, was arrested last month in San Diego, California for allegedly threatening to kill conservative political commentator Benny Johnson. He will be federally charged in Florida with mailing a threatening communication, according to Bondi.

“Benny is a well-known media personality, carrying a message very similar to Charlie’s. Grounded largely in faith and love of country. Just days after Charlie’s assassination, Benny received a letter at his home where he and Kate are raising their beautiful, beautiful young family,” Bondi said. “The author of this letter made it very clear that he hated Benny because of his views, and he wanted Benny dead.”

“This was a coward hiding behind a keyboard who thought he could get away with this. That’s why we’re standing up here today. You are not going to get away with threatening people in this way. And I’m proud to announce that we have arrested the author of this letter,” the attorney general added.

Blurb:

New York Times Houston bureau chief J. David Goodman sounded aggrieved in his Texas-based story in Wednesday’s paper, “Texas Declares Muslim Civil Rights Group a Terrorist.” This is how liberal papers routinely describe leftist agitators. They’re “civil rights groups.”

As for the phrase “Muslim Civil Rights Group,” the Times is actually talking about the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Hamas-linked Islamic pressure group. “Civil rights group” should not describe a radical group whose national executive director Nihad Awad declared himself happy about the October 7 massacre by Hamas — a story covered by the Times in December 2023 but ignored in this new story. “I was happy to see people breaking the siege and throwing down the shackles of their own land,” Awad said.

Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas declared on Tuesday that one of the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy and civil rights groups is a foreign terrorist organization, saying the move will prohibit the organization from acquiring land in Texas and authorize the state attorney general “to sue to shut them down” in Texas.

In his declaration, Mr. Abbott said that the group, the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, had direct ties to Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. government. The nonprofit, known by its initials, CAIR, has denied having any such ties.

Blurb:

Move over, colonoscopies — researchers writing in ACS Sensors report that they have created tiny microspheres filled with bacteria that can sense the presence of blood, a key sign of gastrointestinal disease. These microspheres function like miniature “pills” that are swallowed and include magnetic particles so they can be easily collected from stool. After passing through mouse models with colitis, the sensors detected gastrointestinal bleeding within minutes. The team notes that the same bacterial system could eventually be engineered to identify other gut-related conditions.

“This technology provides a new paradigm for rapid and non-invasive detection of gastrointestinal diseases,” says Ying Zhou, a co-author of the study.

Blurb:

WASHINGTON has formally declared Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organisation.

The move strikes at the core of tyrant Nicolás Maduro’s power structure and labels his inner circle as “narco-terrorists”.

The US has formally designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisationCredit: Getty
A wanted poster offering $50 million dollars for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Venezuela’s President Nicolas MaduroCredit: EL PAÍS

Blurb:

Under the reality-denying concept of “transgender,” which was enshrined in federal regulation in 2012, more and more incarcerated men have been permitted to opt into women’s prisons based on self-identification. There have been some legal challenges to this, but, until now, these efforts have not yet been successful.

In the wake of President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) on Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, two women incarcerated at the sole women’s medical center in the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) system filed suit. This EO included a provision requiring federal agencies to “ensure that males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers.” Due to the DC district court issuing Preliminary Injunctions on behalf of male inmates demanding to continue to be housed in women’s prison, the EO has not been implemented.

Blurb:

 

Texas Christian U. to end gender, race studies departments

Texas Christian University will dissolve its Departments of Women and Gender Studies and Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies at the end of this academic year, merging both programs into the English Department.

The decision, announced earlier this month, has sparked debate over whether the action could mark a return to traditional Christian values or is a cosmetic response to donors and political pressure.

Provost Floyd Wormley told faculty the merger is driven by low enrollment and broader budget restructuring that will also combine other small departments. “Decisions are not based on academic content but on data,” a university spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed.

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The Ohio House of Representatives advanced two pro-life measures on Wednesday aimed at curbing chemical abortions and educating students on fetal development.

The pro-life bills are drawing praise from advocates who hailed the votes as a victory for mothers and unborn children.

House Bill 324, dubbed the Patient Protection Act, cleared the chamber 59-28. The legislation would classify the abortion drug mifepristone as a “dangerous drug” due to its severe side effects in more than 5% of patients. It prohibits mail-order sales and remote prescribing, requiring women to visit a doctor in person for informed consent about the risks.

Blurb:

The FBI and Department of Justice have reportedly scheduled appointments to interview the six members of Congress who appeared in a controversial video advising service members to disobey any orders they deem illegal.

The feds, according to Fox News, contacted Capitol Police to schedule the interviews with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.).

The “Seditious Six,” as Republicans have dubbed them, released a video titled “Don’t Give Up the Ship” last Tuesday, calling on members of the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”

The video sparked a major backlash among top Republicans, including President Trump, who accused the Democrat lawmakers of engaging in “seditious behavior” that is “punishable by death.”