After engaging in a quest to convict Donald Trump for well over two years, now-former special counsel Jack Smith is departing his role not with a bang, but with little more than a whimper.
As Fox News reports, Smith announced his resignation from the Justice Department on Friday, doing so in very discreet fashion in a footnote at the end of a court filing.
Though Smith's resignation was not unexpected, given that he had already signaled his intention to leave his role in the wake of Trump's Nov. 5 election, it was the manner in which he let the world know that the process was complete that came as something of a surprise.
In the aforementioned court filing, Smith said simply, “The Special Counsel completed his work and submitted his final confidential report on January 7, 2025, and separated from the Department on January 10.”
Smith entered widespread public consciousness in November 2022, when Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped him to lead a probe of claimed interference by Trump in the 2020 election aftermath as well as to lead the investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents after departing the White House in 2021.
Though in the wake of Trump's recent electoral win, Smith sought to wind down his federal prosecutions of the president-elect, but that is not to say that he has given up entirely on his apparent desire to undermine his longstanding legal target on the way out the door.
The filing in which Smith dropped his resignation note was related to a comprehensive report he drafted on the investigations into Trump, which is itself the subject of a legal battle regarding its potential release, something the president-elect -- along with his former co-defendants in the documents case -- has opposed.
Not surprisingly, the news of Smith's formal exit from the Justice Department was welcomed by Trump, who took to his Truth Social platform to weigh in on the development.
For starters, Trump reposted a screenshot of an X post from Politico's Kyle Cheney, which read, “And so it ended for Jack Smith, not with the sunset ride of a conquering hero but a 24-word footnote indicating he had 'separated from the Justice Department,' his final report in limbo....”
Trump later declared, “Deranged Jack Smith was fired today by the DOJ. He is a disgrace to himself, his family, and his Country. After spending over $100,000,000 on the Witch Hunt against TRUMP, he left town empty handed!”
The president-elect was not finished, later posting, “The Stench of Deranged Jack Smith and his thugs is GONE. They were sent packing after spending over $100,000,000, destroying the lives of many people and families, who will never be the same again.”
“Deranged Jack accomplished nothing, except to show what complete losers my political opponents are!!!” Trump concluded.
With Trump poised to take office on roughly a week, speculation is rife that the incoming administration will begin probing Smith's actions to determine if he and others inside the DOJ ran afoul of the law in their pursuit of the now-president-elect.
Trump ally Mike Davis of the Article III Project famously suggested that Smith may want to “lawyer up” ahead of the presidential transition and given Joe Biden's ongoing deliberations about a potential preemptive pardon for the former special counsel and others similarly situated, all eyes will surely be on D.C. in the days and weeks to come.
Juan Sierra was arrested Thursday after he was caught "attempting to start a fire" in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported. Witnesses saw the 33-year-old attempting to ignite brush in an area near the Kenneth fire.
Residents who allegedly witnessed Sierra trying to light a fire detained him until police arrived. Los Angeles Police from the Topanga Division picked up Sierra shortly after 5:30 p.m.
Ventura County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Monica Smith Gomez noted that Sierra was arrested on a probation violation. Police say Sierra is a "person of interest" in starting the blaze, although he has not been charged.
Driven by high winds and fueled by dry vegetation, the inferno is threatening homes near Hidden Hills and Calabasas after starting near the county line. Other fires are also threatening life and property in the area as firefighters move to contain them.
The fire has left devastation in its wake as flames continue to spread throughout the area. Notably, nearly a thousand acres of brush ignited around the time Sierra was arrested Thursday night.
Authorities believe it may have been arson, but so far have not given an official account of how it started. Firefighters attempted to beat back the blaze with water drops, but the wildfire began encroaching near homes in Malibu Canyon.
As of Friday evening, the blaze was about 50% contained, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Ventura County Fire Department said it would firefighting efforts would persist in an effort to contain the blaze.
“Firefighters worked throughout the day to mop up hot spots and improve containment lines, adding to the overall containment of this fire. Firefighters will continue monitoring and patrolling this evening to ensure the fire remains within its established perimeter,” county officials said.
The first reported wildfire came Tuesday in Pacific Palisades and spread overnight into Santa Monica and Malibu. The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office said Friday that 11 people have been killed so far.
The cause of the blaze may be arson, but there’s no shortage of blame to go around to the people in charge of California. One of the most shocking issues is that fire hydrants in affected areas are running dry.
