TikTok law is upheld
This morning, the Supreme Court upheld the law requiring the social media platform TikTok to divest itself of Chinese ownership or be removed from US-based app stores and hosting services.
Photo credit: Inverse
Blessings on you and your family from all the Huckabee team! Today’s newsletter is below.
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Daily Bible Verse
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:4 KJV
TikTok law is upheld
This morning, the Supreme Court upheld the law requiring the social media platform TikTok to divest itself of Chinese ownership or be removed from US-based app stores and hosting services. The deadline for imposing the ban is Sunday, so this could mean bye-bye to TikTok. Details at the link.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-issues-ruling-looming-tiktok-ban
Trump takes office on Monday, and he’s expressed support for some kind of arrangement to save TikTok, so we’ll see what happens. The big question is, even if it’s only unavailable for 12 hours, can millions of young Americans survive that long without it? Or will they suffer from withdrawal symptoms and go blind at seeing the sun for the first time in years?
Good news from Canada
Word of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s departure was unfortunately overblown, as he announce that he would resign “in the coming months” and would stay as his party’s leader until March and in office until the October elections. But here’s a little good news: when the elections do finally arrive, he won’t be running for office again. His political career is over, at least for the time being.
Some of us would say his political career was over a long time ago, but it’s a relief that he finally acknowledged that himself.
Updates from California
This is today’s link to Fox News’ updates on the California wildfires. The death toll has risen to 27, with 30 people missing and not yet accounted for. Please pray for their safety, the safety of the firefighters, and an end to these terrible fires.
https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/la-fires
In genuinely disgusting news, 29 people have been arrested for looting evacuated homes, with one of them caught dressed as a firefighter.
Here’s an eye-opening accounting of how much of the fire department’s budget L.A. officials blew on DEI initiatives while letting hydrants go dry and a hundred fire trucks sit around out of commission and in need of repairs.
And as the California legislature demonstrated its priorities by holding a special session during the fires to vote to spend $50 million on protecting illegal aliens from being deported by Trump, it was reported that one of the people arrested for arson was an illegal immigrant from Mexico. He has an extensive criminal record and an ICE detainer request, which the “sanctuary city” of L.A., of course, ignored.
https://www.thecentersquare.com/california/article_da0e69e4-d36d-11ef-940a-57da7830a910.html
Proving that there are still pockets of common sense in the state, or maybe they’re suddenly sprouting out of the ashes, the mayor of Huntington Beach announced that he is proposing an initiative to declare the city a “Non-Sanctuary City for Illegal Immigration for the Prevention of Crime.” Here’s Mayor Pat Burns’ statement on the crime wave unleashed on California by Biden’s open border, how Gov. Newsom and his ilk are fighting to continue it, and how many Californians are fed up and demanding an end to it.
Biden adds to his record
Continuing his “Burn Everything Down Before I Leave” tour, President Biden commuted the sentences of another 2500 prison inmates, adding to his record of issuing more pardons and commutations than any other President (and not just for his family members.)
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-commutes-nearly-2500-more-sentences-final-days-presidency
In a statement, Biden claimed these commutations are all for non-violent drug offenders "who are serving disproportionately long sentences" compared to what they would receive if sentenced under today's law. It read, "Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,"
We can’t help wondering how many of them were part of the mass incarcerations resulting from the enhancing sentences in the tough drug law Biden himself co-sponsored in the 1990s.
We also wonder if another beneficiary of his expansive pardons, his son Hunter, taught him the distinction between crack and powder cocaine.
Noem gets her confirmation hearing
Today, the Senate will hold a confirmation hearing for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. The National Border Patrol Council union sent a letter to the Senators, urging them to confirm her quickly because she knows how to “get things done.” Here’s a link to live updates from Fox News:
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/donald-trump-cabinet-picks-senate-hearing-january-17-2025
The “Trump Effect” is ramping up speed as we approach Inauguration Day. Here’s how it works:
Next Monday: Trump becomes President again.
