Decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth gave a curt response when asked, while on Capitol Hill, to respond to recent reports from CNN regarding his own previous statements. Hegseth was on the Hill to meet with members of the U.S. Senate ahead of confirmation hearings — which will ultimately determine whether he will serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Secretary of Defense — and as he walked from office to office, he was peppered with questions from the press. A former Fox News colleague of Hegseth’s, current network host Will Cain, shared a video of one such exchange with the comment, “The evolution of a legacy brand from biased … to agenda … to propaganda … to embarrassment … to irrelevant.” WATCH: “I don’t feel the need to respond to CNN.” @PeteHegseth The evolution of a legacy brand from biased…to agenda…to propaganda…to embarrassment…to irrelevant. pic.twitter.com/3yQhmrKF7R — Will Cain (@willcain) December 12, 2024 As Hegseth walked down the hallway, the first question came: “Do you believe that gay people should be allowed to serve in the military?” Hegseth’s answer was unequivocal: “Yes.” It was the follow-up question that gave him pause: “Can you just respond to the CNN report this morning? It was highlighting some of your previous comments, saying —” “I don’t feel the need to respond to CNN,” Hegseth interrupted, and kept walking. Someone else could be heard telling the reporter, “Have a good day, Ma’am.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE The reporter tried again anyway, prompting Hegseth: “You are comfortable with gay people serving openly in the military?” “Did you hear what I said there?” Hegseth asked, clearly referencing his earlier answer to the same question. “Have a good day, Ma’am,” the reporter was dismissed again. In another such instance, Hegseth explained why he was meeting with senators from both sides of the political aisle, saying, “There’s nothing political about the DOD and we’re going to make sure politics is not a part of it. So, meeting with Democrats just like I’m meeting with Republicans is a huge part of our approach.” WATCH: JUST IN: Pete Hegseth begins meeting with Democrats for his confirmation "The nice part is – there's nothing political about the DOD and we're going to make sure politics is not a part of it." "So, meeting with Democrats just like I'm meeting with Republicans is a huge part of… pic.twitter.com/zB4fX6jUnV — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 12, 2024

Two Democratic lawmakers are pushing President Joe Biden to sign on to an effort to restrict presidential authority over the use of nuclear weapons ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking office. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Rep. Ted Lieu of California wrote to Biden on Thursday to urge him to support legislation that would block presidents from ordering a first-strike with a nuclear weapon. Markey and Lieu’s legislation, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act, has been introduced to Congress numerous times since 2015. “Mr. President, with just weeks left in office, you can safeguard the system against Donald Trump or any future unstable president, and make it constitutional,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote. To make their case, they provided examples of military leaders who, under the Nixon and Trump administrations, took steps to undermine the president’s constitutional authority over nuclear weapons. Rather than denouncing such action, the lawmakers argued that a legislative fix is needed to keep the decision to launch a preemptive nuclear strike out of the hands of “just one fallible human.” Despite the concerns of former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger under former President Richard Nixon and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley under Trump, neither president threatened to launch a preemptive nuclear strike. “We urge you to announce that henceforth it will be the policy of the United States that it will not initiate a nuclear first strike without express authorization from Congress,” the lawmakers wrote. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE According to the Democrats, under the legislation, “A president could order a nuclear launch only if (1) Congress had approved the decision, providing a constitutional check on executive power or (2) the United States had already been attacked with a nuclear weapon.” “This would be infinitely safer than our current doctrine,” they wrote. Come January, Donald Trump will have the sole authority to launch a nuclear strike. This should terrify you. That's why @RepTedLieu and I are urging @POTUS to put guardrails on presidential authority to start nuclear war. pic.twitter.com/Wtvb6B2m4r — Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) December 12, 2024 Critics of the legislation accused the lawmakers of holding a partisan double-standard meant to cast Trump as unstable. “They were fine with a guy who’s literally senile launching nukes…But now they want to rein things in?” RealClearInvestigations’ Mark Hemingway said. They were fine with a guy who’s literally senile launching nukes…But now they want to rein things in? https://t.co/dd9u5sp8cG — Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) December 12, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump has received large donations from two of America’s top tech leaders in recent days for his inaugural fund as they look to curry favor with him. Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg — whose company owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more — gave a $1 million donation to the fund, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Journal separately reported that Amazon.com was also planning to donate $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund. The donation is being prepared as Bezos, who serves as Amazon’s executive chairman, is expected to travel to Mar-a-Lago next week for a private meeting with Trump, the report said. Zuckerberg had dinner with Trump late last month at Mar-a-Lago that The New York Times reported was “initiated” by Zuckerberg as he seeks to “insulate Meta” over any negative action his company could face from the incoming administration. “It’s an important time for the future of American Innovation,” a META spokesperson said in a statement. “Mark was grateful for the invitation to join President Trump for dinner and the opportunity to meet with members of his team about the incoming Administration.” CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Bezos said during an interview last week at the annual New York Times DealBook Summit that he was excited about what Trump’s second term in office means for the economy and that he looks forward to helping him. “I’m actually very optimistic this time around,” Bezos said. “He seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. And my point of view, if I can help him do that, I’m going to help him because we do have too much regulation in this country. This country is so set up to grow.” Bezos added that Trump has grown over the last eight years and he believes Trump is now “calmer” and “more confident and more settled.”

