Books Young Adult Spotlight Most Anticipated Young Adult SFF/H for November & December 2024 High-stakes gambling, aspiring vampire hunters, and time traveling candy are in this season’s new YA titles. By Alex Brown | Published on December 3, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share The end of the year is a pretty slow time for traditional publishing when it comes to young adult speculative fiction. No new trends to report, so fans of vampires and romantasy, this is still your rodeo. That said, there are also some interesting things happening with historical fantasy. The pickings get slim in November and December, but there’s still plenty to get excited about. Here are the twelve YA science fiction, fantasy, and horror books coming up that I’m eagerly awaiting. Past Is Present Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez (Secrets of the Nile #2)The last book in the Secrets of the Nile duology opens in Egypt in 1885. Inez is torn between wanting her independence and the social expectations of a respectable woman. Tío Ricardo says she must either marry or return to Argentina, and Whit Hayes is the only viable option. He wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to her—that would be the murder of her cousin Elvira in the previous book—but he’s not exactly trustworthy. Inez must wade through secrets coming from all corners to get to the truth. (Wednesday Books; November 5, 2024) When the Mapou Sings by Nadine PinedeThis magical realism novel-in-verse is set in 1934 Haiti. Lucille and her best friend Fifina’s dreams of opening a secular school for girls is shattered when Fifina is forced to marry the local section chief. Lucille is shipped off, first to Port-au-Prince where she works as a maid for a wealthy woman. After her secret relationship with Madame Ovide’s rebellious son is exposed, she’s sent away again, this time to work as a maid for Zora Neale Hurston. Throughout it all, Lucille is guided by her dreams and the singing mapou trees growing across Haiti. (Candlewick Press; December 3, 2024) We Are the Beasts by Gigi GriffisIn the tiny French village of Mende in 1765, Joséphine and Clara have had it up to here with men behaving badly. On top of all the patriarchal bs they have to deal with on the daily, a beast has come to the Gévaudan region, and it is going after young women. The girls decide to use the beast as cover for escape. They stage their deaths and hide out in an abandoned house nearby. But the monster isn’t keen to let them go anymore than the men they fled are. The bodies, real and fake, pile up and the threats close in. (Delacorte Press; December 10, 2024) A Darker Shade of Magic Dead Girls Don’t Dream by Nino CipriRiley knows to never enter the Voynich Woods. People who go missing in there are never seen again. When her little sister runs off in search of a Wishing Tree, Riley runs after her and ends up lost herself. Then she ends up dead, murdered in some kind of arcane ritual by masked figures. Madelyn longs to escape from under the thumb of her helicopter mom. She gets the chance to tap into her powerful magic when she resurrects Riley. But her magic binds them together in unexpected ways. The two girls—and the ghost of another dead girl—try to expose the Woods’ dark secrets. (Henry Holt & Company; November 12, 2024) Fortune’s Kiss by Amber ClementFortune’s Kiss is a traveling gambling hall, and for the first time in ten years, it has arrived in Ciudad Milagro, the hometown of Mayté and Lorena. Each girl has big dreams. Mayté wants to redeem herself after her alcoholic father disgraced her family and ruined the power they had worked so hard to acquire. Lo wants to escape her abusive father and the unwanted marriage he’s forcing her into. Winning the Lotería is their best chance, assuming they don’t die while playing. The strange man behind the game, Misterioso, wants them to lose. Can the girls survive long enough to fight each other for victory? (Union Square & Co.; November 12, 2024) Genre-benders Streetlight People by Charlene ThomasKady is a Have-Not, and her boyfriend, Nik, is not just a Have-Lot but a member of the ultra