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By Chuck Ross

https://dailycaller.com/author/Chuck+Ross/

John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, said Thursday that the Chinese government is targeting multiple members of Congress as part of a “massive” foreign influence campaign.

In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Ratcliffe said that Beijing is targeting lawmakers with six times the frequency of Russia and 12 times more than the government of Iran.

“This year China engaged in a massive influence campaign that included targeting several dozen members of Congress and congressional aides,” Ratcliffe wrote in the op-ed, entitled “China Is National Security Threat No. 1.”

“Our intelligence shows that Beijing regularly directs this type of influence operation in the U.S.,” he wrote, noting that he has briefed the House and Senate Intelligence Committees “that China is targeting members of Congress with six times the frequency of Russia and 12 times the frequency of Iran.”

Ratcliffe, a former Republican congressman from Texas, said that in order to confront the emerging intelligence threat posed by China, he has reallocated $85 billion from the annual intelligence community budget to focus on China.

“This shift must continue to ensure U.S. intelligence has the resources it needs to give policy makers unvarnished insights into China’s intentions and activities.”

https://dailycaller.com/2020/12/03/john-ratcliffe-congress-china-influence/

By: Sam Dorman

https://www.foxnews.com/person/d/sam-dorman

Former President Obama argued on Wednesday that Republicans would hypocritically warn about the fiscal impact of economic recovery proposals after passing deficit-inducing tax cuts under President Trump.

>>"The recovery is going to require government to step in even more than it already has and you can already hear Republicans trying to run the same game they ran when I was president, where suddenly once the Democrats are in office they start worrying about deficits and why are we spending money providing poor folks and small-businesses relief when they were happy to spend a trillion dollars on tax cuts, or eliminating taxes for big corporations?" he told activist Al Sharpton on his radio show.

He continued, "And that kind of bait-and-switch, I think, is something that Joe Biden's going to confront and I want voters to be paying attention when that happens because the truth is is that we are going to need the kind of bold government steps and relief and programs that can help lift folks up from the bottom, not just help folks at the top."

His comments came as President-elect Biden's team urged Congress to address the financial fallout of the coroanvirus pandemic. Many of his economic advisers also served in Obama's administration.

While it's unclear how much Biden's stimulus would cost, Congress and the White House has already passed a $2 trillion relief package – the largest in U.S. history. Obama's inauguration in 2009 came as the nation reeled from a housing crisis that prompted him to pass an $831 billion economic stimulus package. By contrast, Trump's Tax Cut and Jobs Act has been estimated to cost between $1-2 trillion.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-republicans-bait-and-switch-deficit

By: Bronson Stocking

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bronsonstocking/

Usually, incoming presidents are full of energy and accomplish a good part of their agenda in the first 100 days of office. Joe Biden, on the other hand, plans on delegating the work to the American people, ordering everyone to wear a face mask for 100 days beginning on his inauguration

During an appearance on CNN, Biden said that he plans on asking Americans, if and when he gets into office, to wear face masks for 100 consecutive days. Biden reiterated that the measure would only be temporary.

>>"On the first day I'm inaugurated, I'm going to ask the public for 100 days to mask," Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper. "Just 100 days to mask – not forever, just 100 days. And I think we’ll see a significant reduction."

Biden has repeatedly called mask-wearing a "patriotic duty" and has floated the idea of a nationwide mask mandate.

In the same CNN appearance, Biden said he would follow through on plans to implement a federal mandate, ordering people to wear face masks in federal buildings and while engaging in interstate transportation.

But wearing face masks for 100 days straight won't do much good if Americans don't wear face masks better than Joe Biden wears his.

It was during a CNN town hall event with Anderson Cooper earlier this year that Biden, despite holding a mask in his hand, approached a maskless Anderson Cooper for an in-face discussion as the camera cut to a commercial. Biden has also been caught removing his face mask to cough in his hand and has been photographed indoors not wearing a mask at all.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bronsonstocking/2020/12/03/biden-reveals-how-long-he-wants-americans-to-wear-face-masks-n2581026

By Julio Rosas

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/

"I’m going to tell you something — don’t characterize what we did before as a mistake, as a preface to your question if you want an answer. That was not a mistake, it was a decision, and it’s taken us to a place where we can do the right thing without other, shall we say, considerations in the legislation that we don’t want. Now, that is it. Now the fact is, I'm very proud of where we are," Pelosi said.

She went on to say the reason why she wants to pass a bill now is because Joe Biden has been declared the winner of the presidential election and a number of vaccines are being produced.

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/juliorosas/2020/12/04/nancy-pelosi-now-wants-to-pass-covid-relief-for-americans-because-of-biden-n2581062

By Rudy Giuliani

https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/

Antrim County Judge in Michigan orders forensic examination of 22 Dominion voting machines.

