The EU will be without cheap Russian gas following a decision by Ukraine to no longer allow Russia’s gas transferal to occur on Ukraine soil. President Volodymyr Zelensky called the decision “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats.” The “Brotherhood pipeline” shutdown will allegedly cause Russian gas giant Gazprom more than $6 billion yearly.
EU on brink of gas war after Ukraine cuts off Russia’s £5bn supply | World | News– www.express.co.uk Source Link Excerpt:
Ukraine will no longer allow Russian gas to pass through en route to European neighbours in a move that will hurt both the Kremlin and EU states dependent on Putin’s energy supply.
On January 1, the 2019 deal, which saw gas transit through Ukraine to states like Slovakia and Austria, expired.
President Zelensky heralded the move as “one of Moscow’s biggest defeats”, while his energy minister branded it “historic”.
The closure of the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod, which is also known as the Brotherhood pipeline, will cost Russian gas company Gazprom around £5bn a year – a bitter blow for Putin’s creaking war economy.
However, it’s not just Russia that is reeling following the expiration of the gas deal. Several European states are heavily dependent on Russian gas transported through Ukraine.
Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, as well as Moldova, are reliant on the steady flow of energy through Ukraine. Now that that is no longer possible, the only route remaining into Europe from Russia is via the TurkStream pipeline and the BlueSteam pipeline, under the Black Sea.
Federal Court Blocks Biden Administration’s ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules – The Daily Wire Source Link Excerpt:
A federal appeals court on Thursday struck down the Biden administration-backed “net neutrality” regulations implemented last year by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 against the FCC’s recent order that said Broadband Internet Service Providers must follow net neutrality rules because they are a “telecommunications service.” Net neutrality rules block broadband providers from varying speeds or blocking connections to third-party websites
In a 26-page decision, Judge Richard Griffin wrote that the FCC “lacks the statutory authority to impose its desired net-neutrality policies” because broadband providers offer an “information service” and are not a telecommunications service under federal law.
Griffin said that because broadband providers are an information service they are not “not subject to common-carrier regulations.”
Standoff in Seoul ends as officers suspend attempt to arrest President Yoon– www.euronews.com Source Link Excerpt:
It’s the latest confrontation in a political crisis that has paralysed South Korean politics and seen two heads of state impeached in under a month.
South Korean authorities have suspended an attempt to arrest the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol and left his residence in Seoul after an almost six-hour standoff with security forces.
The country’s anti-corruption agency said it withdrew its investigators after the presidential security service blocked them from entering Yoon’s residence due to concerns about their safety.
The agency expressed “serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to a process by law.”
Biden blocks U.S. Steel takeover by Japan’s Nippon Steel, citing national security– www.cnbc.com Source Link Excerpt:
President Joe Biden on Friday officially blocked the takeover of U.S. Steel by Japan’s Nippon Steel, making good on his promise to keep an industrial name that is more than a century old under domestic ownership.
Biden said the proposed $14.9 billion acquisition by Nippon would place one of the largest steel producers in the U.S. under foreign control, creating a risk for the nation’s critical supply chains.
“Today’s action reflects my unflinching commitment to utilize all authorities available to me as President to defend U.S. national security, including by ensuring that American companies continue to play a central role in sectors that are critical for our national security,” Biden said in a statement.
U.S. Steel’s stock dropped by nearly 8% in premarket trading Friday following the president’s announcement.
Biden Beefing up U.S. Military Presence in Kurdish Syria– www.breitbart.com Source Link Excerpt:
Multiple reports from northern Syria on Thursday indicated the U.S. military is reinforcing its presence in Syrian Kurdistan, or Rojava, potentially building a new base in the city of Kobani.
The regional outlet Kurdistan 24 reported on Thursday that “a convoy of 50 trucks carrying Bremer walls entered Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)-controlled areas in northeastern Syria (Rojava) on Thursday.” Citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a non-governmental organization (NGO), Kurdistan 24 reported that the convoy was headed to the Kurdish city of Kobani, on the Turkish border.
“Sources from the observatory indicated that the delivery is part of ongoing efforts by US forces to reinforce existing bases and establish a new military facility in Kobani,” Kurdistan 24 reported. “Reliable SOHR sources have confirmed that excavation and construction work is expected to begin on Friday, with additional reinforcements anticipated.”
