Via American Greatness,

A federal initiative that began during the Obama administration with the goal of debanking certain industries disfavored by federal officials has apparently been resurrected and is taking aim at cryptocurrencies.

Operation Choke Point was started by the U.S. Dept. of Justice in 2013 as a way to put pressure on banks to sever their ties, without due process, with legal businesses like gun dealers, cannabis dispensaries and payday lenders which the administration found objectionable.

That initiative was ended by President Trump in 2017 but under the Biden administration, it appears that Operation Choke Point 2.0 has begun with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) sending letters to U.S. banks in 2022, urging them to “pause all crypto-related activity.”

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) told Fox Business that the regulatory abuse is real and that President-elect Trump will put an end to this type of regulatory abuse.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen recently described the practice of debanking as “a privatized sanctions regime” on The Joe Rogan Experience, saying, “There’s no rules, there’s no court, there’s no decision process, there’s no appeal. Who do you go to to get your bank account back?”

And if the tune of Operation Choke Point 2.0 sounds familiar, there are also familiar faces as well.

Palmetto State News reports that Michael Eakes is the founder of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) and Self-Help Credit Union, which operates five credit unions in South Carolina and was also an inaugural member of the FDIC’s Advisory Committee on Economic Inclusion when it was started in 2006.

Another member of the advisory committee is Michael Calhoun who is president of the Center for Responsible Lending and a former employee of Self-Help Credit Union.

According to the Washington Free Beacon:

“The FDIC’s efforts are part of a larger initiative involving the Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau called Operation Choke Point. The effort seeks to eliminate the ability of businesses that federal regulators deem distasteful, exploitative, or dangerous to obtain financing from major American banks.”

Former FDIC Chairman William Isaac told The Hill that Operation Choke Point, “is one of the most dangerous programs I have experienced in my 45 years of service as a bank regulator, bank attorney and consultant, and bank board member.”

A lawsuit filed by Coinbase uncovered letters sent by the FDIC in 2022 and 2023 urging financial institutions to “pause” crypto-related activities has revealed that Operation Choke Point 2.0 is being used to sidestep constitutional limits on the government’s power to exert direct political control over the crypto sector.

Democrats just can’t stop losing…

In the latest blow to the party, Lindy Li, a prominent Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser and surrogate for Vice President Kamala Harris, announced her departure from the Democratic Party – labeling it a “cult” after facing a barrage of internal attacks for her recent criticisms of Harris.

From Party Powerhouse to Outcast

Li, who raised “tens of millions of dollars” for Democratic candidates and frequently appeared on national television as a Harris campaign advocate, became the target of relentless criticism after voicing concerns about the party’s trajectory and Harris’s political future.

During an appearance on “Fox & Friends”, Li argued that Harris was “indulging in delusions” of making a political comeback and criticized the Democratic Party for carrying what she called the “stench of loser” following their defeat in November’s elections. The fallout was swift: within four days, Li lost 40,000 social media followers and was met with a wave of hostility from fellow Democrats.

Speaking on “Piers Morgan Uncensored”, Li described the backlash:

“People have called me a whore, the ‘C-word.’ They asked for me to be deported,” she said, adding that critics have accused her of being a “communist spy” – a particularly offensive accusation considering her family history, Fox News reports.

“They’re calling me a spy for the regime that killed my great-grandfather,” she told Morgan. “They’re going headfirst into racism anytime someone dares to disagree with them. I want to be a part of the team that says men are men and women are women and men shouldn’t play in women’s sports.”

“Leaving the Democratic Party is like leaving a cult!”

Lindy Li tells Piers Morgan she’s lost 40,000 followers and been called a “wh*re” and a “C-word” in the past four days.

📺 https://t.co/vzCu2MdkzC@piersmorgan | @lindyli pic.twitter.com/tiJO3M9IyH

— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) December 18, 2024

A Shifting Allegiance

Li’s departure represents more than personal frustration—it signals a significant defection from the Democratic fundraising machine. Li, once integral to the party’s financial success, is now exploring her political options.

