At least one worker from Mexico’s state oil company Pemex died on Wednesday in a fuel pipeline explosion in the central state of Hidalgo, local officials said on Twitter.

Media outlet Reporte Indigo posted a video online showing a large fire lighting up the night sky from the pipeline blast near the town of Xolostitla, Hidalgo.

Some nearby residents were also being evacuated, according to a tweet from Mexico’s National Guard.

The findings of the House Select Committee have some people jumping around like their pants are on fire. Mediaite reported that Trump went “scorched earth” after it was announced that the committee would be making criminal referrals on him (and others). Trump, of course, took to his social media site to rant, as he frequently does. He began with his tired statements about Liz Cheney, but before long, he couldn’t take it anymore. Trump screamed “I DID NOTHING WRONG!” He also claimed he couldn’t be charged because of “double jeopardy,” which has nothing to do with the charges Trump is facing. “Double jeopardy” is a defense for those who have either been acquitted or convicted on charges that a prosecutor tries to bring again. Trump hasn’t even been charged yet, let alone acquitted or convicted, so double jeopardy does not come into play for him. He is such an idiot.

When screaming fails to work for Trump, he takes his interpretation of the “high road.” Washington Post reported on Trump’s statement following the announcement: “These folks don’t get it that when they come after me, people who love freedom rally around me.” If he were shorter, we could call him Tattoo because he lives on fantasy island. People who love freedom stay far away from Trump. He’s more of a model for dictatorship or authoritarianism than for freedom. Trump is a coward-a whiny, pathetic coward. No one is looking for Trump other than those who want to see him punished for his crimes.

As Associated Press reported, even those who so adamantly defended Trump about the FBI search of his residence have grown quiet. Mitch McConnell, who called for “an immediate and thorough explanation” of the FBI search now has Republicans up in arms over a statement he made that appeared to lay blame for January 6 at Trump’s feet. When asked by a reporter what he thought of the breaking news, McConnell responded: “The entire nation knows who is responsible for that day.” Yes, we have always known who is responsible, yet cowardly Republicans refused to stand up to Trump. John Thune, shared with CNN’s Manu Raju that the committee interviewed “a lot of folks that had a lot of knowledge about what happened” and went on to say that he found them “credible.” My, how times and opinions can change. Even the opinion of his former Deputy White House Press Secretary has changed.

Even though Erin Burnett resigned her position of the evening of the January 6 insurrection, she told Raw Story that she had no idea of the depths of Trump’s evil behavior. She told Raw Story that while she did resign because she was “disturbed by the events of that day and Trump’s decision not to call off the mob,” now that she has seen the investigation: “it’s even worse than I thought.” What she and others thought was happening when they could see it with their own eyes is baffling, but if the committee served to open those eyes, they did their job, and they did it well.

The post Donald Trump goes “scorched earth” in wake of January 6th Committee appeared first on Palmer Report.

Cities in China began distributing free anti-fever drugs to the public, as COVID-19 sweeps through the world’s most populous country largely unchecked for the first time after an abrupt shift in the country’s containment policies.

After widespread protests and a relentless rise in cases, China this month began dismantling its “zero-COVID” regime.

Still, the country’s official death toll since the pandemic began in early 2020 stands at 5,241 – a fraction of what much less populous countries faced.

China reported no new COVID deaths for a second consecutive day for Dec. 21, even as funeral parlour workers say demand and waiting time for their services has gone up in the past week, pushing fees higher. The country confirmed 389,306 cases with symptoms as of Tuesday.

But experts say official figures have become an unreliable guide as less testing is being done across China following the recent easing of restrictions.

The Shanghai Deji Hospital, posting on its official WeChat account, estimated there were about 5.43 million positives in the city and that half of the 25 million people in China’s main commercial hub will get infected by the end of the year.

“This year’s Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day, and the Lunar New Year are destined to be unsafe,” the hospital said.

“In this tragic battle, the entire Greater Shanghai will fall, and we will infect all the staff of the hospital! We will infect the whole family! Our patients will all be infected! We have no choice, and we cannot escape.”

Experts say China could face more than a million COVID deaths next year.

The head of the World Health Organization said it is concerned about the spike in infections and is supporting the government to focus on vaccinating those at the highest risk.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters the agency needed more detailed information on disease severity, hospital admissions and requirements for intensive care units for a comprehensive assessment.

