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Trump judges blast peers for letting California impose ‘state-sanctioned groupthink’ in medicine

The federal government’s refusal to register a supposedly offensive trademark for the Asian-American rock band The Slants prompted the Supreme Court to issue a sweeping precedent that protected First Amendment rights from the government-speech doctrine.

Now eight years later, that ruling is center stage again as the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extended the doctrine that steamrolls individual speech under the banner of government speech to validate California medical training. And some dissenting judges nominated by President Donald Trump on that court are raising deep concerns.

A majority of the full appeals court, whose jurisdiction stretches from the Pacific to the Rockies, refused to rehear a challenge to California’s imposition of “implicit bias” training in continuing medical education, which doctors must receive to keep their licenses, leaving intact a three-judge panel’s ruling that deemed the private courses to be government speech.

The 9th Circuit has become less liberal with Trump’s 11 nominees but Democrat nominees still dominate the largest federal appeals court, which has 29 active judges. The rehearing denial doesn’t specify the vote count.

“A proper analysis—as prescribed by the Supreme Court, our own court’s prior cases, and our sister circuits—reveals that California’s prior CME regulations did not meaningfully express or shape messages through CME courses” before the Golden State made implicit-bias training a statutory requirement in 2019, the first dissent from refusal to rehear said.

Physicians in CME courses would also be “unlikely to perceive the instructor’s message as the government’s” and the Medical Board of California’s “regulations otherwise exert very little control over CME instructors’ messages,” Judge Lawrence VanDyke wrote.

He was joined by Judges Patrick Bumatay and Eric Tung, the latter only confirmed in November.

The Trump appointees blasted the “improperly anemic governmental speech analysis” by the panel, which relied on the “mere scope of California’s regulatory scheme” to conclude that “CME attendees perceive instructors as relaying the government’s views,” at odds with the “well-pleaded allegations” of the challengers.

Tung also wrote a dissent, joined by VanDyke and Bumatay, that scolded the panel for rebranding private instructors as government agents and sidestepping the scientific debate over the validity of implicit bias, which the California law asserts with no evidence is responsible for healthcare “outcome disparities” by race and sex.

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Maduro’s Right-Hand Man Reappears After Airstrikes – Calls on Communist Supporters to Remain Calm, Admits US Partially Achieved Goals with Devastating Attack

On Saturday morning, January 3, 2026, a series of explosions in Caracas and other cities in Venezuela signal the start of the US campaign against the socialist regime of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Low-flying aircraft could be heard, as well as air raid sirens.

Bright flashes were seen in at least six locations, including Fort Tiuna army base and La Carlota Air Base, where power outages affected some neighborhoods.

TGP’s Jordan Conradson reported that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were captured and flown back to the US. The communist leader Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York following his capture during a US military operation in the middle of the night.

“Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

Following the capture of Communist President Nicolas Maduro,  Diosdado Cabello, Maduro’s right-hand man, reappeared and admitted that “what they (the US) wanted with the bombs and missiles, they partially achieved,” while urging his followers not to fall into despair.

Diosdado Cabello, Maduro’s right-hand man, reappeared after the airstrikes and admitted that “what they wanted with the bombs and missiles, they partially achieved,” while urging his followers not to fall into despair.

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Senate to vote on war powers measure following Maduro ouster

Sen. Tim Kaine said he will force a vote next week to block further military action against Venezuela without congressional approval in the wake of President Donald Trump’s operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Kaine, who has so far been unable to get Congress to stop Trump’s Latin American military operations, called the move to oust Maduro without congressional approval “a sickening return to a day when the United States asserted the right to dominate” the Western Hemisphere.

“My bipartisan resolution stipulating that we should not be at war with Venezuela absent a clear congressional authorization will come up for a vote next week,” Kaine said in a statement. “We’ve entered the 250th year of American democracy and cannot allow it to devolve into the tyranny that our founders fought to escape.”

