Wednesday, January 7, 2026

January 7, 2026

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Trump Says Venezuela Will Turn Over 30–50 Million Barrels Of Oil To US . . . President Donald Trump announced the U.S. will receive up to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil, days after the capture of strongman Nicolás Maduro. Trump called the crude high quality and said it will ship immediately to American ports. Proceeds, he said, will be controlled by the White House to benefit both nations, directing Energy Secretary Chris Wright to move fast. Daily Wire

Hmm, what's next here. "Give us your women"?

Stephen Miller Offers a Strongman's View of the World . . . After years driving mass deportations and legal brinkmanship at home, Stephen Miller is eyeing foreign targets. The Trump deputy chief now pushes aggressive designs on Venezuela and Greenland, framing resource grabs as strategy. Advisers say it serves Donald Trump's ambitions abroad, with brute force treated not as a last resort, but a feature of U.S. power projection. New York Times

Rubio plays down Greenland takeover talk . . . Secretary of State Marco Rubio privately told lawmakers the administration isn't preparing to invade Greenland, insisting the goal is a purchase from Denmark. The reassurance comes as President Donald Trump and aides publicly refuse to rule out force, fueling global unease. Behind closed doors, Rubio pitched deal-making—even as the White House keeps pressure high and rhetoric deliberately hot. Wall Street Journal

Politics

Mamdani's top housing pick once called homeownership a 'weapon of white supremacy' . . . A senior housing appointee in new New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration is drawing scrutiny after resurfaced posts framed homeownership as a racial power tool and urged treating property as a shared asset. The mayor tapped activist Cea Weaver, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, to run the Office to Protect Tenants. Her old social media blasts quickly went viral, then vanished. Fox News

Harmeet Dhillon warns Mamdani administration about anti-white discrimination . . . Civil Rights chief Harmeet Dhillon put New York City's new leadership on notice, warning Mayor Zohran Mamdani not to tolerate anti-white discrimination. The shot across the bow followed Mamdani's appointment of activist Cea Weaver as tenant advocate. Old clips show Weaver pushing collectivized property schemes, raising alarms that radical ideology—not equal protection—may be shaping City Hall policy. Washington Examiner

White House Weighs Barring the Taking Kids From Parents Who Oppose Gender Transition . . . When one parent refused to refer to her seventh-grade daughter by a male name and he/him pronouns, Child Protective Services showed up at her house and accused her of being abusive, Friday says. After about a year and half, Friday was able to help her daughter choose to live in accordance with her biological sex. Daily Signal

Trump Says Republicans Should Be 'Flexible' On Rule That Bars Taxpayer-Funded Abortions . . . Donald Trump told House Republicans to loosen up on abortion funding, signaling flexibility on long-standing limits barring taxpayer dollars. Speaking at the House GOP retreat, Trump urged lawmakers to use ingenuity and cut deals as health care talks drag on. The comments raised eyebrows among conservatives, hinting that political pragmatism—not red lines—may guide negotiations as election pressures mount. Daily Wire

Walz claims firings but names none . . . Departing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says staff were fired for failing to stop sprawling fraud scandals—but refuses to say who. After announcing he won't seek reelection, Walz insisted action was taken, yet his office dodged requests from The Daily Signal for details. Republican lawmaker Patti Anderson says she knows of no firings tied to fraud, raising doubts about the governor's claims. Daily Signal

It's sad that Walz is going to leave the scene. Can't we keep him as a pet?

