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Trump-Class Battleship Announced as U.S. Seeks to Compete With China’s Naval Expansion

“They’ll be the fastest, the biggest, and by far, 100 times more powerful than any battleship ever built,” President Trump said at a Mar-a-Lago press conference announcing plans for the new Trump-class battleship. He referenced historic ships such as the Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Alabama, noting that while they were formidable in their era, the new vessels would surpass them by a wide margin.

The ships, the first battleships built since 1944, will serve as the centerpiece of what Trump describes as a revitalized U.S. Navy and a future “Golden Fleet.” Speaking alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, Trump said the idea originated during his first term, when he asked, “Why aren’t we doing battleships like we used to?”

Trump said the Navy will initially build two large surface combatants, with a long-term goal of expanding the class to 20 to 25 ships. The lead vessel will be the USS Defiant, which he said could be delivered in roughly two and a half years, though longer-term Navy planning places construction in the early 2030s.

According to Navy officials, the Trump class would be the largest U.S. surface combatant built since World War II, displacing roughly 30,000 to more than 35,000 tons, far larger than existing destroyers.

The ships are intended to function as heavily armed offensive platforms, capable of operating independently, alongside carrier strike groups, or as the command-and-control hub of a surface action group. Navy descriptions emphasize long-range strike, fleet coordination, air and missile defense, surface warfare, and anti-submarine operations.

The Trump class is expected to use proven combat systems already deployed on Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, including the SPY-6 radar and large vertical launch missile magazines. Planned armaments include hypersonic Conventional Prompt Strike weapons, with design margins for future systems such as directed-energy weapons, rail guns, and nuclear-capable sea-launched cruise missiles. Navy leaders have described the ships as delivering unmatched firepower and creating a new layer of deterrence at sea.

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Trump denies disaster aid to Colorado for wildfires, flooding

President Trump has denied disaster aid to the state of Colorado in the wake of wildfires and flooding.

The office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) announced the denial in a Sunday statement. He accused the president of playing “political games” and urged him to reconsider. 

“Coloradans impacted by the Elk and Lee fires and the flooding in Southwestern Colorado deserve better than the political games President Trump is playing,” Polis said in the statement.

“I call on the President’s better angels, and urge him to reconsider these requests. This is about the Coloradans who need this support, and we won’t stop fighting for them to get what they deserve. Colorado will be appealing this decision,” he said.

Under the Stafford Act, a president can unlock additional federal assistance by declaring a major disaster.

The Trump administration, however, has sought to shrink federal disaster assistance to states — and has denied some requests for disaster aid. 

While other presidents have turned down some disaster requests, Trump’s denials come as his administration is expected to try to downsize the Federal Emergency Management Agency and spend less federal money on disaster response. 

The White House defended Trump’s decision not to declare the disaster.

“The President responds to each request for Federal assistance under the Stafford Act with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement—not substitute, their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in an email.

Jackson added that “there is no politicization to the President’s decisions on disaster relief.” She said that the Trump administration also mobilized two firefighting planes to help with the response to the fires.

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Nearly 100 Minnesota Mayors Send Panicked Letter to Lawmakers Complaining About Fraud Scandal and the Leadership of Tim Walz

Almost 100 mayors in the state of Minnesota have sent a letter to state lawmakers complaining about the fraud scandal and how it is going to impact the communities they serve.

They are clearly not happy with the leadership of Governor Tim Walz and his connections to the fraud scandal that has rocked the state in recent weeks.

The scandal is still unfolding and it’s unclear what the final tally will be, but it’s looking like something in the tens of billions.

It’s shaping up to be the largest theft of taxpayer dollars in American history. Is there any wonder why these mayors are nervous?

FOX News reports:

98 Minnesota mayors warn state fiscal policies are hurting cities, residents and local budgets

A group of 98 Minnesota mayors raised concerns with state leaders in a letter about their state’s fiscal policies, saying they have impacted their cities and residents, noting a disappearing $18 billion surplus and a projected $2.9 billion to $3 billion deficit for the 2028-29 biennium.

In a letter to state lawmakers and Gov. Tim Walz, the 98 mayors expressed concern and frustration, said the state was slipping in national economic rankings.

“Fraud, unchecked spending, and inconsistent fiscal management in St. Paul have trickled down to our cities—reducing our capacity to plan responsibly, maintain infrastructure, hire and retain employees, and sustain core services without overburdening local taxpayers,” the letter states.

