Curiously, former first lady Michelle Obama hasn't been seen in public in recent weeks, raising questions for some as to what's going on behind the scenes.
However, according to Fox News, former President Barack Obama wished his wife a happy birthday as the former first lady turned 61 this week.
Michelle Obama will reportedly not attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Sunday, nor was she seen at the late President Jimmy Carter's funeral last week.
Many have observed her absences from key events and wonder what's going on. Not surprisingly, her off-the-grid status is also sparking a fair number of conspiracy theories.
What did he say?
Former President Obama took to Instagram to wish his wife a happy birthday, praising her and confessing that he feels lucky to be able to spend his life with her.
"You fill every room with warmth, wisdom, humor, and grace – and you look good doing it. I’m so lucky to be able to take on life's adventures with you. Love you!" Barack Obama wrote.
Interestingly, the former first lady responded to her husband's birthday wishes with a short and sweet response.
"Love you, honey!," she wrote in an X reply to his post.
Fox News noted that Michelle Obama is reportedly skipping Trump's inauguration because she can't contain her "disdain" for the former and soon-to-be president.
The outlet noted:
The former first lady repeatedly took jabs at Trump while on the campaign trail for Vice President Kamala Harris and during her speeches at the Democratic National Convention in August. In one speech at the DNC, she accused Trump of spreading "racist lies" and opposing her husband's political career because of his race.
While Michelle will not be in attendance at Trump's inauguration, former President Obama is scheduled to attend Monday's inauguration along with former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and their spouses.
Social media reaction
Many users across social media chimed in on Michelle Obama's response to her husband's birthday message.
"Are you trying to stay relevant? This is why you two talk to each other on social media," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Love that you won’t be at the inauguration Michelle Obama! You have always been low class and you’ve proven it once again. Happy birthday!"
President Joe Biden not only lost the confidence of a large swath of the Democratic Party after his poor debate performance against Donald Trump and his subsequent ouster from the 2024 election, but he also reportedly lost some old friends along the way.
According to the Washington Examiner, Biden has parted ways either by his own doing or by the other person's wishes after the debate performance, including several who have been in his inner circle for years, if not decades.
Many insiders that enjoyed the perks of being close to the president are no longer experiencing those benefits.
Some of those who were closest to him, reports suggested, were pushed out by the elderly president in the wake of the debate performance that ultimately tanked his legacy and career.
What happened?
Two immediately notable people who were once quite close to Biden and no longer are include his personal attorney, Bob Bauer, and his wife, Anita Dunn.
Biden reportedly pushed them both out of his inner circle, citing complaints that they not only failed him in their roles, but also turned against him and helped push him out of the 2024 presidential contest. NBC News cited several sources familiar with that situation.
Dunn left the White House over the summer of 2024 shortly after the poor debate performance, according to those same sources. The two haven't spoken since.
As far as Bauer is concerned, he will reportedly no longer represent Biden as his personal attorney once he leaves the White House, reports indicated.
Another big Biden inner circle person who doesn't enjoy that title any longer is former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Pelosi was credited, probably not to her liking, for leading the charge in pushing Biden out of the presidential race and ultimately, out of the White House as a result.
The biggest hit
Former President Barack Obama is easily the highest-profile person who is no longer as close to Biden as he once was. The two always had a peculiar relationship, anyway.
The Examiner noted:
After pulling Biden out of the Senate to put him in the White House, Obama passed over anointing him as the successor to their eight years in power, opting instead to back former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The snub has reportedly been a point of contention between the two men.
Hard feelings brewing beneath the surface came back when it appeared Obama had an invisible hand moving pieces around to coordinate Biden’s removal from the ticket last summer.
Obama was curiously left out of the naming of two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, which were named after George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Many Democratic operatives have noted the obvious fallout between Obama and Biden, and it's probably not going to get any better anytime soon.
President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony for his second, non-consecutive term in the White House was set to be a star-studded, unforgettable celebration.
While that's still the case, many of those who thought they were lucky enough to attend the gathering found out this week that their luck ran out, as forecasted extremely cold weather forced organizers, and the president-elect himself, to move the event indoors.
According to ABC News, the move inside means that a long list of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the special event, causing some to be quite frustrated.
Trump will now be sworn in as the 47th president inside the Capitol Rotunda, which echoes what happened during Ronald Reagan's inauguration.
What's going on?
