Trump and Bannon meet at Mar Lago.
https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1864501485012193587
Trump picks billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA
President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to nominate billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA.
“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Isaacman, 41, is the founder and CEO of the payment processing company Shift4. He has flown to space twice on commercial SpaceX missions, but has not worked at NASA or in the federal government. Isaacman funded both of those spaceflights himself, for an undisclosed sum.
In a statement, Isaacman said he was “honored” to receive Trump’s nomination.
“Having been fortunate to see our amazing planet from space, I am passionate about America leading the most incredible adventure in human history,” he wrote on X.
Isaacman has close ties to Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Trump chose Musk, a close ally, to co-lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency.” Musk on Wednesday congratulated Isaacman in a post on X.
Isaacman in 2022 partnered with Musk and SpaceX to pay for and launch the Polaris Program, a series of three private spaceflights to test technologies and maneuvers for exploration beyond Earth’s orbit. Isaacman was one of four private citizens sent into orbit on the first of the spaceflights, known as Polaris Dawn.
The five-day mission, in September, included the first all-civilian spacewalk.
Isaacman also bankrolled and flew on SpaceX’s first all-civilian mission to orbit in 2021.
If Isaacman is confirmed, he will take control of NASA at a pivotal time for the agency, with key missions planned to help return humans to the moon in the coming years.
The United States has faced increasing competition in its efforts to go to the moon and establish a permanent presence on the lunar surface.
China has made significant progress with its space program in recent years and has said it intends to land Chinese astronauts on the moon by 2030. The country has already flown robotic spacecraft to the moon and returned the first samples from the moon’s far side. Chinese leaders have said they plan to eventually build a base on the lunar surface.
“I was born after the Moon landings; my children were born after the final space shuttle launch,” Isaacman said in his statement, adding: “I can promise you this: We will never again lose our ability to journey to the stars and never settle for second place … Americans will walk on the Moon and Mars and in doing so, we will make life better here on Earth.”
Trump’s selection of a relative outsider to lead NASA — along with Musk’s involvement with the incoming administration — may signal a move toward increased commercialization of NASA’s operations. Already, the space agency relies heavily on SpaceX and other commercial partners to launch its astronauts, cargo and spacecraft to the International Space Station and beyond.
NASA’s current administrator, Bill Nelson, has occupied the role since May 2021. Nelson represented Florida as a senator from 2001 to 2019, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1979 to 1991.
In 1986, Nelson became the second sitting member of Congress to fly in space, on the Space Shuttle Columbia’s STS-61C mission. Nelson and his astronaut crewmates conducted science experiments as they orbited Earth 98 times over six days.
Other previous NASA administrators have included former astronauts, scientists, engineers, military officials and politicians.
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/trump-picks-billionaire-jared-isaacman-lead-nasa-rcna182840
China tells semiconductor companies to stop buying U.S. chips
BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese companies should be wary of buying U.S. chips as they are "no longer safe" and buy locally instead, four of the country's top industry associations said on Tuesday in a rare coordinated response to Washington's curbs on Chinese chipmakers.
The two nations have targeted each other's economies in the last few days, escalating tensions even before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January. Trump has promised to impose heavy tariffs on imported Chinese goods, reviving a trade war from his first four-year term as president.
The industry association warnings came after the United States on Monday launched its third crackdown in three years on China's semiconductor industry, curbing exports to 140 companies, including chip equipment maker Naura Technology Group.
Their advice could affect U.S. chipmaking giants such as Nvidia, AMD, and Intel which, despite export controls, have managed to keep selling products in the Chinese market. The three companies did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Semiconductor Industry Association, a U.S. trade association representing major chipmakers, said, "Coordinated calls in China to limit procurement of U.S. chips are unhelpful, and any claims that American chips are 'no longer safe or reliable' are simply inaccurate."
The group reiterated its belief that "export controls should be narrow and targeted to meet specific national security objectives … We encourage both governments to avoid further escalation."