exclusive IV Boys. Nik heads off to college, leaving Kady behind and vulnerable. Only Aaron, another IV Boy, steps up to defend her. That’s when the rumors start. At a Halloween carnival, Kady wins a bag of magic candy that allows her to travel in time. Missing Nik and frustrated by the accusations of her cheating with Aaron, Kady jumps back and forth in time, complicating things even more. If nothing else, comping it to Twin Peaks and Black Mirror is enough to intrigue me. (Dutton Books for Young Readers; November 5, 2024) Dust by Alison StineBorn hard of hearing, Thea’s parents impress upon her the importance of passing as a hearing person. They also yanked her out of school, moved to a dead land with no water and disastrous blizzards, and refused to let her communicate with her old friends, so they don’t exactly have the best judgment when it comes to good parenting. At the cafe where they let her work, she meets Ray, who is Deaf. They grow closer as he secretly teaches her ASL. But the violence and climate crisis outside their little teenage bubble comes crashing down on them. (Wednesday Books; December 3, 2024) Interview with a Vampire Keep It In The Dark by Justin ArnoldRowan, the son of the headmaster of the elite boarding school Mockingbird Prep, is the most popular kid on campus. Casper, a newly turned vampire, has just been adopted by vampiric royalty. They promise him a trip to Europe to meet other vampires…but first he has to finish high school. Casper and Rowan end up sharing a dorm room and tensions flair. Rowan tries not to think about how cute his roomie is and Casper tries not to think about draining his new nemesis dry. Enemies-to-lovers but with a YA vampire twist. (Tiny Ghost Press; December 3, 2024) A Cruel Thirst by Angela MontoyaIt’s the 1830s and vampires are everywhere. After his family are killed by vampiros, Lalo goes on a foolhardy mission to avenge them and ends up getting turned into a bloodsucker himself. Carolina wants nothing more than to be a vampire hunter, but her patriarchal family keeps shoving her to the side. Carolina stumbles on Lalo devouring an animal, but instead of introducing him to Mr. Pointy, sparks fly. The teens pair up to help Lalo find a cure and for Carolina to find a way to get rid of vamipiros altogether. (Joy Revolution; December 17, 2024) Take Back the Throne Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao (Iron Widow #2)It’s been a long 3 years for fans of the Iron Widow series, but hardly any time has passed for Zetian. She may have finally secured the throne, but she isn’t in charge. Zetian must also share that power with a dangerous dude. Although they have the same goal—fix Huaxia so it’s a less awful place to live—each go about it in a way the other disagrees with. Get ready for tons of court politics and high-stakes action. (Tundra Books; December 24, 2024) Folklore and Mythology I Am the Dark That Answers When You Call by Jamison Shea (I Feed Her to the Beast #2)Laure, the former prima ballerina, is still in Paris and partying hard enough to drown out her thoughts about the consequences of her monstrous choices in the first book. Bound to the god Acheron, her pact cost the life of her best friend. Now Elysium, seething below Paris, is collapsing, and the chaos has spread to the streets above. Laure must decide just how much of a monster she really is. (Henry Holt & Company; November 12, 2024) Our Deadly Designs by Kalyn Josephson (This Dark Descent #2)This Jewish folklore inspired duology comes to a close. Mikira and her golem horse are off with the rebels searching for the lost heir to the kingdom. Now the ruler of the House Adair, Damien has his sights set on the throne, an act of hubris that could lose him everyone he cares about. Ari is at Damien’s side; after learning the terrible truth about where her magic comes from, she’s caught between trying to rid herself of her power and keeping Damien honest. The trio will reunite to face an even greater threat to Enderlain. (Roaring Brook Press; November 12, 2024) The post Most Anticipated Young Adult SFF/H for November & December 2024 appeared first on Reactor.

