Earlier today Senator Mike “H1B” Lee called the national security briefing “lame” and “inadequate”, saying the military and intelligence leaders ran from hard questions at the briefing.  Well, Senator James Lankford calls those accusations by Senator Lee demonstrably false and untrue.
Senator Lankford noted the briefing included examples of 90 incidents of Iranian proxy attacks against the U.S. and coalition forces in the last month-and-a-half; ultimately leading to the killing of an American. It was after the final attack when POTUS Trump ordered the elimination of Qassim Soleimani.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell delivered some bad news to Speaker Pelosi from the floor of the upper-chamber:

…”There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure. We will not cede our authority to try this impeachment. The House Democrats’ turn is over. The Senate has made its decision.”…

…Now, go make me a sandwich.

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[Transcript] – MITCH MCCONNELL – ‘Late last year, Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats sped through a slapdash impeachment of President Trump in 12 weeks. Because, they insisted, the need to undo the 2016 election was urgent. Urgent, they said.
‘Since then, the same people have spent three weeks dragging their heels and refusing to proceed to a Senate trial.
‘Supposedly, the explanation for this shameless game-playing is that Speaker Pelosi wanted “leverage” to reach into the Senate and dictate our trial proceedings to us. I’ve made clear from the beginning that no such “leverage” exists. It’s nonexistent. And yesterday we made it clear it will never exist.
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One of the key sectors gaining benefit from the USMCA trade agreement is the auto sector.  Rules on steel and aluminum smelting/origination, and rules on part origination from North America are key aspects to the trade agreement that shifts focus from the import of Asian manufactured parts for assembly to manufacturing in North America.
Essentially, seventy-five percent of the component parts for the auto industry must be manufactured in North America.  This shift directly puts U.S. auto-workers at the forefront for job gains & stops the process of using manufactured parts from China, Asia or the EU.
The goal of the agreement was/is to make manufacturing investment in North America the main consideration for auto-manufacturers who want access to the U.S. market.  Today, as a direct result of future investment considerations, General Motors and Ford unexpectedly surprise 1,500 auto-workers with the announcement their jobs have gone from part-time to full-time status.  Great news for these families:

DETROIT – General Motors’ worker Adarrey “Ace” Humphrey was blindsided Sunday. That’s when his life changed.

Humphrey, 27, has been a part-time temporary worker at GM’s Flint Assembly in Michigan for the last three years. On Sunday morning, he and about 250 of his co-workers crowded into UAW Local 598’s union hall. Most thought they were there for a routine meeting.

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In the aftermath of Ukraine Airlines Flight 752 exploding and crashing just north of Tehran airport, the Iranian government is refusing to turn-over the black box flight data recorders recovered from the crash site.   Combined with the timing and location, their refusal is leading to increased speculation the flight may have accidentally been targeted by Iranian air-defense systems.  The tragedy is being compounded by Iranian politics.
The Boeing 737-800 is a very dependable aircraft with three decades of service.  This specific Ukraine aircraft was built in 2016 & just had a service inspection on January 6th. Immediately after the crash, Iranian officials stated the cause was “technical difficulties”, and after video surfaced showing the plane was on fire heading to the ground, Iran later stated the cause was one of the engines on fire.  However, there was no distress call or report of issue, from very experienced Ukraine pilots to Tehran air-traffic control.

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There were 176 passengers and crew aboard: 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainian passengers and crew, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans and three Britons on board. Additionally, what appears to be the nose of an M1 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) has been identified in a debris field near the crash site.
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Speaker of the House “Tehran Nancy” has announced her intention for a vote on Thursday in an effort to limit President Trump’s authority to defend against attacks by Iran, and increase the democrat effort to protect Iran’s ability to target Americans in the region.

“Mullah Bin Schumer and Tehran Nancy”

“Members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward. Our concerns were not addressed by the President’s insufficient War Powers Act notification and by the Administration’s briefing today,” Pelosi said in a statement.
 

A new ADP Payroll Report shows job gains of 202,000 from November to December 2019 far surpassing expectations. The increase was the largest gain since April ’19: “largest gain since April, driven mainly by professional and business services. Job creation was strong across companies of all sizes, led predominantly by mid-sized companies.”

(Reuters) – U.S. private payrolls increased by the most in eight months in December, pointing to sustained labor market strength though job gains last month were likely flattered by a seasonal quirk.
The ADP National Employment Report on Wednesday showed private payrolls jumped by 202,000 jobs last month, the largest gain since April, after an upwardly revised 124,000 rise in November.

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Earlier today President Trump addressed the outcome and ramifications from last nights’ missile attack by Iran against two bases in Iraq. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – THE PRESIDENT: As long as I am President of the United States, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

Good morning. I’m pleased to inform you: The American people should be extremely grateful and happy no Americans were harmed in last night’s attack by the Iranian regime. We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.

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UPDATE: Response from President Trump

There is a big difference between “rockets” being fired, and ground based “missiles” being launched from inside Iran.  Stay aware initial reports are often wrong or misleading.
Breaking Reports are confirming that several “short range” and/or “cruise” missiles are being fired into “multiple” U.S. bases in Iraq.  U.S. officials are confirming missiles from Iran have targeted Al Asad Air Base in western Iraq (Western Anbar Desert), and U.S. forces in Erbil – northern Iraq.

CNN is reporting President Trump was briefed on the “rocket” attacks, according to White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. “We are aware of the reports of attacks on US facilities in Iraq. The President has been briefed and is monitoring the situation closely and consulting with his national security team,” Grisham said.

(VIA ABC) – Multiple missiles have been launched into Iraq from Iran targeting American bases.
“This morning, courageous fighters of the IRGC’s Air Force launched a successful operation called Operation Martyr Soleimani, with the code ‘Oh Zahra’ by firing tens of ground-to-ground missiles at the base of the terrorist and invasive US forces,” the country’s state-run news outlet ISNA reported.

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Earlier today President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania welcomed the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife Mrs. Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis to the White House.  Prior to their bilateral meeting the two leaders held a press availability in the oval office. [Video and Transcript Below]

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[Transcript] – PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well, thank you very much. On behalf of the First Lady and myself, it’s an honor to have the Prime Minister of Greece and First Lady of Greece with us. We really appreciate it. We have many things to discuss.

The relationship is extr- — really extraordinary, I would say. Right? It’s as good as it can get. We’re doing a lot of things together — military. We’re also doing big trade. A lot of trade. And Greece has made a tremendous comeback. We’ve worked with them very closely. And, really, the Prime Minister will have some interesting things to say. So you have to tell them one statistic, because it’s a great statistic. We’re very proud of Greece and the comeback that they’re making. And we will continue it forward. There’s no doubt about it. Thank you very much for being here.

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Earlier today U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper held a press briefing. Video below. When the transcript is available it will be posted HERE.

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