Trump broke the bad news to his ticketed guests in a Truth Social post, explaining that dangerously cold weather forced organizers to make the decision to move the event indoors, but highlighted the fact that the ceremony will still be epic, and TV audiences will enjoy the entertainment and proceedings.
"The various Dignitaries and Guests will be brought into the Capitol," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!"
"We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade," Trump added. "I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In."
ABC News noted:
Due to this change, the "vast majority of ticketed guests will not be able to attend the ceremonies in person," according to the Joint Inaugural Committee. "Those with tickets for the Presidential Platform and members of Congress will be able to attend in person."
The Joint Inaugural Committee statement added, "We strongly suggest people who are in Washington for the event attend other indoor events at indoor venues of their choice to watch the inauguration."
The outlet added:
In a statement, the U.S. Capitol Police said the ticketed outside areas on the West Front of the Capitol will be closed on Monday. The Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies working to secure the inauguration "will still have a heightened security posture with an increased law enforcement presence and layers of physical security," Capitol Police said.
Dangerous conditions
Due to an extremely cold weather system setting up over the area on Jan. 20, it might be frustrating that the event was moved indoors, but obviously it's a necessary security precaution.
Temperatures are expected to be in the teens, and snow could fall, according to meteorologists.
The area could see some of the harshest winter conditions in the last four decades.
Regardless of the change of plans, Trump's inauguration will undoubtedly be one for the books.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
The geopolitical momentum has intensified against the Iranian regime. Political and diplomatic pressure on Tehran is mounting steadily. An international consensus, led by Europe and the United States, is firmly opposing the mullahs' nuclear program. Preventing the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons remains a critical priority for global security. And a growing global alignment is targeting the regime's proxies.
In Lebanon, remnants of Hezbollah are being systematically dismantled by Lebanese national forces. Hamas has been condemned by the Palestinian Authority as a source of war and destruction in the region. Similarly, the Iraqi prime minister recently visited Iran to demand the disbandment of the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, a key Iranian proxy in Iraq.
Meanwhile, acting on behalf of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, appeared on a major U.S. television network in an effort to downplay the regime's hostility toward America, even denying any plans to assassinate former President Trump.
At the same time, public support for Iran's domestic protest movements and uprisings continues to grow. At the most recent gathering of the Iranian opposition, the National Council of Resistance of Iran, Ret. U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, expressed his support for NCRI's president-elect Maryam Rajavi and her 10-point plan, which envisions a democratic, non-nuclear Iran free of executions. Kellogg also emphasized the need for the United States to reimplement its "maximum pressure" policy, arguing that the Iranian regime must be subjected to heightened international scrutiny and pressure.
The mullahs at their weakest point
The Iranian regime, which has long relied on two pillars for its survival – exporting terrorism and military aggression abroad, and brutal repression at home – now finds one of these pillars severely weakened. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has described the Iranian regime as being at its weakest point since 1979. Similarly, Sen. Marco Rubio, nominated to become secretary of State under Trump, declared during a Senate hearing on Jan. 15 that the mullahs do not represent the Iranian people or the rich history of the nation.
With the collapse of the Syrian dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad, Iran has lost a major strategic foothold for its regional expansionism and military adventurism – a crippling blow to its influence. Hezbollah, long a tool of Iranian power in Lebanon, has been significantly weakened, as evidenced by Lebanon's recent election of a president after years of political deadlock. In Iraq, the government is taking steps to disarm the Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF, an Iraqi state security service that serves largely as a front for Iran-friendly militias. This will further erode Tehran's regional leverage.
Domestically, the Iranian regime struggles to provide basic necessities, such as electricity and heating, to its citizens. Widespread power outages have forced schools and factories to stop working, leaving many Iranians without sufficient heat during a harsh winter. The Iranian currency remains among the weakest in the world, while the prices of basic food staples have quadrupled over the past decade.
Faced with mounting protests and widespread unrest, the regime has resorted to increasingly brutal measures. According to the NCRI, at least 1,000 executions were carried out by the regime last year alone as a means of suppressing dissent.
A regime in deadlock
From every perspective, the Iranian regime is cornered. This impasse has driven the mullahs to desperately lobby Western governments to continue their policy of appeasement. Over the past three decades, even when the regime was teetering on the brink of collapse, Western governments intervened to prop it up. This was evident during the 2009 uprisings and again during the 2022 protests. It was later revealed that U.S. emissaries were negotiating with the regime during both events.