The independent news outlet Iran International separately reported on Thursday, citing news sources tied to the SDF, that the U.S. “coalition” against the Islamic State was “constructing a military base in Kobani.” The SDF-linked news outlets also confirmed sightings of the construction materials convoy heading to the city.
Another Middle East news outlet, Shafaq, also reported on Thursday that the convoy was carrying reinforcements to SDF-controlled areas, describing it as a convoy associated with “US forces.”
“The reinforcements reportedly included 14 cargo planes carrying military equipment and soldiers, along with 233 military vehicles comprising trucks, armored vehicles, and troop carriers,” Shafaq reported.
The U.S. military maintains operations in Syria intended to contain the resurgence of the Islamic State terrorist organization, which once boasted a “caliphate” headquartered in northern Raqqa. The “caliphate” was destroyed largely by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a coalition of militias led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG/YPJ). The U.S. government collaborates closely with the SDF to contain ISIS activity and helps it maintain prisons in which thousands of suspected Islamic State jihadis and their families remain, often rejected for repatriation by their home countries.
The situation in Syria remains chaotic following the collapse of the over 50-year-old Assad family regime in December. The al-Qaeda offshoot militia Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) conquered Damascus on December 7, prompting Iran-friendly dictator Bashar Assad to flee to Russia. HTS currently controls the Islamist “interim” government of Syria and has begun negotiations with the Kurdish north to address the existence of an essentially autonomous Kurdish zone in the country. While the SDF did not maintain especially friendly relations with Assad, many members of the YPG and all-female YPJ are fighting to establish a sovereign Kurdistan carved partially out of Syria, placing them at odds with HTS. At press time, HTS leaders have insisted that they will give Kurds some power in their government as an indigenous Syrian group.
While the civil war that began in 2011 to overthrow Assad has concluded, the SDF remains embroiled in a conflict with another militia, the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). Following the surprise attack on Aleppo by HTS in late November, which resulted in the rapid collapse of Assad’s military presence there, the SNA announced a campaign called “Operation Dawn of Freedom” to destroy the SDF. The Turkish government considers the SDF a terrorist organization indistinguishable from the U.S.-designated terror group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey’s years-long onslaught against the U.S.-allied SDF has caused longstanding tensions between the two NATO allies.
HTS taking over Syria has not stopped “Operation Dawn of Freedom,” nor has the SDF announcing it seeks to work with HTS to establish peace in the country. HTS is not directly associated with the SNA but maintains friendly ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who for years called for the overthrow of Assad and openly cheered for his demise in December.
As a result of “Operation Dawn of Freedom,” the SDF has said it has almost completely stopped all anti-ISIS operations. The commander of the SDF, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, told the British Sky News agency days after Assad fled the country that anti-ISIS activities had “halted” – not because he had chosen to stop them, but because the onslaught by Turkish-backed forces made them impossible.
“ISIS is now stronger in the Syrian desert,” Abdi said. “Previously, they were in remote areas and hiding, but now they have greater freedom of movement since they face no issues with other groups and are not engaged in conflict with them.”
“In the areas under our control, their activities have also increased. Just a few days ago, three members of the Internal Security Forces were killed near al Hassakah in an ISIS operation,” he observed.
Abdi warned that SDF-run prisons containing Islamic State terrorists were in significant jeopardy as a result of the Turkish attack.
The SDF prisons are believed to house around 10,000 Islamic State terrorists. Another 40,000 people, families of the terrorists, remain in camps in Syrian Kurdistan. Efforts to repatriate them have had minimal success.
The Turkish government urged the world on Thursday to take control of the prisons away from the SDF.
“The Syrian government should urgently take over the security of the camps and prisons, and if this is not possible, Turkey is ready to provide any support it can on this matter,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan asserted. Like the Islamic State, the current Syrian government is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
Fidan demanded the prisoners return home.
“These detainees in camps and prisons must be repatriated by their respective countries,” the foreign minister said. “Keeping them here indefinitely without subjecting them to any judicial process and without any plan or agenda for their future has turned into a significant crisis in the region.”
Biden to award Presidential Citizens Medal to Jan. 6 committee heads– www.washingtonexaminer.com Source Link Excerpt:
President Joe Biden is awarding the Presidential Citizens Medal to the heads of the Jan. 6 committee.
On Thursday, Biden announced a slew of awardees, including We Were Soldiers Once … and Young author Joseph Galloway, attorney Mary Bonauto of Obergefell v. Hodges fame, and former Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd. The two sure to turn the most heads, however, are Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) and former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who served as the heads of the Jan. 6 committee.
