The Philippines is on edge after the vice president threatened to have the head of state and First Lady both assassinated in a shocking power struggle.
Vice president Sara Duterte could face criminal charges for the brazen, public threat - which she said was not a joke - and which led to a surge in protection around President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and his wife Liza Araneta-Marcos.
“That criminal plot should not be allowed to pass,” President Marcos said in a televised statement. “I’ll fight it.”
"As a democratic country, we need to uphold the rule of law,” Marcos said.
The Philippines votes separately for the president and vice president, but Marcos Jr. and Duterte ran together on the same ticket in 2022. However, they have since spiraled into a feud that escalated sharply over the weekend, as Duterte openly called for her rival's assassination.
During an online press conference, Duterte intimated that there is a plot against her life after Marcos and his allies detained her chief of staff over an inquiry into the vice president's alleged misuse of funds.
Duterte warned that she has given orders to seek revenge if she is killed against Marcos - known by the initials BBM - and his family, including his cousin, House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
"Don’t worry about my security because I’ve talked with somebody. I said ‘if I’m killed, you’ll kill BBM, Liza Araneta and Martin Romualdez. No joke, no joke,’” the vice president said.
"I’ve given my order, ‘If I die, don’t stop until you’ve killed them.’ And he said, ’yes,’” the vice president said.
Duterte had served in Marcos Jr.'s Cabinet but resigned from her position in June as tensions escalated.
The nation's justice department has opened a probe, labeling Duterte the "self-confessed mastermind" of a "premeditated plot to assassinate the president."
“We have to maintain order in a civilized society by adherence to the rule of law and we will apply the full strength and force of the law on this,” Justice Undersecretary Jesse Andres said.
Sara Duterte is the daughter of Marcos' predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte, who was known for his tough image and support of extra-judicial killings of criminals. President Marcos is the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the Philippines for two decades.
Duterte's father is under investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for extra-judicial killings that occurred under his rule from 2016 to 2022.
Legal fallout from the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots is still unfolding in courts across the country, but one particular case involving Rep. Nancy Pelosi's stolen laptop recently took a turn.
According to a CBS affiliate, a lawyer for Riley Williams, who has been jailed since 2023 after being hit with six charges related to her alleged involvement in the Capitol protest, pointed out that even though she's been acquitted of stealing the lawmaker's laptop, the government hasn't made any efforts to change the media narrative.
Williams has been continually blasted by most of the establishment media as a major player in the J6 Capitol protests, and was originally charged with the theft of Pelosi's laptop.
The FBI recently confirmed that it had a new suspect in the stolen laptop case, according to reports.
It's been three years since the events of that day unfolded, but just last week, the FBI announced that a man called David Slinker, from Kentucky, is the new suspect in the case of Pelosi's stolen laptop computer.
Williams' attorney, Lori Ulrich, blasted the U.S. government for not making much in the way of efforts to clear her client from being the suspect in the laptop case.
The government had every reason to believe soon after January 2021 she did not take the computer," Ulrich said. "But they never changed the narrative in the media."
The CBS outlet noted:
Williams, who was convicted on six other stemming from her involvement in the Capitol storming, has been in prison since 2023. Throughout the process, Ulrich felt her client was guilty until proven innocent.
"She was treated like she had stole the computer," the lawyer said, adding that her client "never had the laptop."
"Where it actually went, we don't know," Ulrich continued.
One of the investigators behind the case, Matthew Schappell, said after reviewing mountains of video evidence, there wasn't any indication that Williams ever had the laptop on her person or in her bag as she left the building.
"I saw her at the building on video," Schappell said. "There were no indications that she had a laptop in her person, in her purse. Nothing to indicate she was carrying a laptop."
Like many others who took part in the J6 protests and were eventually imprisoned or charged, they're hoping President-elect Donald Trump will come through on a previous vow to consider issuing pardons.
Some believe he'll issue the pardons on a case-by-case basis. Only time will tell.
Legal cases from the Jan. 6 Capitol protest and riot are still playing out, but some of the aspects of that day that flew under the radar are now resurfacing, including the theft of Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) laptop.
