Sec. of State Blinken reports U.S. has spent 100 billion on Ukraine so far

National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Troop Creep: Pentagon Reveals It Actually Has 2,000 Troops in Syria, Not 900 | 20 Dec 2024 | The Pentagon on Thursday admitted there are actually 2,000 American troops in Syria, not the 900 it previously said were in the country. The admission comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in a month, and days after members of his transition team arrived at the Pentagon to begin the transition between the outgoing and incoming administrations. Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder characterized the higher troop count as a “surprise” — without clarifying if Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin or Joe Biden knew there were 2,000, not 900 U.S. troops in Syria.

Ukraine uses U.S. ATACMS to strike chemical plant in southern Russia – MOD | 19 Dec 2024 | Ukraine has launched a missile attack against a large chemical plant in Russia’s southern Rostov Region, the Russian Ministry of Defense has reported. According to the military, six American-made ATACMS tactical missiles and four air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used in Wednesday’s assault. Russian air defense units engaged the incoming missiles, successfully intercepting all ATACMS and three out of the four Storm Shadow missiles using S-400 and Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile systems, as well as the Pantsir air defense system. One of the Storm Shadows veered off course. However, it still impacted the facility, resulting in damage to a technical building on the premises, the ministry said. Moscow has condemned the attack, declaring that the attack by the Kiev regime, supported by Western sponsors, would not go unanswered.

U.S. to announce 1.2 billion package of new arms for Ukraine in coming days – North Carolinians remain homeless after Hurricane Helene | 20 Dec 2024 | The Biden regime will announce in the coming days its final Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative package, using up the remaining funds set aside to buy new weapons for Ukraine, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The package includes air defense interceptors and artillery munitions, according to a third source, but the exact contents are expected when the package is announced in the coming days. The package will be worth about 1.2 billion, said the sources. The USAI package could be among the last steps the United States takes to provide direct military support to Ukraine as President-elect Donald Trump has publicly questioned military aid and vowed to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office on Jan. 20.

U.S. has spent 100 billion on Ukraine – Blinken | 19 Dec 2024 | Washington has provided around 100 billion in financial aid and military assistance to Kiev since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. The bulk was spent inside the U.S. on defense manufacturing, he told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Wednesday. This comes amid recent efforts by the outgoing regime of Joe Biden to spend every dollar allocated by Congress before leaving office in January. “We’ve spent a lot of m-ney on Ukraine and defending Ukraine, about 100 billion. Our allies and partners, they’ve spent about 150 billion doing it,” the secretary of state said.

UK could deploy troops to Ukraine – Times | 19 Dec 2024 | British Defense Secretary John Healey has suggested that UK military instructors could be deployed to Ukraine to train the country’s military, The Times has reported. Healey stated that London should do more to streamline the existing training program and better tailor it to Kiev’s needs. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the UK has emerged as one of Kiev’s staunchest backers, having prepared tens of thousands of Ukrainian military personnel on its soil since then. Moreover, according to the British daily, the country has deployed a “small number” of troops to Ukraine to “help with medical training.” In recent months, the leaders of several NATO member states have floated the idea of sending military personnel to Ukraine in a “training and assistance” capacity.

Israeli airstrikes kill at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say | 20 Dec 2024 | Israeli airstrikes killed at least 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, including at least eight in an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp and at least 10, including seven children, in the town of Jabalia. Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas after more than a year of conflict. Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had been able to resolve some differences between the warring parties but sticking points remained.

Two killed and scores injured in Germany as car ploughs into crowd at Christmas market | 20 Dec 2024 | Scores of people were injured and at least two people, including a small child, were killed on Friday after a car ploughed into a crowd of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German town of Magdeburg, in what local officials are describing as a terror attack. At least 68 other people were injured, including 15 who were left in a critical state, according to the city government. In the attack, a black BMW drove straight into the crowd at the Christmas market, travelling at speed for 400 metres in the direction of the town hall, according to eyewitnesses cited by the broadcaster. The driver of the car was immediately arrested, and later identified as Taleb A., a 50-year-old medical doctor from Saudi Arabia.

