Mother of Hunter Biden’s daughter defends pardon, says he’s ‘targeted because of who his dad is’
Lunden Roberts, the mother of Hunter Biden’s child, Navy Joan Roberts, is backing President Biden’s decision to issue a sweeping pardon for his son. “I think what Joe did is what the love of any parent would do and not everybody will understand that,” Roberts said in a statement provided by her publisher, Skyhorse, to the DailyMail. “I’d like to see more of that love towards Navy Joan and hope that Biden will take the steps to become a grandparent for my daughter.” Roberts went on to say that she believes that Hunter was “targeted because of who his dad is.” “I don’t know what it’s like to be president, so I can’t say what choices I would make if I was in Biden’s shoes, but I am a mother,” she said. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my child. No barrier I wouldn’t break for Navy Joan.” BIDEN TEAM REPORTEDLY CONSIDERING PREEMPTIVE PARDONS FOR FAUCI, SCHIFF, OTHER TRUMP ‘TARGETS’ “Many people have done what he’s done and have never gotten in trouble,” Roberts added. “But because his dad is president, he’s being held to a different set of circumstances.” Despite repeatedly stating that he would not pardon Hunter, President Biden reversed course and granted clemency to his son for all offenses against the United States he committed or may have committed from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024. The sweeping pardon, therefore, covers, but is not limited to, Hunter’s conviction on federal gun charges in Delaware and his guilty plea on federal tax charges in California. He was due to be sentenced in both cases this month. Roberts penned a book published in August titled, “Out of the Shadows: My Life Inside the Wild World of Hunter Biden.” The Arkansas native details how she met Hunter while she was in Washington, D.C., for school and while Hunter was at the height of his addiction to crack cocaine. WHO ELSE MIGHT BIDEN PARDON AFTER HE SPARED HUNTER FROM SENTENCING? She said she moved back home after becoming pregnant, and Hunter, already a father to three daughters with ex-wife Kathleen Buhle at the time, had grown distant. Roberts gave birth to their daughter, Navy, in August 2018. Hunter was also briefly involved with the widow of his late brother Beau Biden, and not long afterward, he married his current wife, Melissa Cohen Biden. The couple welcomed a son in March 2020 named Beau Biden Jr. The White House Christmas stocking display has included just six grandchildren for years, excluding Navy. President Biden had refused to acknowledge Navy as his grandchild until July 2023. A court-ordered paternity test confirmed Hunter as Navy’s father in 2020. Earlier this year, Roberts agreed to reduced child support payments in exchange for Hunter trying to build a relationship with his daughter. Roberts said Hunter has spoken with his daughter over Zoom. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House and Skyhorse for additional comment.
Nobel laureates criticize RFK Jr. HHS nomination over ‘lack of credentials,’ vaccine stance
Seventy-seven Nobel Prize winners have come out against the nomination of environmental and health activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. In a letter first reported by the New York Times, the Nobel Laureates urge members of the United States Senate to reject RFK Jr.’s nomination, raising concerns about his “lack of credentials” in health science or administration, opposition to vaccines and promotion of “conspiracy theories” about mainstream medical treatments. “Placing Mr. Kennedy in charge of DHHS would put the public’s health in jeopardy and undermine America’s global leadership in the health sciences,” the letter cautions. Kennedy, the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, is an environmental lawyer and activist who founded the Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit group accused of spreading misinformation on vaccines, including debunked claims that vaccination causes autism. President-elect Trump declared his intention to nominate Kennedy to lead HHS in November after Kennedy, who ran for president as an independent, endorsed Trump for president. RFK JR. WANTS TO CLEAR OUT ‘ENTIRE DEPARTMENTS’ IN THE FDA: ‘THEY HAVE TO GO’ The letter cites Kennedy’s opposition to widely-accepted public health interventions, including vaccination and the fluoridation of drinking water, to suggest his confirmation could lead to public harm. The Nobel Laureates also allude to his rejection of scientific evidence that shows H.I.V. causes AIDS. Additionally, the Nobel Laureates call Kennedy a “belligerent critic” of the agencies he would oversee as Health Secretary, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. Kennedy has accused the FDA of “corruption” and called for “entire departments” at the agency to be cleared out. He has also called the CDC’s vaccine division a “fascist enterprise” and accused health agencies of being captured by the pharmaceutical industry, according to NBC News. The Nobel Laureates insist the next health secretary “should continue to nurture and improve — not to threaten — these important and highly respected institutions and their employees.” TRUMP TAPS RFK JR. TO LEAD DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES The Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If confirmed, Kennedy would oversee a vast health policy bureaucracy that includes 13 agencies, operates with a $2 trillion budget and administers Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and other crucial federal health programs. RFK JR. CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF FLUORIDE FROM DRINKING WATER, SPARKING DEBATE The Department of Health and Human Services guides public health policy for disease treatment and prevention; provides grants for medical research and community health programs; assists with child welfare programs, including adoption, foster care, child care and child abuse; develops bioterrorism defense strategies; resettles refugees who seek asylum in the United States and much more. “President Trump has asked me to do three things: 1. Clean up the corruption in our government health agencies. 2. Return those agencies to their rich tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science. 3. Make America Healthy Again by ending the chronic disease epidemic,” Kennedy posted on X after his nomination. Kennedy is not the only recent HHS nominee to face public scrutiny over his apparent lack of health credentials. Conservative groups opposed President Biden’s 2020 nomination of then-California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead the department on grounds that Becerra, a former congressman and lawyer, had no related health experience. The Senate confirmed Becerra 50-49, with the support of all Democrats and just one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Deadly Israeli air strikes target Nuseirat camp in Gaza