According to reports, a woman called Riley Williams was the first person accused of stealing Pelosi's laptop from the U.S. Capitol on that day, but was later fully acquitted.
However, her lawyer says that the U.S. government under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hasn't done much in the way of correcting the narrative about his client.
Just last week, the FBI announced that it has a new suspect regarding the theft of Pelosi's laptop.
Like many J6 participants, Williams has spent an insane amount of time in prison while her lawyer argued that it truly felt like she was "guilty until proven innocent."
She was charged with six other charges, originally with the laptop theft, but was later acquitted of that particular charge.
"She was treated like she had stole the computer," Williams' attorney Lori Ulrich said.
"The government had every reason to believe soon after January 2021 she did not take the computer," Ulrich said. "But they never changed the narrative in the media."
The accusation comes after Harrisburg woman Riley Williams was previously charged with stealing the laptop, only to be acquitted of the charges related to the theft in March of 2023.https://t.co/6Gy7FMywto
— CBS 21 News (@CBS21NEWS) November 16, 2024
A local CBS affiliate noted:
The legal team acknowledged that Riley was inside the Capitol on January 6th and entered Speaker Pelosi's office, but they maintained a firm stance on the laptop charge.
The team spent hundreds of hours reviewing security tapes and CCTV from the Capitol riot, finding video proof that Williams left the office without Pelosi's computer.
"I saw her at the building on video," said investigator Matthew Schappell. "There were no indications that she had a laptop in her person, in her purse. Nothing to indicate she was carrying a laptop."
The media relentlessly attacked Williams even after she was acquitted of the laptop charge.
There was also a movement to have Williams released on a "compassionate release" condition from a "Covid infested" jail cell, but it never panned out.
The FBI named Kentucky man David Slinker as the new suspect in the theft of Pelosi's laptop.
While Democrats try to find out how to move on from their 2024 disaster, a former Obama speechwriter is offering some surprising advice: don't ditch celebrities.
President-elect Trump's historic comeback victory has been hailed as marking the end of the Obama era - as Democrats have been left leaderless and at each other's throats.
It wasn't just Obama who lost - Trump dealt a blow to the influence of big stars like Taylor Swift and Oprah, who offered Harris their endorsements to no avail.
The Harris campaign spent millions on glitzy events, but the spectacle failed to move voters and may have even backfired.
Indeed, the popular view is that Harris lost because the Democrats have become too "woke" and out of touch with ordinary people.
But Obama speechwriter David Litt argues that celebrities can still be useful - to drive turnout in midterm races.
“These nonpresidential elections are often decided by ‘differential turnout.’ The party that gets more of its base to the polls has a big advantage — which means that celebrity endorsements can provide a decisive boost,” he said.
Democrats have been locked out of power in D.C. until 2026, at least, after Trump won the presidency and the popular vote while helping Republicans take back the Senate.
In his column, Litt argued it would be a mistake for Democrats to give up their traditional advantage when it comes to celebrities.
“As Democrats stare into the political abyss, they can voluntarily cede their advantage in celebrity support to Donald Trump and the GOP,” he said.
“Or they can use that advantage to boost turnout in nonpresidential races, broaden a shrinking coalition, and reach politically unengaged voters. Given the likely consequences of the 2024 election, it’s hard to overstate how much depends on Democrats making the right choice,” he said.
Litt also recommended that Democrats try to expand their coalition by targeting cultural spheres typically coded as Republican, like NASCAR and country music.
"Can the next wave of Democratic candidates augment their typical enthusiasm from Hollywood with supporters from surprising places: country music; NASCAR; the tech bro-sphere; or the unapologetically masculine, politically incorrect corners of hip-hop and comedy? The future of the party, and possibly the country, may hinge on the answer," he wrote.
This is wishful thinking, to put it mildly. How are Democrats going to win over NASCAR fans and "bros" after years of PC, woke garbage and demonizing rural America at every turn?
At the end of the day, Litt's analysis is as good as anyone else's. Democrats are going to have to dig deeper than this if they want to get out of the ditch they are in.
They have lost touch with America, full stop. There is simply no substitute for authenticity - and Trump has that in spades.
