Four RINO Republicans Defy Speaker Johnson on Obamacare Subsidies
Four non-conservative House Republicans—Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler of New York—broke ranks with Speaker Mike Johnson by signing a discharge petition led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to force a floor vote on a Democrat bill extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies for three years. These subsidies, set to expire at the end of 2025, were enhanced during the pandemic and extended previously. The petition reached the required 218 signatures, enabling a vote likely in early next year despite timing rules. Johnson had warned against supporting the petition, calling it an improper end-run around regular legislative processes. The Republicans acted after their proposed amendments for shorter extensions with reforms were rejected in the House Rules Committee. Mackenzie emphasized pursuing bipartisan solutions for healthcare affordability amid leadership’s refusal to advance extensions. Lawler stated that failure to allow a vote left no alternative but to join the petition. Republicans plan to advance their own bill to lower healthcare costs without extending the subsidies.
Sources: FOX News, The Washington Examiner
Obama FBI Stonewalling of Uranium One Criminal Probe
Declassified records and internal communications reveal that career FBI agents and prosecutors in multiple field offices opened investigations in early 2016 into potential criminal activity surrounding the Clinton Foundation’s ties to the 2010 Uranium One transaction, in which Russia’s state-owned Rosatom acquired control of substantial U.S. uranium assets amid undisclosed donations to the foundation and a high-speaking fee to former President Bill Clinton from a Kremlin-linked bank promoting the deal. Rank-and-file investigators believed there was sufficient evidence of possible violations, including fraud and racketeering, with arguments that acts of concealment could extend statutes of limitations. Senior officials, including then-Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, imposed delays and resistance that slowed progress. Conflicting guidance on time bars further hampered efforts, damaging agent morale and allowing the inquiry to lapse without full examination of key witnesses or evidence.
Sources: ZeroHedge, Just The News
House Speaker Mike Johnson Rules Out Vote on Extending Obamacare Subsidies
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the House will not hold a vote on extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire on December 31, despite efforts over the weekend to accommodate centrist Republicans in swing districts who sought such a vote as a means to address constituent concerns. Leadership explored options to permit an amendment providing a pressure release for those members. Negotiations involved good-faith discussions but ultimately failed to produce an agreement. Johnson expressed appreciation for the input from conference members. He anticipates unified Republican support for the upcoming vote on the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act scheduled for Wednesday.
Sources: The Washington Examiner, The Hill
Labor Department Deploys Fraud Strike Team to Minnesota
The U.S. Department of Labor has deployed a specialized strike team to Minnesota to conduct an onsite investigation into potential fraud within the state’s Unemployment Insurance Program. This action follows reports of widespread fraud, waste, and abuse in multiple state-administered government assistance programs, raising serious concerns that similar issues may have compromised the integrity of unemployment benefits. At least seven federal agencies are now actively probing allegations of misconduct in Minnesota’s benefits systems. The department emphasized that any abuse of the Unemployment Insurance systems will not be tolerated, with the strike team tasked to thoroughly assess benefit payment controls and report findings directly to leadership in order to safeguard taxpayer funds and protect program trustworthiness.
Sources: The Epoch Times, FOX News
Fellow Judge Undermines Defense in Milwaukee Judicial Obstruction Trial
In the ongoing federal trial of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan, charged with felony obstruction of a federal agency and misdemeanor concealment of a wanted person for allegedly aiding an illegal alien, Eduardo Flores-Ruiz, in evading Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents within the courthouse, fellow Milwaukee County Judge Kristela Cervera delivered damaging testimony against the defense. Cervera recounted that Dugan explicitly admitted her intent to assist Flores-Ruiz’s escape, enlisted Cervera’s participation while insisting she retain her judicial robe for authority, and displayed escalating anger during the confrontation with plainclothes federal officers. Cervera expressed shock and mortification at Dugan’s actions, firmly stating that judges should not help defendants evade arrest, and noted subsequent praise from attorneys who celebrated the evasion. This testimony, corroborated by accounts from an FBI special agent describing Dugan as angry and a Customs and Border Protection officer whom she ordered out of the public hallway, directly counters potential defense claims of innocent or incidental conduct and strengthens the prosecution’s case that Dugan knowingly acted outside her judicial role to impede federal law enforcement.
