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Trump picks former Florida Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon as director of CDC

President-elect Trump announced that former Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., is his pick as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “In addition to being a Medical Doctor for 40 years, and an Army Veteran, Dave has been a respected conservative leader on fiscal and social issues, and served on the Labor/HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, working for Accountability on HHS and CDC Policy and Budgeting,” Trump said in the Friday evening announcement. “Dave also served in a leading role in Government Oversight and Reform Committee Hearings, addressing issues within HHS and CDC. Dave has successfully worked with the CDC to enact a ban on patents for human embryos,” Trump said. Trump said that Dr. Weldon will play a key part in “Making America Healthy Again,” saying that he will work on correcting “past errors.” “Americans have lost trust in the CDC and in our Federal Health Authorities, who have engaged in censorship, data manipulation, and misinformation,” he said. “Given the current Chronic Health Crisis in our Country, the CDC must step up and correct past errors to focus on the Prevention of Disease. The current Health of Americans is critical, and CDC will play a big role in helping to ensure Americans have the tools and resources they need to understand the underlying causes of diseases, and the solutions to cure these diseases,” Trump added. GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? Trump said that Dr. Weldon “understands American Family Values.” “As a father of two and a husband of 45 years, Dave understands American Family Values, and views Health as one of utmost importance,” he said. “Dave will prioritize Transparency, Competence, and High Standards at CDC. Dave will proudly restore the CDC to its true purpose, and will work to end the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and Make America Healthy Again!”

Trump picks Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as nation’s next surgeon general

President-elect Trump has nominated Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as surgeon general. In a statement on Friday evening, Trump said that Dr. Nesheiwat is a “fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventative medicine and public health.” GET TO KNOW DONALD TRUMP’S CABINET: WHO HAS THE PRESIDENT-ELECT PICKED SO FAR? “I am proud to announce that Dr. Janette Nesheiwat will be the Nation’s Doctor as the United States Surgeon General. Dr. Nesheiwat is a double board-certified Medical Doctor with an unwavering commitment to saving and treating thousands of American lives,” he said. Nesheiwat is a former Fox News medical contributor. “Dr. Nesheiwat is a fierce advocate and strong communicator for preventive medicine and public health,” he said. “She is committed to ensuring that Americans have access to affordable, quality healthcare, and believes in empowering individuals to take charge of their health to live longer, healthier lives.”

Trump picks Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as nation’s next surgeon general

ICE Buffalo official takes shot at NY Gov Hochul after arrest of wanted illegal immigrant

Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Buffalo, New York, took a shot at Gov. Kathy Hochul’s disastrous immigration policies while announcing the arrest of a wanted illegal migrant. Buffalo Field Office Director Thomas Brophy said that they will continue to protect residents “regardless of what the governor of New York says.” “The men and women of ERO [Enforcement and Removal Operations] will continue to protect our communities from dangerous offenders, regardless of what the governor of New York state says,” he said in a release on Friday. “We will not be deterred by politicians putting votes over protecting the citizens of this nation,” Brophy said. MASSACHUSETTS GOP SLAMS LIBERAL LEADERS AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ACCUSED OF CHILD RAPE ARRESTED BY ICE Brophy’s response came after ICE Buffalo announced the arrest of a Brazilian national who had a slew of local charges as well as charges in his home country of Brazil. The agency said that the unidentified migrant had pending charges for strangulation and endangering the welfare of a child. He was also under investigation in Brazil for several crimes, including homicide. TRUMP CONFIRMS SUPPORT FOR MAJOR STEP IN MASS DEPORTATION PUSH TO ‘REVERSE THE BIDEN INVASION’ “This is the second case in as many days of ERO Buffalo officers arresting a foreign national attempting to outrun his criminal past by illegally entering the United States,” Brophy said. He said that this case is a reminder of the dangers of the state’s sanctuary status for migrants. DENVER MAYOR MIKE JOHNSTON SAYS TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATIONS WILL CREATE ‘TIANANMEN SQUARE MOMENT’ “These cases highlight the dangers of ‘sanctuary’ jurisdictions and state policies that obstruct law enforcement from cooperating with ERO,” Brophy said. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has said that New York, which has seen over 220,000 migrants arrive in the city since spring 2022, has been “devastated” by the surge of migrants. The New York Times reported that Manuel Castro, New York’s commissioner of migrant affairs, has vowed not to follow “the instructions of the federal government in cases of mass deportations.” Castro’s statement reflects a trend by state and local officials saying they would reject President-elect Trump’s immigration policies. Trump campaigned, in part, on enforcing stringent immigration laws and deporting migrants. ‘SANCTUARY’ CITY MAYOR VOWS SHE WILL DEFY TRUMP’S MASS DEPORTATION PUSH: ‘CAUSING WIDESPREAD FEAR’ In Illinois, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker promised to uphold sanctuary status, boldly declaring, “If you come for my people, you come through me.” In Los Angeles, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass was instrumental in passing a local ordinance limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. “Especially in the face of growing threats to the immigrant communities here in Los Angeles, I stand with the people of this city,” Bass said. “This moment demands urgency. Immigrant protections make our communities stronger and our city better.” In Denver, Democratic Mayor Mike Johnston pledged to resist Trump’s proposed immigration policies, predicting a “Tiananmen Square moment” if federal immigration officials attempted to do their job. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “More than us having DPD [Denver Police Department] stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston told the Denverite. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants.” Trump has vowed to initiate deportation efforts on his first day back in office, recently saying he would be open to declaring a national emergency and using the military to make it happen. Trump’s commitment to closing the border was cemented by his pick for “border czar,” Tom Homan, who served as the acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the first Trump administration. “If you don’t want to work with us, then get the hell out all the way. We’re going to do it,’ Homan recently said. Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE Buffalo and Hochul’s office for comment.