China’s policy U-turn caught a fragile health system unprepared, with hospitals scrambling for beds and blood, pharmacies for drugs and authorities racing to build special clinics.

State media said local governments were taking steps to address drug shortages, while pharmaceutical companies were working extra-time to boost supplies.

Dongguan, a sprawling city in southern China, said a total of 100,000 ibuprofen tablets had arrived in the city, and will be distributed to 41 state drug stores this week, before being made available for free, the Global Times reported.

In Wuhan, the central city where the virus was first discovered in late 2019, 3 million ibuprofen tablets have been supplied to medical institutions and retail pharmacies each day since Dec. 17, the report said.

Authorities in Sanya on the southern Hainan island have lined up 18 pharmacies to distribute free drugs. Pharmacies in Zhoukou are giving as many as 10 free tablets a day to residents who present an ID card.

Shenzhen, China’s major tech hub north of Hong Kong, said on Wednesday it was splitting packages of drugs and test kits into smaller batches than originally planned, to sell to more people. The batches will cover three days of supplies for anti-fever drugs, it said.

mRNA VACCINES FOR GERMANS

In China, only deaths caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting COVID are being classified as COVID fatalities.

Other widely recognised types of potentially fatal COVID complications include blood clots, heart attacks, sepsis and kidney failure, with disease experts outside China saying the move will underestimate the impact of the virus.

Germany said it has sent its first batch of BioNTech (22UAy.DE) COVID vaccines to China to be administered initially to German expatriates. Berlin is pushing for other foreign nationals to be allowed to take them.

No details were available on the timing and size of the delivery of the first mRNA vaccines available in China.

China has nine domestically developed COVID vaccines approved for use. None has been updated to target the highly infectious Omicron variant, as Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna (MRNA.O) have for boosters in many countries.

Some Chinese experts predict the COVID wave to peak in late January, with life likely to return to normal by late February or early March.

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FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried left the Bahamas on Wednesday on a U.S.-bound flight to face fraud charges as federal prosecutors announced that two of his former associates had pleaded guilty to charges and were now cooperating with the government.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a video posted on Twitter late Wednesday night that Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, and Gary Wang, co-founder of FTX, had pleaded guilty to defrauding investors in the crypto trading platform.

The revelation that two of Bankman-Fried’s closest former associates had decided to cooperate with the government significantly ramped up pressure on the former billionaire.

Williams said that Bankman-Fried is now in FBI custody and on his way to the U.S and urged others involved in the alleged fraud to come forward.

“If you participated in misconduct at FTX or Alameda, now is the time to get ahead of it,” William said. “We are moving quickly and our patience is not eternal.”

“I also said that last week’s announcement would not be our last, and let me be clear once again, neither is today’s,” he added.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a separate statement on Wednesday evening said it had also charged Ellison and Wang for their roles in a multiyear scheme to defraud equity investors of FTX.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission also said it had filed fraud charges against Ellison and Wang.

An attorney for Ellison did not respond immediately to request for comment.

“Gary has accepted responsibility for his actions and takes seriously his obligations as a cooperating witness,” Ilan Graff, a lawyer for Wang, said in a statement.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week charged Bankman-Fried with stealing billions of dollars in FTX customer assets to plug losses at his hedge fund, Alameda Research, in what U.S. Attorney Williams called “one of the biggest financial frauds in American history.”

The 30-year-old cryptocurrency mogul has acknowledged risk-management failures at FTX, but has said he does not believe he has criminal liability.

A spokesman for Bankman-Fried’s legal team declined to comment.

Bankman-Fried rode a crypto boom to become a billionaire several times over and an influential U.S. political donor, before FTX’s crash wiped out his wealth and tarnished his reputation. The collapse was driven by a wave of customer withdrawals amid concerns over commingling of funds with Alameda.

The announcement from Williams and the SEC came just hours after Bankman-Fried took off from The Bahamas after he consented at a courthouse to be extradited to the United States.

Bankman-Fried is likely to appear before a U.S. federal court in Manhattan on Thursday. At his court appearance, known as an arraignment, he is expected to be asked to enter a plea. The U.S. judge would determine whether to grant him bail, and if so, on what conditions.

He is expected to be arraigned on the eight counts he faces, including wire fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance violations.

Bankman-Fried was arrested on a U.S. extradition request last week in The Bahamas, where he lives and where FTX is based. He initially said he would contest extradition, but Reuters and other outlets reported over the weekend that he would reverse that decision.