Donald Trump's lawyers have asked the judge in his New York criminal case for an "immediate dismissal" in light of his resounding re-election victory.
The request comes after Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg (D) asked for a pause in the sentencing until Trump's second term in office expires in 2029.
In a letter to Judge Merchan, lawyers Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued that the Constitution forbids Bragg from interfering with the functions of a "popularly elected president."
"Immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interest of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump's overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential election," the lawyers wrote.
In their letter to Merchan, Trump's lawyers noted that the Justice Department has already moved to drop its two federal cases against Trump, who cannot be prosecuted as a sitting president. The same principle applies to Trump as a president-elect, his lawyers said.
The case must be thrown out to preserve the orderly transfer of power and Trump's ability to govern "fearlessly," his lawyers argued.
"The Constitution forbids ‘plac[ing] into the hands of a single prosecutor and grand jury the practical power to interfere with the ability of a popularly elected President to carry out his constitutional functions,'” Bove and Blanche wrote.
Trump's team asked Merchan to let them file a motion for dismissal on December 20. The judge has already paused Trump's Nov. 26 sentencing.
"On November 5, 2024, the Nation’s People issued a mandate that supersedes the political motivations of DANY’s ‘People,’" Blanche wrote. "This case must be immediately dismissed."
In the wake of Trump's re-election, even Bragg's star witness, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, has said it's time to let the case go.
But Bragg isn't giving up. The leftist prosecutor has asked Merchan to delay the sentencing until 2029 - suggesting Bragg is prepared to wait out Trump's presidency and seek to jail him when he returns to being a private citizen, at the age of 82.
At its core, the argument from Trump's legal team is simple: the people have effectively exonerated Trump by re-electing him. They knew that Trump was a "convicted felon" and they chose to send him to the White House anyway, with a resounding mandate.
For Bragg to now attempt to overturn that mandate is completely unacceptable - indeed, it's an attack on our constitutional system.
It is time for Merchan to face reality and end this witch hunt once and for all.
Matt Gaetz's abrupt resignation from Congress has triggered a crowded primary battle for his solidly Republican seat in Florida's panhandle.
Whoever wins the primary is almost certain to replace Gaetz in the 1st District, which he represented from 2017 until last week. Gaetz stepped aside after President-elect Donald Trump nominated Gaetz for attorney general, in a shock to the D.C. establishment.
Gaetz became known as one of the most controversial members of Congress during his tenure.
He notoriously triggered the removal of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a dramatic vote last year that alienated many Republicans.
McCarthy allies backed an unsuccessful primary challenge against Gaetz this summer, when Gaetz soundly defeated Aaron Dimmock, a retired naval officer who controversially ran for office in Florida while working as an employee for the state of Missouri.
During the August primary, allies of McCarthy poured millions into spreading allegations that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl. Those claims have taken center stage again after Gaetz's nomination to lead the Justice Department, which declined to charge Gaetz after an investigation.
Dimmock told The Hill that he is contemplating another run for Gaetz's now vacant seat.
“I am taking a serious look at it and have already received numerous calls from constituents imploring me to run,” he said.
Among the candidates already vying to replace Gaetz is Michelle Salzman, a fiery conservative and Florida state legislator from Escambia County.
"I am making my intentions to run for Congress by filing today I want to do what is best for our country and helping President Trump with the Make America Great Again Agenda! @realDonaldTrump,” she wrote on X.
Other candidates include John Frankman, a Green Beret who was forced out of the Army over the COVID vaccine mandate, and Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.
Because Gaetz is no longer in Congress, he is not subject to the jurisdiction of the House Ethics committee, which had been investigating his alleged sexual misconduct and illegal drug use when he resigned.
The House Ethics Committee is meeting Wednesday to discuss the report, which has become a political football ahead of a potentially contentious confirmation hearing.
President-elect Trump has been whipping votes for Gaetz in the Senate, where he is supported by few Republicans.
Democratic senator John Fetterman downplayed the counting of illegal ballots in Pennsylvania's Senate race, saying it will not have an impact on the final outcome.
