Homeowner Arrested After Trying to Move Back Into Her House Inhabited by Squatter

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A Georgia woman was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing after she tried to move into her own home — but was rebuffed by an alleged squatter.

“I spent the night on a mat on a concrete floor in deplorable conditions while this woman, this squatter, slept in my home,” said Loletha Hale, who was arrested outside her mother’s old home in Livingston on Dec. 9.

Hale had arrived at the house to clean the place out after a months-long battle with the alleged squatter, Sakemeyia Johnson, whom a court had ordered out in mid-November.

But when she arrived, Johnson – who had never been a tenant of Hale, and was merely related to an evicted tenant’s partner — was still inside, and had brought somebody along to intimidate Hale.

“I returned on Monday to start painting and she had broken the locks at my property,” Hale told WSB-TV. (Read more from “Homeowner Arrested After Trying to Move Back Into Her House Inhabited by Squatter” HERE)

Gruesome: Lawmaker Says Killing People With Assisted Suicide Slashes Health-Care Costs

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In what may be one of the more gruesome financial arguments ever, a lawmaker in Scotland has argued that people who die through assisted suicide won’t have many end-of-life care costs, and the savings will cover the expenses of those suicide drugs.

It is the Christian Institute that reported on the arguments from Liam McArthur, a lawmaker in Scotland who designed that nation’s assisted suicide scheme.

McArthur told the Finance and Public Administration Committee of the government’s legislature in Holyrood of the “potential savings” from a lower level of palliative care would mean his bill to expand assisted suicides would be “cost-neutral.”

“Members of the committee questioned McArthur about the costings in his Financial Memorandum, published to accompany his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill,” the institute reported.

His argument in his memorandum document states, “Community Pharmacy Scotland estimated that, as an example, one substance that may be used in such circumstances would cost an estimated £80 ($100) for each dose provided to a terminally ill adult to end their own life.” (Read more from “Gruesome: Lawmaker Says Killing People With Assisted Suicide Slashes Health-Care Costs” HERE)

WATCH: Biden Has Already Pardoned 1,500 People, but This One Is Jaw-Dropping

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Outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden still has another four weeks until he leaves office, but he has pardoned or commuted sentences for some 1,500 people. There are sweepstakes for what the total number of will be, but there is one person – not even an American citizen for whom the Democrat’s largesse and clemency might fundamentally change a country.

The move came following the first U.S. diplomatic visit to Syria since 2012. Barbara Leaf, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told reporters she had informed Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, whose nom de guerre is Abu Mohammad al-Julani, and who is leader of the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS group which led Assad’s overthrow, the United States would not pursue a $10 million terrorism bounty on him for his role as the head of a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group, reported the Jewish News Syndicate.

Seth Frantzman, Adjunct Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, who is a seasoned watcher of things Syrian and covered parts of the civil war on the ground said “once al-Julani took over Damascus and the Assad regime was gone, he was no longer just the head of some militant group. Furthermore, he has made himself very publicly available and he has had meetings with both Turkish and EU diplomats.

To keep the bounty would be impractical and it has outlasted its usefulness. Ultimately, it looks like the U.S. would like to give him and his organization a chance to moderate, and engage with the West. It is an incentive either to him personally or HTS in general to not be what he or they used to be, which is known as an off-shoot of al-Qaida.”

Lt. Col. (res.) Sarit Zehavi, who is the founder and president of the Alma Research and Education Center told WorldNetDaily al-Julani’s rehabilitation as an accepted statesman and de facto Syrian leader was “a bad lesson for terrorists to learn. It shows them that if they want to be seen as legitimate all they have to do is take over a state and suddenly the terrorist designation is canceled.” (Read more from “WATCH: Biden Has Already Pardoned 1,500 People, but This One Is Jaw-Dropping” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skimdore via Flickr

WATCH: ‘Majestic’ Owl Comes Down Family’s Chimney to Perch on Christmas Tree

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A wide-eyed creature recently decided to give a family in Arlington, Virginia, a surprise Christmas visit.

The family was in shock when they realized a Barred Owl had come down their chimney like Santa Claus and made itself at home, WUSA 9 reported on Friday.

The Burgoyne family recorded the owl flying around inside their home before it decided to perch on top of their Christmas tree.

Sgt. Murray with the Animal Welfare League of Arlington arrived at the scene to help capture the bird and eventually released it back into its own habitat.

“Twas the week before Christmas, and perched on the tree was an unexpected visitor as majestic as can be!” the animal welfare group wrote in a social media post on Thursday that featured pictures of the owl inside the house:

(Read more from “WATCH: ‘Majestic’ Owl Comes Down Family’s Chimney to Perch on Christmas Tree” HERE)

Education Department Cancels Loan Cancellation Scheme

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The U.S. Department of Education announced today that it will be withdrawing both parts of its Plan C for student loan cancellation. One part involves various ways the department would have declared that a borrower has a “hardship” deserving of complete loan cancellation. The other part would have identified additional categories for waivers of loan repayments, such as when the borrower’s loan balance is larger than the original loan (which is, in fact, a normal situation for many borrowers who get their loan payments deferred for various reasons). Both are being withdrawn via a scheduled notice in the Federal Register on Dec. 26.

Withdrawing the hardship rule was what my Heritage Foundation colleague Madison Marino and I advised in our regulatory comment on the proposed rule. We argued that the department should confess its pretextual rulemaking—conveniently finding “authority” to cancel as much debt as quickly as possible—and that this newly discovered authority violated what is called the Major Questions Doctrine, which presumes that Congress doesn’t delegate to agencies issues of major political or economic significance.