Interactive map reveals disturbing pattern in drone sightings across the U.S. | 20 Dec 2024 | An interactive map has revealed a disturbing pattern in drone sightings across the U.S. An unexplained drone invasion has targeted America’s military bases worldwide since October, beginning with a swarm over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia… “Multiple” instances of drones appeared over New Jersey’s Navy weapons station, and Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base closed its airspace due to similar activity on December 13. The list of affected bases continues to grow, with one in Texas joining the ranks after drones were spotted on December 18. In White Settlement — home to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth and Lockheed Martin — residents and police officers observed drones flying in formation about 100 feet in the air, sometimes hovering in groups of six. Christopher Cook, police chief in White Settlement, said: “We haven’t seen the formation of drones like that before.”

Mystery as radioactive shipment goes missing in New Jersey amid drone invasion –The danger with losing track of radioactive material is that it can be used to build bombs. | 17 Dec 2024 | Radioactive material went missing in New Jersey earlier this month, fueling conspiracy theories that it could be linked to the mysterious drone sightings. A piece of medical equipment used for cancer scans was shipped from the Nazha Cancer Center in Newfield on December 2 for disposal, but the “shipping container arrived at its destination damaged and empty.” The device, known as a “pin source,” contained a small amount of Germanium-68 (Ge-68) that is used to calibrate a medical scanner’s accuracy. If handled without proper gear, it can cause radiation poisoning. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an alert for the missing shipment deemed “less than a Category 3,” meaning it could cause permanent injury if mishandled.

California declares state of emergency as H5N1 bird flu threatens pandemic – in chilling echo of Covid dark days | 18 Dec 2024 | California has declared a state of emergency for H5N1 bird flu amid fears that the virus could jump to people and start to spread. The move comes in response to a major outbreak of the virus among the state’s cattle which has spilled over and infected dozens of dairy workers. The announcement follows news that an individual in Louisiana was hospitalized with H5N1, becoming the country’s first severe case. Governor Gavin Newsom said the move would free up funds and “streamline and expedite” the state’s efforts to tackle the outbreak.

U.S. reports first severe human case of bird flu in a patient hospitalized in Louisiana | 18 Dec 2024 | A person in Louisiana has been hospitalized with bird flu — the country’s first severe human H5N1 infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The patient is experiencing severe respiratory illness related to H5N1 infection and is currently hospitalized in critical condition,” said Emma Herrock, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Health Department. The CDC said the patient was likely exposed to the virus from a backyard flock, which would mark the first time such a flock has been associated with a bird flu infection in a U.S. resident. The patient is over age 65 and had underlying medical conditions, Herrock said.

Blue state outlaws most eggs unless cage-free, before new year –The new law does not apply to eggs produced on farms with less than 3,000 egg-laying hens | 19 Dec 2024 | Nearly all eggs sold in Michigan starting before the New Year must come from cage-free birds, even as egg prices continue to climb. Michigan lawmakers modified the Animal Industry Act in 2019, requiring shell eggs from chickens, ducks and other fowl, sold in the state to be from cage-free housing systems, starting Dec. 31, 2024… For those farms affected, the law prohibits business owners from selling eggs from an egg-laying hen if care cannot be provided while standing within the hens’ usable floor space. The news comes as egg prices continue to rise, and industry experts project that these higher costs will persist into 2025, especially if Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), also known as “bird flu” infections, continues.

GOP calls on FBI to investigate Liz Cheney for ‘potential criminal witness tampering’ in January 6 matter –‘Numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney,’ a new House subcommittee report concludes | 17 Dec 2024 | Former Rep. Liz Cheney is facing calls from GOP legislators that the FBI investigate her for “potential criminal witness tampering” related to her former role on the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, according to a report released Tuesday by House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight Chair Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. “Based on the evidence obtained by this Subcommittee, numerous federal laws were likely broken by Liz Cheney, the former Vice Chair of the January 6 Select Committee, and these violations should be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” states the report, which was provided to Fox Digital. “Evidence uncovered by the Subcommittee revealed that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney tampered with at least one witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, by secretly communicating with Hutchinson without Hutchinson’s attorney’s knowledge.”