At least seven people have been killed and many wounded by an Israeli air attack on a house in central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp. The house was targeted on Tuesday morning, the Palestinian Civil Defence said in a statement, adding that its teams recovered seven bodies and rescued a number of wounded people from the site of the attack. Anadolu Agency quoted a medical source at al-Awda Hospital as saying that the victims included a woman and three children. The report added that the Israeli strikes severely damaged surrounding buildings as well. Meanwhile, Quds News Network reported that Palestinian footballer Mohamed Khalifa was among the victims of the attack. Medical sources have told Al Jazeera that at least 13 people were killed in the coastal enclave today. On Monday night, one Palestinian was killed and many were wounded by an Israeli air strike that targeted the home of the Meqdad family in Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City. In addition, nearly two dozen people were killed on Monday evening in an attack on a building sheltering displaced people in northern Gaza. Advertisement “Twenty people from one displaced family from Beit Lahiya and Jabalia, who were making their way to Beit Hanoon city, were killed,” Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, said. “That includes men, women, children, as well as elderly Palestinians.” Footage shared on social media, and verified by Al Jazeera, shows residents on Tuesday collecting the bodies and lining them up on the street. In central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah, Israeli naval forces detained six Palestinian fishermen who tried to sail into the Mediterranean Sea earlier on Tuesday, Reuters news agency reported. Since early October, Israeli forces have laid a deadly siege in areas in northern Gaza, including Jabalia and Beit Lahiya. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 44,758 Palestinians and wounded 105,834 since October 7, 2023. Netanyahu promises to continue war on Gaza Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not stop the war in Gaza “now”, despite reports of renewed efforts towards talks on a ceasefire. Speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said “if we end the war now, Hamas will return, recover, rebuild and attack us again”. Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. On Tuesday, Netanyahu was at a court in Tel Aviv to take the stand for the first time in a long-running corruption trial, adding to his legal woes. Advertisement Charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, Netanyahu will testify three times a week, the court said. Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 in three cases involving gifts from millionaire friends and for allegedly seeking regulatory favours for media tycoons in return for favourable coverage. A few dozen protesters gathered outside the court building, some of them supporters and others demanding he do more to negotiate the release of some 100 captives still held by Hamas in Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
Dozens kidnapped by rifle-wielding men in northwest Nigeria village
Residents said men carrying assault rifles went door to door, kidnapping people in the northwestern town of Kakin Dawa. Armed men have abducted dozens of women and children in northwestern Nigeria, the latest in a spate of kidnappings that have plagued the region. Police said the incident took place on Sunday in the village of Kafin Dawa in Zamfara State. Residents reported men carrying assault rifles going door to door, kidnapping people. “We found out that they kidnapped more than 50 women, including married women and girls,” said Hassan Ya’u, a resident who managed to escape but had his younger sister kidnapped. “The entire village was gripped by fear as gunshots echoed throughout the operation,” said another resident cited by Nigeria’s Daily Trust news site, which reported 43 people were kidnapped. Zamfara police said they have deployed additional security forces to the area. Kidnapping for ransom by armed men, known locally as bandits, is rife in northwest Nigeria due to high levels of poverty, unemployment and the proliferation of illegal firearms. In March this year, gunmen abducted more than 130 students in the northwestern town of Kuriga for ransom. Advertisement The students were freed “unharmed” several weeks later after intensive “backchannel” negotiations, the government said at the time. Women react as children, released after being kidnapped by gunmen in Kuriga, reunite with their families, March 28, 2024 [Emmanuel Buba/AFP] Abductions from Nigerian schools were first carried out by the armed group Boko Haram, which seized 276 students from a girls’ school in Chibok in northeastern Borno State in 2014. Some of the girls were never released, with most of them forcefully married to the fighters. In another mass kidnapping in July 2021, armed men took more than 150 students in a raid. The students were reunited months later with their families after they reportedly paid ransoms. At least 1,400 children have been abducted since 2014. Adblock test (Why?)
