South Korean Defense Minister Resigns After Martial Law Disaster

South Korean President Yoon Sook-yeol on Thursday accepted the resignation of Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun, even as critics demanded Yoon step down over his aborted attempt to impose martial law Tuesday.

Kim reportedly proposed the ill-fated declaration of martial law to Yoon, who stunned the world and plunged Seoul into chaos by issuing the order on Tuesday night, local time. The National Assembly, South Korea’s parliament, defied Yoon’s orders by barricading itself inside the assembly chamber and voting to lift martial law within a matter of hours.

Yoon declared martial law because he claimed the legislature had been infiltrated by “subversive anti-state elements” that were paralyzing his administration and blocking his agenda, all for the benefit of “North Korean communist forces.” He had deployed police and military forces around the National Assembly building in an unsuccessful attempt to keep legislators from voting.

Yoon also accused the opposition Democratic Party (DP) of cutting funding for police and the courts to thwart investigations into party leader Lee Jae-myung. The DP, in turn, accused Yoon of declaring martial law to block investigations into high officials of his People Power Party (PPP), including himself and his wife.

Kim is the first high-ranking Yoon ally to tender his resignation. Rumors swirled in Seoul that other top officials in the administration would resign, but so far they have not done so. (Read more from “South Korean Defense Minister Resigns After Martial Law Disaster” HERE)

‘Committed Crimes Against Innocent People’: ICE Deports Illegal Felon for 7th Time

By Daily Caller. Deportation officers in November removed a repeat felon from the United States for the seventh time, highlighting the difficulties of preventing dangerous foreign nationals from sneaking into the country.

Julio Cesar Hernandez Funez, a 41-year-old Honduran national, was deported back to his home country on Nov. 16, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The illegal migrant, who has a lengthy rap sheet for drug trafficking and other crimes, had already been sent back to Honduras six prior times — once in 2006, 2013, 2014, twice in 2015 and again in 2016. (Read more from “‘Committed Crimes Against Innocent People’: ICE Deports Illegal Felon for 7th Time” HERE)

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Illegal Immigration Cost U.S. Taxpayers $150.7B: DOGE

By News Nation. American taxpayers shelled out more than $150 billion on immigrants in the U.S. illegally in 2023 alone, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) estimates.

DOGE, which is expected to become a federal agency in Donald Trump’s upcoming administration, said in a social media posting the spending compares to projects such as building the Hoover Dam, funding World War I and constructing the atomic bomb and accounted for 2% of the overall U.S. budget.

Newsweek reported that if accurate, the $150.7 billion spent on illegal immigration would rival the $151 billion that the government spent in 2023 to provide income security programs to military veterans and their families in 2023.

Meanwhile, sanctuary cities like New York, Chicago, and Denver have also paid millions and sometimes even billions on new arrivals since 2022.

Data shows that New York City, which has provided shelter, food, and other services for 223,000 migrants since 2022, has paid $ 5.22 billion for the care of new arrivals. Chicago, which has reported 51,643 new arrivals that have been bused there from the southern border by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, has spent $574.5 million. (Read more from “Illegal Immigration Cost U.S. Taxpayers $150.7B: DOGE HERE)

Historic: Bitcoin Surges Past $100,000 in Wake of Trump Win

The price of bitcoin has now hit an all-time high record of $101,000, a symbolic milestone that comes amid a wave of optimism in the cryptocurrency space following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory.

Bitcoin, the flagship cryptocurrency, punched above six figures on Wednesday. The new record is a remarkable increase from where the price of bitcoin was before Trump — who has touted himself as a defender of crypto — bested Vice President Kamala Harris to win the presidency.

A day before the election, a single bitcoin was worth about $68,000. The cryptocurrency has provided 47% return on investment in just a matter of days. Zooming out even further, bitcoin has vaulted up 124% in value since the start of the year, and 165% from this time last year.

If someone would have invested $5,000 in bitcoin just five years ago as the nascent crypto sector was starting to gain steam, their investment would have increased to $62,500.