Pennsylvania's Democratic senator Bob Casey has refused to concede a race he lost to Republican Dave McCormick. The contest has grown contentious after Democrats in some counties were caught counting disqualified ballots.
The state's Democratically controlled Supreme Court on Monday rebuked Democrats in Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and Bucks County for counting incorrect ballots in defiance of the court's previous ruling, which said ballots with wrong or missing dates can't count.
Bucks County election commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia had offered a shockingly candid defense of the county's actions, saying "people violate laws anytime they want."
"So, for me, if I violate this law, it’s because I want a court to pay attention to it," she said.
The brazen defiance of Bucks County has drawn criticism from the left-leaning Washington Post, which called Ellis-Marseglia's reasoning "corrosive to democracy."
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro (D) also criticized the Democratic counties involved in the improper counting after the Supreme Court's rebuke.
"As we move forward, I want to be clear: any insinuation that our laws can be ignored or do not matter is irresponsible and does damage to faith in our electoral process," Shapiro said.
When pressed on the controversy by CNN's Jake Tapper, Fetterman dismissed the number of invalid ballots as insignificant even as he admitted the Senate race is "very, very close."
"Well, again, I’m not going to chase every kinds of quotes, things like that, because I think you just pointed out that it refers to about 115 ballots, and that’s not going to have an impact on this race at this point," Fetterman said.
Officials in Pennsylvania began a recount on Monday after McCormick won by 17,000 votes, below the threshold needed to trigger an automatic recount.
While Republicans have dismissed the recount as frivolous, Fetterman defended the effort to "count every vote." Fetterman also claimed that no one has actually alleged Democrats are "cheating" in Pennsylvania.
"Calling and counting every vote — and that’s where we’re at. And that’s the law. And when it’s finished, and if Bob Casey comes up short, I can almost guarantee that he’s going to do the right thing and concede. So that’s the thing."
By rationalizing the arguably criminal shenanigans in his state, Fetterman is proving that, while he can sometimes sound reasonable compared to other Democrats, he's still a partisan at the end of the day.
Just when Kamala Harris' brutal loss could not get any more humiliating, a senator from her own side is coming out and acknowledging that President-elect Donald Trump has never been stronger.
John Fetterman (D), of Pennsylvania, conceded the sobering reality that Trump is the "strongest that he's been" in the three election cycles since his upset in 2016.
Fetterman was elected in 2022 as a progressive, but he has since emerged as an occasional critic of the left.
While many Democrats have gone looking for scapegoats to explain the 2024 outcome, Fetterman had warned before the election that Trump was connecting with Pennsylvanians.
“I have already claimed that it’s going to be incredibly close, and I’ve also claimed that Trump is the strongest that he’s been in the three cycles there,” Fetterman told CNN's State of the Union.
Fetterman attributed Trump's win to support from Elon Musk and the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump shocked the world by dodging a bullet and then raising his fist in defiance.
Now, Trump is returning to D.C. with Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
“And now things that were really unique that happened: The assassination attempt – that was in Butler,” Fetterman said. “And then Musk. Musk is not just a typical kind of a surrogate. … Musk made himself really effective, and he was described as moving to Pennsylvania, and I do believe that helped move the needle in that too.”
Trump's victory in Pennsylvania sealed his path back to the White House, but he also swept every battleground state and even won the popular vote - a victory that eluded him in 2016.
“So Trump came in in the strongest position, and he carried Pennsylvania and carried all of the swing states. So that’s what, that’s what’s reflected, that he came in in a strong position,” Fetterman said, adding that, “it’s undeniable and here we are now because of a lot of the decisions that were made before the election.”
In another sign of Trump's strength, longtime critics of his have seemingly resigned themselves to his return.
Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, the hosts of Morning Joe, reportedly met with Trump over the weekend to reconcile after years of bashing him.
Of course, some of Trump's critics have continued to challenge Trump's mandate, as a continued trickle of votes has brought his popular vote percentage below 50.
The left can quibble all they want with the results, but it won't change the outcome. Trump won, and he won big - and they're going to have to figure out where to go from here.
Legendary music star Dolly Parton lost a dear member of her family and her sister, Stella Parton, announced the sad news in a social media post over the weekend.