Cities across the state now face workforce shortages, slowed business investment, rising operational and construction costs, and families choosing to leave Minnesota altogether, the letter states…

“There is a growing disconnect between state-level fiscal decisions and the strain they place on the cities we lead, the letter said. “When the state expands programs or shifts responsibilities without stable funding, it is our residents—families, seniors, businesses, and workers—who ultimately bear the cost.”

You can see the full letter here.

These mayors should have demanded that Tim Walz resign.

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Democrats renew government shutdown threat as tensions flare with Trump

Senate Democrats are raising the threat of another government shutdown in late January as tensions with President Trump escalate over a series of recent maneuvers by the White House that Democrats say need a forceful response from Capitol Hill.

Senate Democrats walked away from a potential deal to fund a broad swath of the federal government, including the departments of Defense, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services, which make up roughly two-thirds of the discretionary budget, before Congress adjourned for the Christmas recess.  

Democrats cited Trump’s threat to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., a leading government-funded center for atmospheric and climate research, as the reason they couldn’t advance a five-bill spending package before Christmas.

Had the legislation passed the Senate this past week, it would have given Congress a good chance of funding up to 85 percent to 90 percent of the federal government through September of next year and taken the threat of another shutdown off the table.

Instead, the shutdown threat remains very much alive, even though Democrats aren’t yet revealing their strategy ahead of the Jan. 30 government funding deadline.

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who was involved in negotiations to get the spending package through the Senate, said that Democrats want to preserve their “leverage” by keeping the threat of another shutdown on the table.

“They want some leverage for the end of January,” Hoeven told The Hill, adding that he got the sense that Democrats weren’t ready to pass the funding package, even if funding for the atmospheric and climate center in Colorado didn’t blow up into a major issue.

Senate Democratic progressives aren’t ruling out the possibility that they will attempt to use the next funding deadline to demand major concessions from Trump.

“I’m not going to speculate,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who added that Democrats want to pass the regular appropriations bills but will wait to see what happens over the next several weeks.

A Democratic senator who requested anonymity to talk about the likelihood of a shutdown said that passing the five-bill spending package, which stalled in the Senate Thursday, would be critical to avoiding a shutdown.

The failure to advance the measure is a red flag warning that the chances of a shutdown are growing, lawmakers say.

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US conducting surveillance flights over Nigeria after Trump intervention threat

The US has been conducting intelligence-gathering flights over large parts of Nigeria since late November, according to flight tracking data and current and former US officials, in a sign of increased security cooperation between the countries.

Reuters could not determine what information the flights are meant to obtain.

But the flights in West Africa follow US President Donald Trump’s threats in November to militarily intervene in Nigeria over what he says is its failure to stop violence targeting Christian communities.

The flights also are occurring just months after a US pilot working for a missionary agency was kidnapped in neighbouring Niger.

The US contractor-operated aircraft used for the surveillance operations typically takes off from Ghana and flies over Nigeria before returning to Accra, the Ghanaian capital, the tracking data for December shows.

Flight tracking data shows the operator is Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, which provides special mission aircraft and works closely with the US military, according to the company’s website.

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Russia pledges ‘full support’ for Venezuela against US ‘hostilities’

Russia on Dec 22 expressed “full support” for Venezuela as the South American country confronts a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers by US forces deployed in the Caribbean, the two governments said.

In a phone call, the foreign ministers of the two allied countries blasted the US actions, which have included bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats and, more recently, the seizure of two tankers.

A third ship was being pursued, a US official told AFP on Dec 21.

“The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington’s actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said, of the call between ministers Sergei Lavrov and Yvan Gil.

“The Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context,” it added.

“The ministers agreed to continue their close bilateral cooperation and to coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN, in order to ensure respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.”

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Leaked Powerpoint from University of Illinois Course Reveals Far-Left Indoctrination in the Classroom

College campuses across the country are one part education and two parts far-left indoctrination factories.

The latest example comes from the University of Illinois, located in Urbana-Champaign.

Fox News Digital obtained slides from a student whistleblower from an education course for first-semester students, EDUC 201, titled “Identity and Difference in Education.”

The course, which is required to graduate, forces 1st year education majors to prioritize equity, LGBTQ+ issues, privileged identities, and preferred pronouns.

The student whistleblower accused the professor of turning the class into an indoctrination seminar.

The 25 slides originated from the lesson “Living in Uncertainty: Understanding Immigrant, Migrant, & Refugee Student Populations” in week 15, taught by Professor Gabriel Rodriguez in the school’s College of Education, which focused on immigration.