He agreed to extradition in part out of a “desire to make the relevant customers whole,” according to an affidavit read in court on Wednesday and dated Dec. 20.

Dressed in a suit, Bankman-Fried stepped up to the witness box in court, where he spoke clearly and steadily as he was sworn in.

“Yes, I do wish to waive my right to such formal extradition proceedings,” he told Judge Shaka Serville.

Bankman-Fried’s defense lawyer, Jerone Roberts, said his client was “anxious to leave.”

The judge said he was satisfied that and that Bankman-Fried had not been “forced, coerced or threatened” into making the extradition decision.

The $32 billion exchange declared bankruptcy on Nov. 11, and Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO the same day.

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Screenshot from Caroline Ellison’s Twitter, @carolinecapital

• Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to fraud.
• Both have also agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York said.
• FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is being transferred to the US from Bahamas.

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, and FTX co-founder Gary Wang have pleaded guilty to fraud, Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York said Wednesday.

Ellison and Wang have also agreed to cooperate with the prosecutors, Williams added in a statement.

—US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) December 22, 2022

The development came just as FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is set to be extradited to the US on Wednesday night.

“Samuel Bankman-Fried is now in FBI custody and is on his way back to the United States. He will be transported directly to the Southern District of New York, and he will appear in court before a judge in this district as soon as possible,” Williams added. 

Bankman-Fried resigned as the CEO of FTX on November 11, the same day the troubled exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as it failed to secure a rescue following an intense week-long liquidity squeeze. 

Bankman-Fried has been on a media apology tour since FTX’s collapse but told the New York Times in late November that he didn’t think he’s legally accountable.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky as he addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on December 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a historic address to Congress on Wednesday.
• Zelenskyy made multiple comparisons to World War II and American history during the speech.
• He also wore a green sweatshirt emblazoned with Ukraine’s Coat of Arms, a gold trident.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Congress at the Capitol on Wednesday in an impassioned speech during his first trip abroad since Russia’s invasion in February.

After meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House earlier in the day, Zelenskyy was met with rousing applause by members of the House and Senate from both parties.

“Against all odds and doom and gloom scenarios, Ukraine didn’t fall. Ukraine is alive and kicking,” he said, using his speech to thank the US for its support throughout the war.

There were also a few symbolic aspects to Zelenskyy’s visit, as well as similarities to historic events.

Zelenskyy’s sweatshirt

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a joint meeting of Congress as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) applaud, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on December 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. In his first known trip outside of Ukraine since Russia invaded, Zelensky met with U.S. President Joe Biden and outlined Ukraine’s request for continued military aid.

Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images

Zelenskyy wore an army-green crewneck sweatshirt as shook hands with Biden at the White House and spoke to a room full of lawmakers in collared shirts and suits at the Capitol. The sweatshirt was also embossed with the Coat of Arms of Ukraine, which is a gold trident.

Zelenskyy’s sweatshirt, paired with cargo pants and boots, stood in stark contrast to the suit that would usually be expected on such a visit. But the outfit, which was similar to what Zelenskyy has often worn during his addresses over the past 10 months, served as a reminder that Ukraine is still very much at war. He told FT reporter Christopher Miller that he will go back to wearing a suit when the war is over. (Insider’s Azmi Haroun broke down the importance of the sweatshirt.)

It also resembled the green t-shirt Zelenskyy was wearing during his first address from a bunker in Kyiv and continued to wear during his nightly addresses and virtual meetings with lawmakers around the world.

A pre-Christmas visit, just like Churchill

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses Congress in the Senate Chamber, December 26, 1941.

Library of Congress

Zelenskyy’s visit just before Christmas was reminiscent of another war-time leader. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrived at the White House on December 22, 1941, after ten days at sea crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Churchill planned the trip, which came weeks after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the US entered World War II, to discuss strategy with President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Churchill also sported a notable outfit during his visit to the White House. The prime minister wore a siren suit, which was essentially a military-style onesie of his own creation. The main purpose of the suit was so Churchill could easily put it on in the event of an air raid, according to the Science Museum in London.

Quoting FDR

President Franklin D. Roosevelt waves to the crowd.

AP

In his speech to Congress, Zelenskyy framed the war as not just one for Ukrainian independence, but for security and democracy around the world — the kind of existential threat that is reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s spread across Europe.