The associations cover some of China's largest industries, including telecommunications, the digital economy, autos, and semiconductors and combined count 6,400 companies as members.
The statements, released shortly after each other, did not detail why U.S. chips were unsafe or unreliable.
Beijing on Tuesday also banned exports of rare minerals used in military applications, solar cells, fibre optic cables and other manufacturing processes. A White House National Security Council spokesperson said the U.S. would take necessary steps to try to deter other "coercive actions" from China and continue efforts to diversify supply chains away from that nation.
Tom Nunlist, associate director at policy research consultancy Trivium China, said the warnings from the associations could be perceived as soft advice. Companies may listen to it, but whether they take action would be dictated by the market.
The export ban on critical minerals was much more crucial, he added.
"China had been moving quite slowly or carefully in terms of retaliating against moves by the United States, but it seems pretty clear that now the gloves are off."
The Internet Society of China urged domestic companies to think carefully before procuring U.S. chips and seek to expand cooperation with chip firms from countries and regions other than the United States, according to its official WeChat account.
It also encouraged domestic firms to "proactively" use chips produced by both domestic and foreign-owned enterprises in China.
U.S. chip export controls have caused "substantial harm" to the health and development of China's internet industry, it added. Companies targeted by the United States said they would be able to continue production due to their efforts to localise output.
The China Association of Communication Enterprises said it no longer saw U.S. chip products as reliable or safe and the Chinese government should investigate how secure the supply chain of the country's critical information infrastructure was.
The warnings echo China's treatment of U.S. memory chipmaker Micron, which became the subject of a cybersecurity review last year shortly after the U.S. imposed export controls on chipmaking technology to China.
China later barred Micron from selling its chips to key domestic industries, impacting a low-double-digit percentage of its total revenue.
Intel has also faced scrutiny. In October, another influential industry group, the Cybersecurity Association of China, called for a security review of Intel products, saying the U.S. chipmaker had "constantly harmed" the country's national security and interests.
(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Ella Cao, Qiaoyi Li, Liam Mo and Ryan Woo; additional reporting by David Shepardson and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Christina Fincher, Jonathan Oatis and Jacqueline Wong)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-firms-diversify-chip-sources-101223516.html
Mid-end bread babe.
Suspected Tren de Aragua gang member in Texas charged with murder, kidnapping
A man suspected of trafficking weapons for the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua has now been charged with capital murder and aggravated kidnapping in Texas.
Eiber Gabriel Sira-Vargas, 29, is being held at the Bexar County Jail with a bail set at $2 million following the death of Alexis Jose Vegas, an 18-year-old who was found face down with multiple gunshot wounds in July on the side of a highway in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
Sira-Vargas was once detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is suspected of weapons trafficking in connection with Tren de Aragua, Fox News Digital reported in September.
Investigators reportedly were led to Sira-Vargas after looking into an alleged robbery.
An unidentified man told police that he was at an apartment with Vegas and another individual on July 1 when three armed suspects broke inside, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
The newspaper says Vegas and the unidentified man were then zip-tied and forced into the back of a vehicle before being taken to a grassy area along U.S. 281.
When they were ordered out of the vehicle at that location, Sira-Vargas and another gunman in the front passenger seat started shooting at the pair, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
The unidentified man reportedly told investigators that he was wounded but pretended to be dead until the suspects left the scene.
Members of Tren de Aragua are said to have committed murders, rapes, extortion, kidnapping and other horrific crimes.
Researchers have traced the origins of Tren de Aragua, which translates to "train of Aragua," to the Tocoron prison in the Aragua state in Venezuela, sometime between 2013 and 2015.