THE CENTER SQUARE—A panel of three judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Texas in a lawsuit filed over its concertina wire barriers. The court ruled 2-1 on Monday in a case that may set the tone for two other cases before the court related to Texas’ border security operations. Circuit Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote for the majority, with Judge Don Willett joining him. Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez dissented, arguing Texas did not meet “its burden to show a waiver of sovereign immunity or a likelihood of success on the merits.” (Duncan and Willett are appointees of then-President Donald Trump. Ramirez is an appointee of President Joe Biden.) The ruling was issued 13 months after Texas sued the Biden administration after it destroyed concertina wire barriers it erected on state land. The court was asked to decide whether Border Patrol agents can legally cut concertina wire fencing erected by Texas law enforcement along its border with Mexico. The Biden administration ordered Teas Gov. Greg Abbott to remove it, arguing he was interfering with federal immigration operations. Abbott refused, arguing that the administration was facilitating illegal entry and violating federal law. In response, the administration ordered Border Patrol agents to use a bulldozer and remove wire fencing. Abbott sued, arguing they were destroying Texas property and that Texas has the legal authority to erect barriers on state land. Texas requested the district court to issue an injunction to block Border Patrol agents from removing the fencing, which it denied despite agreeing with Texas’ arguments. The court “agreed with Texas on the facts: not only was Border Patrol unhampered by the wire, but its agents had breached the wire numerous times ‘for no apparent purpose other than to allow migrants easier entrance further inland,’” the 5th Circuit’s 75-page ruling states. However, it denied Texas’ request arguing the federal government had sovereign immunity. 5th Circuit Ruling- Texas Razor WireDownload Texas next appealed to the 5th Circuit, which granted the injunction pending appeal. The Biden administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which vacated the injunction without any stated reason. The Supreme Court’s ruling didn’t deter Texas, which continued building and erecting concertina wire in the Eagle Pass area, and later established the military base for Texas’ border security mission, Operation Lone Star, there. Operation Lone Star officers also expanded concertina wire barriers in other key areas along its border. “The Texas National Guard continues to hold the line in Eagle Pass,” Abbott said at the time. “Texas will not back down from our efforts to secure the border in Biden’s absence.” The three-judge panel ruled that Texas “is entitled to a preliminary injunction.” The ruling states that the Biden administration “clearly waived sovereign immunity as to Texas’s state law claims under § 702 of the Administrative Procedure Act,” which it says “is supported by a flood of uncontradicted circuit precedent to which the United States has no answer.” The 5th Circuit also rejected other Biden administration arguments, including that Texas was erecting barriers to safeguard its own property, not to “regulate Border Patrol.” The ruling reversed the district court’s judgment and granted Texas’ preliminary injunction. The court also prohibited the federal government from “damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s c-wire fence in the vicinity of Eagle Pass,” including Shelby Park, which Abbott shut down after learning that the Biden administration was using it as a staging ground to facilitate illegal entry into the U.S. Abbott lauded the 5th Circuit ruling, saying, “The federal court of appeals just ruled that Texas has the right to build the razor wire border wall that we have constructed to deny illegal entry into our state and that Biden was wrong to cut our razor wire. We continue adding more razor wire border barrier.” Attorney General Ken Paxton also said the ruling was a “huge win for Texas.” “The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing. We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.” With just seven weeks left in the Biden administration, the concertina wire barrier case is unlikely to be appealed for a full court review. In May, the court is scheduled to hear arguments on a lawsuit related to Texas’ marine barriers in the Rio Grande River, unless the case is dropped by the incoming Trump administration. Another case before the court is over Texas’ border security law, SB 4. Originally published by the CenterSquare.com The post Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Texas in Razor Wire Case appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson has issued a warning against what he describes as pro-censorship advertising cartels, suggesting they may be in violation of US antitrust laws. In a pointed statement, Ferguson expressed his hope that the Trump-era Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would investigate these cartels for potentially suppressing competition and free speech. In an interview with Natalie Winters of Bannon’s War Room, Ferguson said: “So generally, under our antitrust laws, private companies can sort of decide what they’d like to do with their own resources. But one of the most important things the antitrust laws forbid is people getting in a room and agreeing we’re not going to compete.” He elaborated that if advertisers are “getting in a room together and saying, hey, let’s all agree not to advertise on this platform because we don’t like that they have free speech on that platform,” then these actions could potentially violate antitrust laws. Ferguson also addressed the issue of government interference with content on tech platforms. “When the government picks up the phone and calls X or YouTube or Instagram or whatever and says, I need you to take this thing down, the government can forbid its own officials from doing that,” he stated, urging the Trump administration to enact