Former President Donald Trump on Monday waved to hundreds of cheering fans who rallied to support him on Presidents Day.

The show of support followed the Senate vote Saturday to acquit Trump of inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that disrupted certification of President Biden’s victory.

Trump supporters staged the rally along a road near his near Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Fla.

Trump aide Dan Scavino tweeted the view from inside Trump’s motorcade, writing: “This is unbelievable! 45 returns to Mar-a-Lago this afternoon, after an awesome day out on the links….to this….”

Trump has been virtually silent since the riot that left five dead and has been banned from Twitter, which was his preferred communications platform.

But in a post-acquittal message, Trump said, “Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to Make America Great Again has only just begun. In the months ahead I have much to share with you.”

Because he was acquitted, Trump is eligible to run for president again in 2024.

Source: Trump greeted by hundreds of cheering fans on Presidents Day

BAGHDAD — Fourteen rockets struck outside Irbil international airport near where U.S. forces are based in northern Iraq late Monday, killing one non-US civilian contractor and wounding five Americans, according to U.S. defense officials.

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the attack, which sparked fears of a new escalation in the region, according to a White House official.

More than a dozen 107mm rockets hit areas between the civilian airport in the semi-autonomous Kurdish-run region and the nearby base hosting U.S. troops at 9:30 p.m on Monday. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but a U.S. defense official said the attack was launched by a Shia militia group.

It is too soon to say whether Iran directed the attack, the person said, but previous attacks by militia groups on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq have been linked to Tehran.

In total, five Americans were injured in the attack: four civilian contractors and one service member, according to two defense officials. In addition, one non-U.S. contractor were killed and two non-U.S. contractors were injured.

Source: 1 killed, 5 Americans injured in rockets strike near U.S. base in Iraq – POLITICO

Controversial social-media app Parler has come back online after more than a month without service.

The Twitter-like app was a favourite among supporters of former US President Donald Trump and right-wing conservatives.

It was banned from Google and Apple’s app stores and Amazon’s web-hosting service, after an armed mob broke into the US Capitol building on 6 January.

But now, the self-styled free-speech platform says it is “here to stay”.

Source: Parler app back online after month-long gap – BBC News

The montage of celebrities gushing over New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D., as he received an Emmy award in November sparked a new wave of conservative mockery on Monday.

Cuomo rode high in 2020 for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic in spite of his state leading the nation in deaths, but he is now under fire from both parties over his administration’s suspected cover-up of nursing home fatalities from the virus.

Cuomo received the Founders Award “in recognition of his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and his masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world” at the International Emmy Awards ceremony on Nov. 23, and liberal celebrities like Ben Stiller, Spike Lee, and Robert de Niro heaped praise upon him in a pre-recorded video.

TWITTER USERS TRASH SNL FOR IGNORING CUOMO’S NURSING HOME SCANDAL: ‘WAS IT TOO EASY?’

The briefings “gave us hope, gave us clarity, gave us the truth, and gave us something we were not getting from Washington: leadership,” comedian Billy Crystal said. “You are the epitome of New York tough.”

Stiller said “I look up to you” and mentioned he reached out to Cuomo’s younger brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo, for advice on what good-natured jokes to make about him.

“You are the man,” actress Rosie Perez said. “We were all in a crisis, in a panic, and every single day you came on the airwaves, and you offered your strength, your leadership, your direction, and your caring, and your heart.”

Source: Celebrity salute to Andrew Cuomo at Emmy ceremony draws mockery: ‘How embarrassing’ | Fox News

“By excusing historical racism, I defended it,” Harrison wrote, announcing he will not host the “After the Final Rose” live special.

Source: “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison is temporarily “stepping aside” after “excusing historical racism” – CBS News

NEW YORK (AP) — The Republican Party still belongs to Donald Trump.

For Trump’s loyalists, the acquittal offers a vindication of sorts and a fresh connection to the former president.

Source: After impeachment acquittal, Trump remains dominant in GOP

The Senate voted Saturday, 57-43, to acquit former President Trump of inciting the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last month.

Source: Despite 7 Republicans voting guilty, Senate acquits Trump

Closing arguments at former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial were expected to get underway Saturday morning — but Day 5 started instead with House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) asking to subpoena records and call a witness sparking fierce debate with Trump defense lawyer Michael van der Venn.