California entrepreneur who led minimum wage measure ‘disappointed’ by defeat, vows to fight for working class

Joe Sanberg, the entrepreneur and anti-poverty advocate who spearheaded a recently defeated state ballot measure to raise California’s minimum wage, said he felt “frustrated and disappointed” by the loss, but vowed to continue advocating for struggling Californians. Proposition 32, which would have raised the state’s minimum wage from $16 to $18 per hour by 2026, narrowly failed at the ballot box 50.8% to 49.2%. The measure was pushed by Sanberg, a progressive business leader, investor and co-founder of the socially-conscious financial firm Aspiration. OPPONENTS OF FAILED CALIFORNIA MEASURE TO RAISE MINIMUM WAGE SAY VOTERS ‘MADE THE RIGHT CALL’ “I thought it was going to pass by a narrow margin,” he told Fox News Digital. “I’m frustrated and disappointed that we lost by a narrow margin. I also recognize that… people are very angry and frustrated about inflation, and they don’t know who and where to blame.” “We should all be able to agree that if you work full-time, you should be able to afford life’s basic needs,” he added. “And there are millions of Californians for whom that is not the case.” Advocates of Prop 32 said roughly 2 million workers, including hotel and grocery store employees, stood to benefit from the measure, The Associated Press reported. In recent years, California has raised its minimum wage in an effort to offset increased costs for housing, gas and other necessities. In April, fast-food restaurants in the state with 60 or more locations were mandated to start paying their employees at least $20 per hour. Business groups, including the California Chamber of Commerce, California Restaurant Association and California Grocers Association, opposed Prop 32, saying high labor costs would hurt small businesses, as well as lead to an increase in prices for customers. “It’s understandable that policymakers, and even many Californians, might be allured and attracted to the concept of a few extra dollars in someone’s pocket, but unfortunately, they did not seem to understand the economic fallout of that kind of concept,” John Kabateck, the California director for the National Federation of Independent Business, told Fox News Digital. GAVIN NEWSOM: CRITICS SAID CALIFORNIA’S MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE WOULD BE A JOB-KILLER. THE OPPOSITE HAPPENED Opponents also argued that raising the minimum wage too fast would result in job losses. “When a worker loses a job, or the company goes out of business, the wage is ZERO DOLLARS PER HOUR,” business leaders wrote in their official ballot argument. Sanberg has spent years advocating for anti-poverty legislation and raising awareness about California’s tax credit that helps lift people out of financial uncertainty. Despite the loss at the ballot box, Sanberg said he remained optimistic. He noted that in Imperial County, which sits east of San Diego on the California-Mexico border, President-elect Trump made significant gains with voters, despite Vice President Kamala Harris winning the overall vote count there. “It’s clear that working-class voters are in favor of raising the minimum wage. To me, that sends a message about how we can get both parties working toward making work pay better,” Sanberg said. Moving forward, Sanberg, who grew up with a single parent who struggled financially, said he plans to keep advocating for better pay for workers so they can at least afford the basics. “I’m open to every approach to get us to that outcome. But that’s the outcome that we ought to pursue. I just can’t imagine that we can be satisfied with anything less than that,” he said. “What is more American than the idea of working full-time and knowing that you can afford your house, your transportation, your food and your health care?” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “That is not some aspiration. That’s a basic covenant that I think all Americans are taught to believe that we have with each other,” he added. “I think that covenant has been broken now for some time for tens of millions of working-class people around the country.”