Test vote

While the vote, which will occur when the Senate returns from its holiday break, comes after the fact, it would require Trump to seek congressional approval for further attacks if enacted.

The vote will also be a key test of support among Republicans for Trump’s aggressive move. While previous efforts to restrict Trump have failed for lack of GOP support, the administration’s actions could sway some Republicans who have expressed concerns about heightened tensions with Venezuela.

Kaine told reporters on a Saturday call that Republicans “cannot pretend anymore” that Trump’s rhetoric was just a “bluff” or a “negotiating tactic.”

“That makes me hope that we’ll get more votes on the resolution,” Kaine said, adding that it was time for Congress to “get its ass off the couch” on its own warmaking authority.

Administration officials may have to work to keep skeptical Republicans onside, and top Republicans say they expect to be briefed when they return to Washington.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he expects “further briefings from the administration on this operation as part of its comprehensive counternarcotics strategy.” House Speaker Mike Johnson added that the Trump administration is working to schedule briefings for lawmakers when they return.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke with Kaine on Saturday about his war powers vote and that Democrats would be trying to build public pressure on Republicans to break ranks.

“We are saying to the Republicans, this is your responsibility,” Schumer told reporters. “President Trump is a member of your party. You’ve gone along with him over and over again. This is one time you got to resist him. It’s too serious.”

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Trump Says America Will TAKE CONTROL of ‘Stolen’ Oil After Socialist Dictator Maduro Captured — Radical Socialist Democrats Melt Down

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the United States will take control of Venezuela’s long-mismanaged oil sector, following the stunning capture of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The narco-tyrant, who has turned the once-prosperous nation into a hellhole of drugs, corruption, and poverty, was nabbed in a pinpoint U.S. operation that’s already being hailed as a masterstroke against global criminal networks.

The Venezuelan regime issued a statement rejecting the “military aggression” and invoking the UN Charter. They claim it’s all about seizing oil and minerals after Maduro wrecked it all.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects, repudiates, and denounces before the international community the extremely grave military aggression perpetrated by the current Government of the United States of America against Venezuelan territory and population in the civilian and military districts of the city of Caracas, capital of the Republic, and the states of Miranda, Aragua, and La Guaira.

This act constitutes a flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, particularly its Articles 1 and 2, which enshrine respect for sovereignty, the legal equality of States, and the prohibition on the use of force.

Such aggression threatens international peace and stability, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean, and places the lives of millions of people in grave danger.

The objective of this attack is none other than to seize Venezuela’s strategic resources, particularly its oil and minerals, attempting to break the Nation’s political independence by force. They will not succeed.

After more than two hundred years of independence, the people and their legitimate Government remain steadfast in defense of sovereignty and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny.

The attempt to impose a colonial war to destroy the republican form of government and force a “regime change,” in alliance with the fascist oligarchy, will fail just like all previous attempts. Since 1811, Venezuela has faced and defeated empires.

When in 1902 foreign powers bombarded our coasts, President Cipriano Castro proclaimed: “The insolent boot of the foreigner has profaned the sacred soil of the Fatherland.” Today, with the moral fortitude of Bolívar, Miranda, and our liberators, the Venezuelan people rise once again to defend their independence against imperialist aggression.”

The attack came after Maduro held a meeting with a senior Chinese envoy. Maduro welcomed Qiu Xiaoqi, China’s special representative for Latin American affairs, to the Miraflores Presidential Palace on Friday, where the two reaffirmed Caracas’ strategic alignment with Beijing.

Speaking from Mar-a-Lago on Saturday, President Trump said the chaos and corruption that have defined Venezuela for decades will not be allowed to repeat itself.

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Trump Doubles Down, Says Gustavo Petro “Does Have to Watch His Ass” After Threatening to Take Action Against Cocaine Factories

President Trump on Saturday doubled down on past threats to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, saying that he should “watch his ass” after Trump ordered strikes inside Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, signaling possible actions against Colombia next.

