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December 22, 2023
William Upton
Breaking
News
Politics

DeSantis PAC Cancels ALL 2024 Ads In Iowa and New Hampshire.

The embattled Never Back Down SuperPAC, supporting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is cancelling the remainder of its 2024 airtime reservations in Iowa and New Hampshire. Reports indicate it had reserved about $2.5 million in airtime to run ads on behalf of DeSantis.

Never Back Down has experienced a spectacular collapse over the past month. Arguments over budgets and strategy erupted at the PAC’s board meeting last month, culminating a physical confrontation between the SuperPAC’s chief strategist Jeff Roe and long-time DeSantis fiend and confidant Scott Wagner. “You have a stick up your ass, Scott,” Roe is alleged to have shouted at Wagner, according to witnesses in the room, to which Wagner fired back, taunting, “Why don’t you come over here and get it?” Wagner also reportedly rose from his chair and had to be restrained by other board members.

The incident precipitated mass resignations from the Never Back Down SuperPAC, eventually leaving Wagner in charge. Chris Jankowski, the SuperPAC’s original CEO, resigned over Thanksgiving – as did Adam Laxalt who served a chairman of Never Back Down. Kristin Davison, an employee of Jeff Roe’s Axiom Strategies and protégé of Karl Rove, served only two-weeks as interim CEO before being forced out by Wagner and the SuperPAC’s board. The chaos at the SuperPAC reached its apex last week when chief strategist Jeff Roe resigned from his role.

With just three weeks to go before the Iowa Republicans gather for the state’s 2024 presidential caucus, the collapse of Never Back Down raises serious questions regarding the viability of Ron DeSantis’s candidacy. The Florida Governor’s presidential campaign committee has received little in terms of donor support, relying instead on Never Back Down to finance the primary campaign.

Never Back Down Chairman Scott Wagner told The National Pulse on Friday: “Never Back Down is laser focused on its core mission – running the most advanced grassroots and political caucus operation in this race and helping deliver the GOP nomination for Governor DeSantis who will deliver America from the disastrous policies of the Left. We are thrilled to have Fight Right and others covering the air for Governor DeSantis while we work the ground game in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond.”

Fight Right is a new DeSantis-supporting PAC charged with placing more aggressive ads on TV, especially against Nimrata ‘Nikki’ Haley.

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11 minutes ago
War
World

U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Iranian Officials for Violently Suppressing Protests.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. announced new sanctions targeting Iranian officials and entities accused of repressing protests and engaging in shadow banking activities.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Treasury Department, Iranian officials, and entities linked to Iranian financial institutions.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Sanctions were announced on Thursday in Washington, D.C.

💬KEY QUOTE: “The U.S. supports the Iranian people’s call for freedom and justice.” – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent

🎯IMPACT: Those subjected to the sanctions are blocked from access to their U.S. assets and business.

IN FULL

The U.S. Treasury Department announced it is imposing new sanctions on Iranian officials and entities accused of violently suppressing protests against the Islamic Republic and engaging in illicit financial activities. The sanctions target the secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security, Ali Larijani, who is alleged to have called for violence against protesters.

In addition, 18 individuals and companies tied to a shadow banking network connected to Iranian financial institutions were also sanctioned. These measures block access to U.S. assets and restrict business dealings with the named parties.

“The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, adding: “At the direction of President Trump, the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown against the Iranian people. Treasury will use every tool to target those behind the regime’s tyrannical oppression of human rights.”

Along with Larijani, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders who “oversee elements of the security forces that are violently repressing the Iranian people.”

Image by Ted Eytan.

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By Popular Demand.
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25 minutes ago
News
UK

The Biggest-Ever Defection to Farage’s Reform Party Has Been Confirmed.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Former Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has confirmed his defection from the formerly governing Conservative (Tory) Party to Nigel Farage’s rising Reform Party.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Robert Jenrick, Nigel Farage, Tory leader Olukemi “Kemi” Badenoch, and the Tories’ broader leadership.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The defection was announced on Thursday, following Jenrick’s dismissal from the Shadow Cabinet by Badenoch earlier that morning.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Britain is broken. Britain needs Reform. And Reform needs you.” – Robert Jenrick

🎯IMPACT: Jenrick’s defection signals growing discontent within the Tory Party and bolsters Reform’s standing as a government-in-waiting.

IN FULL

Former Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has officially defected from Britain’s formerly governing Conservative (Tory) Party to Nigel Farage’s Reform Party, just hours after being dismissed from Tory leader Olukemi “Kemi” Badenoch’s Shadow Cabinet after evidence of the planned defection was uncovered.

