Kash Patel made the FBI buy a custom fleet of armored BMW X5 for him to ride around in, according to MS NOW. The standard version of the X5 costs about $70,000.
“It
offers protection not just against attacks with blunt instruments and
handguns, but also against the world’s most widely used firearm, the
AK-47,” the car’s description reads.
Patel’s FBI spokesperson claimed—without evidence—that this is actually saving the American taxpayer money.
“Government
agencies, including the FBI, routinely evaluate, replace and update
vehicle fleets based on usage, security needs or budgetary decisions,”
Ben Williamson told MS NOW. “The specific decisions referenced in this
article were evaluated partly as a way to save taxpayers millions by
picking cheaper selections or making cost structures more efficient.”
"Democratic political strategist James Carville recently weighed in on Doug Jones’ chance of winning the 2026 race for governor of Alabama.
“Doug is in the hunt,” Carville told his Politics War Room podcast co-host Al Hunt in a video this week. “If we’re ever going to succeed in a state like Alabama it’s going to be with a guy like Doug,” he said, calling Jones an “outstanding human.”
Carville pointed to U.S. Sen Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., as Jones’ best hope for winning the 2026 race for governor. He said Tuberville
is the “gold standard of stupidity,” when asked if Jones has a shot.
Carville added that he thinks Tuberville’s lack of intelligence could
only be topped by U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss."
He
interrupted prime time television to yell at the American people this
week because he does not know what to do besides yell. He can’t convince
and he can’t persuade and so he demands, in the hope that he can
browbeat the public into giving him the praise he thinks he deserves.
I think he’ll find that this isn’t going to work."
"Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stunned Republicans by abruptly
announcing her January retirement. The Rome Republican has since warned
that the party is headed for midterm defeat because of its unswerving
loyalty to Trump."
"The holiday season can be a difficult time for
many people, particularly those experiencing grief, loneliness or mental
health challenges. Help is available.
In the U.S., the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling or texting 988, or via online chat at 988lifeline.org. The service is free and available 24/7.
Alabama has its own crisis numbers for residents to reach out to for those seeking help.
The
Crisis Center (Central Alabama) can be reached at 205-323-7777 or in
North Alabama at 256-716-1000 or 1-800-691-8426. Lifeline Counseling
Services can be reached at 251-602-0909."
“Particularly
disappointing is the silence from Alabama Republicans after their
attempts to bully, fire, and silence anyone who made a statement
following the death of Charlie Kirk,” said Sheena Gamble, a spokesperson
for the party.
“Not
a single one of them has come out and condemned President Trump’s
remarks either because they dare not criticize their king or because
they agree with his remarks. No calls to censure him, no calls to fire
anyone celebrating the death of the Reiners. Their silence screams.”
“The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees voted unanimously
today to name the institution The Donald J. Trump and The John F.
Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” center spokeswoman
Roma Daravi said in a statement.
Can we have a building somewhere WITHOUT the tRump name on it ???????????????????????????????????????
I'm NOT likely to be attending anything there, regardless of the name. But NOW I will avoid ANY offer to go there.
I wanted to see the vote totals to see who caved in, and the Washington Post story included this:
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the board, said the vote was “not unanimous.”
“I was on that call and as I tried to push my button to
voice my concern, to ask questions, and certainly not to vote in support
of this, I was muted. Each time I tried to speak, I was muted,” she
said in a video posted to X.
WARSAW
- China’s electric-vehicle industry captured half its domestic market
in just a few years, crushing sales of gasoline-powered vehicles from
once-dominant global automakers.
But
foreign players weren’t the only losers. Many Chinese legacy automakers
also watched their sales collapse – and responded by flooding the world
with fossil-fuel vehicles they couldn’t sell at home.
While
Western policymakers have focused on the threat of China’s heavily
subsidized EVs, protecting their markets with tariffs, U.S. and European
automakers face greater competition from China’s gas-guzzlers in
countries from Poland to South Africa to Uruguay. Fossil-fuel vehicles
have accounted for 76% of Chinese auto exports since 2020, and total
annual shipments jumped from 1 million to likely more than 6.5 million
this year, according to data from China-based consultancy Automobility.