“Throughout two decades in public service, including as a Congresswoman for Wyoming and Vice Chair of the Committee on the January 6 attack, Liz Cheney has raised her voice — and reached across the aisle — to defend our Nation and the ideals we stand for: Freedom. Dignity. And decency. Her integrity and intrepidness remind us all what is possible if we work together,” Cheney’s nomination read.
“Born and raised in a segregated Mississippi, as a college student inspired by the Civil Rights movement, Bennie Thompson volunteered on campaigns and registered southern Black voters. That call to serve eventually led him to Congress, where he chaired the House January 6th Committee — at the forefront of defending the rule of law with unwavering integrity and a steadfast commitment to truth,” Thompson’s nomination read.
Biden’s move serves as a final salvo against President-elect Donald Trump. Cheney, in particular, has made a career after her landslide primary loss as a Republican opponent of Trump, even campaigning alongside outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris to prevent him from retaking the presidency.
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Jack Smith’s Last-Ditch Attempt to Damage Trump– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
Federal District Court Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday temporarily blocked special counsel Jack Smith from releasing his final report regarding his criminal investigations into President-elect Donald Trump.
“Trump co-defendants Waltine Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira filed an emergency motion to block the reported imminent release of Smith’s final report,” Fox News reported.
The report is expected to cover Smith’s prosecutions of Trump concerning his alleged mishandling of classified documents, which the special counsel’s office brought in Florida, and Trump’s alleged interference in the 2020 election, which Smith filed in Washington, D.C.
Cannon — who dismissed the classified documents case in July — said in her Tuesday order she was blocking the report from being released “to prevent irreparable harm arising from the circumstances as described in the current record in this emergency posture, and to permit an orderly and deliberative sequence of events.”
Judge Aileen Cannon has just entered an order TEMPORARILY BLOCKING Special Counsel, Jack Smith, from releasing his Final Report. She says she wants to wait to see what the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals does with Nauta and De Oliveira’s emergency motion they filed this morning. pic.twitter.com/IYNtaxjFTX
Trump Promises ‘Major Pardons’ When Reporter Asks About Jan. 6 Prisoners– www.westernjournal.com Source Link Excerpt:
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that he will be “making major pardons” on behalf of the individuals who entered the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The incoming commander-in-chief revealed during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida that his administration will examine the incident and pardon many who were convicted.
“You said on your first day of office, you’re going to pardon Jan. 6 defendants. Are you planning to pardon those who were charged with violent offences,” a reported asked.
“We’re looking at it, and we have other people in there,” Trump began.
President-Elect Trump pardoning January 6th defendants: “We’re be looking at the whole thing, but yes I’ll be making major pardons, yes.” pic.twitter.com/arHvANly7j
Bird Flu Could Be ‘More Catastrophic Than COVID’– www.dailysignal.com Source Link Excerpt:
Health officials in Louisiana announced Monday the first bird flu death in the United States. The elderly individual, who had underlying medical conditions, was exposed to the virus from a backyard flock and wild birds.
There have been 66 reported cases of bird flu in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the risk remains law, the CDC’s former director has urged Americans to take the virus seriously.
Robert Redfield, who led the CDC during the first Trump administration, spoke with The Daily Signal last year about bird flu. He predicted bird flu, also known as H5N1, would be “much more catastrophic than the COVID pandemic.”
Couple that threw firebombs at Michael Knowles event sentenced to prison, $50,000 in fines– www.thecollegefix.com Source Link Excerpt:
The DiPippas face prison, fines, after violent protests against transgenderism debate left Pitt officer with spinal injury
The couple that threw firebombs at a Michael Knowles event at the University of Pittsburgh was sentenced to prison and $50,000 in fines Monday.
Brian and Krystal DiPippa “entered a packaged plea deal with federal courts after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of law enforcement,” The Pitt News reported.
Brian DiPippa will spend five years in prison, followed by three years of supervision. Krystal DiPippa “was sentenced to three years of probation and 240 hours of community service to ‘restorative justice’ causes,” the outlet reported.
Further, the couple is required to pay $47,284 to a Pitt police officer who suffered a spinal injury during the incident, along with $1,400 to the Pitt Police Department to cover damages to equipment and uniforms.
