The Department of State, established in 1789, is the oldest executive agency in the United States. Founded to handle foreign affairs, promote peace, and represent America’s interests abroad, it played a pivotal role under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, in establishing the U.S. as a global leader for freedom and democracy during an era dominated by European monarchs and despots. Today, the Department has dangerously drifted far from its founding mission. Thomas Jefferson would hardly recognize the institution — or the nation — it represents. Jefferson’s Department has succumbed to “woke culture,” undermining its effectiveness and jeopardizing America’s leadership on the world stage. Senator Marco Rubio, President-elect Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, stands poised to confront this destructive ideology and restore the Department’s focus on advancing national security and traditional American values. Senator Rubio has always been a staunch defender of American freedom, both at home and abroad, with a deep commitment to combating communist regimes, especially given his Cuban heritage. As the son of Cuban immigrants, Rubio understands firsthand the dangers of totalitarianism and the importance of standing against oppressive regimes. Rubio believes that America First means returning to the core principles of security, prosperity, and democratic values, rather than enforcing partisan ideologies. For years, the radical Left has sidelined traditional ideals like Senator Rubio’s in favor of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. Instead of championing democracy and reinforcing America’s foundational principles, diplomats have spent resources promoting drag theater performances in Ecuador under the guise of national security. Rather than addressing serious threats like communism, our Cultural Officers promoted a film festival featuring incest and pedophilia in Portugal. The Biden-appointed U.S. ambassador to France has replaced portraits of American Founding Fathers with images of a transgender activist, a violent protester, socialist icons, and communists. The obsession with promoting progressive social values has dangerously eroded America’s standing abroad. Adversaries like Communist China — likely amused by an ambassador swapping portraits of American heroes for communists — exploit this ideological preoccupation, bolstering their influence while the U.S. falls behind. My personal experience attending events in Washington, D.C., with State Department officials underscores the problem. At these gatherings, I often spoke passionately about the hope many oppressed people place in America — those yearning for freedom from authoritarian regimes and seeking the basic human rights we often take for granted. After all, I saw it firsthand growing up under an oppressive government. Instead of tackling critical global challenges, State Department representatives often steered our discussions toward their woke agenda, emphasizing progressive and ideological initiatives that mean little to oppressed populations seeking America’s leadership and support. I shudder to imagine how a younger version of myself would have felt if this had been America’s message to my family in the Soviet Union. Consider the alarming juxtaposition of priorities: in 2022, the State Department issued an interagency strategy to promote LGBTQ+ rights abroad well before publishing the U.S. national security strategy. Meanwhile, China has increased its trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council, expanded its financial dominance in Africa and South America, and solidified security pacts in the Pacific — all without facing significant U.S. resistance. At home, the situation is equally troubling. Instead of addressing urgent threats like China’s rising power, resources are diverted to diversity recruitment and DEIA mandates. The Department’s Equity Council, with unclear authority and no oversight, prioritizes loyalty to progressive values over traditional standards like competence and integrity. Today, becoming a front-line diplomat for our country requires passing a stringent ideological test, focused more on woke credentials than on diplomatic skills. This ideological drift undermines the credibility of our diplomacy. Foreign counterparts do not view America as a reliable partner when moralistic lectures replace constructive dialogue. For instance, reprimanding Vietnam for its cultural values while neglecting to address Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea is not just counterproductive—it signals a dangerous abdication of leadership. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE Inclusivity is a core American value, and sexual orientation or moral shaming should not be the focus of our diplomacy. Richard Grenell made history as the highest-ranking openly gay ambassador in U.S. history when President Trump appointed him as Ambassador to Germany. Despite his groundbreaking position, Grenell never made his sexuality a focal point of his diplomatic work or public persona. He focused on his role, advancing the President’s mission of America First, prioritizing U.S. interests. His appointment was a testament to the President’s recognition of his qualifications and leadership, not his sexual orientation. Abilities matter most, not identity. The 21st century will be defined by America’s competition with the Chinese Communist Party, and winning that contest requires a State Department that prioritizes strategic interests over social crusades. The American electorate agrees: Donald Trump and Marco Rubio are the right people for the job. Until then, the Department is a grave risk to our national security—and America’s position in the world. * * * Karina Lipsman is a national security expert and visiting fellow at Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org). She was born and raised in Soviet Ukraine and spent 14 years in the U.S. DoD and intelligence community. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Taylor Swift’s book about her massively popular Eras Tour was released on Black Friday, prompting fans to line up to purchase a copy. But now those same buyers are expressing their frustration on social media about all of the typos and layout issues in the 256-page coffee table book. “The Eras Tour Book,” along with a vinyl and CD version of “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” debuted exclusively at Target for a sale price of $39.99. Fans waited in line overnight after Thanksgiving for a chance to nab their copy, and it became an instant bestseller, moving an extraordinary 814,000 copies over the holiday weekend. That made it the biggest publishing launch of 2024, per Billboard. But now that fans have had a chance to page through the book, which features more than 500 photos from The Eras Tour and some of Swift’s thoughts about it, they’re pointing out multiple problems. Some have even nicknamed it “The Errors Tour.” These mistakes likely stem from the fact that the 34-year-old singer chose to self-publish instead of going through traditional publishing channels. The book was released through Taylor Swift Publications.  @emermore7 I know I’m not the only one disappointed with the Eras Tour book, but I haven’t seen anyone else talk about the glaringly obvious grammatical errors and clunky sentences within the pages. I make this video with peace, love, and a general frustration about how easy many of these problems could have been fixed with one more set of editing eyes. This book just had so much potential, and with a little tweaking it could have been absolutely spectacular. #erastourbook #errorstour #booktok ♬ Cruel Summer – Taylor Swift Some examples include the “Folklore” song “This Is Me Trying,” which appears in the book as “This Is Me Rying,” per Business Insider. The song “Gold Rush,” from “Evermore,” appears as one word in the book but is supposed to be two. The book also incorrectly lists the singer’s Toronto tour stops as “November 14-16, 22-23,” ignoring the show she also played there on November 21. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE As for the insider snippets from Swift, many are saying the book included unnecessary commas and had the same words in consecutive lines, as well as “clunky sentences.” Fans also said they wanted more behind-the-scenes details. “I thought there would be a lot more little blurbs about the making of the show,” one purchaser told BI. “Not full essays, but like, ‘Oh, here’s me behind stage,’ you know, little things and a few more behind-the-scenes pictures.” Typos aren’t the only issue being called out. After many fans expressed dismay over the cover image, which shows Swift making a face they say is weird, they also noticed that the image layouts throughout the book seem off. In some cases, it’s hard to see the photos that span across multiple pages, and they say some images look blurry. “Maybe that’s stylistic and cute to some people, but that’s a mistake to me,” one TikTok user said. Some fans complained of pages being printed upside down. Social media is full of Swifties posting examples of the mistakes.

