Inside the secret negotiations to free Evan Gershkowitz . . . For 16 months, Ella Milman had studied the assassin's case, daunted that such a man could be the key to unlocking her son Evan's freedom. Her son's fate rested not just on messages ferried by diplomats and spies, but years of secret interventions drawn from the ranks of prime-time TV hosts, Silicon Valley billionaires and Russian oligarchs. An unlikely duo of Tucker Carlson and Hillary Clinton had each played walk-on roles to propel talks forward. If the U.S. once claimed a "no concessions" policy, that principle has been steadily eroded by one precedent after the next. The State Department staffed an entire office of roughly two dozen personnel. Wall Street Journal
GOP leaders fear 'costs of hostage diplomacy' will increase after major prisoner swap with Russia . . . The top Republicans in the House and Senate raised alarm Thursday that the "costs of hostage diplomacy" will only increase in the aftermath of a major prisoner swap with Russia. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) issued the warning in a joint statement, which largely celebrated the deal. Johnson and McConnell also warned that the deal, which saw the release of a number of Russian convicts from US and foreign prisons, will hardly deter Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Iran, from wrongfully jailing more Americans. New York Post
The dark figure at the center of Putin's prisoner swap demands . . . Vadim Krasikov—a Russian hit man and former intelligence officer convicted of murdering an enemy of the Kremlin in a Berlin park—told a guard in the German prison where he was serving a life sentence that, "the Russian Federation will not leave me to rot in jail." On Thursday, that boast became reality. Krasikov was released by German authorities and handed over to Russia as part of the largest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, wrongfully convicted of espionage in July, was also part of the exchange. Wall Street Journal
Politics
Biden criticizes Israel for killing Hamas chief . . . President Joe Biden said late Thursday night that the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday "has not helped" as he urged all sides to move toward a ceasefire that would end the war in Gaza. Haniyeh is widely believed to be behind the Oct. 7 attack. Asked how worried he was about whether the death of Haniyeh would make a ceasefire deal more difficult, Biden said that he was "very concerned." Breitbart
Acting Secret Service chief "retaliated against" agents who had concerns about Trump event . . . A whistleblower alleged that Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe personally cut security resources and "retaliated" against agents with security concerns leading up to former President Donald Trump's rally on July 13, according to a letter released Thursday. The whistleblower alleged that Rowe personally implemented "significant cuts" to the Counter Surveillance Division (CSD), which does advanced threat assessments for venues, and alleged that agents who expressed security concerns were "retaliated against," according to Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley's letter to Rowe. As a result, the CSD failed to perform its "typical evaluation" of the rally venue in Butler County, Pennsylvania, and "was not present on the day" of the attempted assassination. Daily Caller
'Bully' Kamala Harris 'berated staff,' left them in tears with 'F-bombs . . . Kamala Harris "throws around F-bombs" and constantly berated her staff when she was California Attorney General, according to a shocking report. An unearthed 2019 op-ed from Democrat professor Terry McAteer describes the "eye-opening" month his son Gregory spent as an intern for Harris, now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. "Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, 'Good Morning General'" "Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members." New York Post
GOP accuses Harris of 'hiding' from press . . . Republicans are accusing Vice President Harris of "hiding" from the press by not doing sit-down interviews and press conferences since becoming the likely Democratic presidential nominee. And while Harris is in the middle of a political honeymoon after unifying a Democratic Party that had been badly divided over President Biden's future, some Democrats fear the vice president could fall into the same trap as Biden, who was also under strict controls with the press. The Hill
They will soon bring her to the basement where she can continue her campaign.
Chelsea Clinton angling for ambassadorship if Kamala Harris wins election . . . "Chelsea really wants to be the ambassador to the UK," said a Clinton source. "There's a reason why Bill and Hillary came out in the first five minutes to support Kamala's presidential bid — they were currying favor." The source said the Clintons have been "working on this idea for a long time." The former first daughter, who is vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, would also love a gig in France, the source said. New York Post
How about Borneo?