Sources: ZeroHedge, Townhall.com
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Major Utah Rare Earth Discovery Bolsters American Resource Independence
A Utah-based company has uncovered a significant high-grade deposit of 16 critical minerals and rare earth elements at its fully permitted Silicon Ridge project in the state’s desert, featuring a halloysite-hosted ion-adsorption clay formation comparable to those supplying a substantial portion of China’s rare earth production and the majority of global heavy rare earths. The deposit includes lithium, alumina, germanium, rubidium, cesium, vanadium, niobium, scandium, gallium, tungsten, and a complete suite of light and heavy rare earths, with additional magmatic enrichment enhancing concentrations of key technology metals. Independent assays confirm grades that favorably compare to Chinese deposits, while the company’s advanced low-temperature ion exchange extraction method enables high recovery rates in a cleaner process than traditional mining. This shovel-ready site, supported by existing infrastructure and permits, represents a potential cornerstone for domestic production of materials essential to defense systems, advanced semiconductors, electric vehicles, and other strategic technologies, directly addressing vulnerabilities from reliance on foreign supplies amid ongoing export restrictions.
Sources: Legal Insurrection, Mining.com
CDC Ends Universal Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has officially terminated its three-decade policy of recommending hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns within hours of birth. Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill approved the change on December 16, following the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ acceptance of a new approach emphasizing individual-based decision-making for infants born to mothers who test negative for the virus. Parents can now consult healthcare providers to determine whether to administer the vaccine at birth or delay it until at least two months of age. The recommendation remains unchanged for newborns of mothers who test positive or have unknown status, requiring vaccination within 12 hours. O’Neill stated that the update reflects a rigorous evidence review and restores informed consent for parents of low-risk infants. This shift addresses long-standing concerns among vaccine skeptics while maintaining coverage through insurance and federal programs.
Sources: The Washington Examiner, Breitbart
Former Harvard Morgue Manager Sentenced for Trafficking Stolen Human Remains
Cedric Lodge, the former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue, abused his position of trust by stealing dissected heads, faces, brains, skin, hands, organs, and other body parts from cadavers generously donated for medical education and research. From 2018 through at least March 2020, Lodge removed these remains without authorization from the university or the donors’ families after they had served their educational purpose but before scheduled cremation. He transported the stolen parts to his New Hampshire home, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold them to buyers across state lines, often for resale in a disturbing underground market. On December 16, 2025, a federal judge in Pennsylvania sentenced 58-year-old Cedric Lodge to eight years in prison following his guilty plea to interstate transportation of stolen goods. His 65-year-old wife, Denise, who handled shipments and payments, received a sentence of 12 months and one day in prison.
Sources: The Epoch Times, CBS News
Antisemitic Stabbing Attack in New York City
On December 16, a 35-year-old Jewish man was stabbed in the chest during a confrontation in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn near Kingston Avenue and Lincoln Place. The unidentified suspect approached the victim, made anti-Jewish statements, and then stabbed him with a knife after a verbal dispute escalated into a physical altercation captured partly on video. The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The suspect fled the scene on foot toward Sterling Place and Albany Avenue. The New York Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime. Mayor Eric Adams condemned the attack, stating that hateful antisemitic violence must end and that the city will not tolerate such acts.
Sources: The New York Daily News, FOX News
Taliban Receiving Millions in US Taxpayer Funds Through UN Aid
A December 2025 report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction reveals that the United States has provided over $3.83 billion in humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan since the Taliban regained control in 2021, with significant portions channeled through the United Nations and nongovernmental organizations. At least $10.9 million of these funds have directly reached the Taliban-controlled government in the form of taxes on $2.8 billion in aid delivered, though this amount is likely understated due to incomplete reporting by UN agencies. Representative Tim Burchett has highlighted that approximately $40 million in cash shipments occur weekly, stabilizing the Afghan economy while benefiting the Taliban through taxation, extortion, and interference with aid distribution. Earlier SIGAR findings confirm the Taliban diverts assistance by imposing fees, utilities payments, and direct taxes on recipients, with UN cash transports providing the regime access to untraceable U.S. dollars. Burchett’s No Tax Dollars for the Taliban Act passed the House but stalled in the Senate.