As deliberations continued in the trial of Daniel Penny, the jury on Thursday continued to ask questions about the case. Penny is charged with the killing of Jordan Neely, who was allegedly threatening to kill passengers on a New York City subway train last year. On Thursday, jurors continued to hear a read-back of the cross-examination of New York medical examiner Dr. Cynthia Harris, who testified that she made the determination Neely died due to asphyxiation based on video alone – before the toxicology report came back. According to journalist Matthew Lee, jurors on Thursday also requested more footage of the incident captured by passengers. Update of 11:45 am – Daniel Penny, lawyers and team have come in. Court security officers milling around; admonitions to be quiet in the courtroom. Judge Wiley comes in. Judge: We have a note, the jurors want the Vasquez and Rosario videos — Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 5, 2024 In the afternoon, the jury sent another note to Judge Maxwell Wiley, asking him to reread the definition of recklessness and negligence – words associated with Penny’s lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, Lee reported. Update of 12:12 pm – Daniel Penny is here and seated. Judge Wiley: We just got a note, We request that Judge Wiley read the definition of recklessness and negligence. And can we have them in writing. Do the parties give consent? — Inner City Press (@innercitypress) December 5, 2024 The jury was released for the day without rendering a verdict and continued deliberations on Friday. Penny is also charged with second-degree manslaughter. Jurors can find him guilty of one of the charges or acquit him of all charges. If convicted of manslaughter, he faces up to 15 years in prison. If convicted of the lesser charge, he faces up to four years. Since they began deliberating Tuesday afternoon, jurors have asked to review key pieces of evidence and specific sections of the jury instructions. On Wednesday, jurors asked to review body cam footage from police taken as they arrived at the scene after Penny placed Neely in a chokehold. Penny said he took action because Neely was threatening passengers on the subway. They also asked to review the original video of the incident taken by another passenger, and the footage from Penny’s interrogation with police, where they didn’t tell him Neely had died. Jurors had also asked to be reread the portion of Dr. Harris’ testimony where she said she would not change her opinion on Neely’s cause of death even if the toxicology report showed drugs in his system. Defense attorneys this week reported the prosecution to Judge Wiley, saying they were acting improperly and providing misleading information to the jury through the media, The Daily Wire reported. Defense attorneys accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office of asking media outlets to report in their coverage that there is no mandatory minimum sentence for Penny if he is convicted of second-degree manslaughter. CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE “The District Attorney’s efforts to have the jury speculate as to a potential sentence are both improper and misleading,” Penny attorneys Steven Raiser and Thomas Kenniff said on Fox News. “While it is technically true that these charges do not carry a mandatory minimum, that is the case with most felonies in New York. It is equally true that the maximum sentence is 15 years in state prison.” “Moreover, the tenacity with which the District Attorney has sought to obtain a conviction against Mr. Penny strongly suggests that they will advocate for a substantial sentence in the event of a guilty verdict,” the attorneys added. A defense attorney not connected to the case told Fox that the prosecutor’s office could be using this as a ploy to encourage the jury to find Penny guilty while thinking he might not serve much prison time. “Defense lawyers are barred from mentioning potential sentences at trial — the reasoning being that it would be an attempt to seek sympathy from jurors who then may reach a verdict based on something other than the facts, In other words, ‘He may be guilty, but 10 years is too much time,’” Danielle Iredale told the outlet. “Here, there is a hypocrisy to the DA’s messaging. In attempting to publish the fact that there is no statutory mandatory minimum sentence, they are essentially saying, ‘It’s OK to convict, he may not go to the jail!’”