direct orders to halt such practices. Highlighting the fundamental need for free speech, Ferguson noted, “And it is never in the interest of the American people to censor their speech. This country depends on all of us being able to share our ideas. And bad speech doesn’t go away because of censorship. The only way to counter misinformation is real information.” The Commissioner’s statements underline a critical call to action for both governmental and advertising entities to reconsider their practices and ensure they align with the principles of competition and free speech. The recent re-engagement with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and the intensifying scrutiny from the US Congress have thrown this World Economic Forum-affiliated initiative back into the spotlight. GARM, established by the World Federation of Advertisers, claims to safeguard “brand safety” for over 150 of the world’s largest brands and more than 60 advertiser associations. However, the initiative is now facing serious accusations from various sectors, suggesting that GARM’s activities might extend beyond simple brand protection to encompass the suppression of certain viewpoints through financial pressures such as demonetization and boycotts. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a vocal critic of the practices within GARM, has escalated his efforts to investigate these allegations. After initial inquiries were reportedly disregarded last year, the Committee resorted to issuing subpoenas to several key members of the GARM Steering Team, including prominent figures from Unilever and GroupM. The inquiries aim to uncover evidence of bias that could contravene antitrust laws, specifically targeting how these corporations may be colluding to censor and financially harm creators and media outlets that express disfavored views. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post FTC Commissioner Urges Investigation into Pro-Censorship Ad Cartels for Antitrust Violations appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

Three Guesses Who Said, 'All Hell to Pay' Unless Hostages Released by Inauguration

After having spent Monday morning and evening predictably defending and spinning President Joe Biden’s pardon of his scandal-ridden son Hunter, ABC News waved goodbye to this story all together on its flagship (and superficial) morning show Good Morning America. In contrast, CBS Mornings and NBC’s Today kept up the pressure, acknowledging the hullabaloo. All three networks had segments continuing the blatant smear campaign against Pentagon pick Pete Hegseth, but CBS and NBC found time to pile on the President. “Blowback from both parties as President Biden faces criticism for the pardon of his son Hunter,” CBS co-host Tony Dokoupil declared the show’s Eye Opener.     In the lead-in to congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane’s piece, Dokoupil added Biden’s “really hearing it, facing some serious criticism from both parties” with “some Democrats...saying it could undermine trust in the judicial system, not to mention Biden’s legacy.” MacFarlane admitted “there is strong reaction” to the “political storm” Biden “has kicked up” on his way to Africa for the pardon of his son to keep him from prison. “The President left behind the political earthquake he triggered in Washington with several fellow Democrats blasting the President’s choice...Some calling the pardon ‘unwise’ and ‘improper,’ adding he ‘put personal interest ahead of duty,’” he added in quoting reactions from Senate Democrats Michael Bennet (CO), Gary Peters (MI), and Pete Welch (VT) ahead of sound from moderate Republican Senators Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK). NBC was even more blunt. Co-host Hoda Kotb teased a full story on the “growing fallout” stemming from “that controversial decision” in which Biden “went back on his word.” Nonetheless, CBS and NBC continued their refusal to call President Biden or his administration liars for going back on their words. Senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez did everything but call him a liar: “This morning, while President Biden is on a three-day trip to Africa, the firestorm over his full and unconditional pardon of his son is growing, even amongst some Democrats.”     For his clips, he used Democratic Congressmen Daniel Goldman (NY) and Greg Stanton (AZ) and noted that, “[f]or months, the President and his team had repeatedly insisted Hunter Biden would not be pardon.” He also shared NBC’s reporting that Biden had been contemplating this since at least June and committed to saying one thing in public while doing another to keep his son out of prison and any possible charges relating to Burisma (click “expand”): GUTIERREZ: But NBC News has learned he had discussed it with some of his closest aides at least since his son’s conviction in June. That’s according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. They also said it was decided at the time that the President would public say that he would not pardon his son, even though doing so remained on the table. The White House now denying that reporting, reiterating the decision was made this past weekend. TUBERVILLE: If it was my son, I would pardon him, too. But here’s what I didn’t like. Don’t lie to us. Don’t tell us you are not going to do it and then do it. GUTIERREZ: The President writing that he believes in the justice system, but also believes “raw politics has infected this process.” The blanket pardon covers not only Hunter Biden’s felony convictions on firearms charges and tax evasion, but also includes any offenses dating back to January 2014, months before he joined the board of a Ukrainian energy company while his father was Vice President. Gutierrez would later conclude with the observation that “just days ago, Hunter Biden’s defense team released a lengthy document outlining why it believed that the process had been politicized and that language mirrored some of what President Biden laid out.” How convenient! To see the relevant transcripts from December 3, click here (for CBS) and here (for NBC).