According to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Tren de Aragua has been operating in Texas since at least 2021, when gang affiliates were arrested for human trafficking. The governor in September designated TdA as a "foreign terrorist organization" and launched a statewide operation to aggressively go after the gang.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/suspected-tren-de-aragua-gang-member-texas-charged-murder-kidnapping
French PM Michel Barnier ousted in no-confidence vote
-Michel Barnier has become the first PM of France to be ousted in a no-confidence vote since 1962
-Left and far-right parties united to collapse his government - just three months after he was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron
-Barnier's leadership was called into question after he used special powers to push through his budget without a vote
-After the vote, Marine Le Pen, of the far-right National Rally described his budget as "toxic", while the far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called Barnier's downfall "inevitable"
-President Macron says he will address the nation on Thursday evening
-The BBC's Hugh Schofield says it's a worrying moment for France, with no obvious prospect of the political crisis being resolved any time soon
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ckgxw9wj241t
California Man Arrested for Allegedly Exporting Shipments of Firearms, Ammunition and Other Military Items to North Korea
Shenghua Wen, 41, of Ontario, California, was arrested today on a criminal complaint alleging that he exported shipments of firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea that were concealed inside shipping containers bound from Long Beach.
Wen, a Chinese national illegally residing in the United States, was arrested this morning and is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in the Central District of California.
According to an affidavit filed on Nov. 26 with the complaint, Wen obtained firearms, ammunition, and export-controlled technology with the intention of shipping them to North Korea — a violation of federal law and United States sanctions against that nation. Wen and his co-conspirators allegedly exported shipments of firearms and ammunition to North Korea by concealing the items inside shipping containers that were shipped from Long Beach through Hong Kong to North Korea.
On Aug. 14, law enforcement seized at Wen’s home two devices that he intended to send to North Korea for military use: a chemical threat identification device and a hand-held broadband receiver that detects eavesdropping devices. On Sept. 6, law enforcement seized approximately 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that Wen allegedly obtained to send to North Korea.
A review of Wen’s iPhone revealed to law enforcement that in December 2023, Wen smuggled items from Long Beach to Hong Kong with their destination being North Korea. Messages retrieved from Wen’s cellphones revealed discussions he had earlier this year with co-conspirators about shipping military-grade equipment to North Korea. Some of these messages include photographs that Wen sent of items controlled for export under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. From January to April, Wen sent emails and text messages to a U.S.-based broker about obtaining a civilian plane engine. There also were several text messages on Wen’s iPhone concerning price negotiation for the plane and its engine.
Wen is a Chinese national who is illegally in the United States after overstaying his student visa and is therefore prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition. Wen lacks the required licenses from the U.S. government to export ammunition, firearms, and the other devices that law enforcement seized at his home to North Korea.
Wen is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah E. Gerdes for the Central District of California and Trial Attorney Ahmed Almudallal of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/california-man-arrested-allegedly-exporting-shipments-firearms-ammunition-and-other-military
Pete Hegseth speaks with reports
https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1864385007604629926
Speaker Johnson: We will not continue to fund Ukraine war in next congress
https://x.com/CitizenFreePres/status/1864384058949500951
Senate Democrats reelect Schumer leadership team, promote Klobuchar
Senate Democrats on Tuesday reelected Sen. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) to serve another two years as the Senate Democratic leader and promoted Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to the third-ranking leadership position, replacing retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).
Schumer said in a statement he was “honored and humbled to be chosen by my colleagues to continue leading Senate Democrats during this crucial period for our country.”
“Our caucus has led the way in passing historic legislation that has improved the lives of millions of Americans and we remain laser focused on addressing the most pressing challenges facing our country,” the 74-year-old continued.
Democratic senators voted unanimously to approve the new leadership team for the 119th Congress, showing resolve to remain unified despite their disappointing performance in the 2024 election, which cost them four Senate seats, including those held by longtime Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.).
Democrats also lost the seat held by Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who left the party this year. He did not seek reelection.
Senate Democrats reelected Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to serve another term as whip and promoted Klobuchar to chair of the Senate Democratic Steering and Policy Committee.
