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Elon Musk says ‘all actions’ taken by Department of Government Efficiency will be online: ‘Transparency’

Elon Musk says ‘all actions’ taken by Department of Government Efficiency will be online: ‘Transparency’

Elon Musk, who was selected by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, shared some insight on X on Tuesday into how the department will operate. Musk said that the department will take suggestions and concerns from everyday Americans regarding how the government spends money. “Anytime the public thinks we are cutting something important or not cutting something wasteful, just let us know!” Musk said in part in the X post. Musk also said all the department’s actions “will be posted online for maximum transparency.” TRUMP’S PICKS SO FAR: HERE’S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT “We will also have a leaderboard for [the] most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars. This will be both extremely tragic and extremely entertaining,” he wrote. When announcing the new department on Tuesday, Trump said its purpose will be to “dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.” “DOGE” will advise and guide the administration by utilizing knowledge from outside of government and will partner with the White House and the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform.” TRUMP’S FIRST CABINET PICKS DECIDEDLY NOT ISOLATIONISTS: UKRAINE, ISRAEL BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF Musk and Ramaswamy, both of whom are successful entrepreneurs, have been adamant about their desires to cut unnecessary spending in order to reduce the government’s debt of at least $35 trillion. “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in government waste, which is a lot of people!” Musk said. Ramswamy also said he and Musk “will not go gently” shortly after Trump announced their new roles. Musk and Ramaswamy are the latest additions to Trump’s administration after a busy few days loaded with appointments. The latest include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for Homeland Security secretary, Fox News’ Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel, and John Ratcliffe for CIA director.

Houthis launch missile, drone attacks on US warships off Yemen’s coast

Houthis launch missile, drone attacks on US warships off Yemen’s coast

The Iran-backed group launched drones and fired missiles at two US warships in an hours-long attack, the Pentagon confirms. US warships came under sustained missile and drone attack from Houthi fighters as they sailed off the coast of Yemen, the Pentagon has confirmed, with the armed group claiming it attacked the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and two US destroyers. Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said on Tuesday that the  United States military’s Central Command (CENTCOM) forces “successfully repelled multiple Iranian backed Houthi attacks during a transit of the Bab al-Mandeb strait”, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Ryder told reporters at a news conference that two US-guided missile destroyers – the USS Stockdale and USS Spruance – were attacked by at least eight one-way attack drones, five antiship ballistic missiles and three antiship cruise missiles. All the Houthi drones and missiles “were successfully engaged and defeated”, and neither of the US Navy ships were damaged or personnel hurt, he said. Ryder added that he was not aware of any attacks against the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier and US Air Force the B-52H Stratofortress conduct joint exercises in the Arabian Sea in 2019 [File: Handout/US Navy via AP] Earlier on Tuesday, Houthi fighters announced that they had carried out two “specific military operations” against the US Navy in an assault lasting eight hours. “The first operation targeted the American aircraft carrier (Abraham) located in the Arabian Sea with a number of cruise missiles and drones,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said in a statement. “The other operation targeted two American destroyers in the Red Sea with a number of ballistic missiles and drones,” he said, adding that the operation had “successfully achieved its objectives”. #معركة_الفتح_الموعود_والجهاد_المقدس pic.twitter.com/sREqpe2Oq5 — العميد يحيى سريع (@army21ye) November 12, 2024 The Houthis, who control large areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, have been carrying out attacks on Israel-linked shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023, in what it says is a campaign of solidarity with Palestinians. The armed group, however, has also been accused of attacking commercial ships with no obvious connection to Israel or its war on Gaza. The Houthis have targeted more than 90 vessels with missiles and drones, killing four sailors and sinking two ships. The crew of one vessel – the Galaxy Leader, a British-owned and Japanese-operated carrier, hijacked last November – remain detained in Yemen. The Yemeni group has demanded that Israel end its war on Gaza as a condition for stopping the attacks, which have severely disrupted trade in one of the world’s busiest maritime routes. Explosions take place on the deck of the Greek-flagged oil tanker Sounion in the Red Sea on August 29, 2024 [Handout/Houthi Military Media via Reuters] The US, with support from the United Kingdom, has carried out repeated strikes on targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in response to the Red Sea shipping attacks. On Sunday, the US and UK launched air strikes on Sanaa and the northern Amran governorate, with the Pentagon saying it had targeted Houthi advanced weapons storage facilities. The attacks came just weeks after intensive US raids on Houthi targets in which B-2 strategic bombers participated for the first time, carrying out strikes against five underground weapons storage locations. Adblock test (Why?)