Efforts by the Iranian regime to pursue nuclear weapons, its widespread use of executions domestically, and its violent activities in the region were met with inadequate responses from the international community. Similarly, the regime's tactics of hostage-taking and terrorism abroad have gone largely unchecked. This lack of accountability emboldened the regime, culminating in its orchestration of the Hamas-Israel war starting on Oct. 7, 2023.
A window for ending appeasement
Another pivotal moment in the history of Iran and the region has come. The Iranian people are ready to overthrow the regime. Thousands of resistance units, scattered across the country, are under the leadership of the NCRI and are poised to channel the ongoing protests and uprisings into a broader movement for real freedom.
Now is the time for the West to act decisively. The window for appeasement policies – which have just emboldened a regime responsible for plunging the region and the world into cycles of war and bloodshed – must finally be closed. A free, democratic and non-nuclear Iran without executions used as a tool of official repression would usher in lasting peace for the region and freedom for its people.
It is up to the international community to seize this historic opportunity. The stakes are immense, but the promise of a brighter future is within reach.
President-elect Donald Trump's transition team has asked senior career diplomats who oversee the U.S. State Department's workforce to step down ahead of Trump's inauguration.
Reuters reported that Dereck Hogan, Marcia Bernicat, and Alaina Teplitz have been asked to step down by the Trump team as they have been in charge of the workforce and internal state department coordination and need to be removed in order for Trump to clean house.
Typically, career foreign service officers continue from one administration to the next while many other federal officials experience turnover when administrations change.
Trump is not interested in keeping anyone from previous administrations on board as it's those career diplomats and officials who undermined Trump's administration the last time around.
Trump promised supporters that he would "clean out the deep state" by firing bureaucrats that he believes are disloyal and that would slow down his agenda.
Deep State Panicking
The news of Trump asking career officials to step down has already ignited panic among the Washington D.C. class of career bureaucrats.
One anonymous official stated, "There's a little bit of a concern that this might be setting the stage for something worse."
The Trump campaign issued a statement in response to those grumblings saying, "It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump's vision for putting our nation and America's working men and women first. We have a lot of failures to fix and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals."
Trump wants to do everything differently and is changing every aspect of American domestic and foreign policy and that will require new people who can be trusted not to protect the old corrupt system.
Trump's foreign policy in particular is going to look entirely different from the typical American foreign policy.
Trump wants peace between Ukraine and Russia and the people who failed to achieve that over the past four years are getting the boot. Trump isn't playing around this time around and understands that he has to clean everyone out if he wants to avoid the pitfalls of his first term.
Ambitious Plans
While Trump wants to end the raging conflicts going on around the globe, Trump also wants to make truly generational changes.
Trump wants to bring Greenland under the control of the United States, whether that be by direct acquisition or diplomatic means. Trump wants Greenland for economic and national security purposes and such a move will cement Trump's status as an extraordinary president.
Trump also wants to retake the Panama Canal which has been under the control of Panama since 1979. All of this will require that those bureaucrats who have called D.C. home for decades must go.
In a significant move for green energy advocates, the Department of Energy announced just days before the conclusion of President Biden's term, a multi-billion dollar conditional loan package aimed at modernizing U.S. energy infrastructure.In the administration's final hours, $22.9 billion was pledged to help utility companies enhance their green energy initiatives and infrastructure, according to Daily Caller.
The Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) revealed a total of $22.9 billion in prospective loans targeted at utility companies across various states. These funds are intended to support projects that focus on enhancing green energy production, implementing grid updates, and establishing essential transmission lines.
Biden's Energy Initiative in Final Days
A portion of this substantial financial commitment will go towards Michigan’s DTE Electric and DTE Gas. This initiative involves $9 billion intended for both generating green energy and upgrading gas lines. Such transformations are pivotal for the future of environmentally friendly infrastructure.
Other significant recipients include Alliant Energy along with its subsidiaries, allotted $3 billion aimed at increasing wind power use and building storage solutions. With these investments, the energy landscape in their service areas is expected to undergo comprehensive changes.
Additionally, PacifiCorp has been earmarked to construct 700 miles of new transmission infrastructure. Meanwhile, New Jersey’s Jersey Central Power and Light is also a part of this round of loan offerings.