Klobuchar moves up to the third-ranking Senate Democratic leadership slot, replacing Stabenow, who has served as the chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has been promoted to the fourth-ranking Senate Democratic leadership position as chair of the newly created Strategic Communications Committee.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) will remain vice chairs of the Senate Democratic Conference.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will remain chair of outreach, and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) will remain vice chair of outreach.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) will continue serving as Senate Democratic Conference secretary, and Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) will serve as deputy Democratic conference secretaries.
Schumer said the new Democratic leadership team will work with Republicans when possible but will be ready to stand firm on issues viewed as important matters of principle.
“As I have long said, our preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible and look for ways to collaborate with our Republican colleagues to help working families. However, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values,” Schumer said.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5019416-senate-democrats-re-elect-schumer/amp/
Sean Hannity moves to Florida, buys $24 million estate.
Fox News host Sean Hannity was just revealed as the buyer of a jaw-dropping $23.5 million estate in Manalapan, FL, snapping up the extravagant waterfront megamansion just 10 months after announcing that he was relocating permanently to the Sunshine State from New York.
Hannity, 62, who hosts his own show on Fox News, as well as a national radio show, announced in January that he would be upping sticks from his longtime home in New York to move to his property in Palm Beach, FL, from where he planned to record both his TV and radio appearances.
The on-air personality purchased his 3,800-square-foot Florida property in 2021 for $5.3 million—but had only ever used it as a vacation home before opting to “leave New York for good” in order to pursue his “freedom.”
However, it appears the luxurious pad didn’t afford Hannity quite enough space to run free, and he has now added an enormous 12,378-square-foot dwelling to his real estate holdings in his new home state.
His new property is a 30-minute drive from Palm Beach proper and boasts an impressive eight bedrooms and 10.5 bathrooms, as well as 1.86 acres of waterfront land.
While the home—which was listed by Gary Pohrer and Nick Malinosky, of The Exclusive Group at Douglas Elliman—was originally built in 1990, it has undergone several renovations since it last traded hands in 2021, according to its listing.
These updates include “new flooring, all new bathrooms; new impact sliders; and a new cooler unit in wine room.”
Perhaps its most alluring quality, however, is its plum spot on the barrier island of Manalapan, which ensures close proximity to the beach, plenty of privacy, and staggering views of the water at all hours of the day.
The home was certainly designed with water fanatics in mind, offering a “resort-style” heated swimming pool, a large private dock, and a private beach house.
However, despite its many impressive amenities and recent upgrades, local real estate agents told the Wall Street Journal that some might consider the home a teardown and opt to raze it to make way for something more modern and imposing.
It is unclear whether Hannity plans to move into the home immediately after his Nov. 26 closing, or if he will aim to complete his own work on the property until it meets his living standards.
What is certain is that the Fox News host has no immediate plans to return to New York any time soon, having first revealed in January that he was “done” with the state forever.
"I’ve been threatening now to do this for quite a while, but we are now beginning our first broadcast from my new home and that is in the free state of Florida,” Hannity said during a January episode of his iHeartRadio show. “I am out. I am done. I’m finished.”
The outspoken conservative explained that the motivation for his move down south came from his dislike of the political policies implemented by representatives in New York, explaining that he felt much more aligned with those adopted by leaders in Florida.
“Finally, for the first time that I can think of in my adult life, I actually have representatives in the state that I’m living in that share my values,” he went on. “Like so many Americans, I left New York for good and am now in the state with, let’s see: warmer weather, law and order, better education, more freedom, better quality of life – and guess what? No state income tax.”
Hannity cut ties with the state of New York once and for all in June, when he sold his picture-prefect Oyster Bay estate for $12.7 million, 16 years after he purchased the waterfront property for $8.5 million.
The TV host listed the residence in early May for $13.75 million. The palatial property, which was sold fully furnished, quickly sparked a bidding war and was under contract within seven days.
At the time, the listing agents, Shawn Elliott and his son, Zachary Elliott, of Nest Seeker’s International, told Realtor.com® that it was a “new record for the fasted home sale over $10 million in the area,” with Shawn adding that the person who purchased the home was a longtime fan of Hannity.
