• Terror attack via Cybertruck: The Cybertruck explosion outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day has been deemed an intentional act. Seven individuals were injured in the attack, and the driver, who was the bomber, was killed. Thankfully, the damage from the explosion was limited due to the design of the Cybertruck. “The exterior of that truck is completely intact as it sits there,” explained Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill. “The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside of the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out. In fact, if you look at that video, you’ll see that the front glass doors at the Trump Hotel were not even broken by that blast.” There is no word yet as to the bomber’s motive. Following the report, Tesla CEO Elon Musk quipped, “The evil knuckleheads picked the wrong vehicle for a terrorist attack.”

• Mike Johnson’s big endorsement: Donald Trump wants Mike Johnson to remain speaker of the House. The president-elect gave his endorsement on Monday, calling Johnson a “good, hard-working, religious man” in a post on Truth Social. Trump added, “He will do the right thing, and we will continue to WIN. Mike has my Complete & Total Endorsement.” Trump’s backing may help Johnson stave off a number of Republican lawmakers who are unhappy with his negotiation with Democrats to get the most recent funding bill passed. Speaking of unrest, House Republicans unveiled a new rules package for the 119th Congress that will make it more difficult to challenge the speakership. Republicans aim to prevent the leadership instability that roiled the last House and led to the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The new rule would raise the threshold for the initiation of a “motion to vacate” the speaker from the current single member to nine members.

• Appeals court rejects Austin: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s bid to overturn plea deals sparing the death penalty for al-Qaida members who were involved in planning the 9/11 attacks was rejected by a military appeals court this week. The court ruled that Austin lacked standing to intervene in the cases. The primary defendant, senior al-Qaida member Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and two fellow al-Qaida conspirators had worked out an agreement in which they pleaded guilty for their involvement in planning the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in exchange for getting the death penalty removed. The news of the plea deal provoked a public outcry, which Austin responded to by sending a memo to retired Brigadier General Susan Escallier, whom he had appointed as Convening Authority for Military Commissions: “Responsibility for such a decision should rest with me as the superior convening authority. I hereby withdraw from the three pre-trial agreements that you signed.” The court rejected Austin’s action, ruling, “The Secretary [of Defense] did not have authority to revoke respondents’ existing [pre-trial agreements] because the respondents had started performance.”

• Biden moves to ban more gas leases: In the dying days of his administration, Joe Biden is continuing actions designed to handicap Donald Trump. On Monday, the Department of the Interior will reportedly issue a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases for some 264,000 acres of land in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains. The Biden administration justified this decision by noting it was protecting the environment and seeking to honor “the voices of Tribal communities and conservation and sportsmen’s groups.” During Trump’s first term, the Forest Service conducted a study to determine if 54,000 acres of the Ruby Mountains could be leased for oil and gas drilling. In 2019, following geological surveys, it was determined that “there is low to no potential for oil” in the area. However, the Biden administration’s actions do not restrict mineral mining in the region.

• Vacation Joe: Joe Biden took his final vacation as president in St. Croix. The beach destination was fitting for the man who has seemingly spent more time lying in the sand than seated in the Oval Office. With this last vacation, Biden has totaled 570 days of R&R over his single term, outnumbering all other modern presidents. Or, to put it another way, Biden has packed 48 years’ worth of vacations for the average American into four years. Meanwhile, while at the White House, he still seemingly did little work, including far fewer press conferences and interviews than prior presidents. Maybe it’s all those nap times. All his vacationing underscores is the reality that Biden was really never fit for office — and yet somehow he still did more damage than any other president.

• Homelessness skyrocketed under Biden: Besides record levels of illegal immigration, high inflation, and economic malaise, another legacy of Joe Biden’s presidency has been skyrocketing levels of homelessness. Last year alone, homelessness in America jumped by 18.1%, with over 770,000 people listed as homeless. That’s up from the previous year, which saw a 12% increase in homelessness across the country. The state seeing the highest number of homeless unsurprisingly continues to be California, and this is despite Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to end homelessness. It’s almost as if the problem is the federal government’s efforts to “solve” the problem.

• Biden’s lab leak suppression: COVID-19 came from that infamous lab in Wuhan, China — you know, the one doing U.S.-funded gain-of-function research on coronaviruses. We’ve surmised that for years, of course, but powerful people in the U.S. government labeled it a conspiracy theory, leading to suppression and censorship of what turned out to be truthful speech. According to a new Wall Street Journal report, the FBI was also [checks notes] on the receiving end of censorship from Joe Biden’s White House. In August 2021, the Journal notes, “the FBI was the only agency that concluded a lab leak was likely,” yet its scientists and conclusions were largely excluded from a major briefing Biden had ordered to settle the question. The same went for others whose assessment was that COVID came from the lab. Lo and behold, Biden’s crack team of investigators ultimately concluded (with “low confidence”) that COVID jumped from animal to human — the so-called zoonotic origin theory. The likely reason for suppressing internal intelligence is that Biden didn’t want to confront China. Not only is he a weak president, but he and his family made a lot of money from the ChiComs, and making them look bad while they lied to the world would have been inconvenient.

• Finally, the eagle is the national bird: It took 248 years, but the well-deserved honor of “national bird” has been bestowed upon the bald eagle. The Coat of Arms for the United States Great Seal has featured the bald eagle since June 1782, and the bird of prey has graced currency, flags, public buildings, and military insignia for most of our history. Yet, like a small mammal scurrying into a hole, the official designation eluded it. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) cosponsored legislation to change that, saying, “The bald eagle is a symbol of our country’s freedom and strength. … With the passage of our legislation, the bald eagle will now officially be recognized as our nation’s national bird.” Benjamin Franklin advocated the wild turkey for the title and took a dim view of the eagle, which he called “a Bird of bad moral Character.” Clearly, he’d be disappointed by this turn of events, but on Christmas Eve, Joe Biden signed the bill amending Title 36 of the U.S. Code. We can only wonder if, as he applied his signature, Joe was wistfully thinking of Jim Eagle.

Headlines

• Republicans want to release names of lawmakers accused of sexual harassment (Newsweek)

• Woman whose daughter was raped, murdered rips Biden for commuting killer’s death sentence (Daily Wire)

• Rand Paul unveils annual “Festivus Report” showing $1 trillion in government waste (Daily Wire)

• NC Dem governor commutes 15 death sentences on last day in office (Daily Wire)

• 16 states that force transgender lessons on kids (Daily Signal)

• Era of cheap Russian gas to EU ends as transit across Ukraine stops (BBC)

• Probe points to Russian air defenses causing Azerbaijan Airlines crash (WSJ)

• Humor: The H-1B visa controversy, explained (Babylon Bee)

• Humor: Predictions for 2025 (Babylon Bee)

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