Fani Willis disqualified from prosecuting Donald Trump in Georgia election case after affair bombshell | 19 Dec 2024 | Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the Donald Trump election interference prosecution, striking a potentially lethal blow to the case. Willis will not be allowed to remain on the case due to her sensational affair with fellow prosecutor Nathan Wade, who stepped down from his post, which she attempted to cover up. Ruling in a 2-1 opinion, the Georgia appeals court said she was “wholly disqualified from this case,” and pointed to “a significant appearance of impropriety.” The ruling overturns Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s decision that allowed Willis and her team to remain on the Trump case despite the affair as long as Wade left his job as Willis’s lead prosecutor. In his ruling, McAfee did point to an “odor of mendacity” around the case in light of the stunning revelations.

White House Biden health cover-up blown wide open in bombshell report: Biden was senile from day one of presidency | 19 Dec 2024 | The White House tried to hide from the public Joe Biden’s rapidly diminishing mental condition for his entire presidency, according to a bombshell report. Biden’s team hired a vocal coach, put other officials into roles usually occupied by the president, scrapped meetings on his “bad days,” and kept him at arm’s length him from his own Cabinet members. An explosive investigation by The Wall Street Journal has exposed an extensive, deliberate and years-long cover-up that also saw the administration gaslighting those who dared to claim Biden’s abilities had deteriorated since he was Barack Obama’s vice president. Despite the efforts of “eager beaver hand-holders,” Biden’s decline became increasingly obvious, especially after Special Counsel Robert Hur last year released a report depicting a forgetful and frail then-81 year old.

Full List of GOP Lawmakers Who Opposed Spending Bill Which Received Unanimous Democratic Support | 20 Dec 2024 | On Friday, the House of Representatives passed a government funding bill, narrowly averting a shutdown just before the midnight deadline. The bill, which received unanimous support from Democratic lawmakers, faced opposition from 34 Republican members who voted against it. The approved legislation provides temporary funding to keep federal operations running until March 14, 2025, and includes 100 billion for disaster relief and 10 billion for agricultural assistance. However, it excludes Trump’s demand to raise the debt ceiling. The House approved the funding bill with a “bipartisan” vote of 366-34, sending it to the Senate for swift passage. More Democrats supported the new bill, with a vote count of 196 to 170.

Trump files amicus brief to ‘immediately’ stop Biden sale of border wall, says conduct is ‘possibly criminal’ | 20 Dec 2024 | President-elect Trump filed an amicus brief late Thursday in support of a legal effort by Texas and Missouri to “immediately” stop the Biden regime’s sale of border wall materials, saying the action is “possibly criminal.” Texas and Missouri filed a motion earlier this week in a district court in the southern district of Texas to hold a status conference to determine if the government is in breach of the court’s permanent injunction from earlier this year. That injunction barred the Biden administration from using funds obligated for wall construction for anything other than that purpose. Trump’s amicus brief states that if officials in the Biden regime are “deliberately selling off border-wall materials at a major financial loss to the Government to obstruct the pro-wall policy of Congress and President Trump, such conduct likely constitutes a criminal act, such as a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

Colorado Tren de Aragua apartment complex is turned into torture hub by migrants | 17 Dec 2024 | A notorious Colorado apartment complex taken over by a Venezuelan gang is being held siege by migrants now using it as a torture hub. Tren de Aragua goons brutalized a couple at the Edge of Lowry complex in Aurora early Tuesday, police said, despite claims the besieged building had been cleaned-up. “To see this re-unfold again…am I fired up, yeah I’m fired up,” Aurora Police Chief Todd Chamberlin told reporters Tuesday at a press conference. The city’s top cop detailed how a man and woman who live in the troubled complex were held against their will and “tortured” by 13 to 15 armed individuals. “Victims were held against their will, they were actually bound, both the male and the female,” the chief explained. “They were pistol whipped, they were beaten, they were terrorized.”

Veteran Neil Cavuto quits Fox News after 28 years at network which saw him regularly criticize Donald Trump | 19 Dec 2024 | Fox News anchor Neil Cavuto is to leave the network after 28 years with the company. Mediaite first reported that Cavuto, 66, will have his last day on the air today presenting Your World as his contract is up at the end of the month. A source told the outlet that his departure came about after he declined to sign a new contract, which was described as being generous. His programming has become known for his willingness to call out President-elect Donald Trump and was often a target of Trump.