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Ukraine Rejects Key Aspects Of Trump's Peace Plan, Won't Cede Territory

On Monday the Zelensky government laid out its red lines concerning the US-proposed peace plan with Russia, which demands that Kiev agree to territorial concessions in the eastern Donbas region.

Ukraine's senior political leaders and lawmakers, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, set firm non-negotiable conditions for any future peace agreement with Russia, coupled with a warning that Moscow is attempting to force the international community to accept its territorial seizures, according to Ukrainian media.

Kyiv Post cited parliament speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk as making clear that Ukraine will not accept "any form of legal recognition of Russia’s occupation," nor will accept that restrictions be placed on its armed forces, given the US 28-point plan calls for just that. The statement is said to also express with will of the presidential office.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ukraine-rejects-key-aspects-trumps-peace-plan-including-giving-territory

"It's A Tinder Box": GOP Members Consider Following MTG Into Retirement, Say White House Treats Them 'Like Garbage'

One particularly pissed Republican told Punchbowl:

“This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage. ALL. And Mike Johnson has let it happen because he wanted it to happen. That is the sentiment of nearly all — appropriators, authorizers, hawks, doves, rank and file. The arrogance of this White House team is off putting to members who are run roughshod and threatened. They don’t even allow little wins like announcing small grants or even responding from agencies. Not even the high profile, the regular rank and file random members are more upset than ever. Members know they are going into the minority after the midterms.

“More explosive early resignations are coming. It’s a tinder box. Morale has never been lower. Mike Johnson will be stripped of his gavel and they will lose the majority before this term is out.”

The outlet does note that MTG has "never been representative of the House Republican Conference writ large," and "clearly has a bone to pick with Trump and the leadership."

While she denied rumors that her early retirement means she's running for president in the next election, some have suggested that she may be running for Georgia governor.

Johnson, meanwhile, points out that they have "impossibly small margins" and say they're doing the best they can with "the hand they were dealt."

If Republicans lose another House member to death, retirement or illness, the GOP could even end up in the minority in 2026.

Punchbowl does the math:

Republicans have 219 seats and Democrats have 213. There’s a special election in Tennessee on Dec. 2 to fill former Rep. Mark Green’s (R-Tenn.) seat. Democrats and Republicans are pouring piles of money into that district, which Trump won by more than 20 points.

If Republicans win, their margin will remain the same after MTG’s retirement.

But Democrats will gain a seat in Houston at the end of January when voters choose the late Rep. Sylvester Turner’s (D-Texas) replacement. And on April 16, New Jersey voters will choose Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill’s replacement. That’s a seat that former Vice President Kamala Harris won by nine percentage points in 2024.

Let’s say Democrats are able to steal the Tennessee seat based on subpar GOP turnout — unlikely but possible — Johnson would have 218 members to Democrats’ 214. Texas and New Jersey would bring Democrats to 216. If any members retire or fall ill, Johnson would be sunk.

House retirements and resignations are common after holidays. How appealing is it to return to the Capitol when the House spends most of its time voting on censure resolutions or meaningless messaging bills?

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/its-tinder-box-gop-members-consider-following-mtg-retirement-say-white-house-treats-them

Syria's Homs In Lockdown, Alawite Houses Set On Fire, Amid New 'Revenge' Killings

A Bedouin couple was killed Saturday in their home in the town of Zaidal, on the outskirts of Homs, Syria. The two were members of the Bani Khaled tribe, and state media reported that "sectarian slogans" were found at the scene.

The tribe responded by attacking the Alawite-heavy al-Muhajireen neighborhood in Homs, burning Alawite homes and shops and vandalizing cars while attacking locals. Two young Alawite men, who were reported missing, turned up at a nearby hospital killed under mysterious circumstances. Dozens have been reported wounded in the attacks.

Maj. Gen. Murhaf al-Nassan said that the attack in Zaidal appeared to be meant to undermine stability in the region, and the government has yet to identify who actually carried out the attack. The government declared a curfew in Homs in response to the violence.

One Syrian journalist noted that the claims of an Alawite attack on Zaidal weren’t plausible, because the Alawites have been disarmed and, in taking such visible credit for the attack, they would know that the retaliation would hit their community, as it indeed has.

The Alawites have been targeted repeatedly by other factions, and the government itself, with a high-profile massacre of Alawite civilians in the northwest of the country in March leading to low level violence against the religious minority ever since.

The scale of the violence is not yet known, as the government sent forces to the city to restore order, and imposed a curfew.

"Security personnel have been deployed in Alawite areas but the situation in Homs remains very sensitive," said a resident who works as a graphic designer and gave her name as Rawa. —The National

Alawites are around 10% of Syria’s population, and as former President Bashar al-Assad was an Alawite himself, they have been targets of opponents of the old regime, even though they note that under Assad they weren’t generally treated better than anyone else.

While the Islamist government has presented an idea of religious unity for Syria, they have also eagerly branded any clashes involving Alawites as “Assad remnant” forces, and reacted harshly, while plainly targeting the Alawites on a day-to-day basis.

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/11/23/curfew-imposed-in-syrias-homs-as-sectarian-violence-leave-four-dead/

MacCallum: What can we expect will happen next, Karoline?

Leavitt: Well, what I will say, is that everybody knows that James Comey lied to Congress. It’s as clear as day, and this judge took an unprecedented action to throw these cases out to shield James Comey and Letitia James from accountability based on a technical ruling, and the administration disagrees with that technical ruling.

We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsay Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position, but she was, in fact, legally appointed, and I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order, so maybe James Comey should pump the brakes on his victory lap.

https://rumble.com/embed/v700f80/?pub=4

Donald Trump faces articles of impeachment before Christmas

Democrat Representative Al Green has announced he will file articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump before Christmas.

Speaking in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Green told supporters he would introduce the measures as a privileged motion before Congress breaks for the holidays.

“There will be articles of impeachment filed before the Christmas break, this I will pledge to you,” Green said.

Newsweek contacted the White House and Green for comment by email.

Greene previously introduced articles of impeachment against Trump in May, claiming he was “unfit to be President.”

Meanwhile, in April, Representative Shri Thanedar introduced seven articles of impeachment against Trump for various reasons, including Trump’s use of the Department of Government Efficiency and Trump’s implementation of “damaging tariffs” on the U.S.’s trading partners.

Green told local reporters he had not asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries or others in Democratic leadership about his latest move to impeach Trump.

He did not provide further details about the plan.

Speaking to Newsweek, Heath Brown, an associate professor of public policy at City University of New York, said: “Based on what has occurred thus far, I don’t think these articles of impeachment will go very far.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/donald-trump-faces-articles-of-impeachment-before-christmas/ar-AA1QTjMQ

Arrests made in major corruption scandal involving flood control projects in Philippines

Philippine authorities Monday detained seven suspects and several more were being sought in a major corruption scandal involving flood control projects. Massive corruption has been blamed for substandard or non-existent flood control projects in the poverty-stricken Southeast Asian country long prone to deadly floods and extreme weather.

https://youtu.be/8xRX55enLx8