Given Rob Reiner’s contributions to American culture—from his days as a sitcom star on All in the Family to his direction of iconic films such as When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men—it was entirely appropriate for the president of the United States to weigh in on his horrifying death over the weekend.
Sadly,
the way President Donald Trump has done so is beyond the pale. His
Monday post on Truth Social is worth reading in full, in part because
many Republican lawmakers will spend the next few days claiming not to
have seen it.
Trump later referred to the murdered Reiner as “bad for our country.” (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
This
is what we know. Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found
stabbed to death on Sunday. Their troubled son, 32-year-old Nick
Reiner, has been arrested for their murder.
There is no evidence that the slaying had anything to do with Trump.
But the president has a penchant for making everything about himself,
and so he has here, casting their deaths as somehow the result of their
opposition to him and his politics.
We’re living through an era of political violence, something we take very seriously. We’ve publishednumerousessays
on how Americans can and must come together and solve our differences
the way they are meant to be solved: civil debate, the democratic
process, a respectful airing of differences. Those values are at the
heart of everything we do.
In
his 50-plus years as a top American entertainer, Reiner—like most major
Hollywood figures—was a liberal. And like a solid percentage of the
country, he did not care for Trump. But there is no indication this was
an act of political violence, and it is obscene for the president to try
to make it into one.
Many Americans have come to expect the
president to be petulant and self-centered. We’ve become inured to his
wild social media ramblings. Yet he still finds ways to shock us on
occasion; his statement on Reiner is exceptionally beneath the office he
holds. Rob Reiner was not a political figure. He was merely an
outspoken supporter of liberal causes, which of course was his right.
After
a horrific weekend that included a lethal shooting at Brown University,
the killing of three Americans by ISIS in Syria, and the slaughter of
16 people celebrating Hanukkah on a beach in Australia, the leader of
the free world should be looking to unite Americans and condemn bigotry
and violence wherever they take place in the world. Instead, he is
kicking the corpse of someone who made movies that brought Americans
together.
After this awful weekend, Trump has once again lowered the bar for what we can expect from the president.
Much
has been written about how social media brings out the worst in people.
We saw this after Charlie Kirk was assassinated, which was celebrated by many accounts
on Bluesky, a left-wing alternative to X. But the overwhelming majority
of Democratic lawmakers hit the right note, condemning Kirk’s murder
and calling for peace.
Now, after this awful weekend, Trump
has once again lowered the bar for what we can expect from the
president. His accomplishments are real, particularly in the realm of
foreign policy and in securing the southern border. But there’s a
casual, unthinking cruelty that sometimes runs through him. Today, that
dark side of his personality was on full display.
As mentioned earlier, Reiner’s breakout role was on All in the Family,
the iconic 1970s sitcom where he played the liberal foil to his
father-in-law, Archie Bunker. The show and its creators skewed left, but
Archie always got to make his case, and became something of a
conservative icon in the process. In the end, the point of the show was
that they were all family, and they did all love each other, no matter
the political differences they had. Their disagreements became heated
and Archie let the insults fly—“Meathead,” he called his son-in-law when
they argued politics. Still, the show recognized and respected their
basic decency as Americans, and as human beings.
It’s a
sentiment we could use more of today, one in keeping with our country’s
floundering civic religion and sense of boundaries. Instead, we’re
treated to the shameful spectacle of the president of the United States
mocking a man who had just been savagely murdered alongside his wife.
Trump
almost certainly won’t walk it back, and the usual suspects will find
some rhetorical contortions with which to defend this outburst. But
there is no point in anyone defending this. It should be widely
opposed—particularly by those who otherwise support him.
President Trump seized on the stabbing
death of Rob Reiner and his wife to make a baseless attack on the
Hollywood director less than a day after reports of his killing,
suggesting that Mr. Reiner’s criticism of Mr. Trump may have led to his
murder.