The Bible says that three wise men followed the Star of Bethlehem, or “Christmas Star,” to Jerusalem to inquire about the newborn king. This star was said to be a single bright light in the sky the men could easily see. Now, scientists seem to have a scientific explanation for the Christmas Star. According to astronomy.com per ABC News, the Christmas Star may have historically been when Jupiter and Saturn were in conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn or perhaps a conjunction between Jupiter and Venus. Henry Throop, a planetary scientist at NASA, told the news network today Venus is referred to as the Christmas Star because, aside from the moon and the sun, it will be the brightest object in the sky. At the same time, the Christmas Star will be visible, there will be a Crescent moon. Some parts of the world will also see the Northern Lights. “Right now is a great time to go outside and look up at the night sky,” Henry said. @iflscience Was The Star Of Bethlehem A Real Astronomical Event? Watch the full video by tapping the image via l i n k in the bio #sciencetok #learnontiktok #science #astronomy ♬ original sound – IFLScience This Year The Christmas Star Will Appear Close To Christmas Henry explained that historically, Jupiter may have guided the wise men to Jupiter. But this year, Venus will be considered the Christmas star due to its prominence in the sky. “We know that’s consistent with basically how the motions of the sky work, where things rise in the east, and they go overhead,” He said, And they sit in the west.” Henry added that based on early astronomers, experts believe the wise men saw something very bright in the sky. It ultimately led them to their destination. He added computers have helped create models of where the planets aligned at any time during the last 2,000 years. These models further explain the authenticity of the Christmas Star. This story’s featured image can be found here. The post The “Christmas Star” Will Rise This Weekend, Here’s How To Spot It appeared first on InspireMore.

A video shared on X claims to show Syrian Arab Army (SAA) heavy rocket fire from the Syrian rebels offensive in Aleppo. ⚡️#BREAKING The Syrian Arab Army is targeting HTS positions in the western Aleppo countryside with MLRS rockets.#Syria #Iran #Israel #Hezbollah #Lebanon #Gaza #Palestine pic.twitter.com/ojsk7ETjNm — Resistance War News (@ResistanceWar1) November 29, 2024 Verdict: Misleading […]

A post shared on social media purports that former Vice President Mike Pence was arrested and taken to Guantanamo Bay. MIKE PENCE WAS CAPTURED BY SPECIAL FORCES AND IS CURRENTLY IN GITMO… THE WHITE HATS CAPTURED MIKE PENCE ON NOVEMBER 29, 2024 pic.twitter.com/phxUCKQr7r — Florentin Patriota Q (@Florenpatriotaq) December 3, 2024 Verdict: False The claim stems […]

'High energy'

Oversee the Pentagon’s serial flunking of fiscal audits?

A viral video shared on Threads purports to show Judge Jeanine Pirro criticizing President-elect Donald Trump over pardons on the Fox News program, “The Five.”   View on Threads   Verdict: False The original video indicates Pirro is not discussing Trump but instead is speaking about President Joe Biden’s recent decision to pardon his son, […]

There is no evidence Trudeau made this post.