National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG.

Maine’s secretary of state removes Trump from 2024 primary ballot | 28 Dec 2023 | Former President Donald Trump was removed from Maine’s primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause on Thursday. The decision was made by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D), whom Trump’s legal team requested be disqualified from ruling whether or not Trump is eligible for the 2024 ballot. In other states, plaintiffs have sued regarding Trump’s eligibility, but in Maine, the secretary of state first weighs in and the decision can be challenged in court. Maine has only four electoral votes but it’s one of two states to split them, and Trump won one of Maine’s electors in 2020.

Colorado to include Trump on 2024 primary ballot as state GOP appeals to Supreme Court –The Colorado GOP appealed decision to remove Trump from ballot on Wednesday | 28 Dec 2023 | The Colorado secretary of state will include former President Donald Trump on the 2024 Colorado primary ballot after Republicans filed an appeal to the Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the Colorado GOP filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court after the state Supreme Court’s decision to remove Trump from the primary ballot. Following the appeal, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced that she will include Trump on the primary ballot on the Jan. 5 certification deadline, unless the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the lower court’s ruling or declines to take up the case.

U.S. senator calls for bombing Iran –Lindsey Graham wants the IRGC headquarters “blown off the map” | 28 Dec 2023 | The U.S. should bomb Iranian oil fields and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps HQ in retaliation for Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, Senator Lindsey Graham said on Thursday. In a Fox News interview, the South Carolina Republican [and Grade ‘A’ sociopath] argued that Tehran was behind both the attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria and the harassment of Israeli-linked cargo ships in the Red Sea. “I have been saying for six months now: Hit Iran,” Graham said. “They have oil fields out in the open, they have the Revolutionary Guard headquarters you can see from space. Blow it off the map.”

Despite backlog of veterans’ claims, VA using resources to help illegal immigrants | 27 Dec 2023 | With hundreds of thousands of veterans’ healthcare claims on backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), top Republicans in the House and Senate are hoping to prevent VA resources from being used to process claims for medical care of illegal immigrants. According to a July report from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency contracts with the VA to process medical claims reimbursements involving illegal immigrants even though they did not serve in the U.S. military. Medical professionals treat illegal immigrants detained by ICE on site, but when specialized or emergency care is required, they are transported to private providers, according to Fox News. The arrangement between ICE and the VA was outlined in a 2020 memo during the Trump administration, Fox News reported. According to the ICE report, in fiscal year 2022, the VA processed healthcare claims for illegal immigrants totaling more than 63.6 million in medical services. That number is expected to rise in fiscal year 2023, the report explains, because providers have one year after the date of service to submit claims.

Blinken and Mayorkas Fly to Mexico and Discuss Amnesty for the Millions of Illegal Migrants in the U.S. | 28 Dec 2023 | Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas flew to Mexico on Wednesday for a meeting with Mexican President Obrador — for three hours. In a photo, Tony Blinken is treated with little respect as the Mexican President sat at the head of the table and the top U.S. officials were placed to the side. Joe Biden has let in more illegal aliens into the United States than the population of New Jersey, the 11th largest state. And there are thousands and thousands more on the way. During their three hour photo op, the Biden officials discussed amnesty with the Mexican president.