Harris rakes in $310 million to erase Trump cash advantage . . . Vice President Kamala Harris raised an eye-bulging amount of money in July, bringing in $310 million last month for a $377 million war chest before the coming fall fight. Cresting a wave of enthusiasm since President Joe Biden endorsed her as the new 2024 Democratic nominee last week, Harris's $310 million is more than what Biden raised from April through June. It is also more than what former President Donald Trump raised in July, with Harris's Republican challenger bringing in $139 million for $327 million cash on hand. Washington Examiner
Kamala Harris sounded the alarm at the border about — pollution. . . On April 30, 2019, Harris led a group of California Democrats in calling on the Trump administration to address the "ongoing pollution crisis along California's border with Mexico," according to her now-defunct Senate website."Over the past couple of months, the region has experienced several cross-boundary flows, totaling millions of gallons of treated and untreated wastewater flowing into the United States and affecting our constituents," the lawmakers wrote. They argued that air pollution from agricultural fires and diesel emissions in Mexico contributed to heart disease, asthma, and stroke in residents in San Diego and the Imperial Valley in southern California. Washington Free Beacon
Ohio removes hundreds more illegal immigrants from voter rolls . . . Ohio has removed hundreds of noncitizens from its voting rolls as the state conducts an audit of registered voters ahead of the November presidential election. On Thursday, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced county boards of elections are being directed to remove 499 noncitizen registrations from the state's voter rolls. Washington Examiner
Senator accuses Google of rigging algorithms against Trump . . . Sen. Roger Marshall says he will launch an investigation into Google after the search engine suppressed content related to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Google is "no longer functioning as a search engine that just assimilates" information, says Marshall, R-Kan., "but now they're using algorithms to campaign against President Trump." Initiating a Google search of "assassination attempt on president," quickly reveals that Trump's name is not within the autofill of suggested searches, although former Presidents Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan are. Daily Signal
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National Security
Biden-Harris admin paid consultants millions for military DEI . . . The Biden-Harris Defense Department paid outside organizations millions to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including race-based career advancement programs, in the U.S. military. The documents highlight the extent of the Pentagon's efforts to embed leftwing, race-based ideology in the military, in partnership with academic institutions and consulting firms. The outside organizations set up hiring pipelines that gave candidates preferential treatment on the basis of race and sex, advise the government agency on DEI policy, and combat internal and external resistance to said policies. Daily Wire
Money
US job growth misses expectations in July; unemployment rate rises to 4.3% . . . U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in July, while the unemployment rate increased to 4.3%, which could heighten fears that the labor market is deteriorating and potentially making the economy vulnerable to a recession. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 114,000 jobs last month after rising by a downwardly revised 179,000 in June. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast payrolls advancing by 175,000 jobs after a previously reported 206,000 gain in June. Reuters
Trump floats ending tax on Social Security benefits . . . "Seniors should not pay tax on Social Security!" the Republican presidential nominee posted in all-caps on his Truth Social network on Wednesday before repeating the idea at a Pennsylvania rally that night. Teaming it with another floated idea, he followed up Thursday: "No tax on Social Security for seniors, no tax on tips!" The Social Security idea would reduce federal revenue by between $1.6 trillion and $1.8 trillion over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Wall Street Journal
You should also know
Bullies filmed stomping boy, 17, to death are handed outrageously-lenient plea deal . . . A grieving Las Vegas mother has been left 'dumbfounded and in shock' after four bullies who were caught on camera beating her son to death accepted plea deals. Melissa Ready lost her son Jonathan Lewis, 17, after he was attacked by a group of teens and stomped to the point of unconsciousness, before dying a week later. Dontral Beaver, 16, Damian Hernandez, 18, Treavion Randolph, 16, and Gianni Robinson all stood accused of his murder after being charged as adults in January. On Thursday, it was announced that they all accepted a plea deal that will allow them to plead guilty as juveniles to manslaughter. Daily Mail
They'll spend some time in juvenile detention before being allowed to continue with their criminal careers.
Guilty Pleasures
Demi Moore promotes, reads from "An Adult's Guide to Farts" . . . The famous actress, once at the top of her game in iconic roles such as "Striptease," "Ghost" and "Indecent Proposal," is now taking on the most random endorsements. She was featured in collaboration with digestive medicine company called Wonderbelly that was shared Thursday to Instagram. The video showed Moore reading their new book, "An Adult's Guide to Farts," in a dramatically juvenile voice, as though she were reading a bedtime story to her children. Daily Caller
Finally, a resource we can turn to for help with this mysterious issue.
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Megyn Kelly -> Pete Hegseth responds to 2017 rape accusation. 🔥 vol. 3, issue 13 | December 6, 2024 Quick Hits All the news you need in...
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