Speaking candidly, she said:

• On the Democratic Party: “They’re shrinking their tent. They’re basically pushing me to bring my tens of millions of dollars that I’ve raised and can continue to raise to a different team that treats me better, that treats me with common decency.”
• On Party Leadership: “All these so-called Democrats, the party of inclusion, the party of diversity, masks off. And it’s even worse because they pretend to occupy the moral high ground,” she said, adding “They pretend to be so loving and caring and embracing of diversity but all of a sudden, when I dare to utter any criticisms of the goddess Kamala Harris, I get ostracized. Me, after having raised tens of millions of dollars for the party.”

Li also accused the party of hypocrisy, claiming that questioning its leadership feels like leaving a cult.

“My donors are pissed…it’s my responsibility to ask what the hell happened with their money…these are legitimate questions, but no, in the cult, you can’t ask questions. And leaving the Democratic Party or even questioning the Democratic Party is like leaving a cult. It’s terrifying. I don’t want to be a part of this craziness anymore. They’re accelerating my rightward shift,” she said.

Li’s departure comes weeks after she revealed that former President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposed Harris becoming the 2024 presidential nominee.

Li told NewsNation indubitably that both top Democrats would have rather held a primary than coronate Harris to fill Biden’s sudden vacancy atop the ticket.

“I know they didn’t,” Li said when asked about Obama and Pelosi.

“I have a lot of friends in Obama world and, actually, I’m friends with Speaker Pelosi. And I spoke with her before I actually, I actually went on air to encourage President Biden to step aside.”

Li told NewsNation that many Democrats were hoping for a “lightning round” primary, which never came.

Recruitment by Trump Allies

Li revealed that members of Donald Trump’s team have already reached out to her, exploring whether she would consider switching parties.

“People on Trump’s team have already reached out to me to see if I’d be willing to switch.”

“I’m not an orphan,” she continued. “People are actively trying to recruit me.”

Her departure follows a similar move in September, when an ex-Obama fundraiser who raised millions for his campaigns announced they were “divorcing” the Democratic Party and planned to vote for Trump.

Authored by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com,

Four thousand years ago, the rulers of ancient Babylon discovered a technique to stave off violent revolts.

In ancient times, people often became hopelessly indebted to their creditors. As debts mounted, social unrest would boil over, threatening the stability of the entire ruling system.

The rulers of the ancient world understood this dangerous dynamic.

Their solution was radical yet effective: enact widespread debt cancellation—a debt jubilee.

Debt jubilees acted as societal pressure release valves when no other options remained.

The practice spread throughout the ancient world and became codified in various civilizations.

For instance, the Book of Leviticus formalizes debt jubilees as the conclusion of a 49-year biblical cycle—seven cycles of seven years.

I believe this ancient practice is poised for a major comeback as government, corporate, and personal debt levels today have reached unsustainable heights.

The social, political, and investment implications will be profound.

Debt Jubilees: Redistribution, Not Wealth Creation

It’s important to note that debt jubilees do not create new wealth—they simply redistribute it.

Debt jubilees are government decrees that trigger massive wealth transfers, creating big winners and losers.

President Biden’s plan for student loan forgiveness marks the beginning of modern debt jubilees.

His student loan forgiveness plan is unprecedented. Unilateral executive action of this scale has never occurred during peacetime. Moreover, Congress, not the president, is supposed to make spending decisions of this magnitude.

Even Obama’s former chief economic advisor, Jason Furman, criticized Biden’s move, calling it:

“Pouring roughly half a trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning—reckless.”

Beyond the inflationary impact—which I’ll address shortly—Biden’s student loan jubilee will set a precedent that will be hard to undo.

Consider how those who acted prudently feel.

Many avoided student debt by choosing less expensive career paths, cutting back on spending to pay for college without borrowing, or paying off their student loans entirely.

These people are probably feeling like suckers now.

Not only do they receive no relief, but they also face the burden of footing the bill for those whose loans will be forgiven.