Trump names Musk and Ramaswamy to head new government efficiency department

Trump names Musk and Ramaswamy to head new government efficiency department

United States President-elect Donald Trump has named tech magnate Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as his picks to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a new body he plans to establish once he returns to the White House. “Together, these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” Trump said in a statement on Tuesday. “Importantly, we will drive out the massive waste and fraud which exists throughout our annual $6.5 Trillion Dollars of Government Spending.” Trump added that, under his plan, Musk and Ramaswamy would conclude their work by July 4, 2026, the 250th anniversary of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence. “A smaller Government, with more efficiency and less bureaucracy, will be the perfect gift to America,” Trump said. A campaign promise The proposed department appears to have been inspired by a conversation Trump had on the campaign trail with Musk, one of his most prominent supporters. On August 13, the two men sat down for a two-hour live broadcast on Musk’s social media platform X, where the billionaire pitched Trump on the idea of forming a new “commission” to crack down on government waste. “You’re the greatest cutter,” Trump replied. “I need an Elon Musk. I need somebody that has a lot of strength and courage and smarts.” Trump later revisited the idea on the campaign trail, including at a September appearance before the New York Economic Club. “I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms,” Trump said at the time. It is unclear how the new department will function once it is established. Tuesday’s statement indicated that Ramaswamy and Musk would “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government”. Critics note that independent nonpartisan watchdogs already exist within the government to ensure efficiency and conduct audits, including the Government Accountability Office. Rewarding Trump’s supporters Trump’s announcement on Tuesday, however, seems poised to reward two of his most prominent supporters from the private sector. Musk, a billionaire originally from South Africa, is the founder of the electric car company Tesla, the owner of X and the leader of SpaceX, a rocket-building company. Ramaswamy, meanwhile, is the founder of a pharmaceutical company. Earlier this year, he competed against Trump in the Republican primary season, only to drop out after finishing fourth in January’s Iowa caucus. He immediately endorsed Trump after suspending his campaign. Musk’s endorsement came months later, after Trump faced an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Posting a video of a blood-streaked Trump, Musk wrote in the aftermath, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.” Musk has since donated millions of dollars to Trump’s election campaign and made public appearances with him, including at a follow-up rally in Butler. Since Trump won the November 5 presidential election, Musk has also been a constant presence at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. DOGE, the acronym for the newly created department, is also the name of the cryptocurrency that Musk promotes. Drastic change Since his first successful presidential bid in 2016, Trump has pledged to slim down the government and “drain the swamp” – his catchphrase for ridding Washington, DC, of unnecessary bureaucracy and corruption. In Tuesday’s announcement, Trump teased “drastic change” in his second term. He has already pledged to shut down the Department of Education, which distributes federal aid, cracks down on discrimination in schools and publishes research about educational attainment. A future Department of Government Efficiency, Trump explained, would partner with the White House to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” Musk at one point suggested he could find more than $2 trillion in savings if given the power to review federal functions – a sum equivalent to nearly a third of the government’s total annual spending. To illustrate the scale and importance of his proposed department, Trump drew a comparison between the new body and a World War II-era programme that developed the atomic bomb. “It will become, potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” Trump said on Tuesday. Musk was quoted in Trump’s press release celebrating the department’s imminent creation. “This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people!” he said. Adblock test (Why?)

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 992

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 992

As the war enters its 992nd day, these are the main developments. Here is the situation on Wednesday, November 13: Fighting Ukraine shot down 46 of 110 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. An additional 60 Russian drones were lost in Ukrainian airspace and two travelled towards Belarus. Russian forces also launched three missiles during the overnight attack, in addition to guided aerial bombs, the Air Force said. Russian air defence systems destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones overnight in regions bordering Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defence said. North Korean troops have begun engaging in combat alongside Russian forces, the United States State Department said. Spokesperson Vedant Patel said that more than “10,000 DPRK [North Korean] soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia”, the vast majority to the Kursk region, where they have “begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces”. International affairs Russia’s growing economic and military cooperation with China, North Korea and Iran “is not only threatening Europe”, it is also “threatening peace and security” in the Asia Pacific and North America, according to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu has told China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi in Beijing that strong relations between Moscow and Beijing are a stabilising influence on the world. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Brussels to discuss support for Ukraine in meetings with NATO and European Union counterparts, the State Department said. Ukraine is close to setting up three new joint ventures with European weapons producers to boost arms output, according to Ukraine’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko. She said five joint ventures had already been set up with Western weapons producers, including German and Lithuanian companies. China needs to feel a “higher cost” for its support for Russia, which enables Moscow to pursue its war in Ukraine, Estonia’s ex-Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said at her confirmation hearing at the European Parliament to become the EU’s next foreign policy chief. The deputy chief of Russia’s Security Council and former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused European leaders of seeking to dangerously escalate the Ukraine conflict and push it “into an irreversible phase”, following the re-election of former US President Donald Trump. Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was sentenced to 15 years in prison for leaking highly classified US military documents to a group of gamers on the Discord messaging app. The leaks included information concerning the use of US equipment in Ukraine following Russia’s 2022 invasion. Russian affairs Russia’s estimates for this year’s grain harvest, as well as for the winter grain seeded area, will include data from Ukrainian territories under Moscow’s control, Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture said. Following months of bad weather, the ministry forecasts this year’s grain harvest at 130 million tonnes – a 12 percent decrease from 2023’s 148 million tonnes and an 18 percent reduction from the record 158 million tonnes in 2022. The city of Helsinki will initiate a forced takeover of the Finnish capital’s biggest sport and events stadium, the Helsinki Arena, from its sanctions-hit Russian owners, the city’s executive governing board said. A Russian Navy frigate equipped with new-generation hypersonic cruise missiles conducted drills in the English Channel and is carrying out tasks in the Atlantic Ocean, Russian media reported. Russia’s lower house of parliament unanimously voted to ban “propaganda” promoting a child-free way of life, as it hopes to boost the faltering birthrate while death rates are up due to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. A Russian court sentenced a Moscow paediatrician to five and a half years in a penal colony after the mother of one of her patients publicly denounced her over negative comments she allegedly made about Russia’s war in Ukraine. Nadezhda Buyanova, a 68-year-old paediatrician denounced by a patient’s mother for an alleged unpatriotic statement about Russia’s army, stands inside an enclosure during a court hearing in Moscow, Russia on November 12 [Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)

