President Trump had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday following his victory in the 2024 election. According to Axios, Elon Musk joined the call. *TRUMP, ZELENSKIY DID NOT DISCUSS FUTURE AID ON CALL: AXIOS *ELON MUSK JOINED TRUMP'S CALL WITH ZELENSKY: AXIOS — zerohedge (@zerohedge) November 8, 2024 “The new details of the call underscore how influential Musk could be in the second Trump administration, and the uncertainty over how exactly Trump will approach Ukraine,” Axios noted. Breaking News: President-elect Donald Trump put Elon Musk on the phone during a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. It’s not clear what they discussed. https://t.co/47BtleWCbC — The New York Times (@nytimes) November 8, 2024 Per Axios: Trump’s public messages throughout the election campaign — promising a quick resolution to the war, declining to say which side he wanted to win and criticizing the massive aid packages flowing from Washington — raised alarm bells in Kyiv and throughout Europe. The Biden administration is now looking for ways to get as much military assistance as possible to Ukraine ahead of Jan. 20, when Trump could turn off the spigot. But the private conversations Trump and his team have had with Zelensky and his advisers over the last two months — including on Wednesday — were somewhat more reassuring to the Ukrainians, the sources say. Zelensky himself felt the fact that the call happened so soon after Trump was declared the winner was a positive sign, one of the sources told Axios. Trump has yet to speak with Vladimir Putin since the election, but the Russian president said he will pick up if Trump calls. JUST IN: Elon Musk joined President-elect Donald Trump's call with Ukrainian President Zelensky to discuss ending the war with Russia. pic.twitter.com/i6epfcYVZ5 — BRICS News (@BRICSinfo) November 8, 2024 The call reportedly lasted about 25 minutes. Axios noted that Musk said he will continue supporting Ukraine through his Starlink satellites. BREAKING: Elon Musk joined Trump's call with Zelensky. They did not discuss aid, per Axios. — unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) November 8, 2024 From the New York Post: Zelensky later issued a statement describing his call with Trump as “excellent” and congratulating the former president for his “historic landslide victory. “We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering U.S. leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X. The three-way call underscored just how close Musk is with Trump — and could indicate that the Tesla CEO will have a large role to play in the GOPer’s administration. The two men were pictured having lunch at Mar-a-Lago together Wednesday, after Trump had won every single swing state and defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the White House. Musk was even included in a Trump family picture after the election and seen walking around with the former president at the Mar-a-Lago gift shop with his kids. I had an excellent call with President @realDonaldTrump and congratulated him on his historic landslide victory—his tremendous campaign made this result possible. I praised his family and team for their great work. We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 6, 2024

Foreign authorities reported on Friday that violence targeting Israeli soccer supporters had left five people hospitalized and over 60 arrested in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is backing Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the race to succeed Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader. It’s the first public endorsement for Cornyn, who’s running against Senate Minority Whip John Thune and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). And it comes from someone who’s part of a crucial voting bloc in the […] The post Sen. Hawley Backs Swamp Critter John Cornyn for Senate Leader appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

The illegal immigrant who pled guilty to murdering 25-year-old Ruby Garcia of Grand Rapids, Michigan, earlier this year was sentenced to 39 years behind bars on Thursday. Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 26, was deported under the Trump administration in 2020, but illegally re-entered the U.S. “at an unknown date,” according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ortiz-Vite, who is from Durango and Puebla, Mexico, shot and killed Garcia on March 22 and dumped her body beside the road. The two, who were friends, had gotten into an argument before the illegal immigrant murdered the 25-year-old Michigan woman. Ortiz-Vite accepted a plea deal with prosecutors who agreed to drop a first-degree murder charge for a second-degree murder charge. Kent County, Michigan, Circuit Court Judge Mark A. Trusock sentenced him to 39 years in prison on Thursday, News Channel 3 reported. “You, sir, are a cold blooded murderer,” Trusock told the killer. “This was intentional, and you are a danger to society.” In court, Ortiz-Vite told the Garcia family that he is “full of guilt and shame.” “I know right now my words hold little, if any, value to the Garcia family, which is understandable,” he said. “As a man, I stand before you humbly full of guilt and shame.” The murder added to the nationwide outrage over the Biden administration’s porous southern border. Garcia was murdered just a month after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley was brutally killed by a Venezuelan illegal immigrant while she was on a run. Last month, President-elect Donald Trump, who made immigration a central part of his campaign, called for the death penalty “for any migrant who kills an American citizen or a law enforcement officer.” A Michigan State Police sergeant testified in court that Ortiz-Vite and Garcia got into a heated argument before Ortiz-Vite reached for his gun. Forensic pathologist David Start said that the illegal immigrant shot the young woman four times, including twice in the head. “You started shooting when you were in the car, then took her out of the car, put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger and shot her again,” Judge Trusock said. Two days after murdering Garcia, Ortiz-Vite called 911 to turn himself over to police. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ “I could have easily blown my brains out, but I wanted to accept my responsibility for my actions,” he said at his sentencing. After serving his sentence in prison, Ortiz-Vite will likely be deported back to Mexico, Kent County Prosecutor Christopher Becker said. Ortiz-Vite will be 65 at the time of his release.

Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment this week against several Mississippi Democrats over an alleged bribery scheme to enrich themselves. The indictment, unsealed on Thursday in the Southern District of Mississippi, charged Hinds County District Attorney Jody E. Owens II, 43; Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, 41; and former President and current member of the Jackson City Council Aaron Banks, 47, of allegedly participating in the bribery scheme. Prosecutors said in a statement: As alleged in the indictment, between approximately October 2023 and May 2024, Owens facilitated bribe payments to public officials in Jackson on behalf of two FBI undercover employees posing as real estate developers (the Developers) in exchange for at least $115,000 and the promise of future financial benefit. Owens instructed the Developers that, for their project to succeed, they needed to secure the support of certain public officials in Jackson through bribery. Those public officials included Mayor Lumumba, Councilman Banks, and former Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee. Owens instructed the Developers how much, where, and when to bribe those officials. They said that the mayor accepted a $50,000 bribe from the developers in exchange for official actions that he took to advance their project. Prosecutors alleged that the money was then laundered through Lumumba’s campaign before he cashed out his account. MATT WALSH’S ‘AM I RACIST?’ NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+ They alleged that Councilman Banks solicited a $50,000 bribe in exchange for his support for the project. Jackson City Councilwoman Angelique Lee pled guilty in the scheme several months ago for allegedly accepting “a $10,000 debt repayment, $3,000 in cash, and a shopping trip worth approximately $6,000 in luxury goods in exchange for her votes in support of the Developers’ proposed development project in downtown Jackson.” The news comes after the FBI raided a cigar business owned by Owens in May. Owens is backed by Democrat megadonor George Soros. Owens was charged with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering; three counts of federal program bribery; using a facility in interstate commerce in furtherance of unlawful activity; honest services wire fraud, money laundering; and lying to federal officers. “The indictment alleges that Jackson’s mayor, the district attorney in Jackson, and members of Jackson’s city council conspired to accept bribes in exchange for official acts benefiting purported real estate developers,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Officials who abuse their positions of authority to enrich themselves undermine public confidence in government. The Justice Department is committed to restoring that confidence by working with its law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute public corruption.” Lumumba was charged with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering; federal program bribery; using a facility in interstate commerce in furtherance of unlawful activity; honest services wire fraud, and money laundering. Banks was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering; and one count of federal program bribery.