Fox News Reports:

The first slide features a photo of a person holding a sign at a demonstration that reads, “No human being is illegal.”

The fifth slide is called “Language Matters,” and polices students’ language about immigration and immigrants.

“Using terms like ‘illegal immigrants,’ ‘illegal aliens,’ or ‘illegals’” is harmful, the slide says, explaining that using those terms is “dehumanizing and degrading,” that they reinforce existing negative stereotypes about immigrant communities and connect immigration with criminality, that they fuel perspectives that immigrants have no rights and that they facilitate “scapegoating communities for larger systemic issues.”

Explaining the difference between immigrants and refugees, the presentation insists, without making the distinction between illegal and legal immigrants, that, “Immigrants migrate to pursue better opportunities (e.g., work, education).” Refugees flee other countries to avoid “persecution, conflict, or violence.”

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Democratic Despotism: The American Left Moves From Censored To Compelled Speech

More than five years ago, I wrote in these pages of a growing trend on the left toward compelled speech – the forcing of citizens to repeat approved views and values. It is an all-too-familiar pattern. Once a faction assumes power, it will often first seek to censor opposing views and then compel the endorsement of approved views.

This week, some of those efforts faced setbacks and challenges in blue states like Washington and Illinois.

In Washington state, many have developed what seems a certain appetite for compelled speech. 

For example, Democrats recently pushed through legislation that would have compelled priests and other clerics to rat out congregants who confessed to certain criminal acts.

Despite objections from many of us that the law was flagrantly unconstitutional, the Democratic-controlled legislature and Democratic governor pushed it through.

The Catholic Church responded to the enactment by telling priests that any compliance would lead to their excommunication.

U.S. District Court Judge Iain D. Johnston enjoined the law, and the Trump Administration sued the state over its effort to turn priests into sacramental snitches. Only after losing in court did the state drop its efforts.

In the meantime, the University of Washington has been fighting to punish professors who refuse to conform to its own orthodox values. In 2022, Professor Stuart Reges triggered a firestorm when he refused to attach a prewritten “Indigenous land acknowledgement” statement to his course syllabi. Such statements are often accompanied by inclusive and tolerant language of fostering different viewpoints in an academic community. However, when Reges decided to write his own land acknowledgment, university administrators dropped any pretense of tolerance.

Reges was not willing to copy and paste onto his syllabus a statement in favor of the indigenous land claim of “the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot nations.” Instead, he wrote, “I acknowledge that by the labor theory of property, the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington.”

His reference to the labor theory is a nod to John Locke, who believed in natural rights, including the right to property created through one’s labor.

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“I Have a List in My Head” – Anonymous Deep State Prosecutor Admits DOJ will Retaliate Against Trump Admin Officials as Soon as Democrats Take Back the White House

A DOJ prosecutor admitted the Justice Department will retaliate against Trump Administration officials as soon as Democrats take back the White House.

The New York Times gave sixty disgruntled DOJ lawyers a platform to attack the Trump appointees who have overhauled the Department.

The piece, titled “The Unraveling of the Justice Department,” describes the ‘turmoil’ in the DOJ after Trump appointees took over.

“President Trump’s second term has brought a period of turmoil and controversy unlike any in the history of the Justice Department. Trump and his appointees have blasted through the walls designed to protect the nation’s most powerful law enforcement agency from political influence; they have directed the course of criminal investigations, openly flouted ethics rules and caused a breakdown of institutional culture. To date, more than 200 career attorneys have been fired, and thousands more have resigned. (The Justice Department says many of them have been replaced.)” The New York Times said.

More than 200 Deep State prosecutors have been fired this year, and thousands have resigned.

The New York Times interviewed 60 disgruntled former DOJ lawyers who got axed by the Trump Administration.

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Irony Alert: Google Suddenly Champions Free Speech As UK Crushes Online Expression

In a stunning reversal, Google has slammed the UK for threatening to stifle free speech through its aggressive online regulations. This from the company infamous for its own censorship crusades against conservative voices and inconvenient truths. If even Google is raising the alarm, you know the situation in Britain has hit rock bottom.

The move signals a broader culture shift in Big Tech, where woke agendas are crumbling under pressure from free speech advocates. It’s no coincidence this comes after Elon Musk turned Twitter into X, a platform where ideas flow without the heavy hand of ideological gatekeepers.

Google, which has demonetized, shadow-banned, and outright censored content that doesn’t align with leftist narratives, now positions itself as a defender of open discourse, accusing Britain of threatening to stifle free speech in an escalation of US opposition to online safety rules.

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