Much of the recent increase can be tied to Trump’s win. Crypto advocates anticipate a much more friendly environment for bitcoin under Trump and for bitcoin to become even more institutionally accepted, a big departure from President Joe Biden, whose administration was seen as hostile to the industry. (Read more from “Historic: Bitcoin Surges Past $100,000 in Wake of Trump Win” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Immigrant — Just 13 Years Old — Stabs Man With Help of 3 Masked Accomplices Because Victim Wouldn’t Snap Their Photo: Report

A 13-year-old immigrant from Ecuador stabbed a man in New York City with help from three masked accomplices after the victim wouldn’t photograph them, the New York Post reported, citing police and sources.

A young teenage male and his comrades approached the 23-year-old victim around 9 p.m. Sunday at West 40th Street and Seventh Avenue and asked him to take a photo of them, police and sources told the Post.

When the man declined, the 13-year-old and the other three ganged up on the man, punching him in the face and stabbing him in the back and leg with a brass-knuckle knife, the paper said, citing authorities.

Police added that they unsuccessfully tried to grab the victim’s cellphone, the Post reported, adding that authorities and police said the victim refused medical attention as the stab wounds were superficial.

The suspects ran off, but officers managed to nab the male teen in question after searching the area with the victim, police added to the paper. (Read more from “Immigrant — Just 13 Years Old — Stabs Man With Help of 3 Masked Accomplices Because Victim Wouldn’t Snap Their Photo: Report” HERE)

Photo credit: Flickr

Pete Hegseth’s Mother Sets the Record Straight After ‘Despicable’ NYT Published Private Email

The mother of embattled Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, appeared on live television to set the record straight after the New York Times published a private 2018 email sent to her son in which she deeply regrets.

During an interview with Fox and Friends, the show Hegseth used to co-host before being nominated by Trump to work in his cabinet, Penelope Hegseth said she wrote the email out of haste due to her anger in the heat of the moment. She pointed out that she apologized to her son hours later in a second email—which, of course, had not been leaked.

Over the weekend, I covered the absurd NYT article in which the outlet tried to persuade its readers that even Hegseth’s own mother had claimed he has “mistreated women for years” amidst the sexual misconduct allegations against the former news host.

Six years ago, Penelope emailed her son, expressing her disappointment with him amid his divorce. She said he was displaying a “lack of character” and called him an “abuser of women.”

“That is the ugly truth, and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego,” Penelope Hegseth wrote. “You are that man (and have been for years), and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth,” advising the former Fox News host to “get some help and take an honest look at yourself.” (Read more from “Pete Hegseth’s Mother Sets the Record Straight After ‘Despicable’ NYT Published Private Email” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Trump’s Press Secretary Pick Deleted Posts Praising Pence and Capitol Cop on Jan. 6

Karoline Leavitt, the longtime Donald Trump aide who will become his White House press secretary when his second term begins in January, removed a pair of social media posts in which she reposted praise of former Vice President Mike Pence for certifying the 2020 election.

The Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine shows that Leavitt — who was then an aide to New York Representative Elise Stefanik — retweeted a January 7, 2021, tweet from Tim Scott spokesperson Ken Farnaso in which he called Pence “a steady hand through the chaos” at the U.S. Capitol the previous day, when a riotous mob of Trump supporters tried to prevent certification of the 2020 election. . .

Three days later, Leavitt retweeted a post from a CNN producer, who shared a screengrab of now-famous video footage of Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman.

In the widely-viewed video, Goodman is seen goading a pack of rioters and leading them away from the unsecured Senate chamber door, giving senators and staff time to lock the doors as the mob approached the second floor of the Capitol.

Yet, according to CNN, Leavitt subsequently removed both posts as she was attempting to reinvent herself as a pro-Trump congressional candidate ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. (Read more from “Trump’s Press Secretary Pick Deleted Posts Praising Pence and Capitol Cop on Jan. 6” HERE)

Trump Sends Clear Message To Some Of America’s Biggest Companies With His Pick For Top DOJ Spot

President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will tap economic policy adviser to Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, Gail Slater, as assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Before his second victory, Trump repeatedly called out Big Tech’s involvement in manipulating information behind the scenes, alleging that the companies have “systematically” colluded to advance a “censorship regime.” In an announcement on Truth Social, Trump stated the corporations have used their “market power to crack down on the rights of so many Americans” and “those of Little Tech.”