On Saturday afternoon, CNN aired a totally one-sided report by correspondent Gabe Cohen on a couple who fled Missouri for Maryland to make sure their 12-year-old "transgender daughter" can access puberty blockers, aka "gender-affirming care."  After reading a brief about the U.S. Supreme Court planning to take a case to decide whether Tennessee can ban gender transitions for children, CNN host Fredricka Whitfield used all the leftist lingo about "the health care she needs."  When Missouri banned transgender care for minors, one family left the state to find a place for their 12-year-old transgender daughter, but President-elect Trump's promise to roll back transgender rights has them wondering if their child will be able to get the health care she needs. CNN's Gabe Cohen has more. Reporter Gabe Cohen began by showing a clip of himself speaking with the 12-year-old in question, whose face was obscured and was referred to by "Katie," which isn't her actual transgender name of choice. Displaying a Pride flag, "Katie" said "This shows to the world that I don't want to hide and pretend to be someone else." Cohen soon recalled: "Twelve-year-old Katie and her family moved across the country last year to flee state restrictions on their daughter's rights." Then came clips of the parents Sarah and Erez Haluf, complaining about those who oppose transgenderism: SARAH HALUF, MOTHER OF TRANSGENDER CHILD: I don't have the answer of why people hate her and have never met her. Where is Katie allowed to exist? How is she allowed to exist? EREZ HALUF, FATHER OF TRANSGENDER CHILD: Is she allowed to exist? No one wants the child dead, despite the dramatic presentation. After a soundbite of Trump speaking out against trying to change a child's gender, Cohen went on to suggest that Republicans were liars in how they have campaigned against Democrats on the issue: COHEN: Transgender rights have become one of the biggest flashpoints in this country's culture wars, marked in many cases by lies and flat-out conspiracies. DONALD TRUMP (on Fox & Friends): There are some places, your boy leaves the school, comes back a girl. CLIP OF AD: Kamala supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners. It's not a lie that Kamala supported taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners. It's there on tape, in the ad!  After showing another clip of Trump opposing transgenderism, the parents were seen complaining again about how Republicans are handling the issue: EREZ HALUF: This is 100 percent BS. SARAH HALUF: It's sowing fear, and then, by doing that, you're sowing hate. And all of this comes back to people like our child. We thought that by leaving Missouri and coming to Maryland, that we would be safe. And now we're being threatened with anti-trans legislation at a federal level. Nearing the end of the piece, the CNN reporter brought up the possibility that, if Trump is successful in passing a federal law against "gender affirming care" for children, the family may leave America and seek asylum in Canada: COHEN: So families like Katie's are trying to prepare for what's ahead, even drafting an asylum application. SARAH HALUF: We have to start thinking about a backup pan. EREZ HALUF: If push comes to shove, we will need to go north. We will go to Canada. COHEN: What would it take for your family to say, "We need to leave this country"? SARAH HALUF: The federal health care ban would likely be the moment we'd know it's time to leave here. Transcript follows: CNN Newsroom with Fredricka Whitfield November 30, 2024 2:07 p.m. Eastern FREDRICKA WHITFIELD: All right, next week, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a potentially explosive case involving transgender care. The case centers on a Tennessee law enacted last year banning puberty blockers and hormone treatments for children. Critics say the law injects the state into family medical decisions and overrides parental rights. When Missouri banned transgender care for minors, one family left the state to find a place for their 12-year-old transgender daughter, but President-elect