Zelenskyy invited a direct comparison himself by invoking a famous quote from a speech delivered by Roosevelt one day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory,” Roosevelt said.

After repeating the latter half of the quote, Zelenskyy added: “The Ukrainian people will win too, absolutely.”

Gifting Congress a Ukrainian battle flag

Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., right, react as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents lawmakers with a Ukrainian flag autographed by front-line troops in Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s contested Donetsk province, as he addresses a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Towards the end of his speech, Zelenskyy presented House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a Ukrainian flag that had been signed by Ukrainian soldiers fighting on the frontline in Bakhmut. He said the flag was a gift from the soldiers, who asked him to deliver the flag to the halls of Congress, where decisions “can save millions of people.”

“This flag is a symbol of our victory in this war. We stand, we fight, and we will win because we are united. Ukraine, America, and the entire free world,” he said.

Pelosi also gifted Zelenskyy with a flag — an American flag that flew over the Capitol on Wednesday — in honor of his visit.

Comparison to the Battle of the Bulge and Battle of Saratoga

Zelenskyy again made a comparison to America’s role in World War II, invoking the Battle of the Bulge.

“Just like the brave American soldiers, which held their lines and fought back Hitler’s forces during the Christmas of 1944, brave Ukrainian soldiers are doing the same to Putin’s forces this Christmas,” he said, prompting applause. “Ukraine holds its lines and will never surrender.”

He also invoked the US war for independence, citing the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Saratoga when speaking about a small city in eastern Ukraine: “Just like the Battle of Saratoga, the fight for Bakhmut will change the tragic story of our war for independence and of freedom.”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addresses a joint meeting of Congress as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) applaud, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on December 21, 2022 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a daring visit to Washington, DC on Wednesday.
• He met with US President Joe Biden and delivered a speech to applause from Congress.
• Along with his message to the US, Zelenskyy brought his signature look: an olive green fleece sweater.

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the US Congress — his first-known foray out of war-torn Ukraine — the Ukrainian leader gave a roiling speech in a casual, olive green crewneck.

Since the start of the war, whether at his palace, in a bunker, or near the action, Zelenskyy’s attire has been toned down a notch from his typical black suit and clean-shaven get-up that he sported in his pre-war years. The Ukrainian president’s more rugged look — complete with a beard — was on display on Wednesday as he addressed lawmakers to raucous applause, and compliments on his quotidian look.

Early on Wednesday, Zelenskyy met with Biden, asking his counterpart for more military and humanitarian aid. The Ukrainian president also shared a special message of praise with Biden from a Ukrainian soldier and requested further aid from Congress.

Zelenskyy’s defiant speech drew out multiple minutes-long standing ovations from across the aisle. And as he delivered the speech, he was sporting another M-TAC sweater, the US clothing company that makes Zelenskyy’s signature olive green fleece sweaters.

And in fact, in May the sweater became so popular that the vendor went out of stock, promising only to restock upon a Ukrainian “victory.” One of Zelenskyy’s own M-TAC sweaters was auctioned off in London for $11,000.

In early December, the Ukrainian president told the Financial Times in an interview that he would keep on wearing his new outfit, ditching the suit until after the war is over. He added that he would keep his beard for now, too.

During the war, the Ukrainian leader has also worn a T-shirt with a meme mocking Russian troops, from a brand started by a former local Ukrainian journalist. 

Members of congress took note of Zelenskyy’s fashion choices as well. Rep. Matt Gaetz, of Florida, who has opposed additional aid for Ukraine and remained seated during standing ovations, complimented the wartime leader’s fit.

“I loved the fashion choices,” Gaetz said, according to The Dispatch, which added that his position on Ukraine aid was not swayed.

An Arctic blast surged across a wide swath of the United States on Wednesday, gripping much of the nation with bitter cold and life-threatening wind chills ahead of a powerful winter storm expected to complicate holiday travel for millions of Americans.

About 200 million people in the Lower 48 states were under extreme weather alerts as a freezing air mass descended from the Northern Plains, sending temperatures into a nosedive, said Bob Oravec, a forecaster with the National Weather Service (NWS).

Temperatures in Denver, for example, plunged on Wednesday – the first official day of winter – from a daytime high of 51 Fahrenheit (10 Celsius) into the low-single digits by evening. The mercury was expected to sink below zero by Thursday morning.