I imagine these people will be angry and probably have considerable car, mortgage, and credit card debt, as many Americans do. So they will want debt relief, too… and I bet they will get it.

Amid rising prices, consumer debt is skyrocketing. It is at an all-time high of nearly $18 trillion, as seen in the chart below.

With interest rates rising recently, the cost of servicing this record debt is becoming unbearable for many.

As Americans hit their financial breaking points, I believe debt forgiveness demands will only grow louder—extending far beyond student loans.

All it takes is a President’s pen stroke to wipe out hundreds of billions in debt.

The student loan jubilee will set a powerful precedent.

I don’t think it will be long before we see a credit card jubilee, a car loan jubilee, or even a mortgage jubilee.

How will the government pay for all these jubilees?

Raising taxes enough to cover them seems improbable.

Issuing more debt to cancel other debts would be contradictory.

That leaves money printing as the only viable option.

This is why future debt jubilees will pour “gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning.”

But it’s not just consumer debt that’s unsustainable. The biggest problem is the US government’s federal debt—a much larger issue looming on the horizon.

The Federal Debt Endgame: A Coming Crisis

The US federal government has the largest debt in the history of the world—and it’s growing at a rapid, unstoppable pace.

In short, the US government is fast approaching its financial endgame.

Here’s why…

Today, the US federal debt has gone parabolic, amounting to over $36 trillion.

To put it in perspective, if you earned $1 per second 24/7/365—about $31 million per year—it would take over 1,148,531 years to pay off the US federal debt.

And that assumes the debt stops growing, which it won’t.

The growth rate is not even going to slow down. It’s going to increase exponentially.

The truth is, the debt will keep piling up unless Congress makes some politically impossible decisions to cut spending.

For example, tens of millions of Baby Boomers—about 22% of the population—will enter retirement in the coming years. Cutting Social Security and Medicare is a sure way to lose an election.

With the most precarious geopolitical situation since World War 2, defense spending is unlikely to be cut. Instead, defense spending is all but certain to increase.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recently said: “Barely staying even with inflation or worse is wholly inadequate. Significant additional resources for defense are necessary and urgent.”

In short, efforts to reduce expenditures will be meaningless unless it becomes politically acceptable to make chainsaw-like cuts to entitlements, national defense, and welfare while reducing the national debt to lower the interest cost.

In other words, the US would need a leader who—at a minimum—returns the federal government to a limited Constitutional Republic, closes the 128 military bases abroad, ends entitlements, kills the welfare state, and repays a large portion of the national debt.

However, that’s a completely unrealistic fantasy. It would be foolish to bet on that happening.

In short, the US government is trapped. It’s game over.

They have no choice but to “reset” the system—that’s what governments do when they are trapped.

How Will the US Reset the System?

Nobody knows for sure. But I’d bet a debt jubilee of biblical proportions will be a major part of it.

So then, how will the US government repudiate its impossible federal debt burden?

My guess is that they won’t be explicit. That would look too much like a default. It would destroy the role of the US as the center of the world’s financial system.

Given a choice, I don’t think the US government would choose immediate self-destruction. Since power does not relinquish itself voluntarily, we should presume they’ll decide to stealthily implement their federal debt jubilee through inflation.

Inflation benefits debtors, allowing them to borrow in dollars and repay in dimes.

And since the US government is the biggest debtor in the history of the world, it stands to gain the most from inflation.

Inflation: The Ultimate Debt Jubilee

That’s why I believe the federal debt jubilee will come in the form of a massive wave of inflation.

The coming debt jubilees could wipe out trillions in liabilities while unleashing previously unimaginable inflation.

That could trigger the largest wealth transfer in history.

Remember, debt doesn’t exist within a vacuum. It’s a liability for the borrower and an asset for the lender.

Those storing wealth in government currencies, bonds, and other paper assets will be the biggest losers.

Debtors and owners of scarce, unencumbered, hard assets will be the big winners.

It’s certainly not a just outcome.

Prudent savers shouldn’t have to pay for the excesses of debtors.

