Category: Politics
US military attacks dozens of ISIS targets in Syria in retaliation for killing of 2 US troops, Hegseth says
The United States military struck ISIS terrorists on Friday after two U.S. service members were killed along with an interpreter, according to Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Fox News reported that over 70 targets were struck in the operation that included “ISIS infrastructure and weapons storage sites,” according to a top U.S. official.
‘This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance.’
“Earlier today, U.S. forces commenced OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE in Syria to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on U.S. forces that occurred on December 13th in Palmyra, Syria,” Hegseth wrote on social media.
A lone Islamic State gunman ambushed the U.S. forces in Palmyra, which also left three other U.S. soldiers wounded. President Donald Trump vowed “very serious retaliation” at the time.
There are about 900 U.S. troops currently in Syria.
“This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” Hegseth added. “The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”
The attack had been the first to cause U.S. fatalities since the end of the Assad regime in 2014. Bashar al-Assad and his family fled to Russia after Turkish-backed Islamic militants successfully seized control of the government.
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“As we said directly following the savage attack, if you target Americans — anywhere in the world — you will spend the rest of your brief, anxious life knowing the United States will hunt you, find you, and ruthlessly kill you,” Hegseth continued.
“Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies,” he added. “Lots of them. And we will continue.”
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VIDEO: Sheriff mocks ‘idiots’ who mistook cops for ICE and disrupted operation against alleged drug dealers
An Arizona sheriff derided protesters who interrupted a drug bust because they had mistaken regular cops for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple said the small group of protesters yelled obscenities and insults at his deputies on Dec. 11 after the police investigation ended up in Phoenix.
‘While they’re there throwing tantrums, we’re throwing handcuffs on bad guys.’
“PCSO deputies out there doing an amazing job, arresting bad guys, getting dangerous drugs off the street, and you have idiots showing up, protesting and thinking they’re ICE,” he added.
Teeple said in the video posted to Facebook that despite the protesters accosting his officers, they were able to seize a firearm as well as two kilograms of cocaine.
“Two people that were arrested? Both U.S. citizens. How ironic is that?” he added.
“This is ridiculous, guys. You have full uniformed deputies on scene, marked vehicles, and you still want to protest the police doing their job,” Teeple said.
The video included some of the footage showing protesters calling the officers “sellouts” and “motherf**kers” while the police laughed at them.
“While they’re there throwing tantrums, we’re throwing handcuffs on bad guys,” Teeple added. “Deputies did an amazing job putting up with their BS.”
RELATED: Video shows leotarded liberals protest ICE facility with ’80s-themed aerobics class
This was not the first time anti-ICE protesters interrupted a police operation in Pinal County. In June, Teeple said that protesters got in the way of a police action that ended in the seizure of four firearms, five million fentanyl pills, 32 pounds of cocaine, and 22 pounds of meth.
“You can do better,” Teeple concluded. “It’s an honor to serve.”
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‘Blood on their hands’: Trump admin blames ‘sanctuary’ Dems after illegal alien with detainer request allegedly murders American
An illegal alien from El Salvador allegedly killed a U.S. citizen the day after being released, despite a detainer request from federal immigration officials.
Marvin Fernando Morales-Ortez was released from a Fairfax, Virginia, jail after county officials dropped several violent criminal charges against him in addition to ignoring the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainer.
‘The sanctuary politicians of Fairfax County, VA have blood on their hands.’
Morales-Ortez allegedly shot and killed a 40-year-old man, Marvin Ernesto Morales, at a residence in Reston. After he fled, police were able to find and arrest him. He was charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony.
A spokesperson for ICE blamed local officials for the preventable death.
“Fairfax County failed the victim by refusing to work with ICE and releasing this criminal alien onto Virginia streets instead of safely into ICE custody,” the spokesperson said. “If Fairfax County would have simply worked to uphold our nation’s laws, then this tragedy may have never happened.”
The Department of Homeland Security went further in a statement on social media.
