Important Takeaways:
- The Biden administration is reportedly drawing up plans for “sustained” military action in Yemen against the Houthis after US strikes failed to stop rebel attacks on ships.
- American fighter jets have repeatedly struck Houthi sites in Yemen over the past ten days, with the latest on Saturday taking out an anti-ship missile that was preparing to fire, according to the US military.
- Despite the operations to destroy their radars, missiles and drones, the Iran-backed group – which has almost a decade of experience hiding its weapons from western-backed Saudi air strikes – has vowed to fight on, framing their attacks as an act of solidarity with Palestinians under Israeli attack in Gaza.
- On Saturday the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was crafting plans for a sustained campaign against the Houthis.
- No further details have been released on what they may look like though earlier this week Mr. Biden conceded the attacks would continue despite failing to deter the Houthis from their campaign.
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Important Takeaways:
- Joe Biden ‘is struggling to keep his head above water’ as US is challenged by Iran and Russia – ‘and China and North Korea are taking notes’, experts say as they warn inaction now ‘will cost American lives later’
- Joe Biden ‘is struggling to keep his head above water’ as the US ‘ignores’ threats from Iran and continues to be challenged by Russia – while North Korea and China are ‘taking notes’, experts have warned.
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed yesterday that their forces launched ballistic missiles close to the US consulate in Erbil, northern Iraq – a move condemned as ‘reckless’ by the US State Department.
- Former military intelligence officer Colonel (Ret) Jonathan Sweet and foreign policy expert Mark Toth labelled the US response ‘as perfunctory as it was lacking’, saying it is just the latest example of the Biden administration’s inaction in the region.
- Iran’s so-called ‘Axis of Resistance’ – including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels – has been increasing its attacks on Israel and commercial shipping routes, prompting the US and UK to launch devastating strikes by air and sea.
- But the experts told MailOnline: ‘For all the US military might put on display throughout the Middle East, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden right now, Iran and their proxies have not been deterred.’
- Meanwhile, as the war in Ukraine approaches its third year, Vladimir Putin’s rhetoric has become more aggressive, threatening Ukraine’s statehood and warning that Russia would ‘never’ abandon the gains it has made.
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Important Takeaways:
- Biden faces fury from the left for launching airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen without going to Congress: Democrats rage at the ‘unacceptable violation of the constitution’ as Turkey accuses US and UK of turning Red Sea into a ‘bloodbath’
- President Joe Biden is facing rage from the left for launching overnight airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval.
- It came as Turkey accused the US and UK of turning the Red Sea into a ‘bloodbath’ and there were growing fears of widespread escalating violence in the Middle East.
- Democrats on Capitol Hill claim it was ‘unconstitutional’ for the president to order US fighter jets, destroyers and submarines to hit targets used by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
- The US used more than 100 precision missiles striking at around 2.30am local time on over 60 targets at 16 locations in the massive operation that led to powerful explosions lighting up the night sky in Yemen.
- The Houthi rebels, who have been attacking international shipping in the Red Sea, vowed to make the allies behind the attacks ‘pay a heavy price’ for the ‘blatant aggression’ they claim has killed at least five fighters.
- Article 1 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war.
- However, under the War Powers Act of 1973 the president is only required to inform Congress of military action within 48 hours.
- Under that act, if Congress does not then declare war, the president must end the military action within 60 days, with another 30 days for withdrawal.
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Important Takeaways:
- “Last month alone, we saw the most illegal border crossings in recorded history,” Speaker Johnson said after touring the border region, visiting a Border Patrol processing facility nearby, and receiving a security briefing. “It’s an unmitigated disaster, it’s a disaster of the president’s own design.”
- Johnson says one Texas Sheriff who formerly worked for the Border Patrol told him it took less than six months for the Biden administration to dismantle what took 100 years for the Border Patrol to achieve.
- In December, more than 70,000 migrants made landfall in the Del Rio Sector. Most entries centered around Eagle Pass and the outdoor staging site near the Camino Real International Bridge. The record-breaking influx of migrants prompted U.S. Customs and Border Protection to shut down cross-border rail operations at Eagle Pass, the second busiest rail port of entry in the state of Texas.
- Although the rail line has since re-opened, one of two official ports of entry into Mexico from Eagle Pass remains shut.
- The Biden administration continues to shatter Border Patrol records dating back to the Clinton administration during Fiscal Year 2000.
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Important Takeaways:
- 151K Migrants Apprehended Last Month in 2 Border Sectors — Shatters Prior Records
- Border Patrol agents in the Tucson and Del Rio Sectors apprehended approximately 151,000 migrants who illegally crossed the border between ports of entry during the month of December, according to unofficial reports reviewed by Breitbart Texas. The reported apprehensions shatter prior records for both sectors.