But notions of what is just or not didn’t stop Biden’s student loan jubilee—and they won’t stop the coming jubilees.

Prepare Now for the Coming Reset

Although it will be an unfortunate outcome for many people, there is simply nothing anyone can do now.

The debt levels have already reached a critical point, and the government may soon see jubilees as a politically expedient option.

That’s why it’s crucial to recognize the reality of this Big Picture and position yourself accordingly.

That means owning scarce and valuable assets that are not simultaneously someone else’s liability.

Crucially, this excludes fiat currency in bank accounts.

Remember, fiat currency is the unbacked liability of a bankrupt government.

Further, once you deposit currency into a bank, it is no longer yours. Technically and legally, it is the bank’s property, and what you own instead is an unsecured liability of the bank.

In an era of jubilees in which debts are wiped clean, you won’t want to be on the other end of unsecured liabilities or IOUs of any kind.

I believe this “reset” could happen soon—and it won’t be pretty for many.

Most people have no idea how bad things could get—or how to prepare.

That’s why I’ve published a detailed guide called The Most Dangerous Economic Crisis in 100 Years: The Top 3 Strategies You Need Right Now. Click here to download the free PDF.

Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

Over the last two years, the Republican-controlled House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight found numerous inconsistencies and outright lies in the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, who was the Democrat-controlled January 6th Commission’s “star witness” in the wake of Jan. 6, 2021.

The Oversight Subcommittee apparently wanted to subpoena Hutchinson about her testimony. But according to a Tuesday report from Breitbart, House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked that from moving forward.

Breitbart noted that the Oversight Subcommittee’s recent final report on Jan. 6 mentions Hutchinson by name 268 times, but didn’t reference bringing her in for questioning.

“Johnson (R-LA) personally intervened to block the subcommittee from issuing a subpoena to Hutchinson,” Breitbart reported, citing an unnamed source. “Johnson, in a statement to Breitbart News, called that claim ‘clearly false.’”

The House Administration Subcommittee’s findings against Hutchinson are related to her June 28, 2022, testimony, when she said that she personally wrote a proposed Tweet on Jan. 6, 2021, for President Donald Trump to send advising rioters to leave the Capitol. The text of that proposed Tweet said, “ANYONE WHO ENTERED THE CAPITOL ILLEGALLY WITHOUT PROPER AUTHORITY SHOULD LEAVE IMMEDIATELY”—with the word ILLEGALLY scratched out.

This report confirms what my own Congressional sources have said: Johnson blocked a subpoena for Cassidy Hutchinson, who appears to have committed perjury and perhaps at the direction of Liz Cheney.

Johnson denied this is true. So the best way to come clean is to publicly demand…

— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) December 24, 2024

At the time, Hutchinson testified that she wrote the note as dictated by then-Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows and Eric Herschmann, one of the President’s attorneys. However, Herschmann alleged that Hutchinson was lying, and that he was the one who wrote the note.

The House Administration Subcommittee said in October that it hired a handwriting analyst to review the note and determine who wrote it.

“After a thorough analysis, their certified handwriting analyst stated in the report that ‘the evidence supports my opinion that the handwriting that appears on the Questioned Document was written in the same hand as the exemplars [Herschmann],’” the House Administration Subcommittee said at the time.

“This new evidence provided by an independent, Certified Questioned Document Examiner, not only contradicts Ms. Hutchinson’s numerous claims that she penned the note, but also exposes the Select Committee’s willingness to accept all her testimonies without corroboration or further investigation,” Subcommittee on Oversight Chair Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., said in a press release.

The subcommittee also found that then-January 6th Commission Vice Chair Liz Cheney secretly communicated with Hutchinson, and may have pressured her to fire her attorney.

Additionally, Hutchinson was caught changing her testimony during the course of the Jan. 6 Committee hearings, as has been widely documented.

Specifically, Hutchinson testified on June 28, 2022, that Trump tried to control the steering wheel while being driven to the White House following his Jan. 6 speech. Additionally, she claimed that the former president lunged at another agent.