“The sanctuary politicians of Fairfax County, VA have blood on their hands,” reads a statement from the agency’s official account.
“The day after Fairfax County REFUSED to hand over Marvin Fernando Morales-Ortez, a criminal illegal alien from El Salvador, to ICE he allegedly MURDERED an American citizen,” they added. “He has a prior history of aggravated assault, larceny, assault on a law enforcement officer, weapons charges and other misdemeanor offenses.”
Most Fairfax County officials, including Sheriff Stacey Kincaid and almost every member of the Board of Supervisors, are Democrats.
After Morales-Ortez was released from jail on Tuesday, a Community Services Board did obtain an emergency order to have police take him into custody, according to the Fairfax County Police. However, the order was valid for only eight hours, and police were unable to find him before it expired.
Prosecutors are accused of ignoring the detainer, not notifying federal officials when Morales-Ortez was being released, and dropping criminal charges against him in numerous cases.
RELATED: New York Times gets absolutely hammered for sympathetic article on criminal illegal alien
The White House also released a statement condemning Fairfax officials.
“This tragic case is a prime example of what happens when Democrats choose to side with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens,” the statement reads. “This monster should’ve never been allowed to roam free in American communities. The Trump administration will continue our efforts to deport all criminal illegal aliens and Make America Safe Again, despite unrelenting Democrat opposition.”
Morales-Ortez is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
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VIDEO: Erika Kirk endorses JD Vance for president
Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk announced her endorsement of Vice President JD Vance for president in 2028 during her Thursday speech at the AmericaFest conference.
Vance will speak on Sunday at the conference organized by Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Charlie Kirk in 2012.
‘If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee.’
“We’re gonna ensure that President Trump has Congress for all four years,” she said. “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible!”
The thousands at the conference in Phoenix, Arizona, responded with resounding applause.
Vance has not said if he’s running for president yet, but he’s seen as a prominent front-runner for the nomination.
“My attitude is, the American people elected me to be vice president,” he said in October. “I’m going to work as hard as I can to make the president successful over the next three years and three months, and if we get to a point where something else is in the offer, let’s handle it then.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also considered a potential presidential candidate, said that he would support Vance if the vice president ran for the Oval Office.
“If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,” Rubio said to Vanity Fair.
RELATED: JD Vance responds to the possibility of Vance-Rubio presidential ticket
Vance has said Kirk’s organization was pivotal in the re-election of Trump in 2024.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene. He didn’t just help us win in 2024; he helped us staff the entire government,” he said.
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‘Disastrous program’: Trump administration pauses ‘diversity’ visa Brown University shooter used to enter United States
The United States has paused a visa program after shocking details emerged in the Brown University shooting investigation.
Late Thursday night, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the pause of the DV1 program, a visa lottery system that the Brown University shooter, identified as Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, reportedly used to obtain a green card.
‘At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.’
“The Brown University shooter, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente entered the United States through the diversity lottery immigrant visa program (DV1) in 2017 and was granted a green card. This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Secretary Noem said on X. “In 2017, President Trump fought to end this program, following the devastating NYC truck ramming by an ISIS terrorist, who entered under the DV1 program, and murdered eight people.”
Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
“At President Trump’s direction, I am immediately directing USCIS to pause the DV1 program to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program,” Noem added.
Valente, who is also believed to be responsible for the recent slaying of an MIT physics professor, was found dead inside a storage facility Thursday night.
The DV1 program, also known as the Diversity Immigrant Visa program, makes up to 55,000 visas available to immigrants from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The program is “random and blind to the number of family members who might immigrate with the selectee,” according to the State Department website.
The 2026 visa lottery drew from 20,822,624 applicants from over 170 counties all around the world, according to State Department statistics.
The top 10 countries, from highest volume to lowest are: Egypt, Russia, Algeria, Ukraine, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, Kenya, Nepal, and Morocco. Other countries that broke 3,000 are Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.
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