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🏦 Major banks debanked conservatives over political and religious beliefs. A 47-page OCC report found that JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and six other banks closed accounts of MAGA merchants, pro-life groups, and Christian organizations between 2020 and 2025. Several banks cited Southern Poverty Law Center "hate group" designations as justification.

📊 Jack Smith collected data on 639,000 Republican donors and voters. A Senate Judiciary Committee memo revealed that Biden's DOJ gathered names, addresses, birthdates, and credit card information on hundreds of thousands of GOP supporters, including even those who purchased MAGA hats. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called it an effort "to map out the entire Republican Party apparatus."

🛢️ Trump greenlights "massive" exploration in Greenland. President Trump announced that oil, gas, and mineral exploration will begin across the Arctic territory, calling its reserves "far greater than that of almost anywhere in the World." The move follows last month's agreement with Denmark and Greenland that expands the US military presence on the island.

⚖️ House bill would let crime victims sue sanctuary city officials. The Shut Down Sanctuary Policies Act cleared committee and is sitting on the House calendar for a possible post-election vote. The measure would strip civil immunity from local officials who release illegal migrants despite federal detainers, letting victims and their families sue directly.

Behind the paywall: The changing surnames on England's birth certificates, an Iranian death sentence over a social media post, and Ukraine's complaint against SpaceX over Starlink.

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Q: Should the US continue with President Trump’s initiative to purchase Russian oil? Should we stop Ukraine from bombing Russian oil complexes? — Than from Ohio

A: To the first question, no, the Russian diesel deal is a bad idea, and it probably won’t work. It sends money to Putin amid its attack on Ukraine, and it likely violates the 2022 ban on Russian energy imports, coming just weeks after President Trump signed the Russia sanctions law spearheaded by the late Lindsey Graham.

Further, the volumes are small, with 300,000 tons promised now and 500,000 in November. Every day, Americans use 500,000 tons of diesel. This will hardly make a dent and barely bring down prices. US diesel prices are being driven up mainly by the Iran war and the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which Russian barrels don’t fix.

As for the second question, stopping Ukraine from hitting Russian refineries is easier said than done, because Kyiv sees those strikes as a legitimate way to choke off the money funding Putin’s war.

Unfortunately, neither Ukraine nor Russia is paying much attention to Washington’s calls for an “energy ceasefire.” Both countries are locked in a full-scale war that won’t stop simply because the United States asks it to.

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🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜ 👍 Yes (406)

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👎 No (468)

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