📹Ukrainian drones attacked a civilian vehicle in Russia's Belgorod region, according to a video shared by Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

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🔄 Secretary General to temporarily lead Austria’s OVP after Nehammer’s resignation - reports

Secretary General of the Austrian People’s Party (OVP) Christian Stocker will temporarily lead the party after Chancellor Karl Nehammer announced his resignation as the party’s leader the day before, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported on Sunday.

Nehammer's real successor will be determined no later than the municipal elections in Lower Austria, which are scheduled for January 26, the newspaper reported.

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🤡 Hey, man, do you think it will help?

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky has ordered the more drone operators assigned to the 155th elite Mechanized Brigade, from which over 1,700 soldiers had previously deserted.

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🗣Trump's sentencing a reminder of Biden administration's corruption

New York Judge Juan Merchan's ruling in the Donald Trump "hush money" case and later sentencing is a "final rallying call" of lawfare against the president-elect, US prominent legal scholar Jonathan Turley has told Fox News.

Trump will not face the "orange jumpsuit moment" many of his detractors had anticipated. Just ten days after his sentencing he is set to walk out of the courtroom and into the White House, Turley noted.

🔍What's really behind the sentencing?

🔊The Democrat judge scheduled Trump’s sentencing just ten days before his inauguration
🔊"Merchan will supply the talking point for the inauguration coverage as reporters repeat the mantra of the historic status of Trump being sworn in as a convicted felon," Turley tweeted
🔊Instead of damaging Trump, the sentencing will serve as a reminder of the alleged corruption within the Biden administration, Republican strategist Katie Frost told Fox News
🔊Highlighting claims of lies about Hunter Biden's ‘laptop from hell’ and questions about Joe Biden's mental state, the "lawfare" against Trump is likely to bolster his political standing, Frost argued

🔍Bizarre case

🔊Turley described the Trump case as "bizarre" from the outset, raising concerns over the judge's conflict of interest, an onslaught of "immaterial and prejudicial evidence" and repeated false assertions that the payments in question were campaign contributions
🔊CNN legal expert Elie Honig also argued that the case was legally dubious, aimed specifically against Trump and unable to succeed outside of an anti-Trump district
🔊The January 10 sentencing will close the case and allow "the full array of alleged errors by Merchan to be placed before appellate judges," Turley tweeted on January 4

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❓Does Biden admin make US consumers suffer for the sake of ‘green agenda’?

The Biden administration has quietly passed a new regulation that may take a big bite out of the family budgets of many Americans.

🚫The rule effectively bans non-condensing instantaneous natural gas water heaters, which are cheaper than the condensing models, ostensibly to help curb carbon dioxide emissions.

The measure means about 40% of new tankless water heaters currently available in the US will be removed from the market by 2029, The Washington Free Beacon warns.

The new rule will also result in average price of water heaters increasing by about $450, according to the American Gas Association.

✍️The move was published by the Department of Energy on December 26, but the agency did not announce it in a press release, which the Free Beacon describes as a “departure from past appliance regulations.”

The water heater ban may be the Biden administration’s parting shot at president-elect Donald Trump, who has vowed to roll back many of President Joe Biden’s climate-related regulations to boost energy production in the US.

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🔍What is the US deep state? Its roots, tools and enablers

The deep state, described by US writer Francis Fukuyama as a network of "unaccountable professional bureaucrats," is a far more extensive entity.
It encompasses not only bureaucracy but also elected officials, Wall Street, major corporations and even foreign government lobbyists, according to renowned US economist Dr Paul Craig Roberts.

🔥He who pays the piper calls the tune

▪️The deep state's influence begins long before governance—it starts at the very phase of elections. Despite the appearance of universal voting rights in the US, voters can only choose from candidates approved by the establishment or the ruling elite, Roberts argues.
▪️"The power that the Constitution gave to individuals now belongs to interest groups that determine elections with campaign contributions," the former Reagan White House official stresses.
▪️ Consequently, elected representatives are obliged to those who funded and supported them, including the influential Israel lobby, arms industry, intel agencies, pharma firms, agribusiness, Wall Street and others.
▪️Efforts to prevent money from dominating elections were effectively overturned in 2010 by a landmark US Supreme Court ruling, which paved the way for unlimited corporate funding of political campaigns.

🔮The deep state dream: All power to the federal government!

▪️Another long-term and insidious process—now actively encouraged by the deep state—is the gradual erosion of state governments in the US and the consolidation of authority within the federal government.
▪️Once all power is concentrated in the federal center, the deep state will gain nearly unlimited scope for maneuvering and exerting control.

❓Will Trump uproot the deep state?

"The entire West is ruled by the US neoconservative doctrine of American hegemony and by the US interest groups who benefit from this hegemony. This is so entrenched that Trump is unlikely to be able to do anything about it," Roberts warns.