The attack on Mr. Reiner, so
soon after his death, prompted a rare backlash against the president
from some MAGA-aligned Republicans, some of whom urged the president to
retract his comments.
Mr. Trump wrote
on Truth Social on Monday that Mr. Reiner’s death was “reportedly due to
the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and
incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP
DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
================================================
No tRump, YOU are the disease infecting this great country.
This accident indirectly led to me moving to Birmingham for a job that included flying in a similar chopper, doing traffic reports for a decade or two. I'm not sure if I knew much, if anything, about the accident when I took the job working with Bob Rowe and Steve Sanders on the air in the WERC Radio newsroom, including doing traffic reports! And, truthfully, I'm not sure, if I DID know, that it would have dissuaded me from taking the job!
“The truth is, Obamacare destroyed—absolutely destroyed—our health care system," Tuberville said.
“It
is completely unaffordable. As a result, American families are now
paying the enormous price for Barack Obama and woke Democrats’ Obamacare
system.”
And we can believe Tuberville because of...what? His great record speaking about healthcare???? Is there ANYTHING the Democrats have done that he approved of? ANYTHING?????????? Of course not.
Gee, it's almost like his comments are...political and nothing more?????
That's
it. We're finished showing movies for the year. There are a few private
rentals to take care of, and then it is time for me to say goodbye.
Ideally
this would be a letter thanking people by name for all they've done for
me, and for the Capri Theatre, for the last 40 years. Fortunately,
there are too many people to thank. I know I would overlook too many,
and anyway, it would end up reading like the acknowledgments chapter of a
too long book.
Instead, I wish a collective "Thank You" to everyone who has supported me in one way or another.
Certainly the friends I have made. Those I still have, and those I miss.
The
people who took a chance and hired me in 1985 - the ones who thought it
was a good idea, and those who didn't at first, but later came around.
Thanks
to the Board Members, especially the Board Presidents, who put up with
me over the years. Who contributed a portion of your life to steering
the Capri. Through police raids, controversial films, collapsed
ceilings, and every calamity, big or small, we thought may close the
Capri. And always scraping together the money. Money to pay the bills,
buy the building, convert to digital, put up a new marquee, and
everything it takes to run a single screen theatre in Montgomery.
And,
of course thanks to all of the people who make the Capri possible. Your
support - through memberships, donations, attendance, time, and work
- is the real reason the Capri still exists. No matter what, you have
never let us down.
That
includes those who have volunteered your time and work to the Capri.
Some of you have volunteered for decades, and most likely will outlast
my record at the Capri.
And
to our many past - and current few - employees, most of whom have been
at the theatre for at least a decade. Your work, loyalty, and dedication
are appreciated.
It's
beginning to read like the acknowledgments chapter I wanted to avoid.
It's time for me to go. I've done what I could at the Capri, though not
everything I wanted. I think it will be in good hands. They will be
facing some challenges I'm glad I won't, so please show them the support
you've shown me.
I'll
still be around. I'll just be an old guy telling stories. So many of
which will be about the Capri. Thanks for letting me have them.
“In
every state, they’re building Mosques, they’re having these five
prayers a day, they’re pushing this cult on everybody across this
country.”
Tuberville said the school is a tool used to influence young people and convert them to Islam.
OH SURE.....A PUSH towards ISLAM is underway in ALABAMA????? REALLY?????Are you kidding me? They're going to turn ALABAMA Ismamic??????? This is a FAKE FEAR EVENT by Tuberville. I Say B.S.
“I
think when you come in and when you’re [coverage is] 97% negative to
Trump and then Trump wins the election in a landslide, that means
obviously your news is not credible,” Trump said. “And you’re not
credible as a reporter.”
Trump’s
outburst came a day after he lashed out at CBS News’ Jennifer Jacobs
when she asked whether there was any incrimination information against
Trump in the Epstein files.
“Quiet, quiet piggy,” Trump told Jacobs after she asked the question on Air Force One.