South Korean parliament passes bill seeking counsel probe of Yoon
The governing party is also discussing Yoon’s potential resignation as early as February and holding a snap election in April or May. South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament has passed a bill that seeks to appoint a special counsel to investigate President Yoon Suk-yeol over failed martial law as the governing party discussed his potential resignation in the coming months. The bill, passed on Tuesday, requests the appointment of a special prosecutor to “determine the truth about the internal rebellion through the unconstitutional declaration of martial law”, according to the Yonhap news agency. At least 210 lawmakers voted in favour and 63 against, while 14 members abstained out of 287 who attended the session. The bill came after Yoon survived the first impeachment motion last week when the 300-seat parliament fell short of a quorum of 200 lawmakers. A widespread investigation was launched into the Yoon administration after he imposed martial law, only to be forced into reversing that decision by the country’s parliament just hours later. A protester holding a cardboard reading ‘Leader of insurgents’ on an image depicting the face of President Yoon Suk-yeol takes part in a protest calling for his ouster outside the National Assembly in Seoul, December 8, 2024 [Philip Fong/AFP] The bill also calls for investigating other officials, including former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Army Chief of Staff General Park An-su, Yonhap reported. Advertisement The Seoul Central District Court said it was reviewing a request from prosecutors for a warrant to arrest Kim, who has been accused of recommending martial law to Yoon and sending troops to the National Assembly to block lawmakers from voting on it. In a statement later on Tuesday, the former defence minister said he “deeply apologises for causing significant anxiety and inconvenience”, adding that all responsibility for the imposition of martial law rests solely with him. South Korean authorities have also banned more top officials from leaving the country a day after Yoon was hit with a travel ban. On Tuesday, Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, and two other top police officials became the latest to be barred from foreign travel, the AFP news agency reported. Yoon to resign? Meanwhile, the embattled governing party said it was discussing Yoon’s potential resignation as early as February, and holding a snap election in April or May. Lee Yang-soo, who chairs a People Power Party task force constituted on Monday to map out Yoon’s eventual and “orderly” departure, said his team proposed the idea of having Yoon resign in February or March and holding an election two months later. South Korea’s constitution requires an election within 60 days of the president’s departure. Yoon’s five-year term ends in May 2027. “We’ve not yet reached a conclusion partywide and will have another meeting with all our members of parliament in the afternoon to discuss that plan,” Lee told reporters. A caricature depicting President Yoon in front of the People Power Party’s head office in Seoul [File: Lee Jin-man/AP Photo] Budget passed Advertisement Tuesday also saw parliament passing a budget bill for 2025 that was slashed from the government’s proposal and triggered the short-lived martial law decree. The 300-member parliament voted 183-94 to pass a 673.3 trillion won ($470.6bn) budget for 2025, which was cut by the Democratic Party from the government’s proposed 677.4 trillion won ($473.5bn) without reaching an agreement with the PPP and the government. It was the first time the parliament passed a budget trimmed down without consent from government ministries or between rival parties. President Yoon had cited opposition obstructionism over government budgets as one justification for his martial law decree. Adblock test (Why?)
Outgoing Sen. Joe Manchin pushes constitutional amendment for Supreme Court term limits
Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., and Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., are proposing a constitutional amendment that would institute a term limit system for future Supreme Court justices. Currently, high court justices do not face constraints on the length of their service. They ” … shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour …” the U.S. Constitution states. The proposed amendment would create 18-year terms, with new terms beginning every two years. But the term limits would only impact justices appointed after ratification — all current justices would still be able to remain on the bench as long as they wish. JOE MANCHIN ISN’T DONE WITH POLITICS, SAYS BOB CUSACK “The proposed amendment would not adjust the tenure of sitting Justices, but rather institute a transition period to maintain regular vacancies as current Justices retire,” a Manchin press release explains. “During that period, 18-year terms will begin every two years, regardless of when a current Justice leaves the bench. Once a current Justice retires, the newly appointed Justice will serve out the remainder of the next open 18-year term. The amendment would not change the overall number of Justices on the Court.” Manchin, a Democrat-turned-independent who has served in the Senate since late 2010, did not seek re-election this year. His current term will end in less than a month. “I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Senator Welch that would establish 18-year term limits for Justices of the United States Supreme Court. The current lifetime appointment structure is broken and fuels polarizing confirmation battles and political posturing that has eroded public confidence in the highest court in our land,” Manchin said, according to the press release. MANCHIN DELIVERS EMOTIONAL FINAL FLOOR SPEECH AS WEST VIRGINIA SENATOR: ‘HONOR OF MY LIFE’ “Our amendment maintains that there shall never be more than nine Justices and would gradually create regular vacancies on the Court, allowing the President to appoint a new Justice every two years with the advice and consent of the United States Senate. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join our legislation to help restore faith in our judicial system.” The proposed amendment stipulates that the high court should be comprised of nine justices, a figure which is not currently enshrined in the Constitution. “The Judiciary Act of 1869 fixed the number of Justices at nine and no subsequent change to the number of Justices has occurred,” according to the Supreme Court’s website. FIRST DEM SENATOR CALLS FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT ‘FOR THE GOOD OF THE COUNTRY’ Three of the current nine members of the Supreme Court were appointed by President-elect Donald Trump during his first term in office, while only one of the current members was appointed by President Joe Biden. “Taking action to restore public trust in our nation’s most powerful Court is as urgent as it is necessary. Setting term limits for Supreme Court Justices will cut down on political gamesmanship, and is commonsense reform supported by a majority of Americans,” Welch noted, according to the press release. “I’m proud to lead this effort with Senator Manchin that will restore Americans’ faith in our judicial system.”