Trump's promise to roll back transgender rights has them wondering if their child will be able to get the health care she needs. CNN's Gabe Cohen has more. GABE COHEN: So what am I looking at here? "KATIE" (ANONYMOUS TRANSGENDER CHILD): My Pride flag. This shows to the world that I don't want to hide and pretend to be someone else. I want to be me. SARAH HALUF, MOTHER OF TRANSGENDER CHILD Our child should have the same rights as any other child. Because she's transgender, doesn't make her any different. COHEN: Twelve-year-old Katie and her family moved across the country last year to flee state restrictions on their daughter's rights. At her parents' request, we're not showing her face, and we're using an alternate name. SARAH HALUF: I don't have the answer of why people hate her and have never met her. Where is Katie allowed to exist? EREZ HALUF, FATHER OF TRANSGENDER CHILD: Is she allowed to exist? PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP: We won't be changing your children's gender with their transgender craziness. COHEN: Transgender rights have become one of the biggest flashpoints in this country's culture wars, marked in many cases by lies and flat-out conspiracies. TRUMP (on Fox & Friends): There are some places, your boy leaves the school, comes back a girl. CLIP OF AD: Kamala supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners. COHEN: Republicans support more than $200 million on anti-trans ads before the election CLIP OF AD: Kamala is for "they/them" -- Trump is for you. EREZ HALUF: This is 100 percent BS. SARAH HALUF: It's sowing fear, and then, by doing that, you're sowing hate. And all of this comes back to people like our child. We thought that by leaving Missouri and coming to Maryland, that we would be safe. And now we're being threatened with anti-trans legislation at a federal level. COHEN: At least 26 states, including Missouri, have passed restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. SARAH HALUF: This was their final protest in Jefferson City. We did everything we could to fight this, and there was nothing that we could do to change their minds. We moved to Maryland to be able to access gender-affirming care for Katie. What that looks like is therapy services -- it's clothing -- it's haircuts. And, at this age, it is a hormone blocker to prevent her from going through puberty. KATIE: This is my hormone blocker right here. COHEN: Could that treatment be reversed at some point? SARAH HALUF: Yes, absolutely. It's really a pause button. Katie gets more time to live in the body that she has now. TRUMP: On day one, I will revoke Joe Biden's cruel policies on so-called gender-affirming care. COHEN: Trump has promised federal restrictions on transgender rights, including far stricter rights about gender-affirming care, especially for minors. One trans rights organization saw a nearly 700 percent increase in calls to their crisis hotline after the election. What would happen if your daughter didn't get that care? SARAH HALUF: She would end up going through puberty, and it would be traumatizing to her to see all of those things happen to her body. COHEN: I know you get some treatment from doctors, from other care. What would happen if you didn't get that? KATIE: I would be upset and scared. EREZ HALUF: In the LGBT community, the suicide rate is high for those who are not being supported by their caregivers. SARAH HALUF: We want her to survive childhood. COHEN: So families like Katie's are trying to prepare for what's ahead, even drafting an asylum application. SARAH HALUF: We have to start thinking about a backup pan. EREZ HALUF: If push comes to shove, we will need to go north. We will go to Canada. COHEN: What would it take for your family to say, "We need to leave this country." SARAH HALUF: The federal health care ban would likely be the moment we'd know it's time to leave here. COHEN: What does this symbolize to you? KATIE: Freedom and rights. This proves that everybody has their own rights to be themselves. WHITFIELD: Gabe Cohen, thank you so much for that report.

