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"Ryan Routh, the man who tried to assassinate President-elect Donald J. Trump in September, has been slapped with more charges. As Mr. Routh fled the scene of his attempt on Mr. Trump’s life, he crashed his vehicle, causing severe injuries to a six-year-old girl. After reviewing the evidence, the state of Florida has decided to file attempted murder charges"

Vladimir Putin bizarrely suggested that Russian eating habits were to blame for rising food prices. His comments came in response to questions about the economy during a marathon press conference broadcast live on state TV. -snip- In an attempt to answer his own question about how to address food inflation, he noted that consumption of some goods had risen beyond supplies. As an example he pointed to meat consumption, saying Russians were eating "significantly" more than the global average. -snip- Putin also appeared to target Russian farmers, blaming a lack of milk production for rising butter costs. -snip- Russia's central...

As noted by Chief Justice John Roberts in his landmark July 1, 2024 immunity decision in Trump v. U.S., a former president of the United States had never been indicted by the United States prior to Jack Smith’s filing charges against President Trump. The case of USA v. Trump was, ipso facto, a perverse joke. It was a diabolical move to change America. Nonetheless, the federal court system, up to and including the Supreme Court, had to take it seriously. That is why the nefarious forces behind Jack Smith saw to it that the grossly politicized District Court for the...

Driven by surging electricity demand in China and India, global coal use is set to hit an all-time high in 2024, disproving past predictions from energy “experts.” The International Energy Agency (IEA) — a Paris-based intergovernmental organization that provides energy policy recommendations — said in its Coal 2020 report that “coal demand is expected to flatten” and that “it is likely that global coal demand peaked in 2013 at just over 8Bt [billion tons].” Now, however, a Wednesday report from the agency predicts coal demand will reach a new record of nearly 8.8 billion tons in 2024, as increased coal...

“God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9). God exalted Christ by giving Him a new name. In today’s verse a question that arises is, What is the name that is above every name? To be consistent with Scripture, it has to be a name that goes beyond merely distinguishing one person from another. It has to be a name that describes Christ’s nature—revealing something of His inner being. Only such a name would cause Him to be clearly ranked above all others. Paul wasn’t referring to a comparative name, but...

A US military base in Ohio briefly closed its airspace heading into the weekend after small drones were spotted in the area, officials confirmed to Business Insider on Monday. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is the latest military installation to report drone activity in its vicinity, though, unlike some of the others, it actually interfered with operations. ...Drones, especially small quadcopters, can be easily purchased for a few hundred dollars, and as the war in Ukraine has shown, they are surprisingly versatile. In the hands of an extremist, spy or even a careless enthusiast, these systems pose a threat the Defense...

After two Manhattan Contrarian posts in the last month on the subject of anti-money laundering (AML) regulation (here from November 24 and here from December 9), the topic is suddenly in the news. On November 26, Marc Andreessen appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast, with an extensive discussion of the debanking of the crypto industry, and that appearance got some notice. The Wall Street Journal ran two op-eds on the subject of AML on Monday (December 16): “Debanking and the Return of Operation Choke Point” by Allysia Finley, and “Businesses Get a Reprieve from a Draconian Law” by Caleb Kruckenberg...

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said he was "proud" to block a proposal from Democrats to protect federal workers from potentially getting reclassified as political appointees under the incoming administration. The measure was introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) as a way to prevent such reclassification without congressional approval. He asked for unanimous consent to pass the Saving the Civil Service Act, warning about “attempts in recent years to erode the independence of the federal civil service,” a reference to efforts President-elect Trump made in his first term. Kaine and other Democrats fear that Trump, now reelected, may attempt to reclassify...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (12/19/24)[Prayer]Names and Titles of God the Holy Spirit (Spirit of Christ) 1 Peter 1:1111 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.King James Version________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

It’s no surprise that Americans often rely heavily on credit cards to make ends meet. And with a recent period of rampant inflation, it’s equally unsurprising that credit card balances are on the rise. In the third quarter of 2024, U.S. credit card balances rose by $24 billion, reaching the $1.17 trillion mark — the highest level recorded by the Fed in 20 years.

