“We included disaster relief for North Carolina and Florida in the wake of hurricanes recently, and east Tennessee. And no doubt, we need to address fires. “But the problem with California is forestry management. If they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies. “California wants the money without changing the policies that …

The New York Times reports: The Vatican has approved new guidelines for Italy that say that an applicant for the seminary cannot be rejected simply because he is gay, as long as he remains celibate. The guidelines say that seminary directors should consider sexual orientation as only one aspect of a candidate’s personality. They do not change the Roman Catholic …

“Liberal society’s gone mad. People have been institutionalized for less. California has been trying for years to destroy Western civilization. Well, this is what it looks like. They finally did it. “Primetime is calling for a federal takeover of California. When a state becomes this dangerous and the government becomes this reckless, where the lives of millions of American citizens …

NBC News reports: An FBI background check for Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense, was transmitted late Friday to the leading members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the report, just days ahead of his Tuesday confirmation hearing. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the panel’s chairman, and …

PolitiZoom reports: Birds of a feather flock together. On that premise, the fact that the pussy grabber in chief has nominated degenerate Pete Hegseth to lead a huge agency like the Department Of Defense has come as no surprise. It makes complete sense. And when Matt Gaetz was nominated for Attorney General, that also made sense. It was not expected …

Variety reports: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are calling on others to lend their support to the victims of the wildfires raging across Southern California. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live with their two children in Montecito, Calif., posted a statement Thursday on their official website that reads: “In the last few days, wildfires in Southern California have …

CBS News reports: Macy’s is closing 66 store locations that it has said are underperforming. The closures are part of the storied retailer’s turnaround strategy. The company referred to the brick-and-mortar stores it’s shuttering as “non-go-forward” locations. They include outposts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, …

Ars Technica reports: A British judge ruled against a man who wants to excavate a landfill where he says a hard drive with access to thousands of bitcoins was mistakenly dumped over 11 years ago. Since 2013, James Howells has been hoping to recover a laptop hard drive that he says contains the private key for cryptocurrency which he says …

Media Matters reports: The last full jobs report of the Biden administration showed a gain of 256,000 jobs during December 2024, about 100,000 more than expected, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1%, about where it’s held for the past year. Yet, just seconds prior to the report’s release, Heritage Foundation economist and long-time Trump adviser Stephen Moore was …

NOAA reports: Last year was a record-warm year for the U.S., as the nation was hit by numerous tornadoes and devastating hurricanes, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. The average annual temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 55.5 degrees F — 3.5 degrees above the 20th-century average — ranking as the nation’s warmest year in NOAA’s …

NBC News reports: The Trump Organization on Friday unveiled a new ethics plan that it says will limit President-elect Donald Trump’s involvement in management decisions and other aspects of the business while he is in the White House. Trump will have “limited access” to the company’s financial information, receiving only “general business updates,” according to a five-page white paper on …

The Associated Press reports: Unless the conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, Trump will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights. Can he own a gun? No. Under federal law, people convicted of felonies are not allowed to possess firearms. Does he have to give a DNA sample? By law, every person …

Mediaite reports: Mel Gibson told Joe Rogan that several of his friends were cured of stage 4 cancer with alternative medicines like the drug ivermectin, typically used to treat parasitic infections in humans and large animals. At one point in their lengthy conversation, the two talked about medicine and the healthcare industry, which prompted Gibson to tell a personal story. …

The post below has been updated… NBC News reports: A federal judge on Friday found Rudy Giuliani in contempt of court for his continued defamation of two former Georgia election workers, just days after a different federal judge held him in contempt for failing to turn over his assets to them as ordered. In a courtroom in Washington, D.C., U.S. …

From the Justice Department: A federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Washington has returned an indictment charging Francier Obando Pinillo, age 51, of Miami, Florida, with 26 counts of fraud in connection with running a cryptocurrency scam that defrauded investors of millions of dollars between November 2021 and October 2023. Pinillo was arraigned today at the U.S. District …

The Hill reports: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a decorated combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, says President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Defense is dangerously unqualified and has less management experience than someone running an Applebee’s restaurant. “The manager of the average Applebee’s has probably managed more people than Pete Hegseth,” Duckworth said during …

E&E News reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson urged EPA late last year to award a city in his district a grant focused on the environment and disadvantaged communities — funding from the Democrats’ climate law that Republicans have vowed to gut. The Louisiana Republican, who was just reelected speaker despite pushback from his conservative flank, sent the letter to EPA …

Politico reports: New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Friday he would like to attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20. “If it’s possible for me to get there, I look forward to it,” the Democrat said during a local cable news interview. “If not, I will send my congratulations.” Adams — a moderate at odds with …

Axios reports: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is terminating major DEI programs, effective immediately — including for hiring, training and picking suppliers, according to a new employee memo obtained by Axios. The move is a strong signal to Meta employees that the company’s push to make inroads with the incoming Trump administration isn’t just posturing, but an ethos shift that will impact …

Atlanta’s Fox affiliate reports: Four people have been injured after a Delta flight was evacuated at the Atlanta airport on Friday morning. Officials say the flight from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport to Minneapolis-St. Paul aborted takeoff shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday due to an engine problem. According to a post from the Atlanta airport’s X page, passengers deplaned from the …