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 @ISIDEWITHNewsimmigrationAfricaEuropeSextaxesItalyPrime MinisterWar•••6mos ago

Italy’s Prime Minister Goes Mainstream

A few days ago, Italy’s right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, was campaigning for votes as a scrappy underdog, presenting herself as “that bitch Meloni.”

Her rise owes much to her ability to please her party’s far-right base on identity issues such as Muslim immigration and same-sex parents, while simultaneously reassuring center-right voters that she is a safe pair of hands, including in managing Italy’s fragile finances.

Her hybrid of right-wing culture war and establishment-friendly foreign and economic policies could become a model for other far-right parties in Europe that are looking to gain power and broader acceptance.

She has followed broadly similar policies to Berlusconi, centered on trimming income taxes and welfare benefits, without pushing ambitious economic overhauls to boost Italy’s chronically low growth. Ironically, Meloni’s support remains solid even though voters think she has performed poorly on her signature issue: controlling immigration. She promised to stop migrants from crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa, but has found there is no easy way to do it.

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Donald Trump nominates Pam Bondi as the next Attorney General

Former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced his intention to nominate former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi as the next Attorney General of the United States, should he reclaim the presidency in the upcoming election.Bondi, a prominent figure in Republican politics, served as Florida's Attorney General from 2011 to 2019. She gained national attention for her legal battles on issues such as health care reform, consumer protection, and opioid abuse litigation. Known for her steadfast support of Trump during his presidency, Bondi also served as a key adviser during his first impeachment trial, where she defended his administration against accusations of abuse of power.In a statement released by his campaign, Trump praised Bondi’s “unwavering commitment to justice” and her “track record of standing up for everyday Americans against the abuses of Washington’s elites.”“Pam Bondi has been a fearless advocate for the people, and she embodies the principles of fairness, accountability, and the rule of law that are sorely needed to restore trust in our justice system,” Trump said. “She is the right person to lead the Department of Justice into a new era of integrity and excellence.”While Bondi’s nomination has been met with applause from conservative circles, it has also reignited criticism from Democrats and ethics watchdogs. Her acceptance of a $25,000 donation from the Trump Foundation in 2013, which coincided with her decision not to pursue an investigation into Trump University, has drawn scrutiny in the past and resurfaced following the announcement.Democratic leaders have already voiced opposition, questioning Bondi’s ability to lead the Department of Justice independently. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) called the nomination “a political power play” and urged a focus on “restoring integrity, not entrenching partisanship.”

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Active 52mins ago

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Israeli prime minister approves Lebanon ceasefire deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the emerging ceasefire deal with Hezbollah “in principle” during a security consultation with Israeli officials Sunday night, a source familiar with the matter said.Israel still has reservations over some details of the agreement, which were expected to be transmitted to the Lebanese government on Monday, the source said.Those and other details are still being negotiated and multiple sources stressed that the agreement will not be final until all issues are resolved.A ceasefire agreement will also need to be approved by the Israeli cabinet, which has not yet occurred.Sources familiar with the negotiations said talks appear to be moving positively toward an agreement, but acknowledged that as Israel and Hezbollah continue to trade fire, one misstep could upend the talks.United States envoy Amos Hochstein said in Beirut last week that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon was “within our grasp,” but that it was ultimately “the decision of the parties.”He met Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and parliament speaker Nabih Berri, the interlocutor with Hezbollah in the talks and said there had been “constructive” and “very good discussions to narrow the gaps.”“We have a real opportunity to bring conflict to an end,” he added last week. “The window is now.” He departed Lebanon for Israel on Wednesday to try to bring the negotiations “to a close.”The US-backed proposal aims to achieve a 60-day cessation of hostilities that some hope could form the basis of a lasting ceasefire.On Sunday, CNN analyst and Axios reporter Barak Ravid cited a source as saying Hochstein had told the Israeli ambassador to Washington on Saturday that if Israel did not respond positively in the coming days to the ceasefire proposal, he would withdraw from the mediation efforts.Hochstein’s trip to the region followed Beirut responding “positively” to a US-backed proposal to stop the war, Mikati said last week, adding that large parts of the draft agreement were resolved.