Jenrick, who held a number of government positions while the Tories held office from 2010 to mid-2024, said he no longer believed the Conservative Party was capable of delivering meaningful reform, accusing it of lacking the “stomach for the radical change this country needs.” He said he was convinced that Reform, led by Farage, is now the only party able to meet the task at hand.

Speaking alongside Jenrick at a press conference, Farage welcomed the defection and joked that Badenoch deserved thanks for sacking him. “I think Rob coming will bring a lot more people and voters to us,” Farage said, describing the moment as a major step forward for his party. Notably, Jenrick placed second to Badenoch in the party’s internal leadership elections in 2024, and his popularity has increased while hers has decreased since then.

Jenrick used his speech to deliver a sharp critique of the Conservatives, arguing that their years of failure had left the country in decline. Praising Farage, he said, “Nigel has stood for the real change we need for over a decade,” and called on others to follow him to Reform. He concluded with the rallying cry: “Britain is broken. Britain needs Reform. And Reform needs you.”

Reform has been regularly topping national polls for months, and the party has claimed record membership growth, at one point overtaking the ruling Labour Party in total members. Past surveys indicate that more than half of Tory voters would back a merger or alliance with Farage’s party.

Image via Nigel Farage, X.

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By Popular Demand.
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1 hour ago
Corruption
Immigration

ICE Just Detained This Chinese Billionaire.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Cui Lijie, a Chinese national and billionaire financier behind a controversial casino in Saipan, on suspicion of immigration violations.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Cui Lijie, her son Ji Xiaobo, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Imperial Pacific International LLC.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Cui was detained on Tuesday in the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the West Pacific.

🎯IMPACT: Cui’s arrest highlights ongoing scrutiny around Chinese investment in U.S. territories and raises questions about immigration enforcement and visa policies.

IN FULL

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have detained Cui Lijie, a Chinese national and former majority shareholder of Imperial Pacific International LLC, on suspicion of immigration violations. The arrest took place in Saipan, part of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. unincorporated territory in the West Pacific.

Cui, 68, was reportedly detained by ICE’s Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations on Tuesday and is currently being held at the Department of Corrections in the village of Susupe. Local newspaper Marianas Variety reported the arrest, but ICE has not disclosed further details or announced a date for her hearing with an immigration judge.

Cui and her son Ji Xiaobo, both Chinese nationals, were instrumental in developing the Imperial Pacific Palace casino and a $600 million beachside hotel. Their ventures in the gaming industry followed their success in the junket industry in Macao, which promotes high-stakes VIP gambling experiences. However, the casino’s operations were marred by allegations of unlawful employment of Chinese illegal immigrants, safety violations, and suspected bribery of local officials.

In 2020, several executives associated with Imperial Pacific International and its contractor, MCC International Saipan, faced charges related to the illegal employment of foreign workers and the transfer of over $24 million to the United States to support unlawful activities. The casino was shut down in March 2020 and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2024, citing $165.8 million in liabilities.

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By Popular Demand.
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2 hours ago
Immigration
Politics

Noem Confirms She Has Spoken With Trump About Invoking Insurrection Act.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed discussions with President Donald J.  Trump about invoking the Insurrection Act regarding anti-ICE demonstrations in Minneapolis.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Secretary Noem, President Trump, Minnesota state authorities, and violent anti-ICE demonstrators.

📍WHEN & WHERE: Discussions occurred on Thursday concerning events in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

💬KEY QUOTE: “We did discuss the Insurrection Act. He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that.” Sec. Kristi Noem

🎯IMPACT: Trump warned he may invoke the Insurrection Act if local authorities fail to address violent anti-ICE protests effectively.

IN FULL

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem acknowledged that she has discussed with President Donald J. Trump the possibility of his invoking the Insurrection Act to quell violent anti-ICE protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Earlier on Thursday, Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that he is considering invoking the law to deploy U.S. military to the city unless Governor Tim Walz (D-MN) and local Democrat officials put an end to the violent unrest targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and personnel in the state.

“We did discuss the Insurrection Act. He certainly has the constitutional authority to utilize that,” Sec. Noem said outside the White House on Thursday, adding, “My hope is that this leadership team in Minnesota will start to work with us to get criminals off the streets. Remember, we are there and surged operations because of the largest fraud scheme in American history.”

Noem’s comments came after President Trump warned earlier in the morning, “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State.”