What will happen if no-confidence motion against chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar is passed in Rajya Sabha?
As per Article 67(b), the motion must be passed by a simple majority, 50 per cent + one – of voting Rajya Sabha MPs.
High-speed rail efforts in Texas have gained some momentum. The Texas Legislature and Donald Trump may change that.
A yearslong effort to bring high-speed rail to Texas has recently shown signs of life, but state lawmakers have consistently put up roadblocks to keep it from happening.
Recycled oilfield water could aid drought-stricken West Texas
Oilfield wastewater injected underground is causing earthquakes and blowouts. Now, pilot projects are exploring whether this water could be treated and used to grow crops.
Trump claims GOP ‘very open’ to keeping ‘Dreamers’ in US, takes shot at ‘very difficult’ Dems
President-elect Donald Trump says that he wants to work with Democrats on a “plan” to help illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. as minors and were protected from deportation under an Obama-era order — echoing a similar push he attempted in 2019. Trump was asked in an interview with NBC News on Sunday about “dreamers,” an activist-preferred term for illegal immigrants who arrived as children, and whether they would be included in his plan for mass deportations. “Dreamers are going to come later, and we have to do something about the Dreamers, because these are people that have been brought here at a very young age, and many of these are middle-aged people now, they don’t even speak the language of their country, and yes, we’re going to do something about them,” Trump said. FIREBRAND GOP LAWMAKERS DEMANDS MAYORKAS PRESERVE BORDER CRISIS RECORDS FOR TRUMP ADMIN: ‘UNDO THE DAMAGE DONE’ “I will work with the Democrats on a plan, and if we can come up with a plan, but the Democrats have made it very, very difficult to do anything. Republicans are very open to the Dreamers. The Dreamers, we’re talking many years ago. They were brought into this country many years ago, some of them are no longer young people, and in many cases, they become successful,” Trump continued. “They have great jobs. In some cases, they have small businesses. In some cases, they might have large businesses, and we’re going to have to do something with them.” When asked if he wanted them to be able to stay, he said, “I do. I want to be able to work something out.” “I think we can work with the Democrats and work something out,” he said. Then-President Barack Obama signed the executive order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), in 2012, which shielded more than 800,000 illegal immigrants from being deported and gave them the ability to work in the U.S. The Trump administration pushed unsuccessfully to end DACA, being blocked by the Supreme Court. It remains before the courts with a lawsuit challenging the legality of the policy under review in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. DEM SENATOR URGES BIDEN TO EXTEND PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS BEFORE TRUMP ADMIN: ‘NOBODY IS SAFE’ However, as the Trump administration pushed to end DACA, Trump proposed an additional three years of protection for DACA recipients and others in exchange for money to build a wall along the southern border. Democrats rejected that deal as “hostage taking.” Immigration activists have pushed for the passage of the DREAM Act, which has been introduced multiple times. That legislation would go much further than DACA and grant a pathway to citizenship for what advocates estimate to be 2 million illegal immigrants. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Trump has promised to launch a mass deportation campaign when he enters office in January, where he will also have a Republican House and Senate. Ahead of that, some Democrats have been calling on President Biden to extend existing protections for some illegal immigrants — including DACA recipients. Immigration activists were unimpressed by Trump’s comments. Bruna Sollod, senior political director of United We Dream, said in response to Trump’s comments, “Actions speak louder than words, and Donald Trump’s track record in attacking DACA, fueling depraved disinformation and violence, and scapegoating immigrants extend back to his very first day in office to today.” Sollod said that Trump should “immediately call on his allies in Texas to drop the lawsuit against DACA and stop his mass detention and deportation agenda now.”