However, in her previous three transcribed interviews on February 23, 2022, March 7, 2022, and May 17, 2022, she did not mention that interaction, according to a later investigation from Loudermilk’s committee.

The Oversight Subcommittee has recommended that the FBI investigate Cheney for potential witness-tampering charges.

Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

It may not be the bazooka, but it’s a start.

Less than a week after we showed the historic collapse in Chinese interest rates, which sent China’s 1Y yield below 1% for the first time since the Global Financial Crisis, in a move that signaled the bond market is convinced Beijing will unleash the mother of all stimulus…

the last time China 1Y bond traded below 1%, Lehman had just filed for bankruptcy.

Bond market convinced Beijing about to unleash mother of all monetary stimulus and/or QE. Commodities so far unaware. pic.twitter.com/NJnbvdQdoE

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 20, 2024

… overnight, Reuters reported that Chinese authorities have agreed to issue 3 trillion yuan ($411 billion) worth of special treasury bonds next year, which would be the highest on record, as Beijing ramps up fiscal stimulus to revive its faltering economy.

The plan for 2025 sovereign debt issuance would be a 200% increase from this year’s 1 trillion yuan and comes as Beijing moves to soften the blow from an expected increase in U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports when Donald Trump takes office in January.

The proceeds will be targeted at boosting consumption via subsidy programs, equipment upgrades by businesses and funding investments in innovation-driven advanced sectors, among other initiatives.

Showing just how much capacity China – which has been gripped in a deflationary vortex for the past year – has for new debt, the country’s 10-year and 30-year treasury yields rose 1 basis point (bp) and 2 bps, respectively, after the news but remained near record lows.

The planned special treasury bond issuance next year would be the largest on record and underscores Beijing’s willingness to go even deeper into debt to counter deflationary forces in the world’s second-largest economy.

The issuance “exceeded market expectations,” said Tommy Xie, head of Asia Macro research at OCBC Bank. “Furthermore, as the central government is the only entity with meaningful capacity for additional leverage, any bond issuance at the central level is perceived as a positive development, likely providing incremental support for growth.”

The “new” initiatives consist of a subsidy program for durable goods, allowing consumers to trade in old cars or appliances and buy new ones at a discount, and a separate one that subsidizes large-scale equipment upgrades for businesses.  The “major” programmes refer to projects that implement national strategies such as construction of railways, airports and farmland and build security capacity in key areas, according to official documents.

China does not generally include ultra-long special bonds in annual budget plans, as it sees the instruments as an extraordinary measure to raise proceeds for specific projects or policy goals as needed. As part of next year’s plan, about 1.3 trillion yuan to be raised through long-term special treasury bonds would fund “two major” and “two new” programs.

The state planner NDRC said on Dec. 13 Beijing had fully allocated all proceeds from this year’s 1 trillion yuan in ultra-long special treasury bonds, with about 70% of proceeds financing the “two major” projects and the remainder going towards the “two new” schemes.

Another big portion of the planned proceeds for next year would be for investments in “new productive forces”, Beijing’s shorthand for advanced manufacturing, such as electric vehicles, robotics, semiconductors and green energy. More than 1 trillion yuan would be earmarked for that initiative.

The rest would go to recapitalize large state banks, said the sources, as top lenders struggle with shrinking margins, faltering profits and rising bad loans.

The issuance of new special treasury debt next year would equate to 2.4% of 2023 China’s GDP. By comparison, Beijing raised 1.55 trillion yuan via such bonds in 2007, or 5.7% of economic output at that time.

President Xi Jinping gathered with top officials for the annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) on Dec. 11 and 12 to chart the economic course for 2025. A state media summary of the meeting said it was “necessary to maintain steady economic growth”, raise the fiscal deficit ratio and issue more government debt next year, but did not give specifics.

Last week Reuters reported that China plans to raise the budget deficit to a record 4% of GDP next year and maintain an economic growth target of bout 5%.