House impeachment managers now want to call Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler as a witness.

The Senate voted unexpectedly on Saturday to permit the lawyers in Donald Trump’s impeachment trial to call witnesses, following a surprise request by the Democrats prosecuting the case to seek the testimony of a key House Republican who has publicly described evidence that the former president refused to pull back the violent mob on Jan. 6.

The 55-45 vote came after the House prosecutors said they would seek the testimony of Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) about her knowledge of a call between the former president and House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy as violence escalated at the Capitol. Herrera Beutler, who voted to impeach Trump in the House, has indicated that McCarthy related to her the details of the phone call in which Trump denied McCarthy’s pleas to forcefully call off the rioters.

Source: Trump’s impeachment trial draws to close as final arguments begin

Not everything is closed in observance of the federal holiday.

• Schools: Varies by district.

• County, state and federal offices and courts: Closed.

• City of Pittsburgh offices: Open.

• Post offices: Closed. No regular mail delivery.

• Banks: Most are closed.

• PennDOT driver license centers: Closed.

• State liquor stores: Those that usually open on Monday will be open.

• Port Authority of Allegheny County: Bus, light-rail and incline service will operate under a normal weekday schedule.

• Port Authority Downtown service center: Closed.

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: Branches that usually open on Monday will be open.

Source: President’s Day 2021: What’s Open, Closed Around Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA Patch

By Elizabeth Stauffer

According to a Tuesday Op-Ed in The New York Times, many French “politicians and prominent intellectuals” believe that America’s new woke culture has gone too far and now poses an existential threat to the French republic and identity.

Specifically, they are concerned about the dangerous social theories on “race, gender and post-colonialism”, which they view as forms of separatism.

In an October speech, French President Emmanuel Macron said the threat to French culture lies in “[c]ertain social science theories entirely imported from the United States.”

Macron is absolutely correct.

In recent years, the emboldened left has tried to force Americans into adopting their radical, divisive ideas. They’ve tried to convince every white person that they’re racist and must atone for it.

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Progressives are trying to insert unnatural gender ideas, critical race theory (which suggests the system is inherently racist and that whites maintain power by oppressing people of color) and revisionist history (in the form of The Times’ 1619 Project) into the curricula of public schools. And they’ve been able to do so with relative ease.

The Washington Times reported that lawmakers in two southern states have decided to stand up against the anti-American ideologies. Halleluiah!

RELATED: As Big Tech Censors Half of America, ACLU Instead Makes a Stand to Put Men in Women’s Sports

Source: Southern Lawmakers in Multiple States Tell Leftists They’re Not Putting Up with Anti-Americanism

The media has taken a closer look into family members of Joe Biden as their business dealings present new ethical challenges to his administration.

The Biden family became a topic of debate during the 2020 election and reports are now suggesting Biden’s son-in-law Howard Krein could be the next to cash in on the presidency.

On Tuesday, the White House dismissed concerns that Krein’s work with the coronavirus response could be considered a conflict of interest. Krein, who is married to Biden’s daughter Ashley, was an early investor in StartUp Health and is now its chief medical officer.

Back in December of 2020, the company began investing in companies who had the explicit intent to build government relationships and promote their COVID-19 technology. This occurred as Krein began formally advising Biden on the pandemic.

Reporters have raised concerns that Krein could use his position to promote companies to the White House or influence policy. White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki didn’t address the rumors head on. Instead, she reiterated Biden’s previous vow on ethics.“

Well Dr. Krein is his son-in-law and I think he was here because the president was inaugurated recently, which is understandable,” Psaki stated. “The president has made it clear that there will be an absolute wall between him and any businesses dealing with his family members.”

Meanwhile, Biden’s brother Frank was featured in an advertisement in January for a law firm in which he promoted his relationship with his brother. The ad shows Frank advocating for a law firm as a non-attorney

.It focused on a class-action lawsuit against sugar cane growers in Florida with Biden stat

Source: Biden family business dealings raise ethical questions | One America News Network

The Senate has voted unanimously to award Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman with a Congressional Gold Medal, the institution’s highest civilian honor, for his actions to protect the Congress during the deadly Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol.