The Weather Service reported the temperature plummeted by 37 degrees in one hour at Denver International Airport – from 42F to 5F – a record drop at that location.

“That’s the kind of changes that are going to be occurring as this front pushes southward: rapid temperature drops, sometimes 50 or more degrees colder than the previous day,” Oravec said. “It’s a pretty powerful, powerful system.”

The extreme weather coincided with the start of a holiday travel season shaping up as one of the busiest in decades. Nearly 113 million people could travel more than 50 miles (30 km) from their homes beginning Friday, according to the American Automobile Association, assuming winter conditions don’t scupper their plans.

“We had a great Thanksgiving week with minimal disruption. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be that way going into Christmas,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told MSNBC.

The impending storm, fed by moisture from the Great Lakes, could dump up to a foot (0.3 m) of snow on the Upper Midwest between Wednesday and Friday, with blizzard conditions stretching from the Northern Plains states to the Great Lakes region.

By Thursday night, a so-called “bomb cyclone” will likely form as the strong Arctic front sweeps across the Great Lakes, driving temperatures to record-breaking lows on the Gulf Coast and the eastern United States by Friday, Oravec said.

Wind-chill and hard-freeze warnings extended through much of Texas, Louisiana and Alabama, with a hard-freeze watch posted for the Florida panhandle.

Freezing weather and sub-zero wind chills, cold enough to induce frostbite on exposed skin within minutes, dominated much of the nation’s forecast heading into the holiday weekend.

Wind-chill values dropping to minus 40F were expected across a vast swath of the West, from the Cascades to the Rockies and into the northern and central Plains, with some localized areas seeing wind chill plunging as far as 70 degrees below zero through week’s end, the Weather Service said.

The extreme cold poses a particular danger to livestock in the ranching-intensive region, the NWS warned.

Wind-chill values as low as minus 15F (minus 26C) were forecast after Thursday evening around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the NWS said.

The storm will test the Texas power grid’s new winterization measures. Hundreds of Texans died in February 2021 after wintry storms overburdened the state’s grid and millions of customers lost power.

Officials at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which runs most of the state’s power supply, said this week they were confident the grid could handle increased demand.

Heavy rains, strong winds and coastal flooding were in store for parts of the Northeast on Thursday and Friday. The Arctic front will then arrive, causing wet roadways to freeze and ice to form on power lines.

North Carolina and Kentucky both declared a state of emergency, West Virginia issued a state of preparedness and Colorado activated 100 National Guard troops in preparation for extreme weather.

A growing list of more than 2,000 U.S. flights scheduled between Wednesday and Friday, including service into and out of the country, have been canceled, according to the flight-tracking service FlightAware.

U.S. airlines including Delta, United Airlines and American Airlines announced on Tuesday they are waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers in a range of affected areas.

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President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the U.S. Congress on Wednesday that aid to Ukraine is an investment in democracy, not charity, and invoked American victory over the Nazis in a key World War Two battle to press for continued assistance.

Zelenskiy, on his first foreign wartime visit, wore his trademark olive green pants and sweater, and earlier met President Joe Biden, who urged support to keep flowing in 2023, when congressional approval for Ukrainian aid will be harder.

The United States has sent about $50 billion in assistance to Kyiv as Europe’s biggest land conflict since 1945 drags on, killing tens of thousands, driving millions from their homes and reducing cities to ruins. On Wednesday, it pledged to provide Patriot missiles.

But some Republicans, who will take control of the House of Representatives from Democrats on Jan. 3, have expressed concerns about the price tag. They could hold up billions of dollars in war aid starting next month.

“Your money is not charity. It is an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way,” Zelenskiy told a joint session of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, speaking in English.

The world was too interconnected to allow any country to stand aside and feel safe, he added.

Zelenskiy’s speech was aimed at softening the concerns of Republicans when they take over Congress and keeping U.S. public opinion on his side with reminders of the hardships his people face.

Members of Congress stood, cheered, applauded and shook Zelenskiy’s hand as he entered the chamber, with several wearing the colours of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow.

He received multiple standing ovations from an audience that also included members of the Ukrainian diaspora and religious figures.

Referencing former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served between 1933 and 1945, and efforts to liberate Europe from Nazi occupation, Zelenskiy also appealed to Americans as they gathered with family for Christmas.

