Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
TOP O' THE MORNIN'
Red-Hot at RedState
This is not a person who can be counted on for competent leadership, and that's something Los Angeles desperately needs right now.
Pure Gold: Elon Drops the Perfect Hilarious Video to Sum Up Justin Trudeau
What a novel thought — a leader who puts the interests of his country first and thinks proactively, not just reactively.
WATCH: Whiny Gavin Newsom Files Hurt Feelings Report After Trump's Criticisms Hit Too Close to Home
As I've said before, change is needed sooner rather than later, with fresh leadership, fresh ideas, and actual leaders who legitimately care about their communities and their state instead of the focus being on what they think it can do for them.
Trending Across TownHall Media
Questions Still Raised Over ATF Raid with No Answers in Sight
As things currently stand, there aren't any answers coming about what happened, why Manley was targeted, why the raid continued as it did after it became clear that Manley and his family both knew agents were there and expressed their willingness to cooperate.
Lessons, Painful At Times, Are Only Lessons If They're Eventually Learned
It didn't have to be as bad this time. It's incompetence and mismanagement that is as predictable as it is tragic.
What Started L.A.'s Firestorm? Hint: It's Not 'Climate Change.'
I know people will say that those rich Hollywood people don't need protection. That take is dumb, too.
Gavin Newsom Whining About Trump As Homes Burn Behind Him Perfectly Captures Dem Incompetence
The response to this entire wildfire fiasco has been shambolic from top to bottom.
Of course, none of these new talking points addresses the shortage of firefighters, budget cuts to the fire department, the lack of water to put out the fires, or leadership more concerned with DEI goals than actually being prepared to battle raging blazes.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
President-elect Donald Trump was on Capitol Hill Wednesday evening to meet with GOP senators. It appears to have gone well, though we don't yet know what will emerge from it.
Thune on mtg with Trump: It was a very productive discussion. And, we look forward to working with him and his team, starting with getting his nominations going this, next week. We've got a series of confirmation hearings scheduled. More will be scheduled before the, the end of…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 9, 2025
The Senate is primed to take a test vote today to begin debate on the Laken Riley Act. They need 60 votes to move it forward — and appear to at least be close with several Democrats signaling their support for it.
Former President Jimmy Carter continues lying in state Thursday morning. His casket will then be moved to the National Cathedral, where his funeral service will be held beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
White House What's Up
President Joe Biden is back in D.C. following his coincidentally ill-timed junket to Los Angeles. He was scheduled to leave for Rome, Italy, following Carter's funeral but has now canceled that trip, purportedly due to the ongoing wildfires in L.A.
Full Court Press...
Buckle up, my friends — we could be looking at four different (and significant) court rulings today regarding Trump:
- SCOTUS on his emergency application to stay sentencing in Manhattan
- NY Court of Appeals (high court) on his appeal to stay sentencing in Manhattan
- NY Appellate Division (intermediate court) on his civil fraud appeal (argued in September)
- 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on the motion for injunction re: the Jack Smith reports
And that's assuming there aren't some other wildcard rulings handed down in other cases involving him. Rest assured, we'll be monitoring them all.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Next week begin the Senate confirmation committee hearings on Trump's nominees. So far, we've got:
- Doug Collins - Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Jan. 14)
- Pete Hegseth - Secretary of Defense (Jan. 14)
- Doug Burgum - Secretary of the Interior (Jan. 14)
- Kristi Noem - Secretary of Homeland Security (Jan. 15)
- Marco Rubio - Secretary of State (Jan. 15)
- John Ratcliffe - Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (Jan. 15)
- Russ Vought - Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Jan. 15)
MORNING MUSING
Years ago, I learned that I had cervical stenosis — in laymen's terms, the narrowing of the spinal canal in the neck, caused (in my case) by age-related degenerative (arthritic) changes. This, of course, causes neck pain (among other potential issues). I spent months — maybe even a year or two — popping Advil most mornings to deal with the pain (which, of course, isn't optimal). Then a funny thing happened: I'd gotten a bit too big for my britches (literally) and couldn't stand it anymore, so I researched the Keto diet — and decided it was too restrictive for me, and I'd never stick with it. But in the process, I stumbled upon the Mediterranean diet, and that, I determined, was doable. So, I began following it — religiously. And it worked! The pounds started to melt off (slowly but steadily). And one morning, about three or four weeks into it, I woke up, stepped out of bed, and realized that my ankles and knees didn't hurt the way they always did in the morning. And...come to think of it...my neck didn't feel bad either. In fact, I realized I didn't need to take any Advil to feel okay.
What I'd stumbled upon, unwittingly, is that the Mediterranean diet also happens to be anti-inflammatory. Oh, I'm sure I'd read that as I studied up on it, but it hadn't clicked what that actually meant. Now, it clicked. And to this day, I rarely find myself feeling the need to take Advil (or any other pain reliever) for the standard getting-old aches and pains.
Why am I mentioning this? Because it's a good thing my neck doesn't hurt the way it used to — because with everything going on news-wise, court-wise, etc., I'm having to keep my head on a swivel just to try and keep up with everything. (Okay — I know that was a long way to get to my point, but I'll stand by it. On non-painful feet, ankles, and knees, thank you very much.)
LIGHTER FARE
Looks like he's figured out the trick...
This is Howard. He couldn't decide where to sit. Wound up in two places at once and may require some assistance. 13/10 pic.twitter.com/5oWotL0uH0
— WeRateDogs (@dog_rates) January 8, 2025
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