Civil unrest in Minneapolis has intensified in recent days following the fatal shooting of an anti-ICE activist after she attempted to run over a federal immigration officer last week. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported late Wednesday that two individuals attacked an ICE agent with a broomstick and a snow shovel during an attempted detention of a Venezuelan man. The Venezuelan man was shot in the leg during the incident.

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By Popular Demand.
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2 hours ago
Crime
News

Minnesota Daycare Worker Admits to Killing Infant for ‘Attention.’

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A former Minnesota daycare employee confessed to intentionally suffocating two children, one of whom died in September.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Former daycare employee Theah Loudemia Russell and her victims, including 11-month-old Harvey Muklebust.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The abuse occurred in September 2025 at Rocking Horse Ranch daycare in Savage, Minnesota.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Harvey was such a blessing to our family, and his death has left a tremendous hole in our hearts.” – Julie Muklebust

🎯IMPACT: Rocking Horse Ranch’s license was suspended, and Russell faces second-degree murder charges, with additional charges expected.

IN FULL

Theah Loudemia Russell, a former employee at a daycare in Savage, Minnesota, has admitted to “intentionally suffocating” two children under her care, one of whom—11-month-old Harvey Muklebust—died in September 2025. Savage Police Chief Brady Juell confirmed that Russell is currently in custody and faces a second-degree murder charge in connection with Harvey’s death, with more charges expected to be filed.

On September 22, 2025, Russell placed a 911 call from Rocking Horse Ranch daycare reporting that a child was not breathing. The infant, identified as Harvey Muklebust, was rushed to the hospital but was soon pronounced dead. At the time, Russell had been working at the facility for only about three weeks.

Investigators learned that three days earlier, police responded to the daycare after reports of a four-month-old baby found unresponsive with blood around their nose and mouth. The child had been involved in a similar incident hours prior, but the police had not been called on that occasion. Chief Juell said Russell’s actions and demeanor at the scene immediately drew suspicion, making her the focus of the investigation. Further probing revealed Russell’s prior pattern of “attention-seeking behavior”, which included making “nonsensical” 911 calls, displaying erratic conduct, and even starting fires.

In interviews with police, Russell confessed that she had suffocated both children “in an attention-seeking act.” Chief Juell stated that she “confessed to the attempted murder of our first victim on two occasions and to the murder of Harvey Muklebust.” Rocking Horse Ranch’s license was suspended on September 23, 2025

At a press conference, Harvey’s grandmother, Julie Muklebust, expressed the family’s profound loss, saying, “Harvey was such a blessing to our family, and his death has left a tremendous hole in our hearts.” A fundraiser opened by friends of the Muklebusts described him as “pure happiness and sunshine from the moment he was born,” who “filled everyone’s hearts with joy when he giggled.”

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By Popular Demand.
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3 hours ago
NatSec
World

GOP Congressman Claims Greenland Invasion Would Doom Trump Presidency.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A House Republican warned that a military invasion of Greenland by President Donald J. Trump would be “the end of his presidency.”

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Representative Don Bacon (R-NE), President Trump, and Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

📍WHEN & WHERE: Statements were made in interviews and on the Senate floor this week.

💬KEY QUOTE: “If he went through with the threats, I think it would be the end of his presidency.” – Rep. Bacon.

🎯IMPACT: Bacon suggests he would join with Democrats in a vote to impeach Trump if he takes Greenland by force, though the Nebraska Republican is retiring from Congress at the end of the current term.

IN FULL

Representative Don Bacon (R-NE)—Ukraine’s top U.S. House ally—issued a direct political threat toward President Donald J. Trump should he order a military annexation of Greenland, warning it “would be the end of his presidency.” Speaking to the Omaha World-Herald, Bacon stated he would “lean toward” voting for impeachment with House Democrats if such an action were taken.

“I’ll be candid with you. There’s so many Republicans mad about this,” Bacon claimed, adding: “If he went through with the threats, I think it would be the end of his presidency.” Bacon, who represents a swing district that went for Kamala Harris in 2024 and is a frequent critic of Trump’s America First foreign policy, has become increasingly vocal against the President as he prepares to leave Congress at the end of this term.

Meanwhile, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also criticized the idea, addressing the matter on the Senate floor on Wednesday. “It’s about whether the United States intends to face a constellation of strategic adversaries with capable friends—or commit an unprecedented act of strategic self-harm and go it alone,” McConnell said, adding that such a move would be “more disastrous for the President’s legacy than withdrawing from Afghanistan was for his predecessor.”

Yesterday, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with a delegation from Greenland and its sovereign, Denmark, regarding the U.S. push to acquire the Arctic island. Following the meeting at the White House, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen described the talks as “frank but also constructive,” though he stated that “fundamental” differences remain.