The US military executed strikes and a ground invasion to capture Maduro and his wife on Saturday at approximately 2 am local time, and they were taken prisoner on board the USS Iwo Jima. Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges of Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States, the Gateway Pundit reported.

As The Gateway Pundit reported last month, Trump told reporters that Petro needs to “watch his ass” and close the cocaine factories, which “we know where they are,” he said, while making an announcement on shipbuilding at Mar-a-Lago.

WATCH:

Trump: He has to watch, because, you know, he’s got drug factories. They make cocaine in Colombia, and he’s no friend of the United States. He’s very bad, very bad guy, and he’s got to watch his ass, because he makes cocaine and they send it into the United States of America from Colombia. We love the Colombian people. I love the Colombian people. They’re great people, energetic, smart, great, but their new leader is a troublemaker, and he better watch it. They better close up those cocaine factories. They have at least three major cocaine factories. We know where they are. He better close them up fast.

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Communist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Gets LIT UP After He Weighs in on the Capture of Venezuelan Tyrant Nicolas Maduro

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is having an awful day after seeing his fellow communist, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, captured by U.S. forces this morning.

As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier, a series of explosions rocked Caracas and other cities in Venezuela signal the start of the US campaign against the Maduro’s evil Marxist regime.

Low-flying aircraft could be heard, as well as air raid sirens. Bright flashes could be seen in at least six locations, including Fort Tiuna army base and La Carlota Air Base, where power outages hit some neighborhoods.

U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during the raid. As TGP’s Jordan Conradson reported, both have been indicted in the Southern District of New York.

Mamdani took to X this afternoon to whine about the incredibly successful mission and express ‘worry’ about the Venezuelans residing in New York City.

“I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City,” he wrote. “Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.”

“This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home,” he added. “My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.”

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Trump Ending Automatic Green Cards for Migrants Marrying U.S. Citizens

Immigration lawyers are warning that federal agencies are increasingly skeptical when migrants claim to have legitimate marriages with Americans.

The policy shift comes after President Donald Trump’s deputies began cracking down on rising rates of marriage-related visa fraud by migrants who pay Americans for temporary marriages.

While marrying a U.S. citizen has never been a locked-in guarantee that a migrant would be issued a green card, marriages have previously offered a huge boost to a migrant’s request for legal status. But that may be changing as immigration attorneys are finding that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are giving such marriages much closer scrutiny than ever before.

Immigration attorney Brad Bernstein of Spar & Bernstein is warning his clients that marrying a U.S. citizen is no longer the near-guarantee of legal residence for foreign nationals, NDTV reported.

One new wrinkle in requests for marriage-related green cards is residency. The Trump administration is prioritizing a shared domicile for the migrant and the U.S. citizen, a requirement that was not prioritized in the past. Bernstein says.

“Immigration officers do not care why you live apart, and they do not care if it’s for work, school, money, or convenience,” the attorney added.

“So, if you’re not living in the same house every day, immigration is going to start questioning the marriage. And once they question it, they’re investigating, and once they come knocking on your door, they’re looking to deny you. So, if you want a marriage green card, you live together. Period,” he explained.

USCIS has warned migrants that a marriage to a U.S. citizen has to be real, not just an arrangement of convenience. And the agency will deny green cards to those who married with “no good faith, intent to live together as spouses and intended to circumvent immigration laws.”

In November, the Trump administration even suggested that migrants who already hold green cards could find their status reexamined and reassessed.

In a message posted on Thanksgiving Day, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced, “At the direction of @POTUS, I have directed a full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern.”

“The protection of this country and of the American people remains paramount, and the American people will not bear the cost of the prior administration’s reckless resettlement policies. American safety is non-negotiable,” he continued.