President-elect Donald Trump has blamed the bureaucratic rot in California for this, with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newson at the top of the list. Trump said as much on his Truth Social Wednesday, echoing sentiments he expressed on The Joe Rogan Experience in October.
Trump recounted his experience with some Golden State congressmen when he asked why the California countryside was so dry. They responded that freshwater was being rerouted to the sea to protect a particular species of fish.
"Because the water isn't allowed to flow down. And in order to protect a tiny little fish, the water up north gets routed into the Pacific Ocean. Millions and millions of gallons of water gets poured," Trump said.
These fires are devastating regardless of how or why they started. The people in control of California are squarely to blame for the perfect storm of missteps that caused this.
A federal judge struck down a sweeping Title IX expansion for gender-confused individuals and other sexual behavior, the Associated Press reported. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves' decision Thursday negated the entire 1,500-page guideline he called "fatally" flawed.
President Joe Biden's administration was behind the push to confer Title IX protections on so-called LGBTQ+ students last year. The law was initially passed in 1972, and it was done to prevent sex discrimination in education.
The Democratic administration made it their business to expand the definitions of those covered, including protections for sexual orientation and gender identity instead of biological sex. Although the law didn't mention sports, many believed the language protected men who wanted to compete in women's sports and other problematic situations.
Because of this, the update faced many challenges from those concerned about its impact on the safety of girls and women. This lawsuit resolved this week was filed by the attorneys general of Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennesee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Revees concluded in his decision that the Department of Education had no authority to make the changes through the 50-year-old law. The judge called it an "attempt to bypass the legislative process and completely transform Title IX."
One specific issue was that it violated free speech by compelling educators to use preferred pronouns. "The First Amendment does not permit the government to chill speech or compel affirmance of a belief with which the speaker disagrees in this manner," Reeves wrote in his decision.
Moreover, Reeves noted that the changes were outside the scope of the original law, Fox News reported. "When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female," the opinion said.
"As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head. While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes."
This decision comes after the Biden administration lost its appeal to the Supreme Court for an emergency request to protect the rule's safeguards for gender-confused students. It also comes just before President-elect Donald Trump, who railed against these exact problems, is set to take office.
Predictably, the reactions to the decision fell along ideological lines. "Protections for the most vulnerable students make the entire school safer and stronger for everyone," Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, told the AP.
On the flip side, a statement from Kristen Waggoner, Alliance Defending Freedom CEO, president, and general Counsel, called the decision a "colossal win for women and girls" in America. "The Biden administration’s radical attempt to redefine sex not only tossed fairness, safety, and privacy for female students out the window, it also threatened free speech and parental rights," Waggoner said.
"With this ruling, the federal court in Kentucky rejected the entire Biden rule and the administration’s illegal actions. We are thankful for the leadership of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and other state attorneys general who challenged this blatant overreach alongside our courageous clients," Waggoner added.
Skrmetti celebrated the decision on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday. "Another massive win for TN and the country! This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin's radical new Title IX rule nationwide," he wrote.
Title IX was meant to protect women and girls from discrimination. The left sought to turn that intent on its head by adding protections for men who think they're females and others, but justice has prevailed.
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles canceled the license of a man who used what he called a "loophole" to change genders on his driver's license, Fox News reported. The state thanked trans activist TikToker James Rose, who inadvertently alerted the state after he had bragged about the process on the platform.
Rose's account, known as "Jamesissmiling," has since been deleted, but the original clip was captured and shared to X, formerly Twitter, by Libs of TikTok. "SCOOP: A trans activist boasted about a loophole which allowed him to change his gender marker on his Florida license," the account captioned the video.
"Florida doesn’t allow an individual to change their gender marker based on gender identity. Additionally, he may have violated the law by lying about 'losing' his license so he can change his gender marker," Libs of TikTok added.
SCOOP: A trans activist boasted about a loophole which allowed him to change his gender marker on his Florida license.
The FLHSMV responded by sending him a letter thanking him for bringing attention to this error and promise action to address it.
Florida doesn’t allow an… pic.twitter.com/RHVdJ5p0N0
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 7, 2025
Rose posted his video on Dec. 20 after getting his license to say "female" against Florida's laws. "I just got my gender changed on my driver’s license in the free f---ing state of Florida," Rose, with his long hair and nails, said excitedly into the camera.
"My god, Ron DeSantis would be screaming right now if he knew about this," Rose said of the state's Republican governor. "This little license now says female on it," the content creator went on.