We noted several additional problems in the proposed hardship rule, such as a completely unknown cost to the government and, therefore, to the taxpayers. That’s because other student loan schemes of the department, especially the SAVE plan (which changes the parameters of income-based repayment plans), have been enjoined by courts—they can’t be enforced—so it’s very hard to determine how many borrowers would be affected by eligibility for one scheme or the other. (Read more from “Education Department Cancels Loan Cancellation Scheme” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Trump Shuts Down Notion of Musk Usurping Him: ‘He’s Not Taking the Presidency’

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President-elect Donald Trump dismissed claims that he is ceding the presidency to Elon Musk during a wide-ranging speech celebrating his election victory and sharing his plans for his second term.

Trump spoke at Turning Point USA’s AmFest in Phoenix, Arizona, in his first rally-style speech since the election. During an address that lasted over an hour, Trump discussed many topics, including his work with Musk on the Department of Government Efficiency. At one point, the president-elect referred to claims from the left that he had ceded the presidency to Musk in large part due to the billionaire Tesla CEO leading the opposition to a proposed continuing resolution.

“He’s not taking the presidency,” Trump told the crowd on Sunday. “I like having smart people. You know, they’re on a new kick. Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, all the different hoaxes. And the new one is ‘President Trump has ceded the presidency to Elon Musk.’ No, no, that’s not happening, but Elon has done an amazing job. Isn’t it nice to have smart people that we could rely on?”

Trump then praised Musk’s work with Starlink and SpaceX before joking that he does not have to worry about the South African-born billionaire becoming president. (Read more from “Trump Shuts Down Notion of Musk Usurping Him: ‘He’s Not Taking the Presidency’” HERE)

Trump Predicts His Administration Will Be ‘Fully Operational’ Within Two Hours

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President-elect Donald Trump said his second administration will be “fully operational” in roughly two hours.

The prediction was made on Sunday during Trump’s remarks at Turning Point USA’s America Fest in Phoenix, Arizona, while he was talking about border security. . .

Trump is expected to take the oath of office during his inauguration ceremony at the U.S. Capitol at around noon ET on January 20, 2025.

“For those of us standing before you today, I can proudly proclaim that the golden age of America is upon us,” Trump declared, eliciting cheers from the audience.

(Read more from “Trump Predicts His Administration Will Be ‘Fully Operational’ Within Two Hours” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Dems Refused to Pass Kids Cancer Research Bill Until They Could Use It to Push 1,500 Pages of Pork

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In March the Republican-led House passed H.R. 3391, which would continue funding research of pediatric diseases like childhood cancer. The legislation never went anywhere in the Senate under the leadership of Democrat Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. But now Democrats are trying to use sick kids with cancer as leverage to pass 1,500-plus pages of pork.

On Wednesday Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a 1,500-page so-called “continuing resolution” that was really nothing more than a stuffed omnibus bill that included money for censorship, sweetheart deals for Congress, and other unnecessary expenditures. Almost immediately the pork-stuffed “continuing resolution” was rebuked by millions of Americans, including President-elect Donald Trump and incoming co-director of the Department of Government Efficient (DOGE) Elon Musk.

Following public pressure, the House released a trimmed-down version (116 pages) on Thursday. That measure funds the government through March 14. The new version keeps the $110 billion in disaster relief and farmer assistance from the original bill and suspends the debt ceiling for two years. The new version also removed the funding for childhood cancer.

And suddenly — after H.R. 3391 has collected dust in the Senate under the leadership of Schumer for months –Democrats are outraged about funding for pediatric cancer research.

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein wrote that after “pediatric cancer research advocates spent years” working to get funding, “Elon began tweeting.” Elon “killed the budget deal,” according to Stein, and with it funding for childhood cancer research. (Read more from “Dems Refused to Pass Kids Cancer Research Bill Until They Could Use It to Push 1,500 Pages of Pork” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Panama President Rejects Trump’s Threat of Taking Back Control of Panama Canal: ‘Not Negotiable’

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Panama’s president shot down President-elect Donald Trump’s threat on Sunday that the US would call on the Central American country to cede control of the Panama Canal if it continued to charge “exorbitant” fees to use the critical shipping channel.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino came out swinging against Trump’s suggestion that the US could demand it regain control of the century-old waterway when he assumes office next month.

“I want to express precisely that every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belong to Panama, and will continue to,” Mulino said in a statement posted on social media.

“The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable. Every Panamanian, here or anywhere in the world, carries it in their heart, and it is part of our history of struggle and irreversible conquest.”

Trump first made noise about the key route on Saturday before he addressed the topic again during a speech Sunday at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest. (Read more from “Panama President Rejects Trump’s Threat of Taking Back Control of Panama Canal: ‘Not Negotiable’” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Democrats Perform Tactical Retreat on Trangenderism

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Pro-transgender officials in President Joe Biden’s administration are dropping a draft regulation that threatened expensive lawsuits against any school that preserved sports for girls.

The move will prevent President-elect Donald Trump’s deputies from rewriting the draft regulations to protect — rather than punish — single-sex K-12 sports.

The pro-transgender regulations from the Department of Education were also intended to force government schools to downplay heterosexuality — and to raise the status of transgenderism — by creating legal rights for K-12 teenagers who claim they are neither male nor female.

“Not upset it’s dead,” said Erin Reed, a writer who claims to be transgender. Biden’s “rule was a terrible rule that could have been weaponized against trans athletes by the Trump admin and there’s a reason 14/16 trans legislators signed a letter against it,” Reed wrote on BlueSky.com.

“The decision helped ensure that the open proposals could not be quickly rewritten and that the Trump administration would have to at least start the process of introducing its own regulations from scratch,” the New York Times wrote. (Read more from “Democrats Perform Tactical Retreat on Trangenderism” HERE)