This is where the untrustworthy Dominion machine flipped 6000 votes from Trump to Biden.

Spiking of votes by Dominion happened all over the state.

https://twitter.com/RudyGiuliani/status/1335014224532221952

By Mary Margaret Olohan

https://dailycaller.com/author/Mary+Margaret+Olohan/

Last week’s Supreme Court ruling against New York’s restrictions on religious organizations sends a message that churches may not be treated as second class citizens, legal experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Supreme Court sided with religious organizations challenging Cuomo’s coronavirus restrictions the night before Thanksgiving, calling the New York Democrat’s measures “discriminatory” in its injunction for emergency relief.

Conservative justices, including Justice Amy Coney Barrett, sided with religious organizations in the 5-4 ruling, while Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the liberal justices. It was the first time Barrett was a deciding factor as the court’s newest justice after replacing the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg — and Judicial Crisis Network President Carrie Severino said it showed “the critical importance of Justice Barrett’s confirmation.”

Cuomo’s restrictions limited the number of people who can attend religious services to 10 in areas where the threat of coronavirus is highest, regardless of a church or synagogue’s capacity. In areas with slightly less risk, attendance is limited to 25 people.

“The Court’s majority made clear that the First Amendment’s Free Exercise clause is not to be carelessly trampled upon but rather vigorously protected,” Judicial Crisis Network’s Carrie Severino told the DCNF.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty represented the religious organizations in asking the Supreme Court to consider whether Cuomo’s executive order violated the Free Exercise Clause when it “disfavors worship” and “when the official who issued it made clear through unambiguous statements that the order was targeted at a religious minority’s practices and traditions.”

Becket counsel Joe Davis noted to the DCNF that the ruling was important not only in regards to coronavirus restrictions on reliPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

By Taylor Bisacky,

https://twitter.com/TaylorBisackyTV/

Bay Area counties (San Francisco, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, Marin and city of Berkeley) choosing to go into stay-at-home order ahead of state requirements. The order will start *this Sunday* at 10p and the following activities will be suspended:

https://twitter.com/TaylorBisackyTV/status/1334973582397513728

By Breck Dumas,

https://www.theblaze.com/u/breckdumas

A young campaign aide to Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) was killed in a car accident on Friday. The staffer, Harrison Deal, was a student at the University of Georgia, and had been set to graduate in the class of 2022.

Deal was a close friend to the family of Gov. Brian Kemp (R). Both Kemp and Loeffler canceled their plans to attend a campaign rally in Savannah Friday evening following the news.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/young-campaign-aide-to-georgia-sen-kelly-loeffler-dies-in-accident

By Jack Phillips

https://www.theepochtimes.com/author-jack-phillips

The Arizona House and Senate have called for an audit of the Maricopa County election software and equipment following allegations of fraud and other irregularities presented by President Donald Trump’s team earlier this week.

In a news release Friday, GOP leaders of the Republican-controlled legislature sought an independent audit of Dominion Voting Systems software—used in Maricopa County—called for the audit.

State Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, a Republican said that Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors “is supportive of conducting an independent audit of their voting software and equipment,” adding: “It is important we maintain all of the voting public’s confidence in our elections, and this is a positive step.”

https://www.theepochtimes.com/arizona-legislature-calls-for-immediate-forensic-audit-of-dominion-voting-machines_3605367.html

By: Stephanie Pagones

https://www.foxnews.com/person/p/stephanie-pagones

A 1-year-old boy was fatally shot and killed while sitting inside a car in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night, police said.

The toddler, Carmelo Duncan, was inside a vehicle that was traveling in the 5700 block of Southern Avenue Southeast at approximately 9:35 p.m. Wednesday night when police believe multiple shots were fired from another car, officials said.

Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham told reporters late Wednesday it was “probably the most tragic news to announce this evening.”

First responders at the scene rushed Carmelo to a local hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, but he could not be saved. Police believe the boy was in a car with an adult man, who was driving, and another child. No other people were believed to have been injured.

Newsham said police believe the vehicle was in motion at the time of the shooting, and while a car seat was located in the back seat, he could not say whether Carmelo was locked in at the time.

The vehicle was struck as many as 10 times, he said.

>>“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to bring some justice to this little boy and his family,” Newsham stressed.

Police asked the public to be on the lookout for a dark gray vehicle with dark, tinted windows, which police believe was involved in the shooting. Anyone who believes they have information pertaining to the shooting is asked to call 202-727-9099.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/boy-1-killed-washington-dc-drive-by-shooting

By: Sam Dorman

https://muckrack.com/sam-dorman

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., appeared to defend on Monday the Minneapolis City Council's proposal to transfer $8 million in police funding to other services.

>>"Don't fall for the fear-driven narratives," the Minnesota congresswoman tweeted. "We can craft a justice system that prioritizes people’s basic needs like mental health + violence prevention, & allow the city to put public safety first."