Sources: The Post Millennial, Office of US Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN)
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Communist China Targets Missouri Senator with Massive Retaliatory Lawsuit
Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt faces a retaliatory lawsuit seeking over $50 billion in damages from entities tied to the Chinese Communist regime, including the People’s Government of Wuhan Municipality, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. This action directly responds to Schmitt’s 2020 lawsuit filed as Missouri attorney general, which accused Chinese authorities of withholding critical information about COVID-19, failing to contain the outbreak, and hoarding personal protective equipment while exporting inferior products, leading to a $24 billion judgment against them earlier this year. The Chinese plaintiffs claim reputational and economic harm from what they describe as malicious litigation and disinformation, demanding compensation and public apologies in major outlets. Senator Schmitt has dismissed the suit as baseless lawfare intended to deflect from China’s responsibility for over a million American deaths and widespread suffering caused by the pandemic, declaring he will wear the targeting as a badge of honor while vowing to defeat any enforcement attempts.
Trump Strengthens National Security Through Travel Ban Expansion
President Trump signed a proclamation on December 16, expanding the existing travel ban by adding Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria to the list of countries facing full entry restrictions for their nationals, while also imposing complete bans on individuals traveling with documents issued by the Palestinian Authority to close vetting loopholes. This action builds upon the June 4 proclamation that had already barred most new visas for citizens of Afghanistan, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, with partial visa suspensions applied to several others including Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. The expansions stem from documented deficiencies in these nations’ abilities to meet U.S. security and information-sharing standards, including high visa overstay rates, unreliable civil registries, widespread corruption, and insufficient cooperation with American law enforcement, all of which hinder proper vetting and pose risks to public safety. Administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have emphasized restoring rigorous enforcement to ensure only thoroughly screened individuals enter the country, prioritizing the protection of American citizens amid ongoing global instability and conflict in many affected regions.
Sources: NewsMax, The Washington Examiner
British Medical Journal Criticizes Western Opposition to Female Genital Practices
A recent paper published in the BMJ Journal of Medical Ethics argues that global campaigns against female genital mutilation cause harm by relying on sensationalist narratives, racialized stereotypes, and Western cultural exceptionalism that unfairly single out practices customary in the Global South, particularly Africa, while overlooking comparable genital modifications in the Global North, such as male circumcision or cosmetic surgeries. The authors contend that the condemnatory label “female genital mutilation” conflates diverse procedures varying in severity, medicalization, and cultural significance, often ignoring potential perceived benefits like social integration, and they advocate adopting neutral terminology such as “female genital practices” to foster more balanced discourse. They further assert that anti-FGM policies and media coverage perpetuate stigma toward migrant communities, reproduce double standards, and fail to account for cultural complexity despite the practices having no universal medical justification.
Sources: ZeroHedge, The Daily Mail
Bondi Beach Father-Son Terror Attack Linked to ISIS Hotspot Travel
Australian authorities have identified Sajid Akram, 50, and his son Naveed Akram, 24, as the perpetrators of a deadly terrorist attack targeting a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, where they killed 15 people and injured over 40 others by firing rifles from a footbridge. Sajid Akram was fatally shot by police at the scene, while Naveed Akram was critically injured and taken into custody. Investigators discovered two homemade Islamic State flags in the suspects’ vehicle, along with improvised explosive devices. Reports indicate the pair spent a month in the Philippines, a known ISIS-affiliated militant hotspot with active training camps and a history of Islamist insurgencies, returning just weeks before carrying out the attack without other family members. The younger suspect had been under surveillance by Australia’s security intelligence agency since 2019 but was not deemed an immediate threat, prompting questions about potential self-radicalization or external influences gained during their overseas travel.
Sources: The New York Post, The Daily Mail
Putin Rejects Claims of Russian Threat to Europe; Calls EU “European Swine”
Russian President Vladimir Putin firmly rejected assertions that Moscow poses a military threat to European nations or seeks conflict with them, labeling such notions as deliberate lies and pure nonsense designed to fuel hysteria among Western populations. He accused European leaders, whom he derisively called “European swine” or “piglets,” of aligning with prior American efforts to undermine Russia economically while thwarting genuine peace initiatives in Ukraine. Putin emphasized that Russia has no aggressive intentions toward Europe or NATO countries and prefers diplomatic resolution to address the root causes of the Ukraine conflict. However, he warned that if substantive negotiations fail due to opposition from Kyiv and its supporters, Russian forces will achieve their objectives—including the liberation of claimed historical lands and establishment of security buffer zones—through continued military advancement.