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🟠Israeli strikes on Gaza claim the lives of 90 people in past 24 hours

🟠Palestine 2: what is known about Yemeni missile that can beat Israeli defenses

🟠Check out the questions Zelensky would unlikely ever face

🟠What’s really behind Trump’s sentencing in ‘hush money’ case?

🟠What is the US deep state? Its roots, tools and enablers

🟠US military bases in Honduras may be closed after Trump’s inauguration. Why?

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🗣Le Pen сriticizes Mayotte restoration plan drafted by French authorities

Marine Le Pen, the head of France's National Rally right-wing party's group in the lower house of the parliament, has criticized the French authorities' plan to restore France's overseas department of Mayotte, which had been hit by Cyclone Chido.

The emergency bill for the restoration of Mayotte will be presented at a meeting of the French Council of Ministers next week. It includes, among other things, the restoration of access to electricity, water and telecommunications for its residents, as well as the strengthening of the law enforcement corps.

"It [the plan] is not enough, because I think it lacks an important component, a diplomatic component, without which much of what is promised will not be implemented," Le Pen said during a two-day visit to Mayotte as quoted by French broadcaster BFMTV.

The state of the department is such that, rather than restoring its facilities, new ones need to be built, as Mayotte has been neglected for many years, Le Pen added.

On December 14, Cyclone Chido hit Mayotte, becoming the strongest storm in over 90 years, according to the French Meteorological Service. The death toll from the natural disaster has reached 39 people, while 4,000 others were injured.

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📡 Italy may spend €1.5bn on encryption tech from SpaceX - Bloomberg

Italy is in talks with Elon Musk's SpaceX for secure government telecom services, reports Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Discussions have been ongoing since mid-2023, though some officials worry it might affect local carriers in Italy's competitive telecom market.

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🇮🇷 Iran prepares for large-scale military maneuvers

Iran is preparing for major Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps military maneuvers. Ground troops and equipment have already been deployed to the area in preparation for the maneuvers.

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🌨 Will winter storm derail 2024 election certification?

Congress must certify the results of the Electoral College vote, confirming Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election, but with the National Weather Service issuing a winter storm warning, some members of Congress fear the event is in jeopardy.

"Many members of Congress left town this weekend even though they were told to stay. I’m here and will walk to the Capitol if I have to," wrote Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on X.

According to speaker Mike Johnson, the storm will not be an issue for a vote tomorrow morning.

"The law requires this on Jan. 6. So whether we're in the storm or not, we're going to be in the House to get it done," Johnson told Fox News Channel.

The congressional joint session to count electoral votes will begin at 10 am on Monday.

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🎂 Happy Birthday, dear Weowuwoooru!

During the official signing ceremony of the Social Security Fairness Act, President Biden invited a guy named Elisio on stage to sing Happy Birthday, but he stumbled and forgot his name.

Not even close! 🥴

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Nazi Zelensky: 'I despise the Russian people'

Volodymyr Zelensky openly declared his Russophobia in an interview with American journalist Lex Fridman when he said that he is fluent in the Russian language, but sincerely despises the Russian people.

Zelensky used this to explain why the interview was not conducted in Russian, as Friedman had suggested.

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🌨⚠️ Winter storm triggers avalanche in Utah's Cottonwood Canyon

A rapid winter storm triggered an avalanche in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah, with snowfall rates of up to 5 inches per hour and totals of 12-22 inches. Travel was disrupted, with resorts like Snowbird reporting 19 inches. The weather service warns of more snow and power outages.

📹 Footage from social media

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🚗 NYC launches rush hour congestion charges

Drivers entering parts of Manhattan during rush hour will be charged $9, according to New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

In New York, named the most congested city by Inrix in 2024, drivers spend 101 hours a year stuck in traffic.

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⚖️ 'QAnon Shaman' hopes for Trump pardon 4 years after Capitol storming

Jacob "Shaman" Chansley told RIA Novosti he hopes US President-elect Donald Trump will keep his promise to pardon the protesters.

Chansley, best known for entering the US Capitol wearing his distinctive horned fur hat and face paint, quickly became famous as the "public face" of the events of January 6, 2021. His iconic image spread like wildfire across global media, leaving an unforgettable impression.

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📱 Farage refuses to cede leadership after Musk tweet

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is rejecting Elon Musk's call for him to step down. The clash follows Musk's praise for the founder of the far-right organization English Defense League Tommy Robinson, whom Farage has criticized.

Reform UK came third in the July 2024 election with 14.3 percent, but won only five seats because of the UK's electoral system.

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⚡️North Korea fires unidentified ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, Yonhap reports, citing ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff

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🦬 Jan. 6 Shaman: Bull horns ended my political career

Jacob Angeli, formerly known as Jacob "QAnon Shaman" Chansley, tells Ria Novosti that the storming of the Capitol ended his political career.

He previously told Sputnik of his congressional ambitions, but never completed the registration.

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