She gave a shout out to city council members Lisa Bender, Phillipe Cunningham, and Steve Fletcher, who authored the policy. According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the proposal would transfer about 5% of the police budget to a mental health crisis team and violence prevention, among other things.

After George Floyd's death in May, Omar was one of the leading proponents of the "defund the police" movement, which has encountered pushback from law enforcement.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey reportedly described the city council's proposal as "irresponsible and untenable."

>>“This notion that in order to have a more comprehensive public safety strategy you have to do away with one critical element, which is police, is wrong," Frey said, before adding that communities were looking for a "both-and" approach.

>>“This is literally a life and death matter right now and we need to get it right,” he said. In June, the City Council cut the police budget by about $14 million.

While Frey's proposed budget called for a target police force size of 888, the city council's plan would reduce the authorized force size to 750 from 770 officers.

Citing the council's calls for defunding, Minneapolis residents previously sued the city over a lack of police presence amid spikes in violent crime in the city.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/ilhan-omar-minneapolis-defund-police

By: Danielle Wallace

https://www.foxnews.com/person/w/danielle-wallace

A police officer in West Virginia who was shot in the face Wednesday while responding to a traffic complaint is not expected to recover and her organs will be donated, officials said.

Charleston, W.Va., police officer Cassie Johnson, 28, was responding to a traffic complaint on Garrison Avenue around 3 p.m. Wednesday when 38-year-old Joshua Phillips allegedly shot her in the face, Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford said at a press conference Wednesday evening.

She was hospitalized in critical condition and underwent surgery until it was determined her body could not long sustain life by itself and she would be taken off life support.

“With a heavy heart, I hate to say she is not going to be able to pull through this,” police Chief Tyke Hunt told reporters outside Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail. “She is still fighting but her body is unable to sustain life by itself.”

Hunt commended Johnson “for even in her passing still being a true hero.”

>>“As one final parting gift to continue to help others, she is an organ donor,” Hunt said. “The doctors are working with the family to determine eligibility and work out some donorship there.”

Investigators believe Johnson also fired at Phillips, who was sent to the hospital with gunshot wounds. An update on his condition was not available Wednesday evening. The incident remains under investigation by the sheriff’s office.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/west-virginia-charleston-police-officer-shot-in-the-face-will-not-survive

By: Michael Ruiz

https://www.foxnews.com/person/r/michael-ruiz

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard urged President Trump to stand his ground in a legislative fight against Big Tech on Wednesday night.

“I fully support you on this,” the Democratic Hawaii congresswoman and Army veteran tweeted in response to an attack from Trump on the controversial Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act. “Please don’t back down. The freedom and future of our country is at stake."

Section 230 grants Internet companies’ liability shielding not available to other forms of media. Trump likened it to “corporate welfare” and claimed that only “Big Tech” companies benefited from its protections.

He threatened to veto a defense spending bill if it didn’t also repeal federal protections for social media companies from certain liabilities.

Section 230 has drawn criticism from lawmakers for years. It says Internet and social media companies cannot be considered “the publisher or speaker” responsible for third-party content posted to their platforms.

“No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider,” the law reads.

It protects sites, including Facebook and Parler, from lawsuits if they allow controversial or critical speech to be shared by their users, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. It does not protect users from being accountable for their own posts.

On Tuesday, Trump called it “a serious threat” to national security and election integrity, and in May, he issued an executive order aimed at weakening some protections after Twitter began attaching fact-check warnings to some of his posts.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/tulsi-gabbardPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

By: Megan Henney

https://www.foxnews.com/person/h/megan-henney

Democratic leaders lambasted President Trump for pardoning his former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Wednesday, condemning the move as a "brazen" abuse of power.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said that Trump's act was one of "grave corruption" and said that Flynn "must be held accountable" for a "serious and dangerous breach of our national security."

>>“President Trump’s pardoning of Michael Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his dealings with a foreign adversary, is an act of grave corruption and a brazen abuse of power," Pelosi said in a statement. "Trump is again using the pardon power to protect those who lie to cover up his wrongdoing."

Trump announced the decision Wednesday in a tweet after months of speculation that he would pardon his first national security adviser, who had pleaded guilty twice to knowingly making false statements to the FBI about a conversation he had during the presidential transition period with the then-Russian ambassador.

House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who played a key role in Trump's impeachment investigation in the House last year, said Flynn's pardon was in line with the president's repeated abuse of the pardon power to "reward friends and protect those who covered up for him."

>>"This time he pardons Michael Flynn, who lied to hide his dealings with the Russians. It’s no surprise that Trump would go out as he came in — Crooked to the end," Schiff tweeted.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democratic-leaders-condemn-trumps-pardoning-of-michael-flynn-abuse-of-power