"This is not easy. You’re not even supposed to be able to do this in this state," Rose noted, demonstrating that he knew what he was doing was against the law.
"Here’s the loophole, here’s the loophole. Listen up! If you’re replacing your driver’s license, not renewing it but replacing it because you ‘lost it,’ they have to take all of your information from what they consider a ‘primary document,’" Rose explained.
"A passport is considered a primary document, and you can self-identify on your passport, which means loophole, you can self-identify on your Florida f---ing driver’s license," Rose said. Unfortunately for him, what he called a "loophole" is actually the violation that got his license canceled.
On Tuesday, Libs of TikTok shared that the FHSMV was tipped off about the scheme and subsequently canceled Rose's license. The accompanying letter that explained Rose's license was no longer valid was also shared in the post.
"Please be advised that the sex identifier on the replacement Florida driver’s license issued to you on December 20, 2024, was improperly changed from male to female. Accordingly, that license is invalid and has been canceled," the letter from FHSMV's executive director Dave Kerner read.
"Thank you for bringing this error to the Department's attention," continued Kerner. "Your public comments will help ensure compliance with Florida law."
Meanwhile, Bryan Griffin, communications director for DeSantis, said that there is no such "loophole" as changing one's gender on the license is prohibited. He shared that FHSMV will be "conducting an inquiry" into whether Rose was lying about losing the license to pull off this scheme.
Republicans in Florida have a mandate to stop the gender madness, while Democrats lose their minds. Radicals like Rose simply can't stand not getting their way in the Sunshine State, but he will now face the consequences.
A 2022 Supreme Court decision that upheld broad Second Amendment rights has allowed other courts to strike down a bevy of gun rights restrictions, the Daily Montanan reported. This is good news for a slate of other challenges the Supreme Court is set to decide as President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen case found that restrictions to the Second Amendment must have historical precedent at the country's founding. The Supreme Court decision has opened the door for challenges that wouldn't have otherwise had a chance.
Even in blue states such as Illinois and California, gun restrictions have not fared well in court challenges. The Second Amendment Foundation has taken this mandate to bring several lawsuits against these statutes.
“The second Bruen came down, there was the starting gun for a sprint, for which we have not stopped yet. Stuff is ripe for a fresh challenge," the Washington-based organization's director of legal operations, Bill Sack, stated.
The Bruen case has facilitated several decisions that would previously have been unthinkable. In July, Minnesota's age restriction for carrying handguns was deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit of Appeals, which upheld the lower court's ruling to strike it down.
Then, in September, an Illinois state law banning concealed carry of firearms on public partition was deemed unconstitutional. Just a month later, New York's law that sought to ban gun owners from concealed carry on private property open for public use was struck down as well.
According to Ammoland, the Supreme Court will discuss three more pivotal cases this week. In Snope v. Brown, the court will consult on whether to hear a case involving Maryland's banning of "assault weapons" or semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15.
Ocean State Tactical v. Rhode Island will challenge bans on "large capacity magazines," while Delaware's Gray v. Jennings could answer the legal question about issuing preliminary injunctions. Together, these cases could lay the groundwork for bold freedoms.
"The ducks are lining up," Mark Smith, host of the Four Boxes Diner pro-Second Amendment podcast, said. The timing couldn't be better for Trump.
During Trump's first term in office, the Heritage Foundation shared that he had a stellar reputation for gun rights. "As with Trump’s rhetoric, most of his administration’s policy efforts have been consistent with his promise to protect the right to keep and bear arms," author Amy Swearer noted in September 2022.
"Early in his first term, federal agencies reversed course on several Obama-era policies that would have jeopardized Americans’ Second Amendment rights," including a prohibition on publishing "blueprints for 3D-printed guns online." This also protected First Amendment free speech rights.
Trump also rolled back a law that would allow the government to take away the Second Amendment rights of a person without a trial or hearing. He pushed back against states that closed gun stores and shooting ranges during the COVID-19 pandemic, deeming them nonessential businesses.
However, his most significant contribution was to appoint Supreme Court judges who favored upholding gun rights. With Bruen under their belts, the Supreme Court could continue to strike down restrictions.
Trump now has four more years to shore up constitutional rights with the help of the highest court in the land. Gun owners may rejoice, but they must remain vigilant against the people looking to strip them of their weapons.
President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Joseph Nocella Jr. to become U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the Washington Examiner reported. Trump made this announcement Monday as a replacement for Breon Peace, who will step down on Jan. 10.