Here’s how the US and Israel could thwart Iran’s nuclear efforts under a new Trump administration

President-elect Trump will take office just as Iran has the potential to become the world’s 10th nuclear-armed state, and it’s unclear if either side knows how it will approach the other. Judging by Trump’s last time in office, it would suggest he would come out the gate with a combative tone — having instituted a “maximum pressure” campaign to “bankrupt” the regime. His secretary of state pick, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has been an unyielding Iran hawk in the Senate. After the regime fired 200 missiles toward Tel Aviv last month, Rubio said: “Only threatening the survival of the regime through maximum pressure and direct and disproportionate measures has a chance to influence and alter their criminal activities.” That could reinstate — and eliminate — any waivers for oil sanctions. It could mean threatening not to conduct business with countries that buy Iranian fuel products. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., Trump’s pick for national security adviser, is of a similar mind. Last month, when the Biden administration urged Israel to keep its counterstrikes “proportional,” Waltz slammed President Biden for pressuring Israel “once again to do less than it should.” He suggested Israel strike oil facilities on Kharg Island and Iran’s nuclear plants in Natanz, a move the Biden team feared Iran would deem escalatory. Last month, Trump appeared to rule out the U.S. getting involved in any effort to take out Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khameini and his government. “We can’t get totally involved in all that. We can’t run ourselves, let’s face it,” he said. “I would like to see Iran be very successful. The only thing is, they can’t have a nuclear weapon.” Trump has said he does not want Iran to have nuclear weapons, but has not laid out how he would stop it from doing so. “I’m not looking to be bad to Iran, we’re going to be friendly, I hope, with Iran, maybe, but maybe not. But we’re going to be friendly, I hope, we’re going to be friendly, but they can’t have a nuclear weapon,” he said at a New Jersey press conference in August. Last month, Trump suggested Israel strike Iran’s nuclear facilities. Following the Iranian missile attacks, he suggested Israel should “hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later.” On Thursday, Iran said it was activating “advanced” centrifuges after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors censured it for failing to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Without cooperation, the world is in the dark about how quickly Iran is advancing its technological capabilities to use its uranium fuel for a bomb. “We will significantly increase enrichment capacity,” Behrouz Kamalvandi, Iran’s atomic energy organization spokesman, said after the censure. IRAN HIDING MISSILE, DRONE PROGRAMS UNDER GUISE OF COMMERCIAL FRONT TO EVADE SANCTIONS What’s standing between Iran and a fully formed nuclear weapon is both a political and a technological question. While the nation has enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon, the process of turning that into a warhead could take anywhere from six to 12 months, according to Nicole Grajewski, nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “That’s when Iran would be most vulnerable to attack,” she said. “Iran could probably make a dirty bomb from its current stockpile.” Over the years, Iran’s nuclear progress has been set back by international sanctions, COVID-19, high-profile assassinations of its nuclear scientists and attacks and sabotage on its nuclear facilities led by Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad. And announcing they have a nuclear weapon could threaten Iran’s longtime goal of regional hegemony. “Iran is less isolated than it was four years ago, but it’s still pretty isolated. Announcing they are nuclear would trigger an arms race in the Middle East,” predicted Simone Leeden, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East. “Saudi Arabia and the UAE would decide they will pursue nuclear weapons the minute Iran declares it has its own. Another action they could and would take is deepening ties with Israel.” IRAN VASTLY INCREASED NUCLEAR FUEL STOCKPILE AHEAD OF TRUMP RETURN, UN AGENCY FINDS Iran also understands that producing a nuclear bomb would likely evoke a military response from Israel and the U.S. under Trump. After years of trying to assassinate Trump, the Iranians don’t seem to have figured out whether to approach the U.S. relationship under Trump with a combative or diplomatic tone. Just last month, they told President Biden they would not make any efforts to kill the president-elect going forward. “I think that there’s been a lot of mixed signaling from the kind of Trump transition team is, you know, you see Brian Hook being appointed, who was behind this maximum pressure and sanctions,” said Grajewski. But then, on the other hand, Trump envoy Elon Musk reportedly met with Iranian officials to discuss how the two nations could dial back tensions. “I think that he is being opaque on purpose,” said Leeden. “I don’t think he wants to show his cards as a negotiator.” “In all likelihood, maximum pressure is going to be restored,” said Behnam Taleblu, Iran expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “U.S. partners are asking now, to what end? Is it towards regime collapse? Is it towards a deal? What if the Iranians don’t negotiate in good faith?” Former Israeli officials have suggested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be emboldened to strike Iranian nuclear facilities with the go-ahead from the Trump administration. But a lot of Iran’s centrifuge and enrichment facilities are deep underground, complicating a bombing campaign against them. To get to them, Israel would need the U.S.’ Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOP), or “bunkbuster bombs.” “It would require U.S. involvement — either the direct transfer of this, which is currently not really discussed — that would be pretty escalatory — or Israel getting the United States to also conduct this mission,” said Grajewski. The Trump team will also place a high priority on bringing Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords, solidifying the Sunni Muslim alliance against Iran. But