Goodman was greeted in the Senate chamber on Friday with a standing ovation for his actions, which have been praised on both sides of the aisle as heroic and likely life saving.

Prior to this week’s Senate impeachment hearings, Goodman was already being praised as a hero for steering a mob of pro-Trump extremists away from the Senate chamber on the day of the insurrection. This week, House impeachment managers unveiled previously unseen footage that showed Goodman also redirecting Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican critic of former President Trump, away from an approaching swarm of rioters.

“By redirecting violent rioters away from the Senate chamber on January 6th, Officer Goodman defended our democracy and saved the lives of senators and staff,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said in a statement.

Source: Eugene Goodman Awarded Congressional Medal For Jan. 6 Heroics : Trump Impeachment Trial: Live Updates : NPR

White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo was suspended for one week. President Joe Biden had said he would fire staffers who disrespected colleagues.

The White House on Friday suspended a press aide who reportedly threatened to “destroy” a reporter working on a story about his relationship with another journalist.

Deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo was suspended for one week, without pay, after Vanity Fair reported he told Politico’s Tara Palmeri that he would “destroy” her for writing about his relationship with Axios reporter Alexi McCammond.

Vanity Fair reported Friday that in a conversation with Palmeri, who previously covered the White House as a correspondent for ABC News, Ducklo had “made derogatory and misogynistic comments” — including accusing her of being “jealous” of his relationship. “I will destroy you,” he told Palmeri, according to the magazine, which cited anonymous sources.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced Ducklo’s suspension on Friday, after the Vanity Fair piece was published, and called Ducklo’s behavior “completely unacceptable.”

Source: White House suspends deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo for threatening reporter – ABC News

• Rep. Claudia Tenney defeated Democratic incumbent Rep. Anthony Brindisi by 109 votes in a race that was decided this week
• On Thursday, Tenney was scheduled to be sworn in at Capitol – more than a month after the bulk of her colleagues on Jan. 3 had their swearing-in ceremony 
• She said she asked to have her son, an active duty Marine and graduate of the Naval Academy, to join the ceremony
• Tenney claims Nancy Pelosi prevented her son from being in the gallery but a spokesperson for the speaker said that the decision was not handled by her office 
• ‘The COVID restrictions are set by the House Sergeant at Arms and the Attending Physician,’ Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said
• Hammill added that the decision ‘has nothing to do with politics’ and that ‘the same thing would happen to a Democratic member’ 

Source: GOP congresswoman claims Pelosi stopped her Marine son from attending swearing-in | Daily Mail Online

The Biden administration said it will begin phasing in a new asylum process on Feb. 19 to deal with a backlog of migrants seeking asylum on the southern U.S. border, many of whom have been waiting in squalid camps in a state of limbo for court dates because of the Migrant Protection Protocols program.

Under pressure to make good on campaign promises on immigration and facing the prospect that a new wave of migrants seeking to escape desperate situations could flood the border, the Biden team said it plans to start allowing in a trickle of asylum-seekers — about 300 people per day — from among an estimated 25,000 people with “active cases” in the now-defunct MPP program.

Former President Donald Trump called the program “Remain in Mexico” because it forced migrants from Central American countries to await asylum hearings outside the United States. Ending the program was one of Biden’s first actions when he took office, part of a sweeping rollback of Trump’s measures aimed at curbing immigration. Biden promised a more “humane” system.

Source: Biden Team Unveils New Asylum System To Start Dealing With Migrant Backlog : NPR

Fox News is expanding The Greg Gutfeld Show to weeknights at 11 p.m. ET, making a rare effort to reach late-night viewers with a comedic show with the outspoken host.

The show will take the place of Fox News @ Night, anchored by Shannon Bream, which will move to the midnight slot.

Fox News said that Gutfeld, who headlines a show on Saturday night, will launch on weekdays in the second quarter. The network has not announced a replacement for Gutfeld’s weekend show.

The move is also the latest sign of Fox News expanding its nightly opinion and commentary. It recently shifted a 7 p.m. ET newscast, The Story with Martha MacCallum, in favor of Fox News Primetime, with a rotating group of hosts.

Source: Fox News Expands ‘The Greg Gutfeld Show’ To Weeknights At 11 PM – Deadline