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Neil Diamond’s name may conjure images of heartfelt ballads and unforgettable singalongs, but his catalog reveals a rich tapestry of rocking anthems that define his versatility as a musician. Over the decades, Diamond has seamlessly blended raw energy with powerful storytelling, creating songs that ignite stages and captivate audiences. This list of the 10 most rocking Neil Diamond songs celebrates the boldness, grit, and charisma that he infused into tracks that continue to resonate with fans. From driving acoustic riffs to dynamic live performances, these songs highlight the electrifying side of an artist often celebrated for his softer touch. “Crunchy The post 10 Most Rocking Neil Diamond Songs appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

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A Western New York town warned state officials that it would take action if the state didn't follow through on emptying out hotels of immigrants. Asylum-seekers have been housed in two hotels in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo, since June 2023. After two incidents of alleged sexual assault by asylum-seekers, local county officials said they would stop taking in immigrants and demanded the state vacate those from the hotels. 'These folks have a right to an asylum hearing and some of these folks will be granted asylum and there are already productive members of the community.' Cheektowaga Town Supervisor Brian Nowak said they did not intend to be anti-immigrant but wanted to enforce zoning laws at the hotels. "Moving on from having them in hotels is one thing, but saying we want to send you back to Mexico or Venezuela or whatever, that's a whole different story," said Nowak. "These folks have a right to an asylum hearing and some of these folks will be granted asylum and there are already productive members of the community that are living in these buildings," he added. "Moving on from our hotels being used as encampments or shelters, yes, but not to say we don't want migrants or immigrants as part of our society." On the same day as the vote from Cheektowaga, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that 25 hotels and shelters housing asylum-seekers in New York would close. Adams told WKBW-TV that the hotels in Cheektowaga would be emptied of immigrants by Dec. 16 and 18. "We’ve come a long way since the first buses from Texas arrived in our city over two years ago, when we were working around the clock to care for the thousands of people who were arriving every week," said Adams. Adams has faced fierce criticism for defending the city's sanctuary city policies and then folding after Republican governors began to send immigrants to take advantage of their social safety net. He has since criticized the Biden administration for the immigrant crisis and demanded more help from the state. "We are seeing real results from our hard work, including the ability to continue consolidating operations," Adams added. "We continue to look closely at all of our shelters and will make all determinations based on what’s best for our city and those in our care.” Many have said that voters turned against the Democratic Party in the election partly because of the panicked response to immigrants being sent to Democrat-controlled cities by Republican governors. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

South Dakota police said a teacher was arrested for sexual exploitation after students pretended to be underage girls on Snapchat in order to catch him in the act. Huron police said officers were contacted by the principal of Huron Middle School after a parent saw concerning images on social media of a student. The boy said that he had started a hoax account after a 6th-grade girl said she had received messages from a teacher that made her uncomfortable.'The student told police that he used images from Pinterest to 'catfish' the teacher.' The student set up a hoax account that appeared to be 14-year-old girl and messaged the 28-year-old teacher, who was identified as Zachary Kaderabek. Another student set up a separate account pretending to be the sister of the first hoax account and also exchanged messages with Kaderabek. Police said that Kaderabek allegedly admitted to messaging students on Snapchat and sending four images of his penis. Kaderabek was indicted on Monday on two counts of solicitation of a minor as well as two counts of sexual exploitation. The Huron School Board voted on Tuesday to move him from paid administrative leave to unpaid administrative leave. Huron School District Superintendent Kraig Steinhoff released a statement about their actions regarding Kaderabek to KELO-TV.“The Huron School District is communicating with its attorney and is cooperating with law enforcement. All policies, procedures, and laws are being followed," said Steinhoff in part. The student told police that he used images from Pinterest to "catfish" the teacher. His hoax account was named "Kate." Kaderabek is scheduled to be arraigned on Jan. 14. A booking photo of the teacher can be viewed on KELO's YouTube video channel. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!