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Missiles for Moscow: North Korea's Secret Factory Fuels Russia's War Machine

North Korea is expanding a key weapons manufacturing complex that assembles a type of short-range missile used by Russia in Ukraine, researchers at a U.S.-based think tank have concluded, based on satellite images.The facility, known as the February 11 plant, is part of the Ryongsong Machine Complex in Hamhung, North Korea's second-largest city, on the country's east coast.Sam Lair, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), located at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said the plant was the only one known to produce the Hwasong-11 class of solid-fuel ballistic missiles.Ukrainian officials say these munitions - known as the KN-23 in the West - have been used by Russian forces in their assault on Ukraine.The expansion of the complex has not been previously reported.Both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied that North Korea has transferred weapons for Russia to use against Ukraine, which it invaded in February 2022. Russia and North Korea signed a mutual defense treaty at a summit in June and have pledged to boost their military ties.North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment for this story.The satellite images, taken in early October by the commercial satellite firm Planet Labs, show what appears to be an additional assembly building under construction as well as a new housing facility, likely intended for workers, according to the analysis by researchers at CNS.It also appears that Pyongyang is improving the entrances for some of the underground facilities at the complex.A disused bridge crane that was in front of a tunnel entrance, blocking easy access, was removed, suggesting they might be placing an emphasis on that part of the facility, Lair said."We see this as a suggestion that they're massively increasing, or they're trying to significantly increase, the throughput of this factory," Lair said.The new assembly building is about 60 to 70 percent the size of the previous building used to assemble missiles.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…2hrs2H

Jack Smith files to drop Jan. 6 charges against Donald Trump

Special counsel Jack Smith has filed a motion to drop all four felony charges against President-elect Donald Trump in connection with his effort to overturn his 2020 presidential election in the lead-up to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S Capitol.Trump was first indicted on four felonies in August 2023: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. The case was then put on hold for months as Trump’s team argued that Trump could not be prosecuted.The indictment marked an extraordinary moment in American history — the first-ever accusation that a president sought illegally to cling to power.The dismissal also marks a historic moment. Fifty years after Richard Nixon was forced by lawmakers from both parties to resign the presidency amid allegations of criminal conduct, half of American voters will return Trump to the presidency despite his own serious charges of criminal misconduct in office.“The Government’s position on the merits of the defendant’s prosecution has not changed. But the circumstances have," Smith’s office wrote in Monday’s filing, adding that it is seeking to dismiss the charges ahead of Trump's inauguration, in line with the Justice Department’s longstanding position that it can’t charge a sitting president.“That prohibition is categorical and does not turn on the gravity of the crimes charged, the strength of the Government’s proof, or the merits of the prosecution, which the Government stands fully behind," the special counsel added.The Supreme Court handed Trump an early victory in the case in July with its ruling on presidential immunity. But a new federal grand jury indicted Trump on the same four charges again in August, alleging that Trump’s false claims about mass voter fraud during the 2020 election were “unsupported, objectively unreasonable, and ever-changing” and that Trump “knew that they were false.”

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Active 20mins ago

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Kamala Harris is considering running for president again in 2028

Kamala Harris has been lying low since her defeat in the presidential race, unwinding with family and senior aides in Hawaii before heading back to the nation’s capital.But privately, the vice president has been instructing advisers and allies to keep her options open — whether for a possible 2028 presidential run, or even to run for governor in her home state of California in two years. As Harris has repeated in phone calls, “I am staying in the fight.”She is expected to explore those and other possible paths forward with family members over the winter holiday season, according to five people in the Harris inner circle, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics. Her deliberations follow an extraordinary four months in which Harris went from President Joe Biden’s running mate to the top of the ticket, reenergizing Democrats before ultimately crashing on election night.“She doesn’t have to decide if she wants to run for something again in the next six months,” said one former Harris campaign aide. “The natural thing to do would be to set up some type of entity that would give her the opportunity to travel and give speeches and preserve her political relationships.”“She doesn’t have to decide if she wants to run for something again in the next six months,” said one former Harris campaign aide. “The natural thing to do would be to set up some type of entity that would give her the opportunity to travel and give speeches and preserve her political relationships.”Harris concedes: 'We must accept the results of this election'SharePlay VideoMost immediately, Harris and her advisers are working to define how and when she will speak out against Donald Trump and reassert her own role in the Democratic Party. Closing out her term as vice president, she’s set to preside over certifying the November election she lost to Trump, and then appear at the once-and-future president’s inauguration on Jan. 20.“There will be a desire to hear her voice, and there won’t be a vacuum for long,” a person close to Harris said.At the same time, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, will have a long checklist to plow through before they leave the Naval Observatory for good.They have to decide whether they’ll take up permanent residence at their home in Los Angeles, or establish a base elsewhere. No matter where Harris and her family live, some around her have expressed concerns about safety, as her Secret Service protection expires six months after stepping away.

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