- Agents in the Tucson Sector broke a record going back to the Clinton administration with the apprehension of approximately 80,000 migrants in December. Del Rio Sector agents also obliterated a record set just over a year ago with the apprehension of approximately 71,000 migrants.
- The prior record for migrant apprehensions in the Tucson Sector was set in March 2000 when agents encountered 76,245 migrants, according to U.S. Border Patrol Encounter Reports. The December report of approximately 80,000 migrants beats that record by nearly five percent.
- During the first three months of Fiscal Year 2024, which began on October 1, Border Patrol agents in the nine southwest sectors apprehended 673,000 migrants who illegally crossed the border between ports of entry.
- During the past 12 months, Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 2,132,000 migrants. Since President Joe Biden’s first full month in office (February 2021) agents apprehended nearly 6.4 million migrants. These numbers do not include known or unknown got-aways.
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Important Takeaways:
- The United States has finalized contracts to purchase three million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after the largest sale in history last year, the U.S. Department of Energy said on Tuesday.
- The department said it bought the oil, for delivery to a site in Big Spring, Texas, for an average of $77.31 a barrel, below the average of $95 a barrel that oil sold for in 2022.
- The administration of President Joe Biden had conducted sales last year, including a record one of 180 million barrels, to help control oil prices after Russia, a large crude exporter, invaded Ukraine.
- The U.S has now purchased about 14 million barrels for replenishment after last year’s sales. About 4 million barrels are also coming back to the SPR by February as oil companies return oil that had been loaned to them through a swap.
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Important Takeaways:
- Xi vows to prevent anyone ‘splitting Taiwan from China’
- President Xi Jinping vowed on Tuesday to resolutely prevent anyone from “splitting Taiwan from China in any way”, the official Xinhua news agency reported, a little more than two weeks before Taiwan elects a new leader.
- China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite the strong objections of the government in Taipei, and has ramped up military and political pressure to assert its sovereignty claims.
- Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 13 and how the island handles relations with China is a major point of contention on the campaign trail.
- Xi said “the complete reunification of the motherland is an irresistible trend”.
- “The motherland must be reunified, and inevitably will be reunified,” Xinhua cited Xi as telling senior officials from the Communist Party.
- China says the Taiwan election is an internal Chinese affair but that the island’s people face a choice between war and peace and any attempt at Taiwan independence means war.
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Important Takeaways:
- If Biden is removed from the ballots, the president will have difficulty winning the Democrat primary and presidential election. Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania are vital swing states.
- The three state representatives who are drafting the three bills are:
- Pennsylvania Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R)
- Georgia Rep. Charlice Byrd (R)
- Arizona Rep. Cory Mcgarr (R)
- The state representatives’ aim is to fight back against the Democrats’ so-called “lawfare” used to attack former President Donald Trump. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in a 4-3 opinion that the United States Constitution’s “Insurrection Clause” blocks Trump from appearing on the state’s presidential ballot.
- “Colorado radicals just changed the game and we are not going to sit quietly while they destroy our Republic. To be clear, our objective is to showcase the absurdity of Colorado’s decision and allow ALL candidates to be on the ballot in all states,” they wrote. “To do that, we must fight back as Republicans against the communists currently running our great country.”
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Important Takeaways:
- Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will make his case for more U.S. aid for the war against Russia during meetings in Washington this week, as lawmakers struggle for a deal that would link funding for Kyiv with domestic immigration controls.
- His arrival in Washington comes as Congress is under a tight – if not impossible – deadline for acting, as it is scheduled to go into recess for the year by Friday.
- President Joe Biden has urged Congress to act by year’s end and Democrats in Congress were trying to win approval of about $50 billion in new security assistance for Ukraine.
- Also included in Senate Democrats’ measure is humanitarian and economic aid for the government in Kyiv, as well as $14 billion for Israel as it wages war against Hamas in Gaza.
- Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pushed for some type of pro-immigrant provision, such as expedited work permits for migrants or better access to legal representation, the source also said.
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Important Takeaways:
- US-China Summit Turns Sour as Biden Calls Xi ‘Dictator’, China Vows to Take Over Taiwan
- The summit began with the two leaders taking a much friendlier tone after months of rising tensions, with President Biden sounding optimistic.
- They agreed on a new push to crack down on the export of the deadly drug fentanyl from China to the US.
- President Xi Jinping said China is ready to be a partner and friend of the United States.
- China could use a friend. Foreign businesses and capital have been fleeing China at a record pace.
- The two leaders also agreed to resume military-to-military communications, after they were cut off last year following then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan.
- Things got hotter when a reporter asked the president if he would still refer to Xi as a “dictator.”
- Biden answered, “Well, look, he is, in that he’s a dictator who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government that is completely different from ours.”
- The Chinese government responded swiftly and forcefully calling the “dictator” label “extremely wrong” and vowing China would be “unstoppable” in eventually retaking Taiwan, something President Biden has vowed to stand against.
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