Even if it ‘saves one life,’ we shouldn’t chuck the Second Amendment, just because some leftist politicians insist. After the recent school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin, the usual suspects immediately called for more “gun control.” Joe Biden’s White House released a statement demanding these additional infringements upon Americans’ Second Amendment rights: “Universal background checks. A national red flag law. A ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.” (The president conveniently ignored reports that the teenaged attacker used a 9mm pistol.) Democrat Congressman Mark Pocan insists that gun manufacturers be held responsible for the school shooter’s violence. Disgraced former FBI deputy...

The North Carolina Governor’s School (GS) was established in 1963. The program was the first of its kind in the nation: a residential summer program for the state’s most academically and artistically gifted high-school students. Over 60 years later, GS has both an East and a West campus, and approximately 800 rising seniors and juniors from across the state arrive each June to spend the next four weeks living in college dormitories, eating in college dining halls, and attending advanced classes in college classrooms. he resemblance to collegiate life isn’t incidental. The program’s webpage describes GS as “clearly situated between...

Stocks plunged Wednesday after the Federal Reserve struck a heavy blow to the roaring bull market, signaling that it was likely to only cut interest rates twice next year, down from the four reductions that had been penciled in during their last forecast in September. The central bank also trimmed its benchmark overnight borrowing rate a quarter percentage point Wednesday, to a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%, but the question now is what policymakers will do in 2025. “Stretched positioning and sentiment left stocks vulnerable to a selloff,” LPL Financial chief equity strategist Jeff Buchbinder said in reaction to...

Soaring knife crime in Germany, which many police officials openly say is directly tied to mass immigration, has now resulted in warrantless searches at German Christmas markets. In a news segment produced by state media broadcaster SWR, the clip reveals German police conducting controls on a German Christmas market in Ludwigshafen, where police were filmed confiscating a pocket knife from an elderly woman. In the SWR video, the narrator states that the police had not discovered any pocket knives up until that point that day. However, once police stopped an elderly woman and searched her bag, she was found to...

The shamelessness of the first family was writ large at the White House this week as the president’s final whirl of Christmas parties attracted social media “influencers” whose biggest thrill was posting selfies with celebrity nepotist Hunter Biden. In the very week that he was due to be sentenced to jail for tax fraud, the first son merrily pressed the flesh and flashed his $70,000 pearly whites, secure in the knowledge that his father’s “full and unconditional” pardon has got him off the hook for any and all crimes committed for the past 11 years. The outrage over Hunter’s pardon...

The recently unveiled government funding bill “full of pork” shows that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is a “weak, weak man,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Wednesday. The 1,547-page spending deal released Tuesday night includes a multitude of controversial items, including a pay raise for members of Congress. “I had hoped to see @SpeakerJohnson grow a spine, but this bill full of pork shows he is a weak, weak man,” Paul said. “The debt will continue to grow. Ultimately the dollar will fail. Democrats are clueless and Big Gov Republicans are complicit,” he added. “A sad day for America.” Rand...

(Reuters) - Amazon.com workers at seven U.S. facilities walked off the job early on Thursday during the holiday shopping rush, aiming to pressure the retailer into contract talks with their union. Warehouse workers in cities including New York, Atlanta and San Francisco are taking part in the "largest" strike against Amazon, said the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents about 10,000 workers at 10 of the firm's facilities. "If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon's insatiable greed," Teamsters' General President Sean O'Brien said late on Wednesday. [Snip] Amazon said it does not expect any impact...

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Thursday 19 December 2024 19 December St. Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, ChicagoReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Violet. Year: C(I).First readingJudges 13:2-7,24-25'You will conceive and bear a son'There was a man of Zorah of the tribe of Dan, called Manoah. His wife was barren, she had borne no children. The angel of the Lord appeared to this woman and said to her, ‘You are barren and have had no child. But from now on take great care. Take no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean. For you will conceive and bear a son. No razor is to...

Prince Andrew will not be joining his brother King Charles III and other members of the royal family for Christmas this year. Instead, the Duke of York, 64, will “honourably withdraw” from the royal family’s Christmas celebrations at their estate in Sandringham, England to avoid being a distraction, according to the BBC. It is expected that Andrew will remain home at Royal Lodge in Windsor Park — the palatial estate he has fought to remain in after King Charles attempted to evict him. Andrew’s bowing out comes after a British high court hearing last week heard evidence suggesting that an...