Republicans Call for a Halt
The loan commitments, announced on January 16, are a part of the LPO’s Title 17 Energy Infrastructure Reinvestment program. This program covers utilities supplying energy to over 14.78 million customers across 12 states, with diverse projects such as clean energy production, energy storage solutions, and grid updates.
While such initiatives are poised to advance renewable energy in the U.S., they have not come without controversy. Concerns have been voiced by Republicans who have suggested pausing these financial commitments, citing them as potentially premature considering a forthcoming administrative change.
President-elect Donald Trump, who is notably opposed to publicly-funded green energy subsidies, adds an additional layer of uncertainty regarding the future of these projects.
Binding Agreements Pose Challenges
As per The New York Times, the conditional nature of these commitments means that once specific benchmarks are satisfied by the recipients, reversing these agreements could be complex. This presents a challenge for any attempts by the Trump administration to rescind the loans.
Interestingly, prior to this announcement, the Loan Programs Office had already proactively aided the green sector. Among these were $1.36 billion directed to EnergySource Minerals and $1.45 billion for constructing a factory by Hanwha Q Cells in Georgia.
These earlier financial support activities underscore the Biden administration's unwavering commitment to bolstering the domestic green energy landscape since revitalizing the LPO in 2021.
Funding Comes with Reduced Costs
The financing offered by LPO is touted as having lower costs compared to conventional capital market options. By accessing these funds, utility providers can implement necessary projects at a reduced expense. These savings are then expected to benefit their customer base.
The LPO emphasized that using LPO funds will help utilities incur lower financing costs. This, in turn, contrasts with what they would face if relying on traditional commercial capital sources.
Through the resultant savings, customers will ultimately experience tangible benefits—likely through reduced energy costs or improved service reliability.
Biden's Green Initiative Legacy
Overall, these latest developments reflect the Biden administration's dedication to advancing and investing in renewable energy solutions till their closing days in office. The impact of these projects will likely be substantial, fostering future growth within the green energy sector.
The collaboration between government agencies and private utility companies is seen as a strategic move to invigorate the sector amidst escalating environmental concerns.
As the administration transitions, these enduring commitments could establish a lasting legacy for President Biden's approach to sustainable energy policies, even in the face of likely opposition from the incoming government.
The FBI quietly moved to close its Office of Diversity and Inclusion in December, the Washington Examiner reported. There was no word as to why it was closed, but the agency has faced criticism for prioritizing equity over all else.
President-elect Donald Trump was elated over the move. "Never should have been opened and, if it was, should have closed long ago," Trump said.
The incoming president has demanded the office preserve its records ahead of his inauguration. He has hinted that he believes it was undermining the FBI's core mission.
While it's unclear whether that's the reason, current FBI Director Christopher Wray has promised to resign from his post in time for the swearing-in on Monday. Trump has already named Kash Patel to take Wray's place, signaling a desire to change the status quo.
Ill-Conceived
The ODI was launched in 2012 and was an ill-conceived addition to the FBI. The agency's website claimed the department was created "to provide guidance and implement programs that promote a diverse and inclusive workplace that allows all employees to succeed and advance."
The website also features a quote from Wray praising its creation. "One of the FBI’s priority initiatives is to build a high-performing, diverse, and inclusive workforce," the outgoing director claimed.
"We all make better decisions when we have the benefit of different perspectives," Wray added. This mission had the full support of President Joe Biden.
Just months after taking office, he signed an executive order "on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce." He said it was vital that the government "be a model for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, where all employees are treated with dignity and respect."
According to Fox News, Scott McMillion became the first chief diversity officer at the FBI in 2021. McMillion claimed his mission was to bring a "cultural shift" that may have impacted the FBI's actual mission.
Mixed-up Priorities
The feel-good goals of DEI have done nothing to contribute to the FBI's purpose of keeping America safe. In fact, some argue that it is a hindrance when it becomes the focal point.
Nicole Parker, a former FBI special agent and contributor to Fox News, believes it became a distraction even as Wray admitted threats were "at an all-time high" to Americans. "'Flashing red lights,' as he has stated in congressional testimony," Parker shared Wray's words.
"There is no time for clubs, groups, or social agendas that divert time, attention and resources away from the mission of the FBI to protect the American people. DEI is a dangerous distraction. The FBI needs to focus on hiring the best and brightest based solely on meritocracy," Parker said.