The district includes nearly 8 million people spread across Long Island, Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Queens. The longtime prosecutor is a strong conservative pick for Trump, a fact which will not sit well with leftists.
"It is my great honor to announce that Joseph Nocella, Jr., will be the next United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Judge Nocella has a strong record of bringing Law and Order to the incredible people of New York, serving as a Nassau County District Court Judge, and Family Court Judge," Trump posted to Truth Social Monday night.
Trump went on to share highlights from Nocella's resume, proving he's qualified for the job. Nocelle's experience includes serving as the assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of New York between 1991 and 1995.
"A proud graduate of Columbia Law School, he has also spent over ten years in private practice. Judge Nocella previously served as a law clerk to the Honorable Lawrence M. McKenna, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York," Trump's post said.
The New York Post expounded upon this, noting that Nocella worked as the chief of staff for the Hempstead town supervisor between 2020 and 2021. He then acted as town attorney from 2021 to 2022.
In 2022, Nocella became a Nassau County District Court judge, in addition to other roles in Nassau County and Oyster Bay government. Bruce Blakeman, Nassau County Executive, lauded Trump's decision in a statement Monday.
"Thank you President Trump for making this important appointment. Joe Nocella is a seasoned prosecutor with great integrity and will be a valuable asset in fighting crime and protecting the homeland," Blakeman wrote.
Besides Nocella, Forbes shared Trump's other stellar picks he has already made right out of the gate. The most notable of his choices are cabinet members, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence.
Kennedy, who began as a Democrat before switching to Independent for his presidential primary bid, has promised to "Make America Healthy Again" in a play on Trump's famous slogan. He has promised to cast a critical eye on conventional health wisdom on food additives and vaccines.
Trump made another great pick with Gabbard, a former Congresswoman from Hawaii who left the Democratic Party to become an independent in 2022 before becoming a Republican. Finally, Trump named former campaign co-manager Susie Wiles as his chief of staff.
Wiles was responsible for the strategy that got Trump elected with popular and Electoral College votes. Fox News reported that she's promised no "drama" in the new administration. "My team and I will not tolerate backbiting, second-guessing inappropriately, or drama. These are counterproductive to the mission," Wiles promised.
One of the hallmarks of being a great leader is finding the right people to delegate to. With these picks, Trump has made it clear that he is running a tight ship with lots of diverse voices this time around.
A protracted legal battle in Montana over the environmental effects of a controversial power plant just resulted in a notable ruling from the state's highest court.
As the Daily Montanan reports, the fight over the Laurel Generation Station and its greenhouse gas emissions has yielded a unanimous decision from the Montana Supreme Court finding that the state and the energy company owner of the facility skirted the law, but the outcome may do little to hinder operations going forward, disappointing activists on the left.
As KULR in Billings explains, the plaintiffs in the case at issue filed suit in 2021 against NorthWestern Energy and the state's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) after a permit was issued for the energy company to operate the Laurel Generating Station.
In their quest to halt operations of the plant, the plaintiffs claimed that it was releasing the equivalent of 167,000 cars per year in greenhouse gases and that the energy company and the DEQ did not comply with relevant regulations in the permitting process.
At the District Court level, it was determined that the defendants did conduct satisfactory reviews in relation to the plant's noise output but failed in the areas of lighting as well as greenhouse gas emissions, findings that resulted in the suspension of the permit.
The state Supreme Court, however, noted that the DEQ, at the time in question, was following applicable law, even if those statutes were later invalidated, and the panel also observed that the plaintiffs in the case had never actually requested suspension of the operational permit in the court below.
As such, the justices ruled, that the Laurel Generation Station will be permitted to continue operations under the existing permit, though the DEQ will be required to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the plant's pollution impacts and report on the effects that its greenhouse gas emission and use of industrial lighting will have on the surrounding area.
In the wake of the ruling, statements in reaction were issued by both sides of the dispute, with NorthWestern Energy declaring, “Today's Montana Supreme Court's decision reinstating the Yellowstone County Generating Station permit will help ensure reliable energy service and keep bills as low as possible for our customers.”
The company went on, “This is good news for Montanans already relying on the critical, cost-saving capacity of the 175-megawatt Yellowstone County Generating Station, including for power during this first winter storm of 2025.”
Pledging compliance with the full Supreme Court order, the company added, “NorthWestern Energy will work with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to provide any additional information necessary.”