“I was proud to fight these abuses in my First Term, and our Department of Justice’s antitrust team will continue that work under Gail’s leadership,” Trump wrote.

“In her new role, Gail will help ensure that our competition laws are enforced, both vigorously and FAIRLY, with clear rules that facilitate, rather than stifle, the ingenuity of our greatest companies. Congratulations Gail – Together, we will Make America Competitive Again!” Trump continued. (Read more from “Trump Sends Clear Message To Some Of America’s Biggest Companies With His Pick For Top DOJ Spot” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

9th Circuit: Local Authorities In Washington State Can’t Block Feds From Deporting Illegals

A three-judge panel on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government has the authority to deport illegal immigrants even if local leaders try to impede the process.

The case arose after King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an executive order in 2019 that instructed county officials to prohibit “fixed base operators” (FBO) on a county airfield from servicing flights chartered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport illegal immigrants who are lawfully removable. FBO’s “lease space from the airport and provide flights with essential services, such as fueling and landing stairs,” according to the ruling.

The Trump administration sued because the order impeded ICE from enforcing the law and removing illegal immigrants. The administration argued that the order violated the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and a World War II-era agreement that gave the federal government permission to use the King County airport.

The three-judge panel affirmed both contentions. The panel ruled that the executive order was a violation of the Supremacy Clause’s intergovernmental immunity doctrine because it “improperly regulates the way in which the federal government transports noncitizen detainees by preventing ICE from using private FBO contractors at Boeing Field.” The court also held that the executive order discriminated against the federal government by “regulat[ing] them unfavorably on some basis related to their governmental ‘status.’” (Read more from “9th Circuit: Local Authorities In Washington State Can’t Block Feds From Deporting Illegals” HERE)

Trump Makes Major Move in Crumbling Fani Willis Case

President-elect Donald Trump has filed a motion requesting that the Georgia Court of Appeals “confirm its lack of jurisdiction” to continue hearing his appeal and then direct the trial court to “immediately dismiss” altogether the Fulton County election interference case against him brought by Democrat DA Fani Willis.

According to the five-page notice of jurisdictional issue filed Wednesday, Trump is arguing the case’s unconstitutionality, now that he is about to enter the White House again with the protection of presidential immunity.

“A sitting president is completely immune from indictment or any criminal process, state or federal,” Trump’s defense counsel wrote.

Accordingly, the U.S. Constitution prohibits “plac[ing] into the hands of a single prosecutor and grand jury the practical power to interfere with the ability of a popularly elected President to carry out his constitutional functions,” as a 2000 memo out of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Office of Legal Counsel upheld. (Read more from “Trump Makes Major Move in Crumbling Fani Willis Case” HERE)

‘Resurgence’: Christian Leaders See a 4th ‘Great Awakening’ as Americans Flock to Jesus

More Americans are leaning into their Christian faith in what some religious leaders and scholars are calling a “fourth Great Awakening.”

Bible sales in the United States have skyrocketed in 2024, religious colleges are seeing enrollment boosts despite overall declines in higher education attendance and several states are pushing for Bible-based curriculum in public schools. Some Bible scholars believe this may mark a significant cultural shift.

“While it has been apparent to a few of us for some time, millions are now realizing that ‘woke’ ideologies are, in fact, destructive attempts to re-found the nation according to a new civic religion which both parodies and persecutes Christianity,” Chad Pecknold, theologian and professor at The Catholic University of America, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Despite overall book sales increasing by only 1% compared to 2023, Bible sales in the U.S. have reached an impressive 22% increase as of October 2024, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Cardinal Newman Society in October reported that enrollment at Catholic colleges has risen in 2024 despite an overall enrollment decrease at other institutions, with several schools such as Ave Maria University in Florida and Benedictine College in Kansas seeing record growth, increasing attendance by more than 20% over the last 10 years. (Read more from “‘Resurgence’: Christian Leaders See a 4th ‘Great Awakening’ as Americans Flock to Jesus” HERE)