Notably, President Trump said last Friday that the United States will acquire Greenland whether Denmark “likes it or not.” However, when pressed on whether he meant his administration would use military force to seize the island during a press event in the Oval Office, Trump downplayed the idea of an invasion, saying, “No, you’re saying that. I didn’t say it. You’re telling me that that’s what I’m going to do—you don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Image by Ville Miettinen.

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By Popular Demand.
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4 hours ago
Immigration
Lawfare

Trump Is Praising a Biden Judge’s ICE Ruling, Here’s Why…

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: A federal judge declined to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Donald J. Trump, U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D).

📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued late Wednesday, with President Trump praising the decision early Thursday morning.

💬KEY QUOTE: “A highly respected judge declined to block I.C.E. operations in the very politically corrupt State of Minnesota. I.C.E. will therefore be allowed to continue its highly successful operation of removing some of the most violent and vicious criminals anywhere in the World, many of them murderers, from the State.” – Donald Trump.

🎯IMPACT: ICE operations in Minnesota will continue, with Trump praising law enforcement efforts to ensure public safety.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump on Thursday praised U.S. District Court Judge Katherine Menendez’s decision not to issue an immediate temporary restraining order (TRO) against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Minnesota. On Monday, Democrat Governor Tim Walz’s administration filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeking to halt its immigration enforcement actions in the state and requesting an emergency TRO as litigation proceeds.

“A highly respected judge declined to block I.C.E. operations in the very politically corrupt State of Minnesota. I.C.E. will therefore be allowed to continue its highly successful operation of removing some of the most violent and vicious criminals anywhere in the World, many of them murderers, from the State,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding: “The great patriots of Law Enforcement will continue to make our Country safe. RECORD LOW CRIME NUMBERS!!!”

Judge Menendez—a Joe Biden appointee—stated that she was disinclined to issue the TRO before first hearing the Trump administration’s response to the lawsuit. However, she stressed her decision to decline the request “should not be taken as a prejudgment of the merits of either the plaintiff’s case or the anticipated defense that may be raised by the United States.”

“It is simply observing that these are grave and important matters and that they are somewhat frontier issues in constitutional law,” the judge added. Menendez requested that the Trump administration respond to Minnesota’s lawsuit by January 19 and that Gov. Walz file a reply by January 22.

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4 hours ago
Immigration
Media
News

Diddy/Epstein-Linked Network Tries to Dox ICE Agents LIVE on Camera.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: Sensitive documents looted from a government vehicle were publicly exposed on a MeidasTouch livestream on Wednesday, showing the full names, contact information, and other personal details of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and other officials connected to immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: MeidasTouch, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), FBI agents, and anti-ICE agitators.

📍WHEN & WHERE: During a disorderly protest on Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where abandoned ICE vehicles were looted.

💬KEY QUOTE: “One of the ICE agent vehicles got broken into, and I found this paperwork.” – Meidas Touch livestreamer

🎯IMPACT: MeidasTouch’s actions leave federal agents at personal risk and undermine federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

IN FULL

Sensitive documents belonging to federal agents were exposed by the far-left MeidasTouch organization on Wednesday, after documents looted from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle were shown on a livestream. It had been abandoned amid aggressive protests by anti-ICE agitators in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“One of the ICE agent vehicles got broken into, and I found this paperwork. It has a list with FBI operation info; it’s got full names of FBI agents, phone numbers, emails, there’s maps on where they’re staying, where they’re holding immigrants,” said MeidasTouch’s correspondent, leafing through the documents on camera.

“There’s hotel names in there. There’s judge names. This paperwork has people’s full names and their emails,” she stressed again, going on to show “a map showing you where they’re taking immigration targets and instructions on how to get into the building and what they’re supposed to do on booking.”

MeidasTouch doxing officials connected to immigration enforcement leaves them at considerable personal risk, with cartel gangsters already having put bounties on the lives of immigration agents, such as Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino.

MeidasTouch Editor-in-Chief Ron Filipkowski likened his work to “dropping a burning ember in a dry forest” and creating a “big blaze” in 2024, while urging Democrats to spread “deceptive posts” on social media. The organization’s founders are brothers Jordan, Brett, and Ben Meiselas, the last of whom got started in politics working for Sean “Diddy” Combs and Hillary Clinton.

Reid Hoffman, the Democrat megadonor and Epstein Island visitor, was an early financial backer of MeidasTouch. Notably, Hoffman’s visit to Jeffrey Epstein’s private island—officially Little Saint James—came in 2014, years after the financier was convicted of procuring a child for prostitution. Hoffman later admitted that “by lending my association, I helped [Epstein’s] reputation, and thus delayed justice for his survivors.”