The Sierra Club and the Montana Environmental Information Center, the groups that initially challenged the permit, also claimed a degree of victory in the wake of the ruling, saying that the justices rendered a strong reinforcement of the Montana Constitution's mandate for a “clean and healthful environment.”
“We are pleased that the Montana Supreme Court has ruled that Montanans deserve to know the full harm that the 770,000 tons of annual climate pollution NorthWestern Energy's power plant will impose on our farmers, ranchers, economy, and health, said the chair of Northern Plans Resource Council, a group that has stood in opposition to the plant, though he did note the organization's disappointment that the plant's continued operation was permitted by the high court.
Though the long-running nature of the disagreement in this case was noteworthy, what was not in dispute between the parties was the volume of pollutants emerging from the plant's operation, which includes 75 tons of Particulate Matter 10, 28 tons of Particulate Matter 2.5, 222 tons annually of nitrogen oxides, 246 tons of carbon monoxide, 14 tons of sulfur dioxide, and more.
Precisely what the now-mandated DEQ review will reveal -- or might suggest in terms of potential remediation -- remains unclear, but it seems certain that all eyes will indeed be on the outcome of that process.
Justice Juan Merchan denied President-elect Donald Trump's request to toss his conviction and instead set sentencing for Jan. 10, the Washington Examiner reported. The Democratic Manhattan judge has indicated that Trump would likely not face any jail time.
In May, Trump was convicted of 34 felonies over a payment he made to former porn star Stormy Daniels and how it was paid. He allegedly was attempting to keep their affair secret during the 2016 presidential campaign with the payment.
After Trump's conviction by a Manhattan jury, the judge set sentencing for Nov. 26. However, that date was pushed back after Trump won another term in the White House on Nov. 5.
In Friday's order, Merchan wrote that Trump would receive a sentence of "unconditional discharge," which means Trump avoids probation, fines, or prison. Still, it will come just 10 days before he is set to take office.
Trump faced four separate cases after announcing he would run for the presidency. Of those, only the New York case made it to trial before Election Day because of various factual and legal obstacles.
His legal team failed to get Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against Trump thrown out after the Supreme Court ruled in his favor over presidential immunity. Friday's decision confirmed that this case wasn't ending, and Trump allies were predictably unhappy.
"Democrat Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan—who donated to Trump’s opponents and whose adult daughter Loren is raising money off of this bogus case—once again proves he is partisan, corrupt, and dangerous. The Supreme Court must end this immediately," Article III Project founder Mike Davis said.
Trump's spokesman, Steven Cheung, also slammed Merchan's ruling. "This lawless case should have never been brought and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed," he said in a statement.
"Today’s order by the deeply conflicted, Acting Justice Merchan in the Manhattan DA Witch Hunt is a direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Immunity decision and other longstanding jurisprudence," Cheung added. This is just the latest in a string of injustices against Trump.
According to NBC News, Trump faced four major criminal cases as of this time last year. His legal woes still persist today, but many of those prosecutions are only hanging together by a thread.
For instance, the election interference case in Georgia is indefinitely on hold after it was discovered that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had a relationship with the prosecutor she hired for the case. Trump and the other defendants have argued that she should be disqualified because of that.
Even if the issue is resolved in the courts, bringing that case once again will be an uphill battle. Trump's federal case over the Jan. 6 attack has been dismissed, as was the classified documents case in Florida.
The hefty $350 million judgment against Trump for allegedly inflating the value of his assets is still outstanding, but Trump's legal team continues to appeal the penalty. Thankfully, none of these cases were enough to keep Trump out of the White House.
These cases brought against Trump were suspiciously timed just as he announced his intention to run for the presidency again. They have fallen one by one, but Merchan is clearly holding on to the last one standing.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts warned about the dangers of Democrats and other elected officials who attempt to undermine the high court's rulings, The Hill reported. Roberts said this pressure comes "from across the political spectrum" ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
In his year-end report released Tuesday, Roberts addressed the problem with what he called "illegitimate activity" involving elected officials. He used the example of one federal district judge "whose decisions in a high-profile case" led to impeachment calls from a politician.
Roberts said that the bar associations need to "come to the defense" of judges in similar situations. "Attempts to intimidate judges for their rulings in cases are inappropriate and should be vigorously opposed," Roberts wrote in the report.
"Public officials certainly have a right to criticize the work of the judiciary, but they should be mindful that intemperance in their statements when it comes to judges may prompt dangerous reactions by others," Roberts added. The report comes as judges face outside threats while trust in the court plummets.