School bonds failed across Texas. What happens now?

Texas voters rejected 20 of 35 bond propositions put forward by 19 school districts in November.

Texas reaches $12.6 million settlement in connection with 2019 Port Neches chemical plant explosion

The settlement directs TCP Group to repair equipment and to pay $12.6 million in penalties for clean air violations at its Southeast Texas facility.

‘They are fed up’: Dem mayor’s office demands solution on key issue after voters sent ‘resounding message’

In response to the Biden administration loosening key immigration restrictions, a spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams sounded off on the federal government, saying that New Yorkers and Americans are “fed up with our broken immigration system.” The Biden Department of Homeland Security is launching an ICE Portal app in December that will allow migrants to skip their in-person check-ins at an ICE office and instead check in with immigration officials via an app on a phone or computer. The app reportedly has severe glitching issues and does not track a migrant’s location if he or she is using an Android phone or laptop. Further, the app does not check migrants for past arrests or outstanding warrants and allows them to opt out of or contest government orders to undergo electronic tracking. This comes after the Biden administration set the record for the highest number of illegal migrants entering the country in a single year in 2023, with 3.2 million entries. This surpassed the previous record of 2.7 million set the year before. ‘100% ON BOARD’: BORDER STATE OFFERS TRUMP MASSIVE PLOT OF LAND TO AID MASS DEPORTATION OPERATION Adams has said that New York, which has seen over 220,000 migrants arrive in the city since spring 2022, has been “devastated” by the surge of migrants. Kayla Altus, a spokesperson for Adams, told Fox News Digital that “cities should not have to carry the cost and burden of a national problem.” “For decades, Washington has endlessly talked about comprehensive reform, but delivered nothing of substance,” she said. “This election, the American people sent a resounding message: they are fed up with our broken immigration system.” 1 IN 10 INMATES IN TEXAS’ HARRIS COUNTY JAIL WANTED BY ICE, RECORDS SHOW She said the election, which saw a blowout victory for former President Trump and Republicans gaining unified control of Congress, gave the federal government a clear mandate to fix the immigration problem. “Democrats and Republicans must come together to pass meaningful immigration reform for the first time in four decades,” she said. “That is what’s best for the American people, as well as the immigrants who come here, seeking the opportunity to build a better life and have a shot at the American Dream.” Down in the border city of Laredo, Texas, Mayor Victor Trevino told Fox News Digital that he is working with state and Mexican authorities to prepare for the possibility of another migrant surge before Trump takes office. He said that although the city currently has “adequate” resources for everyday legal crossings, “no community is equipped enough to handle unnatural surges.” Trevino noted that the city is not equipped for a surge in migrant children as Laredo “does not have a pediatric intensive care unit.” Steven Camarota, director of research at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital that other sanctuary cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Denver are also struggling with the fiscal costs of the migrant surge. He said that in many instances, illegal migrants are even crowding out resources meant for citizens. Camarota pointed to testimony he gave to the House Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs in September, in which he listed the fiscal costs to individual sanctuary cities: $12 billion in New York over the next three years on housing, food, health care and other services for recently arrived illegal immigrants, $361 million in Chicago and $36.4 million in Washington, D.C., in 2023, and $180 million in Denver in 2024. “The real policy that would save the cities’ money is robust enforcement that both increased removals, made people go home, and encourage people to go home on their own,” he said. “If you’re increasing removals and you’ve increased just normal outmigration, you could really cut into these numbers and start to save some real money.” Jessica Vaughan, who works as director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital that while the murder of nursing student Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant has garnered lots of attention, she said that tragic stories like that are not isolated but rather part of a larger patten. “Only ICE knows for sure how often someone who’s released by a sanctuary has been subsequently arrested for another crime,” she said. “There’s a human cost to the sanctuary policies and there is no reasonable law enforcement or public safety or even community trust justification for having this policy. It is political and it has to stop.”

Abolish the ATF?: Rep. Burlison wants to eliminate ‘disaster agency’ he says has been violating 2nd Amendment

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., wants to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and plans to put forward a measure that would do just that. “The ATF is a disaster,” Burlison, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital on Thursday, adding that “for decades they’ve been a disaster agency” which has “been violating the… Second Amendment.” The congressman suggested that states should be allowed to handle matters themselves, without federal interference. “There’s very few ATF officials,” he said, accusing the agency of “co-opting or commandeering [local] law enforcement to enforce laws” which state lawmakers did not pass. CONGRESSMAN ERIC BURLISON: IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, ‘THE INMATES ARE RUNNING THE PRISON’ The legislator plans to introduce a proposal previously put forward in 2023 by then-Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. Burlison, a freshman who took office last year, was one of the Republicans who joined Gaetz’s measure as a cosponsor. GOP Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Mary Miller of Illinois, Andy Biggs of Arizona, Cory Mills of Florida, Mike Collins of Georgia, Barry Moore of Alabama, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Bob Good of Virginia also joined as cosponsors, according to congress.gov. MATT GAETZ URGES COLLEAGUES TO ABOLISH THE ATF BEFORE IT STRIPS AMERICANS OF GUN RIGHTS: ‘CANNOT BE TRUSTED’ Fox News Digital reached out to the ATF for comment on Friday. “ATF provides enormous benefits to the American public through all of its efforts fighting violent crime every day,” ATF spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said in an emailed statement. Burlison also thinks the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should be abolished. GAETZ INTRODUCES ‘ABOLISH THE ATF ACT’ AFTER RULING AGAINST STABILIZING BRACES “The EPA is making one-size-fits-all rules for the entire United States” and is “being more harmful than… helpful,” he said.

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