“In the future, in a year, I’ll be the governor,” he said, “and I’ll be
damned if we’re going to do that in the state of Alabama. We’re going to
protect the people of Alabama; we’re going to protect our constitution.
We’re going to protect our state and we’re going to protect our
country.”
Critics
of President Donald Trump reacted with a collective eye roll after he
was bestowed Friday with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize for his
“unwavering commitment to advancing peace and unity throughout the
world.”
Trump,
who had sought the Nobel Peace Prize but was left empty handed by the
Nobel Committee, was recognized Friday by FIFA, the governing body of
international soccer, during the draw for the 2026 World Cup at the
Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
I have promised myself NOT to buy anything that uses the words "THIS STORY continues in the comments."
"This morning, our city suffered a heartbreaking
loss," Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said in a statement issued Friday
afternoon. "The fire that engulfed the historic Sayre Street School has
left us deeply disheartened. While we are grateful that no injuries have
been reported, the damage to this treasured landmark is a profound blow
to Montgomery’s cultural and educational legacy."
Reed's statement said the structure was the city's oldest surviving public school building
Living
through just one US president might feel like it lasts forever – but
imagine living through 40 of them. That’s an unlikely feat for us humans
unless we somehow figure out how to live longer (or if we ended up with a string of presidents serving short terms), but it’s a reality for Jonathan the tortoise, the world’s oldest living land animal.
No one knows exactly how old this Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) is. He arrived fully grown to the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena in 1882,
serving as a gift to the British overseas territory’s future governor,
William Grey-Wilson. Based on Jonathan’s maturity at that time, it’s
estimated he was at least 50 years old – and so, when he was finally
given an official birthday in 2022, it was assigned to be December 4, 1832.
That means Jonathan
will turn, at the very least, a whopping 193 years old later this year.
During that time, the giant tortoise has lived through US presidents
from Andrew Jackson all the way to Donald Trump. That’s 40 presidents in
total, and a whole lot of political history.
Not that he’d have
paid much attention to US politics, that is. Not just because he lives
in St Helena, which isn’t part of the US, but because, well… he’s a tortoise. As far as we’re aware, he’s much more likely to be invested in a leafy green snack (and frankly, who can blame him).
He
might not be able to smell or see such delicious goods anymore – he’s
pretty much lost his sight due to cataracts and his sense of smell has
also gone – but Jonathan’s appetite “remains keen” according to his vet
Joe Hollins, speaking to Guinness World Records (GW)in 2023.
Hollins gave an insight into Jonathan’s top snacks during a 2019 interview with GWR.
“He loves banana, but it tends to gum up his mouth. Lettuce hearts,
though not very nutritious, are a favourite. He also greatly enjoys
cabbage, cucumber, apple, other seasonal fruits, carrots – a good source
of dietary fibre that he loves.”
But besides feasting on some tasty meals, what else does a 192-year-old tortoise get up to on a daily basis?It’s
a “very relaxed” schedule, apparently. “He enjoys the sun but on very
hot days takes to the shade. On mild days, he will sunbathe – his long
neck and legs stretched fully out of his shell to absorb heat and
transfer it to his core,” said Rollins. “On cold winter days, he will
dig himself into leaf mould or grass clippings and remain there all
day.”Sounds pretty chilled, although maybe he’s just saving his
energy for knockin’ boots with Emma and Fred, two of the other tortoises
he lives with. “In spite of his age, Jonathan still has a good libido
and is seen frequently to mate with Emma and sometimes Fred,” said
Rollins.
"The University of Alabama on Monday announced to staff of student-run publications Alice Magazine and Nineteen Fifty-Six that the magazines would be suspended, effective immediately, in compliance with federal regulations.
In
their decision, UA officials cited a memo released by U.S. Attorney
General Pam Bondi this summer claiming that DEI initiatives can be
considered discriminatory and may be in violation of federal
anti-discrimination laws."
Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends
David
Sacks, the Trump administration’s A.I. and crypto czar, has helped
formulate policies that aid his Silicon Valley friends and many of his
own tech investments.
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(From the Montgomery Advertiser)