Roberts stressed that the court's job is not to appease everyone but to do what's right by the law. "It is not in the nature of judicial work to make everyone happy," he wrote in the report.
"Most cases have a winner and a loser. Every Administration suffers defeats in the court system—sometimes in cases with major ramifications for executive or legislative power or other consequential topic," Roberts added.
The chief justice noted that some elected officials have called legitimate decisions by federal courts "dangerous suggestions" that they can disregard. Roberts stressed that this comes "from across the political spectrum" rather than any one party in particular.
As Fox News noted, the Supreme Court has issued some rulings that anger Democrats and others that Republicans disagree with. For instance, the high court defanged many of the charges against Trump with the decision to grant presidential immunity.
This led President Joe Biden to urge term limits on Supreme Court judges and to impose an ethics code. Meanwhile, Republicans watched as the same court granted the Biden administration a stay that would allow them to continue to sell the abortion pill.
Supreme Court justices are increasingly under threat solely because of how they decide cases. This trend can arguably be traced back to the leaked draft of the Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health decision in 2022.
According to the Washington Post, the leak prompted a California man to show up near the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Nicholas John Roske, 26, drove from his Simi Valley home to exact revenge on one or more of the justices who overturned nearly half a century of bad precedent.
"Roske stated that he began thinking about how to give his life a purpose and decided that he would kill the Supreme Court Justice …," the affidavit stated. Roske was charged with attempted murder, but troublingly, his actions seemed to be part of a broader trend on the left.
Leftists were fine with the Supreme Court improperly making laws for the last several decades. Now that there's a conservative majority on the court who wishes to bring laws back to their originalist interpretation, it's a problem they seek to solve with violence and intimidation.
The checks and balances in the American system of government are a miracle from the minds of our founders. It's vital to protect this system and address the problems like Roberts outlined so that the court can continue to operate as designed.
Authorities are unclear whether an exploding Tesla Cybertruck in Las Vegas had any link with an attack on New Year's partygoers in New Orleans, the Associated Press reported. President Joe Biden told the press, "There's nothing to report on that score at this time."
In the early morning hours of New Year's Day, a pickup truck driven by 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed into a crowd on Bourbon Street. The death toll has climbed to 15 while at least another 30 are injured.
The FBI is now investigating this incident as a terrorist attack. They are also looking for additional suspects who may have planted an explosive device in the French Quarter, including three men and a woman who were caught on surveillance camera.
Curiously, a Cybertruck that contained fireworks exploded and caught fire outside of a Las Vegas hotel owned by President-elect Donald Trump on that same day. One person was killed in that incident, and seven others were injured as the White House insists there's no connection.
Some are wondering if there's a coverup as both Jabbar and Matthew Livelsberger served at Fort Bragg and in Afghanistan, although not at the same times, LA Times reported. Questions abound, given the timing of the incidents and similar military service.
However, items linking Jabbar to the terror group ISIS were found in the vehicle used in the attack, while no such evidence exists for the Las Vegas incident. Biden directly denied that any link had been found in his remarks to the press on Wednesday.
"Additionally, we’re tracking the explosion of a Cybertruck outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas. Law enforcement and the intelligence community are investigating this as well, including whether there’s any possible connection with the attack in New Orleans," Biden shared.
"Thus far, there’s nothing to report on that score at this time. I’ve directed my team to make sure every resource, every resource is made available to federal, state, and local law enforcement to complete the investigation in New Orleans quickly and to make sure there’s no remaining threat to the American people," Biden said.
President-elect Donald Trump slammed Biden's administration for the failures that led to these attacks on his Truth Social Thursday. "Our Country is a disaster, a laughing stock all over the World!" Trump wrote.
"This is what happens when you have OPEN BORDERS, with weak, ineffective, and virtually nonexistent leadership. The DOJ, FBI, and Democrat state and local prosecutors have not done their job," Trump added.
It's unclear if illegal immigration had anything to do with either attack. However, Trump correctly stated that the agencies "spent all of their waking hours unlawfully attacking their political opponent, ME, rather than focusing on protecting Americans from the outside and inside violent SCUM that has infiltrated all aspects of our government, and our Nation itself," he wrote.
"The USA is breaking down - A violent erosion of Safety, National Security, and Democracy is taking place all across our Nation. Only strength and powerful leadership will stop it. See you on January 20th. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump later concluded.
America is reeling from these incidents that are happening just as Trump is about to take office. The nation needs a strong leader, and Trump's inauguration can't come soon enough.