At the CEWC, Beijing sets targets for economic growth, the budget deficit, debt issuance and other areas in the year ahead. Though usually agreed by top officials, such targets are not officially unveiled until an annual parliament meet in March and could still change before then.

China’s economy has struggled this year due to a severe property crisis, high local government debt and weak consumer demand. Exports, one of the few bright spots, could soon face U.S. tariffs in excess of 60% if Trump delivers on campaign pledges.

While the risks to exports mean China will need to rely on domestic sources of growth, consumers are feeling less wealthy due to falling property prices and minimal social welfare. Weak household demand also poses a key risk. Last week, officials said Beijing plans to expand the consumer goods and industrial equipment trade-in programs.

Authored by Alex Kimani via OilPrice.com,

• Saudi Arabia was the leading buyer of Russian seaborne fuel oil in November.

• Asian countries have become top buyers of Russia’s fuel oil and VGO ever since the European Union imposed a full embargo on Russian oil products in February 2023.

• India is no longer the biggest buyer of Russian crude.

Saudi Arabia was the leading buyer of Russian seaborne fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) exports in November, LSEG data has revealed. According to Reuters calculations based on LSEG data, Russian fuel oil and VGO exports grew  6% month-on-month in November to about 4.26 million metric tons. Asian countries have become top buyers of Russia’s fuel oil and VGO ever since the European Union imposed a full embargo on Russian oil products in February 2023.

India is no longer the biggest buyer of Russian crude. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), India’s imports of Russian crude fell a massive 55% in November–the lowest figure since June 2022–despite Russia continuing to sell its oil at a discount.

India has lately been trying to diversify its oil supplies: Last month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said during a visit to Guyana that his government views the South American country as key to India’s energy security.

Modi told a special sitting of Parliament that he views Guyana as an important energy source and that he will encourage large Indian businesses to invest in the country.

Guyana did not immediately grant Modi’s wish, with India’s External Affairs Minister Jaideep Mazumdar saying talks will continue and that such a deal would ensure “greater predictability.”

Guyanese Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat told reporters that Guyana is willing to supply India with a large amount of crude, if Exxon Mobil, the main operator in Guyana’s offshore oil production, agrees to such an arrangement.

“We know Exxon has to do some amount of changes to their lifting schedule and logistics because their preference is for the very large vessels that can accommodate two million barrels mainly because of distance and cost,” Bharrat said.

Meanwhile, CREA estimates that there was a 17% month-on-month increase in the discount on Urals grade crude oil to an average of $6.01 per barrel compared to Brent crude oil. Russia has lost an estimated EUR 14.6 bn in revenues from Urals grade crude exports due to sanctions.

After yesterday’s stunner of a 2Y auction, with most trading desks vacant and manned by interns on Christmas Eve even as yields blow out to 6 month highs, moments ago the US Treasury auctioned off its second to last Treasury coupon for 2024 when it sold $70 billion in 5 Year paper in a solid if hardly spectacular auction.

The sale priced at a high yield of 4.478%, up from 4.197% in November and the highest since May. However, thanks to the sharp concession, the bond stop through the When Issued 4.480% by 0.2bps, the second consecutive through and followed 4 straight tails.

The Bid to Cover was 2.40, down from last month’s 2.43%, and right on top of the six-auction average.

The internals were also good, with Indirects rising from November’s 64.1% to 67.3%, which however was just below the six-auction average of 69.6%. And with Directs awarded 20.3%, or higher than the six-auction average, Dealers were left holding 12.5% of the auction, also in line with the six-auction average of 12.9%.

Overall, this was a solid if hardly stellar auction, and one which managed to briefly push yields across the curve lower by about 1bps, which however wasn’t much since the 10Y is trading at 4.62%, the highest since May and dangerously close to levels which will spark a global risk-off cascade.

After several major Houthi rocket attacks out of Yemen of late, Israeli leaders are vowing to step up military reprisals directly on Houthi leadership and its military infrastructure.