The leftwing media meltdown over President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks intensified this week with the news that he would appoint Kash Patel, the former Chief of Staff to the Defense Secretary, to replace sitting FBI Director Chris Wray. Journalists applied all the same lazy, nebulous labels to Patel that they had to other nominees, including “loyalist,” “disruptor,” “unqualified,” and the like. But their panic over him specifically goes far further than that. Rather, they appear genuinely afraid that Patel might actually do what he’s said he would: aggressively root out and prosecute corruption at the hitherto unaccountable agency. Considering the relationships that these networks have with career intelligence agency bureaucrats, it’s no wonder as to why. Over the last decade and a half, channels like CNN and MSNBC have hired a slew of former Obama-era Justice Department officials, many of whom were integral members of what someone like Patel would call the “deep state.”     For nearly a decade now, CNN has retained disgraced former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper as a paid contributor, as well as former Deputy FBI Director Andy McCabe, among others. Meanwhile, MSNBC has extended cozy contributor contracts to the likes of former CIA Director John Brennan. Various shows on that network also make a habit of inviting on guests like Peter Stork and Andrew Weissman. These are the sort of people (and in some cases, the actual people) who signed the bogus “51 former intelligence officials say Hunter Biden’s laptop is Russian disinformation” letter. It’s all very swampy. Since Saturday, these same alphabet agency denizens-turned-propagandists have been all over CNN and MSNBC, issuing dire warnings about how very “dangerous” Kash Patel’s nomination is for America. Unfortunately for these swamp creatures and their media enablers, this is the exact kind of behavior that got Trump elected to begin with. When all the wrong people are railing this aggressively against a Presidential appointment, it starts to look like a ringing endorsement not just of Patel himself, but of the idea that perhaps his stated mission has some merit.

The U.S. Secret Service said one agent was involved in a shooting outside of the home of Janet Yellen, the secretary of the treasury, overnight. The agent assigned to Yellen's home in Washington, D.C., confronted several people who were trying to open doors of cars in Yellen's neighborhood at about 1:30 a.m., according to a statement from Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. 'There is currently no evidence to indicate anyone was struck.' "The agent discharged their service weapon, but there is currently no evidence to indicate anyone was struck," he added. "The suspects fled the scene in the sedan, and a lookout was issued to local law enforcement."He said there was no threat to Yellen during the incident, and she was not harmed. "The officer involved shooting incident is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department Internal Affairs Division's Force Investigations Team, which investigates all law enforcement officer involved shootings in the District of Columbia," he concluded. Yellen will be replaced by hedge fund manager Scott Bessent if he is approved by the Senate. Yellen has been criticized for inflation during her time at the treasury. In March, she said she regretted claiming that inflation would be "transitory" after it continued to linger and damage Americans' budgets. Bessent has been criticized by some on the right for his ties to billionaire leftist George Soros, but his supporters praise Bessent as a defender of the free market and opponent of deficit spending.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

War Thunder’s Firebirds update is huge, even by War Thunder standards. Additional vehicles will dominate the land, sea, and sky, some of which come with sneaky new abilities. Portable ammunition boxes will shake up how you reload in the heat of battle, and new mechanics will help you perfect your tactics. Plus, thanks to new ray tracing capabilities and some significant visual overhauls, you get to test these new toys in. Continue reading War Thunder gets bigger (and more beautiful) in the behemoth Firebirds update MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best free Steam games, Tank games, War Thunder system requirements

Black Ops 6 Season 1 Reloaded is almost here, and despite meaning to be a mid-season top-up of content, it is absolutely crammed. There are new multiplayer maps and weapons, events, a Christmas makeover for Nuketown, and much more, but the headline feature is absolutely Citadelle des Morts - Black Ops 6’s third round-based Zombies map. From teasers, it already sounded like an epic new Zombies experience, but after seeing everything that’s been revealed about it in today’s big Season 1 Reloaded info dump, I think it may end up being even better than Terminus and Liberty Falls. Continue reading Black Ops 6’s new Zombies map Citadelle des Morts looks like its best yet MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Black Ops 6 guns, Black Ops 6 missions, Black Ops 6 loadouts