The identity of the seller of the anchor’s new property has not been revealed and records reveal that the deal was carried out via an LLC, likely to preserve the anonymity of its former owner.
In the years since the home was completed in 1990, it has changed hands only a few times, starting in 2005, when it sold for $8.75 million. It was then put back on the market in 2009, ultimately selling for $8.98 million later that year.
That owner retained the property for more than a decade before selling it on in 2018 for $18 million.
Hannity ultimately scored a fairly sizable discount on the enormous estate, which was first listed for sale in February 2024 for $29 million, before that price was lowered to $25.95 million in October.
It’s unclear whether Hannity plans to live in the home by himself, or if his two children, who he shares with ex-wife Jill Rhodes, will spend at least a portion of their time in the Florida mansion.
https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/sean-hannity-buys-florida-megamansion/
So he got assassinated cuz he fucked up on delivering for his shareholders?
Sexiest revolution I ever seen.
Appeals court rules US can deport illegal immigrants despite local objections in win for incoming Trump admin
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can continue using a Seattle airport for chartered deportation flights in a win for incoming President-elect Trump's administration, a federal appeals court ruled.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling rejected a 2019 local executive order that sought to counter then-President Trump’s immigration policies, saying that King County, Washington violated its contract by prohibiting deportations at King County International Airport, which is also known as Boeing Field.
The court ruled that the order was unlawful because it discriminated against ICE and targeted federal operations. In 2019, Trump used Boeing Fields to deport illegal migrants from the U.S. and the local county sought to block the president's removal operations.
The order prompted ICE to begin using an airport in Yakima, Washington — a much longer drive from ICE’s Northwest detention center— for the deportation flights.
"The relocation increased operational costs due to the greater distance from ICE detention facilities to the airport. It also led to increased security concerns," the ruling noted.
In response, a legal battle with King County ensued. The U.S. in 2020 sued the county, alleging that it violated the terms of a World War II-era contract that guarantees the federal government’s right to use the airport along with discriminating against ICE.
In a ruling on Friday, Nov. 30, 9th Circuit Judge Daniel A. Bress upheld the court's decision. In the ruling, obtained by Fox News Digital, he wrote that, "this is not a situation in which King County officials are being conscripted into carrying out federal immigration laws on the federal government’s behalf."
"Instead, the United States is asking King County, in its capacity as the owner of a public airport facility, to lift a discriminatory prohibition on private parties’ ability to engage in business with the federal government that supports federal immigration efforts," the ruling states.
The new order also calls for transparency around any deportation flights.
The airport now offers a conference room where the public can observe deportation flights on a video feed, and the county posts a log of deportation flights from the airport on its website.
The ruling is a win for the incoming Trump administration. The president-elect has vowed to initiate deportation efforts on his first day back in office.
His promise was cemented by his pick of "border czar," Tom Homan.
"If you don’t want to work with us, then get the hell out all the way. We’re going to do it,’ Homan recently said.
Trump's election has prompted blue city officials to voice their opposition against Trump's deportation efforts. Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said that he is prepared to go to jail in opposition to Trump's plans.
The governors of Illinois, Arizona and Massachusetts have said that they also won’t assist the administration in the operation.
In Illinois, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker promised to uphold sanctuary status, boldly declaring, "If you come for my people, you come through me."
Arizona's Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs said her state will not be helping in what she called a "misguided" plan.
"What I will unequivocally say is that, as governor, I will not tolerate efforts that are part of misguided policies that harm our communities, that threaten our communities, that terrorize our communities, and Arizona will not take part in those," Hobbs said.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey insisted that Massachusetts state police would "absolutely not" help the Trump administration's planned deportations.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/appeals-court-rules-us-can-deport-illegal-immigrants-despite-local-objections-win-incoming-trump-admin
When 2 hobbies come together.