Saturday saw one of the biggest Houthi strikes to date, coming in the form of a reported hypersonic ballistic missile which hit Tel Aviv, leaving 16 people injured. And Tuesday morning saw another Houthi missile launch on Israel, which marks the third such attack in less than a week. The Houthis, which are linked to Iran, have vowed to not stop until Israel’s military withdraws from Gaza.

Defense Minister Israel Katz now says the leaders of the Yemeni group have made themselves targets. Taking them out will now be a top priority for the Israeli military.

“Just as we took care of Sinwar in Gaza, Haniyeh in Tehran and Nasrallah in Beirut, we will deal with the heads of the Houthis in Sana’a or anywhere in Yemen,” Katz has said in the Tuesday comments, making reference to the slain leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas.

“We will act both against their infrastructure and against them to remove the threat,” he pledged while inspecting an Arrow air defense system battery which just intercepted the latest Houthi missile attack.

He also again called out Iran, warning that “whoever sponsors the Houthi terror in Hodeida or Sana’a will pay the full price.” Washington has for years documented Tehran’s support to the group, which has included advanced missiles and drone technology. This has allowed the threat out of Yemen to grow significantly.

The past days and weeks has already seen Israel launch intermittent aerial strikes against the Houthis, but targeting individual leaders will mark new territory in the campaign.

“Firing at Houthi leaders would seem to mark an escalation by Israel, which has so far targeted port infrastructure and military sites in a handful of sorties in response to repeated launches of drones and ballistic missiles from Yemen,” Times of Israel notes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stressed that Israel sees the Houthis as the “terrorist arm” of Iran and won’t stand idly by while they attack.

🇾🇪The Houthis announce a general mobilization to confront the U.S. and Israel. pic.twitter.com/EhvRsStEU8

— Huma Zehra (@HumaZhr) December 24, 2024

“The US, and also other countries, like us, see the Houthis as a threat, not only to world shipping, but also to world order,” he said Sunday, after the destructive Saturday attack.

“Just as we acted forcefully against the terrorist arms of Iran’s evil axis, so we will act against the Houthis…with force, determination and sophistication,” Netanyahu added.

Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports delivered a Christmas miracle for a veteran-owned, mom-and-pop pizza shop in Baltimore City that was on the verge of closing its doors on Christmas Day. 

During the “Barstool Pizza Review,” Portnoy visited TinyBrickOven in Federal Hill, located in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore City—just down the street from M&T Bank Stadium.

Portnoy stepped into the tiny pizza shop, where the super-energetic owner greeted him. After a minute of talking, the owner revealed that the pizza shop was closing on Christmas Day because of financial hardships. 

“This is a re-heat – thin New York kind of style …. I really like it,” Portnoy said in the review of the pizza.

After the review, Portnoy said, “There is no way this place should be going out of business.” 

He then asked the owner: “Can I ask you something … How much money do you need to stay open?”

The owner responded: “I’m not sure.” 

Portnoy said: “Well if there is somebody super-rich right in front of your face who is in the pizza business – then what do you need to stay open for a year?”

The owner said that figure would be around $60,000. Portnoy responded: “Done.” 

Barstool Pizza Review – TinyBrickOven (Baltimore, MD) pic.twitter.com/hDqhclD45D

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 23, 2024

TinyBrickOven’s website provides an overview of its financial hardships:

But now, that home is in danger of disappearing. This isn’t by choice; it’s because Senator Bill Ferguson and Delegate Luke Clippinger refuse to approve our liquor license—while businesses just a few blocks away are granted theirs. Though we’ve done everything we can, their refusal may mean the end for us, despite the law allowing them the power to help.

“Looks like the owner is truly as kind and genuine as he came off,” one X user said. 

Looks like the owner is truly as kind and genuine as he came off

Goes back to 2020 https://t.co/ee3cXvevUa

— Teddy (@TeddyRoosevalt) December 24, 2024

Portnoy has a soft spot for mom-and-pop pizza shops. During Covid, he raised more than $25 million to support small businesses impacted by the government-forced shutdown of the economy.