“Just like the brave American soldiers, which held their lines and fought back Hitler’s forces during the Christmas of 1944, brave Ukrainian soldiers are doing the same to Putin’s forces this Christmas,” he said.

The Battle of the Bulge, which began in December 1944, was Hitler’s final major attempt to push back Allied forces. Poor weather hampered initial U.S. efforts to halt the offensive, leading to fatalities and threatening to divide the allies, who ultimately prevailed.

Earlier, Zelenskiy was greeted by Biden and first lady Jill Biden on the White House lawn and the two leaders appeared together at the Oval Office, followed by a news conference.

“As we head into the New Year, it’s important for the American people, and for the world, to hear directly from you Mr President about Ukraine’s fight and the need to continue to stand together through 2023,” Biden said.

Zelenskiy said: “The United States will stand up for our shared values, the values of freedom.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also announced the United States would provide another $1.85 billion in military aid for Ukraine including the highly advanced Patriot air defence system to help it ward off barrages of Russian missiles.

But some hard-line Republicans have urged an end to the aid for Ukraine, instead calling for an audit to trace how the money previously allocated has been spent.

The Patriot missile is deemed to be one of the most advanced U.S. air defence systems, offering protection against attacking aircraft as well as cruise and ballistic missiles.

Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on the West to supply more advanced weaponry, ranging from modern battle tanks to missile defence systems, but Western allies have been cautious, keen to minimise any risk of provoking wider conflict with Russia.

Zelenskiy earlier met Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate and House of Representatives.

Some in Moscow expected the invasion of Ukraine to achieve a rapid victory but it has instead passed its 300-day milestone.

Ukraine has come under repeated Russian attacks targeting its energy infrastructure, leaving millions of people without electricity or running water in the dead of a freezing winter.

Zelenskiy has made a point of staying close to his people with daring trips to battlefronts and addresses to the nation nightly, countless calls with world leaders and videolink speeches to parliaments and international institutions.

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington was seeing no sign that Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to engage in peacemaking.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday it saw no chance of peace talks with Kyiv. In a call with reporters, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that continued Western arms supplies to Ukraine would lead to a “deepening” of the conflict.

Russian forces launched three missile attacks and an air strike on targets in the Zaporizhzhia region and continued to push to advance near Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the focal point of fighting in Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Wednesday evening.

Putin has said there were no financial limits on what the government would provide in terms of equipment and hardware, but the army had to learn from and fix the problems it had experienced in Ukraine.

He has backed a plan by his defence minister to boost the size of the armed forces by more than 30% to 1.5 million combat personnel.

Russia says it is waging a “special military operation” in Ukraine to rid it of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and the West describe the Kremlin’s actions as an unprovoked war of aggression.

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“I’ll be home for Christmas.” That appears to be what former Vice President Mike Pence wants for Donald John Trump. Pence is expressing concern for the man who turned a blind eye to the insurrectionists that wanted to hang the former Vice President.

Don’t prosecute Trump, a forlorn Pence is pleading. Why? Because it’s Christmas, silly! And Christmas is a time of festivity! Speaking with Fox non-news, Pence said he hopes very much that the Department of Justice lets Trump continue to be a free man.

Pence also said that although Trump displayed recklessness on January 6, he isn’t so sure he actually displayed criminality. And then Pence brought up Christmas. ‘Tis the season. Pence seemed to be saying to let bygones be bygones and allow insurrectionists to continue to make peoples’ lives miserable.

“At this time of year,” Pence said shamelessly, “We’re all thinking about the most important things in our lives. Our faith, our family.” All right then. So is Mike Pence saying Trump should not be indicted because people need to be more focused on their faith?

Pence is a bozo! I don’t like to name-call, but this story cries out for it. I do wonder how Pence’s FAMILY sees this. Have they, too, forgiven Trump? Do they think Trump really didn’t do anything wrong and is just a misunderstood, peaceful American?

Luckily Mike Pence doesn’t run the justice department. So it isn’t up to him what happens.

I feel this is just a way for Pence to try and get in good with the Trump wing of the party. You know, those nasty insurrection-loving people who cheered while he was hunted like a dog on January 6.

Poor misguided Pence, trying his best to maintain some relevancy. As for our faith and our families? Well — I think the department of justice can walk and chew gum at the same time. And so apparently do the millions of Americans who despise Trump and want an indictment.

The post Mike Pence just found a whole new way to humiliate himself appeared first on Palmer Report.