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5 hours ago
War

WAR? Trump Redeploys Carrier Strike Group to Middle East.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) has been ordered to redeploy to the Middle East in response to escalating tensions with Iran.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, U.S. Navy, U.S. Central Command, and President Donald J. Trump.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The redeployment follows recent operations in the South China Sea; the carrier will take approximately one week to reach the Middle East.

🎯IMPACT: The Lincoln will substantially boost U.S. Central Command’s offensive capabilities in the Middle East, as President Trump warns the Iranian regime that he will intervene to prevent the killing of protesters.

IN FULL

President Donald J. Trump has ordered the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) aircraft carrier to be redeployed to the Middle East amid the possibility of U.S. military strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Supreme Leader, Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Lincoln, a nuclear-powered Nimitz–class supercarrier, has been operating in the South China Sea since late last year.

Satellite images showed the USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying strike group sailing past the Philippines on Wednesday. It is expected to take the strike force around one week to reach U.S. Central Command’s area of operations in the Middle East.

The aircraft carrier left San Diego in late November last year, with the Pentagon initially declining to disclose its area of deployment. Subsequently, the USS Abraham Lincoln joined a large U.S. naval contingent in the Indo-Pacific in response to increasing Chinese military activity in the region, and conducted live-fire exercises last week as part of its routine operations.

The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group includes the supercarrier itself, Carrier Air Wing 9, and several Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, such as USS Spruance (DDG 111), USS Michael Murphy (DDG-112), and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121). Additionally, a fast-attack nuclear-powered submarine typically accompanies such groups, though details remain classified for operational security.

Previously, President Trump shifted the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group from the Middle East to the Caribbean, as part of ongoing strikes against Central and South American drug cartels, and the U.S. operation earlier this month in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of now-former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro. The redeployment of the Lincoln will leave the Indo-Pacific region with a temporarily reduced carrier presence, where the USS George Washington (CVN-75), based in Japan, is undergoing maintenance, while other carriers, including USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71), are either returning from or preparing for deployments.

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5 hours ago
Immigration
Lawfare

Appeals Court Reopens Trump Deportation Case Against Pro-Hamas Activist.

PULSE POINTS

❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court decision ordering the release of pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil, effectively reopening the Trump administration’s deportation case against him and the possibility of his detention.

👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Mahmoud Khalil, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Judges Thomas Hardiman, Stephanos Bibas, and Arianna J. Freeman.

📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was handed down on January 15, 2026.

💬KEY QUOTE: “Did the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) strip the New Jersey District Court of subject matter jurisdiction? It did.” – Court ruling

🎯IMPACT: The ruling marks a significant setback for Khalil, while highlighting the administration’s stance against foreign pro-Hamas agitators.

IN FULL

A federal appeals court on Thursday reopened the Trump administration’s deportation proceedings against pro-Hamas activist and former Columbia University graduate student, Mahmoud Khalil. In a two-to-one decision, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit found that the New Jersey District Court Judge Michael E. Farbiarz was not the appropriate authority to rule on Khalil’s petition for release.

“The first question presented is whether the New Jersey District Court had jurisdiction over Khalil’s habeas petition. We hold that it did,” the majority opinion states, continuing: “Our conclusion about habeas jurisdiction requires us to answer a second question: Did the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) strip the New Jersey District Court of subject matter jurisdiction? It did.”

“Because the INA channels ‘[j]udicial review of all questions of law . . . arising from any action taken or proceeding brought to remove an alien from the United States’ into a single petition for review filed with a federal court of appeals, we hold that the District Court lacked jurisdiction over Khalil’s removal proceedings,” the ruling concludes, before ordering Khalil’s habeas petition vacated and dismissed.

Appellate Judges Thomas Hardiman (a Bush appointee) and Stephanos Bibas (a Trump appointee), who made up the Third Circuit panel’s majority, stated that Khalil’s attorneys should first seek legal redress through the federal immigration court system and, only once that avenue is exhausted, file the habeas petition with the federal district court. Judge Arianna J. Freeman (a Biden appointee) dissented, contending that Khalil’s claims of government violations of his fundamental rights should not be dismissed without judicial review.

The ruling is a significant blow to Khalil and his legal team, after his release from federal custody in March of last year. While an appeal is likely, the ruling—for now—transfers the proceedings to the U.S. immigration court system and could result in Khalil being returned to federal custody as his deportation case continues.

Image by SWinxy.

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