Wednesday, February 5, 2025

February 5, 2025

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Trump says U.S. will 'take over' Gaza strip; won't rule out military force . . . President Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. could take over Gaza and remove Palestinians from the area without ruling out the possibility of sending American troops to the region, saying it could become "the Riviera of the Middle East." The president decried Gaza as a "hellhole," saying it was that way before Israel began bombing the enclave following the Hamas terror attack Oct. 7, 2023. But he pledged that under the "a long-term ownership position" by the U.S., the region could be turned into an economic powerhouse that would rival some of the world's greatest entertainment resorts. Washington Times

Trump's plan to 'take over' Gaza Strip confuses GOP lawmakers

Politics

Trump USAID restructure a blow to Soros . . . By pausing foreign funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development, President Donald Trump has dealt a major blow to the ecosystem of nonprofits that promote woke ideology against America's interests. It is no accident that USAID's funding has dovetailed with the grantmaking of leftist billionaire George Soros' Open Society Foundations—and the foreign funding pause will undermine his efforts. Daily Signal

Trump plans move to dismantle Education Department . . . President Trump plans to shrink the size of government includes abolishing the Education Department, which spends $80 billion a year as student test scores plunge. The department is under scrutiny following Mr. Trump's campaign pledge to close the department and transfer some of its duties to other parts of the government. An executive order to diminish or shutter the department is in the works, although aides won't provide details. Washington Times

Trump's 'flooding the zone' has the so-called Resistance running in circles . . . Though headlines and analysts repeatedly claim that the anti-Trump "resistance" is in disarray and that Democrats are struggling to form a coherent message against the administration, many of the cogs in the resistance's machine continue to turn as though it were the first Trump administration. The only difference is that, this time, Trump is having none of it and driving through his agenda at such a pace that his opposition can't get its footing. Just the News

Musk shocks lawmakers, setting himself on collision course . . . Senate Republicans acknowledge they need to cut government spending, but Musk's bold decision to lock federal workers out of the U.S. Agency for International Aid (USAID), which Musk called "a ball of worms" and a "criminal organization," caught them by surprise. They are now questioning the basis of Musk's authority to shutter an agency Congress funds annually through the appropriations bills for the State Department and foreign operations. The Hill

'Trump to attend the Super Bowl

Obama's $800M Presidential Center Slapped With DEI Lawsuit . . . The lawsuit, filed last month in federal court by the Chicago-based concrete and rebar firm II in One, accused Thornton Tomasetti, the New York-based company overseeing structural engineering and design on the Obama Presidential Center, of imposing "excessively rigorous and unnecessary" inspection standards and engaging in racial discrimination by singling out the black-owned firm for errors resulting in "extreme financial loss and reputational hardship." Washington Free Beacon

Senate Republicans Respond to California's Devastating Wildfires . . . The Critical Water Resources Prioritization Act dovetails with President Donald Trump's executive orders in the wake of the Los Angeles fires, slashing regulations in the Endangered Species Act that limit residents' water supply . . . and the Emergency Fuel Reduction Act, which amends environmental regulations to allow foresters to remove dying trees, other vegetation, and other forms of fuel from the paths of devastating fires. Daily Signal

Culture

White House Press Selects Queer, Anti-Racist 'Comedian' To Host Trump's Correspondents' Dinner . . . The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) announced that they selected Amber Ruffin as the featured entertainer for the annual correspondents' dinner April 26. The decision to bring on the left-leaning comedian who is sure to focus on her cringey agenda was announced in a press release Tuesday. Ruffin's social media page is rife with anti-Trump messaging, which is sure to make for a colorful evening. Daily Caller

Republicans from Trump on down should refuse to attend. This is supposed to be a dinner where antagonisms are set aside.

Satisfaction with public education at record low: Gallup . . . A Gallup poll released Wednesday found satisfaction with public education is at a record low as the Trump administration eyes shuttering the Department of Education. The annual Mood of the Nation survey found 24 percent are satisfied with public education while 73 percent are dissatisfied, the lowest since the poll began back in 2001. Only 16 percent of Republicans are somewhat or very satisfied with public education, compared to 30 percent of Democrats. The Hill

National Security

CIA offers all its employees buyouts . . . The Central Intelligence Agency offered buyouts to its entire workforce Tuesday, in what officials said is a bid to bring the agency in line with President Trump's priorities, including targeting drug cartels. The CIA appeared to be the first intelligence agency to tell its employees that they can quit their jobs and receive about eight months of pay and benefits as part of Trump's push to downsize the federal government. The offer last month made to most civilian federal agencies exempted some categories of federal workers, including those with national security roles. Wall Street Journal

Army recruiting shatters records after President Trump election win . . . The U.S. Army recently announced it shattered previous recruiting records, with December 2024 being the most productive December in 15 years. The branch reported it enlisted nearly 350 soldiers every day that month, Army officials announced Tuesday on social media. "Our Recruiters have one of the toughest jobs – inspiring the next generation of #Soldiers to serve. Congratulations and keep up the great work! #BAYCB," Army recruiting officials wrote in a post on X. Fox News

International

Hamas docs reveal torture, execution of gay terrorists — while some male Israeli were raped in captivity . . . Hamas tortured and executed terrorists within its ranks who allegedly had gay sex, shocking documents show — as sources added some male Israeli victims of the Oct. 7 massacre were raped in captivity. The documents reveal the "crimes" that were allegedly committed by 94 Hamas recruits — lumping "homosexual conversations," "flirting with girls without a legal relationship" and "sodomy" in with serious allegations of child rape and torture. New York Post

Money

Sanders and Hawley introduce bill to cap credit card interest at 10% . . . Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a bill on Tuesday aiming to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. President Donald Trump backed lowering credit card interest rates during his 2024 campaign, and the bill appears to attempt to hold him to his promise. "When large financial institutions charge over 25 percent interest on credit cards, they are not engaged in the business of making credit available," Sanders said in a statement. "They are engaged in extortion and loan sharking. Washington Examiner

Guilty Pleasures

Maxine Waters Has 4 Minute Meltdown Shouting About How Much She Dislikes Trump, Musk . . . "We have got to tell Elon Musk that nobody elected your ass. Nobody told you you could get all of our private information. Nobody told you you could be in charge of the payments of this country," Waters said. Waters accused Musk of attempting to monopolize the financial earnings of ordinary Americans to fund his space explorations. Daily Caller