According to the New York Post, Dolly Parton's brother, David Wilburn Parton, has died. He was 82.
Stella Parton announced the tragic news in an X post, revealing that he passed away "peacefully," and said he died in the early morning hours.
No cause of death for David Parton has been revealed at the time of publication.
Stella Parton paid tribute to her brother, praising him for his kindness and pointing out his nickname of "sweet David" due to his kind demeanor.
My brother David passed away peacefully this morning. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one but he got his angel wings and is now at peace," Stella Parton wrote.
She added, "Thank you for all your kind thoughts to my family as we continue to grieve the loss of our much loved and cherished oldest brother David."
My brother David passed away peacefully this morning. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a loved one but he got his angel wings and is now at peace.
— Stella Parton (@StellaParton) November 15, 2024
The Post noted:
David was a retired bridge builder superintendent for Simpson Construction. He worked on the bridges in the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Knoxville areas.
His obituary confirmed that he passed away at his White Pine, Tennessee home.
It added, "The family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. David McNabney, Smoky Mountain Home Health & Hospice, his Cornerstone caregiver, Aubrie Smith & caregiver, Robin Schmidt."
Many of Dolly Parton's fans paid their respects via social media responses to the saddening news.
"Holding you and all your family in the light. I recently lost my oldest sister and she too passed peacefully and I was so grateful; she lived long and full life," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Stella I’m so very sorry for you and all your family including Dolly. My husband passed away at the age of 46 in his sleep from a widow makers heart attack not to long ago. I know it’s extremely hard for all of you.I’m sure he will be looking down on you all and smiling. Stay strong we’re thinking about you and sending our prayers."
During President Donald Trump's first stint in the White House, he made several controversial moves that set the Democrats on fire, including withdrawing from the Paris Agreement climate pact.
Not surprisingly, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris entered the United States back into the pact after the 2020 election, but according to reports, Trump is ready to pull us out of it once again.
In addition to a long list of amazing Day One actions Trump and his cabinet will take, his transition team is already preparing the appropriate executive orders to withdraw the United States from the pact.
Trump's main point of contention with the Paris Agreement is that it allows some countries to dictate their emissions standards while forcing much higher standards on some larger countries, like the United States.
Once again undoing what the Democrats initiated, Trump's withdrawing the USA from the Paris Agreement will be one of the first major steps to securing energy independence for America, as we had under his first term.
WINNING. President Trump has repeatedly stated that ‘Climate Change’ is one of the ‘Greatest Hoaxes of our time’ and will be withdrawing from the money-laundering SCAM of the Paris Climate Agreement. pic.twitter.com/2ZeuIpsb2i
— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) November 9, 2024
The Populist Times noted:
Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement will allow the President to authorize drilling and mining on western lands to reinstate the United States’ global energy leadership.
Trump, during his campaign, promised to slash energy prices by up to 50% in his first year in office. That, combined with reversing the Inflation Reduction Act, will allow American energy companies to operate at a much fuller capacity, therefore providing better, cheaper energy to American consumers.
Also helping boost Trump's ambitious energy initiatives is the fact that he's appointing Rep. Lee Zeldin as the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Zeldin is a strong proponent of American energy and deregulation to make it happen.
The outlet added:
The withdrawal will also allow Trump to redraw the boundaries of federally reserved lands in southern Utah which were created during the Obama administration.
The expansion of usable/drillable land will affect the Bears Ears National Monument which sits on 1.36 million acres and Grand Staircase-Escalante which rests on 1.87 million acres of land.
Users across social media reacted to the news of Trump's plans to withdraw from the pact, with many pointing out that they believe it's nothing more than a giant scam in the first place.
"Its the biggest scam, all the propaganda to make others rich by implementing ridiculous regulations on our farms and food and transportation," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "Net Zero is the biggest scam in history and it's purpose is to destroy Western Civilization. It is close to succeeding, especially in Europe. The whole Climate scam needs to be ended."
It's beyond exciting to see what changes Trump will bring to Americans under his second term. We're all waiting for cheaper gas and energy, and it looks like he's working hard on making that happen.