"Americans deserve the best. I have never been on an operation or heard of a civilian calling into the FBI and requesting an individual of a certain race or gender provide them with assistance in solving their problem or stopping a crime they've fallen victim to. Americans simply want to be safe," Parker later added.
There's nothing wrong with hiring diverse people as long as they are qualified and can do the job. The problem is that those who focus on DEI often do so at the expense of competence.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
House Speaker Mike Johnson says that Joe Biden could just as well have skipped giving a "farewell" speech to America.
Biden's speech Wednesday boasted of what he claimed were his accomplishments, although some of the claims were grounded in shaky facts.
Johnson explained the speech wasn't needed.
Johnson cited the landslide Electoral College and popular vote victories by President-elect Donald Trump in the November election.
Trump is, he said, "strong," and Biden is "weak."
The American people, in fact, "just answered" questions about what they want.
And they already know his legacy: "Wide open border … Skyrocketing cost of living … terrible foreign policy … weaponization of the DOJ … lawfare."
And, too, there was the coverup of "his cognitive decline."
"These are objective facts," Johnson said.
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Joe Biden, among a flurry of strange and odd behaviors he's exhibiting during the closing days of his term in the White House, now has declared, unilaterally and by fiat, that the long-dead Equal Rights Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution.
His comments contradicted years of legal wrangling and fighting, and conclusions from not only the Department of Justice but the national archivist, whose responsibilities would include listing it.
A report from Reuters said the aging – and mentally declining – Democrat "called the Equal Rights Amendment 'the law of the land" on Friday."
That would be his political statement in support of changing the U.S. Constitution with an amendment that failed.
Reuters said, "It was unclear what practical impact Biden's comments might have. The White House issued his statement just three days before he leaves office, handing off to President-elect Donald Trump on Monday."
The ERA would have said, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
The history of the ideology is long and convoluted but in every scheme, it has failed. And under the Constitution, a president lacks the power to reverse court precedent, congressional action, and legal determinations, all of which would be necessary.
The report noted that the U.S. Senate, on a 51-47 vote that failed to reach the required 60 votes, blocked the Equal Rights Amendment from being ratified into law in 2023,
WND reported recently when far-left Sen Kirsten Gillibrand demanded that the corpse of the amendment be dug out of its grave and added to the Constitution.
For the ratification of amendments to the Constitution, at least 38 states must adopt the proposal.
During the time allowed for the ERA to be ratified, 35 states did adopt it. But that was not enough, even after Congress extended the allowed time.
It failed to meet its ratification requirements by the first deadline in 1972, and again in 1982.
Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan and Deputy Archivist William J. Bosanko explained in their statement, "As Archivist and Deputy Archivist of the United States, it is our responsibility to uphold the integrity of the constitutional amendment process and ensure that changes to the Constitution are carried out in accordance with the law. At this time, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) cannot be certified as part of the Constitution due to established legal, judicial, and procedural decisions.
"In 2020 and again in 2022, the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that the ratification deadline established by Congress for the ERA is valid and enforceable. The OLC concluded that extending or removing the deadline requires new action by Congress or the courts. Court decisions at both the District and Circuit levels have affirmed that the ratification deadlines established by Congress for the ERA are valid. Therefore, the Archivist of the United States cannot legally publish the Equal Rights Amendment. As the leaders of the National Archives, we will abide by these legal precedents and support the constitutional framework in which we operate."
This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the CIA, John Ratcliffe, has boasted on social media that "There's only one country in the world that can parallel park a 200-foot rocket booster."
And that would not be the Chinese. Or the Russians.
"We do it," he said.
Stunning feat was in video thanks to a test launch, the seventh of the SpaceX Starship series.
RedState reported, "Elon Musk has done some astonishing things with SpaceX, including being able to bring back a booster and catch it, in a pretty incredible feat. He managed that again in a stunning display during the seventh flight test of the Starship unmanned mega-rocket from Starbase in South Texas, showing the first time wasn't a fluke. It had a successful lift-off, then separation of the upper and lower stage, with the lower stage making it back to Starbase to be caught by the tower."
The day wasn't without its mishap, however.
The upper part of the rocket, which was supposed to do a "controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean," instead became part of a "rapid unscheduled disassembly."
RedState explained, "In non-nerd language, we would say it blew up."
The cause has been reported as a fuel leak.