Yesterday: Hamas signed a ceasefire and agreed to release its hostages, the FBI announced that it shut down its DEI office last month, and the House Speaker removed the chairman of the Intelligence Committee due to Trump’s concerns about his ties to Ukraine and the Deep State.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fbi-closed-dei-office-in-december-agency-says/ar-AA1xkyDW
However, Trump isn’t buying that all of this capitulation to him is sincere. He suggested that corruption was behind the FBI’s actions and demanded that they preserve all the DEI office’s documents and records, and not use its closure as an excuse to destroy them in a cover-up.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fbi-closed-dei-office-in-december-agency-says/ar-AA1xkyDW
Update from Israel
After Hamas demanded last-minute changes in the ceasefire deal that caused Israel to delay a vote, the terrorist group caved and both sides approved the deal. Israeli hospitals are bracing to receive the hostages who have been held under likely horrific conditions for over 15 months. About 100 people are still believed to be held, with 33 scheduled to be released by Sunday, coincidentally the day before Trump takes office. The Israeli military believes that a third to a half of them may already be dead.
Here's a link to Fox News’ continually-updated bulletins on this breaking story:
https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/israel-hamas-cease-fire-hostage-release-live-updates-1-17-2025
Former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao indicted
It appears that the Oakland, California, crime wave is even affecting city hall. This morning, the FBI will reportedly reveal why a federal grand jury has just indicted former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao for corruption.
In a related story, Walgreens announced that it’s closing five more stores in the Bay area and 12 in San Francisco, after sales dropped due to customers not wanting to wait to retrieve every item from locked cabinets, which they had to do because of the rampant shoplifting. Walgreens’ CEO explained something that the state’s Democrat leaders apparently never imagined: “When you lock things up…you don’t sell as many of them. We’ve kind of proven that pretty conclusively.” On the other hand, when you lock up criminals, you don’t have to lock up merchandise. See how that works?
And in a completely unsurprisingly revelation, In and Out Burger revealed the reason why they closed their Oakland restaurant last January, the first time they’ve ever shuttered one of their locations in 75 years. Brace yourself: if was due to “ongoing issues with crime.”
A potential lineup change
Ratings-starved CNN is reported considering moving TDS-infected “reporter” Jim Acosta from his Trump-hating morning show platform to a new time slot: midnight to 2 a.m. On the bright side for Acosta, there would finally be something funny on late night besides “Gutfeld.”
Trump sets a new record
Trump’s Inaugural Fund has raised a record $170 million in donations, with record amounts coming from big corporations. Coke even included a personalized Trump Coke can for him, and even his former nemesis Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook is suddenly talking like a MAGA convert. Trump posted on Truth Social, “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!”
Anyone who thinks that they can buy their way into his good graces has another think coming. Trump reminded them that when he really needed their backing, they were against him and “with her.” NOW, they want to his friend. We doubt their donations will curry any favor, they’ll just verify for him what hypocrites they are.
But the good news is that this is yet another powerful signal that the left’s ability to “cancel” people for daring to support Trump has now been smashed and tossed in the Dumpster of history. It’s now looking as outdated as all the Kamal Harris for President merchandise that’s on clearance sale for pennies on the dollar.
Interesting Proposal:
The government is like the ending of “Indiana Jones”: a giant dusty warehouse full of things it doesn’t even know it has. So why not auction off some of those distressed assets, like government loans, to the highest bidder and raise over a trillion dollars? Tip: If you buy the Ark of the Covenant, don’t open the box!
Thank you for reading the newsletter.
Isn't it amazing that Schiff can drill down on Bondi about first-day pardons, saying she can't possibly review them one at a time and would therefore be issuing blanket pardons without reviewing them individually.......and yet he'd have us believe that Biden individually reviewed 2,500 pardons this week. Well, he hasn't said that, but he hasn't publicly called Biden out in outrage that he'd issue such a massive number without reviewing them individually.
Thank you. Well we’re getting some things moving. That makes me feel good. But on Monday when it is all well and done officially then we can light the afterburner and get moving…fast. Then happiness will return.🙂🇺🇸🙂🦅