‘Twas the night before Christmas
At Nakatomi Tower
When our story of homecoming
Begins with brute power At Los Angeles airport, meet our savior, McClane;
With toys for his kids he disembarks from his plane.
To not see that this tale’s about Christmas is folly;
Did I mention that Mrs. McClane’s name is Holly?

According to the court transcript, "DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP" only spoke six times during the hearing today.

Here are those times: 1/CLERK: Donald J. Trump, the grand jury of New York County has filed indictment 71543 of 2023 charging you with the crimes of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the 1st degree. How do you plead to this indictment, guilty or not guilty?

DEFENDANT MR. TRUMP: Not guilty.

Bottom line charge from indictment of Donald Trump: Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, a class E felony, 34 counts

Stemming from alleged 2015-17 “'catch and kill' scheme through a series of payments that he then concealed through months of false business entries" 2/ Indictment says the parent company of National Enquirer, American Media Inc. ("AMI"), "paid $30,000 to a former Trump Tower doorman, who claimed to have a story about a child TRUMP had out of wedlock."

CHINATOWN (1974) Burt Young is seen and heard before Jack Some incredible cinematography

A grim and solemn milestone today: The Bush administration's "shock and awe" continuous bombing campaign of Iraq began on this day 20 years ago. More than 4,700 U.S. and allied troops and more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in that conflict.

cfr.org/timeline/iraq-…

Especially “painful” for those who listen to his ascientific ignorant claptrap and don’t get their kids immunized, leading to preventable diseases and worse.

https://twitter.com/robertkennedyjr/status/1636781238395584536

politico.com/magazine/story…

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction’s latest report “Collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: An Assessment of the Factors That Led to Its Demise.”
 
sigar.mil/pdf/evaluation… Among the conclusions: The last-minute wholesale restructuring of Afghanistan’s security institutions by President Ghani “between March and June 2021, in particular, undermined ANDSF cohesion, morale, and ultimately, its ability to counter the Taliban offensive.”

So which Speaker's races in history have gone on longer than this one (ending on the 15th ballot), you ask?

1) The Speaker deadlock of 1820 went to 22 ballots, won by John Taylor of New York.

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1611145742319603713

2) The Speaker deadlock of 1860 went to 44 ballots, won by William Pennington of New Jersey.

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1611129754429554689

January 6:

Trump’s tweets from two years ago today (many now back up) send a pretty clear message.

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1346693906990305280

2/ Whether tweets demanding action or RTs of false information like the below (which he RTed on Jan 6) Trump was selling lies about the election and angering a crowd eager to believe those falsehoods:

Mccarthy allies say today is "pivotal." that today is pivotal

After intense negotiations with rebels who want changes to House rules, it will become clear, they say there’s not really any more for McCarthy to give... 2/ Tough choices will have to be made if no real progress has been made, allies say. Whether to risk a plurality vote, (changing the rules so it’s only a plurality necessary, not the 218 vote majority; basically forcing a choice of McCarthy or Jeffries).. OR....

.@GOPLeader McCarthy: "last night I was presented: the only way to have 218 votes if I provided certain members with certain positions, certain gavels to take over certain committees to have certain budgets... @GOPLeader 2/ "...And they even came to the position where one Matt Gaetz said ‘I don't care if we go to plurality and we elect (Democratic House Leader) Hakeem Jeffries,’ and it hurts the new frontline members not to get reelected."

Five years later this poem I wish to amend
To further the argument it’s my joy to defend,
About cinema’s most perfect Christmas action potboiler —
But please be forewarned THE BELOW IS A SPOILER
🧵

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/945475213797584896

At the end John McClane has his last confrontation
Hans Gruber created a hostage situation
How to save his wife Holly while *appearing* unarmed?
For once McClane finds himself heavenly charmed —

BREAKING -- Sources tell me in President Zelensky's speech, he will directly address the American people noting the shared values of US and Ukraine, and directly thank the American people and US politicians of both parties --
1/ thread 2/ Perhaps the biggest news – Zelensky will discuss a peace formula he discussed w/President Biden, also expressing a willingness to have a Peace Summit this winter...

Very interesting struggle going on right now on Capitol Hill regarding an antitrust bill against big tech being pushed by @amyklobuchar and @ChuckGrassley.

Some stories about it in this 🧵 “Bipartisan backers of a trio of proposals to rein in the power of Big Tech and stiffen antitrust enforcement have a simple question for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.): What’s the deal?”

huffpost.com/entry/chuck-sc…

Two years ago today, we were alerted And it was clarified:

So many journalist colleagues have raised their hands to donate ZOOM calls and more for our @HomesForOurTrps auction to raise $$ to build specially-designed homes for severely wounded veterans!

Check it out: Join @AlisynCamerota on Zoom! All proceeds to build specially adapted homes for injured Veterans through @homesforourtrps for our annual
#VeteransDay Celebrity auction on @ebay. Bid now: ebay.com/itm/2755136260… #HFOTAuction2022

Just before dawn on this day in 2009, roughly 400 insurgents surrounded 53 US soldiers stationed in a valley at Combat Outpost Keating. 1/ 2/ The COP had been built in 2006 as a way for the US to better bond with locals in neighboring Kamdesh. Just 14 miles from the border with Pakistan, COP Keating was located in gorgeous and legendarily inhospitable Nuristan province.

The US taking out al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri the same weekend as the Saudis fund a golf tournament at Trump's Bedminster is interesting timing, and further underlines the Saudi government pushing back against any investigation into its possible involvement in 9/11. But ... 1/

https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/1554075772108898304

2/ ...even if possible Saudi government involvement in 9/11 doesn't bother you, nor do the Saudi roots of 15 of the 19 hijackers plus Osama bin Laden plus much of the funding for al Qaeda...there are plenty of other reasons to not want to partner with the Saudis...

THREAD on Trump this past week defending his lucrative partnership with the Saudis regarding the LIV golf tournament telling ESPN that "nobody has gotten to the bottom of 9/11."

1/

cnn.com/videos/politic… 2/ Trump seemingly said this as a way of letting the Saudis off the hook.

The truth is, beyond the 9/11 Report, there’s still much we don’t know about the Saudi government role on 9/11 — but Trump was an impediment to releasing that information.

Director of National Intelligence: "Assessing the Saudi Government's Role in the Killing of Jamal Khashoggi"

February 11, 2021

dni.gov/files/ODNI/doc… 2/ "We assess that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman approved an
operation in Istanbul, Turkey to capture or kill Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi..."

The below statue of traitorous Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith -- who surrendered on June 2, 1865, in Galveston, Texas, and fled to Mexico then Cuba to avoid arrest for treason (later returning to Florida) -- is gone, and today is being replaced with a new one.... 1/

https://twitter.com/USRepKCastor/status/1434144627372744705

...that of civil rights activist Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, born on this day in 1875, a VP of the NAACP, adviser to FDR, founder of a school for Black girls that ultimately became Bethune-Cookman College, and so much more. 2/