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Conservative Infighting Explodes At Turning Point USA's AmericaFest

(Huff Post) Top conservative influencers repeatedly turned on each other at Turning Point USA’s annual confab this past week while grappling with how to take on rising antisemitism and bigotry in the Republican Party. The sold-out gathering, which was billed as AmericaFest and held in Phoenix, was the first event of its magnitude since TPUSA’s founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed earlier this year. The infighting points to deeper divides the party is struggling to address, particularly since many of its younger members have embraced Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist and Holocaust denier, and other extremist views.

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JD Vance to Nick Fuentes: "Eat s---"

(The Hill) “Anyone who attacks my wife, whether their name is Jen Psaki or Nick Fuentes, can eat s—. That’s my official policy as vice president of the United States,” Vance said in an interview published on Monday with the British outlet UnHerd. Fuentes has used racial slurs to attack the second lady, who is Indian American, and has referred to the vice president as a “race traitor” for marrying her.

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CBS Responds to Pulling '60 Minutes' Episode as Bari Weiss Under Pressure

(Newsweek) CBS has said it pulled its "60 Minutes" report on El Salvador's CECOT prison because it needed "additional reporting," according to Reuters. The broadcaster removed a link to the "Inside CECOT" segment before it was scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday. The decision came under fire from multiple journalists and commentators, who criticized CBS News' editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, who took over the role in October shortly after Skydance completed its takeover of Paramount and its subsidiaries.

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The CBS reporter who led the story removed from "60 Minutes" calls pulling it a "political" decision

(Sharyn Alfonsi/New York Times) "News Team, Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier. I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity. Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one."

KS Toronado

Monday's Condensed News Cartoons

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Trump naming special envoy to Greenland angers Denmark, prompting it to call in U.S. ambassador

(CBS News) Denmark said Monday it would summon the U.S. ambassador after President Trump appointed a special envoy to Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory he has often expressed interest in obtaining. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Mr. Trump has said the U.S. needs the resource-rich island for security reasons and has refused to rule out the use of force to secure it. On Sunday, Mr. Trump appointed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland.

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Top DOJ Official Shut Down Enforcement Against Crypto Companies While Holding More Than $150,000 in Crypto Investments

(ProPublica) To prevent possible violations of the federal conflicts of interest statute, (Todd) Blanche promised to dump his digital assets no later than 90 days after his Senate confirmation in March, according to his government ethics agreement. He also pledged not to participate in any matter that could have a “direct and predictable effect on my financial interests in the virtual currency” until his Bitcoin and other crypto-related products were sold. But about a month into the job — before divesting — Blanche issued a memo that ordered an end to investigations into crypto companies, dealers and exchanges launched during President Joe Biden’s term. He also eliminated an enforcement team dedicated to looking for crypto-related fraud and money-laundering schemes.

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Artists cancel Kennedy Center shows over Trump rename

(Daily Beast) The Kennedy Center is already losing performers after Donald Trump slapped his name on the storied arts institution. Kristy Lee, a folk singer scheduled to perform at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts on Jan. 14, is in talks to cancel her appearance, her spokesperson told NOTUS, as other artists also move to sever ties with the venue. One performer, who spoke to NOTUS on the condition of anonymity, said Trump’s renaming had left a permanent “stain” on the center. Another lamented what the Kennedy Center once represented—for artists and for the country at large. “I feel really badly for performers, not just for performers but for the people who work there,” they said.

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Immigration Crackdown Creates Fault Lines Among Baptists

(NY Times) When federal agents descended on Louisiana this month to pursue their aggressive deportation campaign, a group of Roman Catholic priests privately brought the Eucharist to the homes of immigrants too worried to step outside. But Lewis Richerson, the pastor of Woodlawn Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, planned to take an opposite approach. “I would not knowingly extend communion to an illegal immigrant who is visiting our church,” he said. “That person would be in sin by being in this country illegally, and Christians should obey the law of the land.”

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Moscow car bomb kills Russian general, investigators say

(ABC News) A car bomb killed a Russian general in Moscow early on Monday morning, the Investigative Committee of Russia said in a statement. Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was the head of the operational Training Department of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, the committee said. He was killed when "an explosive device installed under the bottom of a car was detonated on Yaseneva Street in Moscow."

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