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Leftist Nonprofit Cashed in at Taxpayers’ Expense in the Waning Days of the Biden Administration

One of the things that President Donald Trump is focused on in his second term is eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government. Elon Musk and DOGE went a long way to revealing just how large the scope of ridiculous things Americans’ tax dollars were being spent on. Currently, in Minnesota, even more fraud and squandering of tax dollars is being revealed. But now we are learning more about how little regard the Biden administration had for hard-working Americans’ tax dollars, and where that money went in the year before Donald Trump returned to the White House.

The Tides Center is a social justice fiscal sponsor of and is associated with the Tides Foundation. In 2024, tax records show that the Tides Center received a total of $37,810,397 of taxpayer money. It is the largest amount of government funding in a decade (up from $13,030,345 in 2014). The money came largely in the form of government grants, and because it was doled out during the Biden administration, you can guess the left-wing causes it went to.

During Joe Biden’s last year in office, the Tides Center gave money to groups that worked on issues like expanding access to abortion, affirmative action, and helping illegal immigrants get out of detention facilities. They have also lent a fiscal hand to a group called the “Anti-Police Terror Project,” and provided information on sex-change procedures. However, a big chunk of those taxpayer dollars, $21.9 million, went to the Tides Foundation, and something called Tides Advocacy, which describes itself as a 501(c)(4) “social welfare organization.” Tides Advocacy claims its mission is to provide:

“fiscal sponsorship and essential services, including financial, legal and personnel services, to nonprofit organizations that promote shared prosperity and social justice.”

They also claim to manage roughly “140 projects and activities.” 

So, what other areas of “social justice” has the Tides Center felt it important to donate funds to in 2024? There was the $25,000 donated to the Alliance for Global Justice (AFGJ). In 2021, Discover Card cut ties with the AFGJ after it was learned that they had ties to a Marxist terrorist group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). AFGJ also fiscally sponsored a pro-Iran activist whom the Treasury Department sanctioned in October of 2024 for fundraising for PFLP terrorists.

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UN Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting at Colombia’s Request with Russia and China’s Support – Maduro Also Expected in Court Monday

The United Nations Security Council plans to hold an emergency meeting at the request of Colombia, Russia, and China to discuss the United States’ operation in Venezuela, which ended in the capture of Nicolas Maduro. 

Colombia reportedly requested the meeting, with support from Russia and China, the BBC reported.

“The attendees have not yet been confirmed, but may include the UN Secretary-General António Guterres,” per the BBC.

The US military executed strikes and a ground invasion to capture Maduro and his wife on Saturday at approximately 2 am local time, and they were taken prisoner on board the USS Iwo Jima.

Maduro was indicted in the Southern District of New York on charges of Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States, the Gateway Pundit reported.

As The Gateway Pundit reported, President Trump earlier told reporters that Colombia’s Gustavo Petro needs to “watch his ass” because of the cocaine factories in his country, seemingly warning him of similar operations in Colombia.

Trump has also floated the idea of striking Colombian cocaine factories and launching strikes into Mexico to stop the cartels, saying, “I would be proud to do it, personally.”

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Trump issues thinly veiled warning to Mexico, slams Cuba, Colombia after US strikes Venezuela, arrests Maduro

President Trump issued a thinly-veiled warning to Mexico’s president Saturday while announcing the capture of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro Saturday.

Trump, who also had strong words for the leaders of Colombia and Cuba,  said the attack on Venezuela wasn’t meant to be a warning for Mexico, but said “something’s going to have to be done” about the cartel-run country.

Trump has clashed with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo over trade tariffs, and blamed the US neighbor for allowing illegal immigration and narcotics to flow across the southern border.

“We’re very friendly with her, she’s a good woman,” Trump told Fox & Friends Saturday. “But the cartels are running Mexico — she’s not running Mexico.”

Sheinbaum said Mexico “strongly condemns and rejects” US military action in Venezuela and urged the US to end “all acts of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people,” in a statement released Saturday.

Trump also doubled down on his warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro.

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