Mutiny threat sparks House GOP infighting ahead of Trump visit: ‘Just more stupid’

Mutiny threat sparks House GOP infighting ahead of Trump visit: ‘Just more stupid’

Tensions were high among House Republicans on Tuesday with a group of GOP hardliners threatening to protest Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership during the next day’s House GOP Conference leadership elections. Three sources told Fox News Digital that members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus were exploring ways to show their discontent with House GOP leaders during the closed-door races to decide who will likely lead the majority next year. Meanwhile, those threats sparked frustration among rank-and-file House Republicans, including one lawmaker who said such discussions were “just more stupid.” The heart of the issue lies in proposed rule changes that the House GOP Conference will also vote on, including a measure pushed by some Republicans to punish colleagues who purposely sink their own party’s legislation on the House floor by stripping their committee assignments. HOUSE LEADERS MOVE QUICKLY TO CONSOLIDATE POWER IN SHOW OF CONFIDENCE FOR REPUBLICAN MAJORITY Johnson told Politico on Tuesday evening that he would not support “punitive” measures against people who blockade the House floor, but sources signaled that would not be enough. “There’s a difference between saying, ‘I don’t support it’ and ‘I’m going to stop it.’ That’s a big difference,” one source said. “His easy route is just to say, ‘All right, no rules changes. We’re just going to go forward.’” Reports indicated earlier that Freedom Caucus members were looking for a candidate to challenge Johnson – something its chairman did not rule out. “Having two people in a race is kind of the norm,” Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told reporters when asked if his group was putting up a candidate. “We can do this Soviet-style, or we can do it American-style.” But no one candidate appeared to emerge as of Tuesday night, though Fox News Digital’s sources said conservatives could still coalesce around someone. DEMS PRIVATELY FRET ABOUT LOSING HOUSE AFTER GOP VICTORY IN WHITE HOUSE, SENATE Instead, Johnson’s GOP critics could seek a recorded vote where they could either simply vote against his candidacy for speaker or write another name in via secret ballot, Fox News Digital was told. The discord comes as President-elect Donald Trump plans to address House Republicans on Wednesday morning ahead of their leadership races, two other sources familiar with planning told Fox News Digital. Several GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital were frustrated that the public chaos that permeated the 118th Congress could once again rear its head – this time, when Republicans were poised to control all the levers of power in Washington. “Frankly, I am tired of the instigators. I am tired of the conflict for the sake of conflict-type nonsense that happened last session,” Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. Asked if lawmakers who help lead that charge should face consequences, Murphy said, “Absolutely. You can put that with an exclamation mark.” JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ Another GOP lawmaker said they were concerned about whether such a protest would lead to another messy House floor fight over the speakership, similar to the 15 rounds of voting ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., faced nearly two years ago. “What would worry me is if they’re willing to take that battle to the floor again. That’s where it doesn’t serve any kind of positive purpose at that point,” that lawmaker said. Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, posted on X, “Enough is enough with the unserious political games – we have work to do.” Others who have criticized Johnson in the past – like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. – signaled little appetite for supporting a challenger against Johnson, particularly if Trump backs the speaker on Wednesday morning. The Hill was first to report that House Freedom Caucus members were seeking a challenger to Johnson.