'Asleep at the Wheel or Complicit': House Oversight Delving Into Minnesota Fraud Scandal . . . Minnesota lawmakers head to Washington to tell Congress that fraud in the state isn't a fluke—it's a system. Testifying before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, members of the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee will describe years of ignored warnings and whistleblower alarms. Daily Signal

Culture

Brown answers bullets with DEI therapy . . . After a deadly campus shooting, Brown University is rolling out a feel-good healing initiative led not by security experts, but its diversity office. The effort, overseen by DEI chief Matthew Guterl, promises counseling, feedback sessions, and educational programming. President Christina Paxson says it will restore safety—though critics note the focus is on process and therapy, not hardened security or accountability. Washington Free Beacon

Suspect in Brown University Shooting Confessed in Videos

Tennessee university reinstates professor fired over Charlie Kirk post – will pay him $500,000

National Security

Russia Sends Submarine to Escort Tanker the U.S. Tried to Seize Off Venezuela . . . Russia dispatched a submarine to shield a decaying oil tanker chased by the U.S. Coast Guard after it dodged sanctions enforcement near Venezuela. The ship, once called Bella 1, fled into the Atlantic empty, resisted boarding, then hastily rebranded itself as Russian. The episode spotlights Moscow's shadow-fleet tactics and a risky escalation as Washington cracks down on black-market oil runs. Wall Street Journal

Pentagon pours billions into drone swarm . . . After the Ukraine war exposed how cheap drones can devastate armies, the Pentagon has quadrupled spending on small unmanned aircraft. Funding has surged from under $400 million to $1.7 billion, spread across dozens of U.S. firms as the Army moves toward troops building and 3D-printing drones themselves. Data from defense tracker Obviant shows most contracts now funnel straight to Army programs. Washington Times

International

Armed gangs hunt Trump backers in Caracas . . .

Motorcycle militias loyal to ousted strongman Nicolás Maduro are roaming Caracas, stopping cars and scanning phones for anyone backing Donald Trump's U.S. military operation. Known as colectivos, the masked gunmen wield rifles, run checkpoints, and act as unofficial enforcers for regime allies. With at least one government official's backing, the patrols show how fast Venezuela has slipped into paramilitary rule and street-level intimidation. Daily Mail

Cuba's socialist collapse hits bottom . . . After 67 years of communist rule, Cuba is unraveling. The regime's once-boasted safety net has disintegrated into shortages, blackouts, and quiet desperation. Even veterans of past crises say this is different—worse. The system built by Fidel Castro is failing outright, with no rescue in sight. Havana economist Omar Everleny Pérez says multiple breakdowns have collided, leaving ordinary Cubans stranded in historic decline. New York Times

The destruction of the communists in Cuba, at last, could be the greatest result of Trump's move against Venezuela. Presidents since Kennedy have been trying to topple the regime. Trump may do it.

You should also know

Maduro hires Reagan-era lawyer . . . Captured strongman Nicolás Maduro has tapped veteran Washington lawyer Bruce Fein to fight sweeping narco-terrorism and weapons charges in New York. Fein, a former Reagan Justice Department official, joined the defense days after Maduro and wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty. The move signals an aggressive legal strategy as the once-untouchable ruler faces U.S. court power head-on. Washington Examiner

Good drug money can you get the vest legal representation.

Michael Reagan, Rest in Peace . . . Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Ronald Reagan and a conservative commentator, has died. He was 80. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute announced his death in a post on the social platform X on Tuesday, calling him "a steadfast guardian of his father's legacy." His cause of death was not immediately announced. Reagan was a contributor to the conservative Newsmax television network and was known for his talk radio program, "The Michael Reagan Show." Politico

Aldrich Ames, Rest in Hell . . . Aldrich Ames, the CIA turncoat who sold out U.S. intelligence to Moscow, is dead at 84 in federal custody. Paid millions by the Soviet Union and later Russia, Ames exposed Western assets, dooming agents to execution and crippling U.S. spying during the Cold War. His betrayal ranks among the most catastrophic intelligence failures in American history. Politico

Guilty Pleasures

Radical leftist Arkansas Senate candidate pretends to be aww-shucks farmer . . . Arkansas Senate hopeful Hallie Shoffner sells herself as a plainspoken farmer taking on Sen. Tom Cotton, but records tell a different story. Before rebranding as FarmHerHallie, Shoffner worked as a left-wing activist tied to Soros-funded causes abroad. Her campaign leans hard on dirt-road authenticity—while quietly burying years of progressive organizing and identity politics dressed up as grassroots grit. Washington Free Beacon

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