DNA rewrites when Neanderthals bred with modern humans– www.futurity.org Source Link Excerpt:
A new analysis of DNA from ancient modern humans (Homo sapiens) in Europe and Asia has determined, more precisely than ever, the time period during which Neanderthals interbred with modern humans.
The findings show the interbreeding started about 50,500 years ago and lasted about 7,000 years—until Neanderthals began to disappear.
That interbreeding left Eurasians with many genes inherited from our Neanderthal ancestors, which in total make up between 1% and 2% of our genomes today.
A more precise timeline for modern human interactions with Neanderthals can help scientists understand when humans emigrated out of Africa and peopled the globe, while understanding the DNA that Neanderthals shared with our ancestors provides information on the role Neanderthal genes play in human health.
Med journal publishes ‘non-binary’ professor’s poem about ‘gender-affirming’ hysterectomy– www.thecollegefix.com Source Link Excerpt:
‘Resisting moral panic one stanza at a time,’ professor says
A Western Oregon University professor’s poem about getting a “gender-affirming” hysterectomy appeared in the new issue of the journal Health Promotion Practice this month.
Lauren Bouchard, (pictured) the author of the poem, identifies as “non-binary” and uses “they/them” pronouns. Bouchard is an assistant professor of gerontology at Western Oregon University.
“This poem is me living a vibrant, queer life in academia and at my family’s kitchen table, resisting moral panic one stanza at a time,” the female professor wrote in the introduction to the poem.
The introduction — which shifted between first and third person, referring to the professor as “the author” at the beginning and “me” toward the end — described her as privileged because she was able to get a hysterectomy despite legislation that “target[s] trans and non-binary people.”
Jake Tapper Never Apologized for ‘Devastating’ Report That Falsely Accused Navy Vet of Operating in ‘Black Market,’ Testimony Reveals– freebeacon.com Source Link Excerpt:
PANAMA CITY, Fla.—CNN anchor Jake Tapper never apologized for airing a “devastating” report that falsely portrayed Navy veteran Zachary Young as an “illegal profiteer” operating in a “black market” during America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Young testified Tuesday.
Young is suing CNN in a Florida court for $1 billion in damages. He argues that Tapper’s November 2021 portrayal and an accompanying segment irreparably harmed his reputation and destroyed his contracting company, Nemex Enterprises, by airing false and defamatory claims about his efforts to get Afghans out of the country as the Taliban took control.
The trial has been over two years in the making, with CNN facing a number of setbacks in the lead-up. Young rejected a settlement offer from the network and pointed to its disparaging coverage of Fox News’s $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems. Jurors during Monday’s selection process appeared open to forcing CNN to cough up a 10-figure payout to Young.
How Trump Can Deter Red China From Ransacking Taiwan– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
It’s no secret by now that Joe Biden’s presidency has ushered in a more unstable geopolitical environment. From Eastern Europe to the Middle East, the lack of effective and competent U.S. leadership has given America’s worst adversaries the confidence to act upon their destabilizing agendas — chief among them being Red China.
Throughout the past four years, the Middle Kingdom has significantly upped its aggressive behavior toward the U.S. and its allies in the Indo-Pacific. This has notably included deploying hostile military exercises and other “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan, which Beijing views as Chinese territory and has threatened to take by force, if necessary.
On Friday, Taiwanese authorities reported that a Chinese vessel cut an undersea internet cable connected to the island, a maneuver used by the communist nation in the Baltic Sea in November. According to The Wall Street Journal, the apparent act of sabotage caused “only minimal disruption of service but [sent] a message about the vulnerability of the island and its internet.”
The incident occurred days before Taiwan’s National Security Bureau revealed the island received double the number of cyberattacks from last year, averaging 2.4 million attacks per day. Most of these attacks, the bureau noted, came from China.
Democrat AGs are Trying to Shut Down Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers– www.lifenews.com Source Link Excerpt:
NRL News Today, in our pursuit of keeping pro-lifers up to date on the never-ending pro-abortion offensive against the true and the noble, has written or reposted innumerable stories about the war on pro-life pregnancy centers.
Sometimes Democrats—and they are all Democrats — pretend there is “cause” for suing, defunding, harassing problem pregnancy centers, but almost all of the time the excuses are awfully thin gruel.
Erin Hawley describes herself as a wife, mom of three, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, and a law professor at Regent University School of Law. She is a powerful litigator and a gifted writer. She is married to Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.
Mrs. Hawley wrote a piece that appeared today in World magazine under the headline, “The harassment of pro-life pregnancy centers must stop.”
Michigan to Chop Down over 400 Acres of Trees to Fight ‘Global Warming’ with Chinese Solar Panels– slaynews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Officials in Democrat-controlled Michigan are planning to chop down over 400 acres of trees in the state’s forestland to supposedly fight “global warming.”
A 420-acre swath of state forestland will be cleared to make way for a Chinese solar farm near Gaylord, a top state official confirmed to MLive.
The deal is under a lease agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Officials with the DNR recently assessed 1,200 acres of public trust land in Otsego County near a major power transmission line to decide whether it was suitable for solar arrays.
Agency leaders ultimately decided to lease 35% of that land to accompany other adjacent solar projects already in the works.
This comes as the DNR faces dwindling revenues from hunting and fishing licenses.
Pro-Life Groups Challenge New York Law Forcing Them to Hire Abortion Advocates– www.lifenews.com Source Link Excerpt:
Last week, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled to reinstate a legal challenge brought by several pro-life organizations against a New York law that undermines their First Amendment rights to employ people who agree with their religious beliefs and mission. The Second Circuit reversed a district court’s 2020 dismissal of the case and sent it back to the lower court with instructions to adjudicate the challenge under a more recent 2023 precedent that may give their First Amendment claims merit.
In CompassCare v. Hochul, the case centers around New York Labor Law Section 203-e, which remains effect, and prohibits employers from engaging in “discrimination based on an employee’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making.” CompassCare, a pro-life pregnancy care center, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), a nationwide association of pro-life pregnancy care centers, and First Bible Baptist Church brought the case to protect their ability to employ only like-minded people who will not take part in abortion themselves. The organizations seek an injunction to render the law unconstitutional by contending the law infringes on their First Amendment freedoms of expressive association. They argue the law forces them to employ and associate with those who do not share the organizations’ beliefs regarding abortion, contraception, and sexual morality.
Harvest Organs From Euthanasia Victims Before Death– thefederalist.com Source Link Excerpt:
Canadian doctors have suggested killing euthanasia victims by taking their organs, according to multiple reports, whistleblowers, and public talks. Medical freedom advocates are documenting emerging ties between “medical assistance in dying” (MAID) and organ harvesting.
“The best use of my organs, if I’m going to receive a medically assisted death, might be to not first kill me and then retrieve my organs, but to have my mode of death — as we medically consider death now — to be to retrieve my organs,” said Rob Sibbald, an ethicist of the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario.
Other Canadian doctors have publicly embraced “death by donation,” and a study came out earlier this year exploring euthanasia programs such as MAID as a means of organ harvesting. Canada legalized euthanasia in 2016, and since then the number of Canadians using MAID to kill themselves has significantly increased.
Cybertruck bomber used generative AI to plan attack, New Orleans terrorist used Meta glasses | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com Source Link Excerpt:
Livelsberger used generative AI, including ChatGPT, to plan the Cybertruck bomb attack.
It has been revealed that the Las Vegas Cybertruck bomber, Matthew Livelsberger, used generative AI order to plan out his attack. This comes as it has been learned that the New Orleans terrorist Shamsud-Din Jabbar used Meta smart glasses to plan and carry out his attack on New Year’s Day.
According to the Associated Press, police said Tuesday that Livelsberger used generative AI, including ChatGPT, to plan the Cybertruck bomb attack. He fatally shot himself before the vehicle detonated with explosives in the back. The New York Post also reported that Jabbar scouted out the area of the New Orleans attack with Meta’s smart glasses.
Livelsberger was an active-duty Green Beret at the time of the bombing and a review of his history on ChatGPT showed that he was looking for information on explosives as well as targets. He also searched for if fireworks were legal in Arizona.
Panama Responds to President Trump’s Refusal to Rule Out Using Force to Take Back the Canal– wltreport.com Source Link Excerpt:
Earlier today during an emergency press conference, President Trump was asked to shut down the idea of using military or economic force in order to secure Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Here was his response:
BREAKING: President Trump just signaled that he is prepared to use the U.S. military to obtain Greenland and retake the Panama Canal
Reporter: “Can you assure the world that as you try to get control of these areas, you are not going to use military or economic coercion?”… pic.twitter.com/MhAq6CJTvg
