'And it seems like he’s not interested in us'

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FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the leading Senate committee on labor matters, sent a letter to United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain on Friday, probing him about alleged “workplace retaliation” in the union. Cassidy, R-La., who chairs the Senate committee on health, labor, education, and pensions (HELP), asked the labor leader to clarify reports of alleged retaliation against fellow UAW leaders for workplace disagreements. “Several news reports and two reports by the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) court-appointed Monitor … have detailed concerning instances of workplace retaliation under your leadership,” the letter reads. Cassidy added that “these actions create a serious distraction from UAW’s purpose to improve and protect UAW members’ wages, benefits, work hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.” Fain has served as the UAW’s president since 2023. The Detroit, Michigan-based union was founded in 1935. Cassidy writes in the letter that he is “concerned that the cost of litigating these matters is a disservice to the American workers who pay dues to the UAW.” In particular, Cassidy probes Fain on two allegations of workforce retaliation. In one instance, Fain is said to have removed “several departments” from the purview of UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock as retaliation for “instituting strict policies governing expenses.” In the other case, Cassidy points to a report from The Detroit News, which cites an anonymous source who said Fain removed the union’s Stellantis department from the oversight of Vice President Rich Boyer due to “a disagreement over staffing changes.” Stellantis is the parent company which produces and sells Jeep, Chrysler, Fiat, Ram, and other vehicles. 26-01-16 Chair Cassidy Letter to UAW President FainDownload Cassidy mentions that “Boyer states the dismissal was motivated by his refusal to make changes that would benefit your [fiancée] and your [fiancée’s] sister.” Cassidy requests for clarification on whether the UAW has a workforce retaliation policy, as well as whether Faine’s fiancée or her sister would stand to benefit from Boyer’s removal. Cassidy also inquires if the UAW has a written policy on workplace nepotism. The chairman asks several more questions of Fain on how these alleged actions affect workers, including whether Fain will commit to not raising dues on union members “to pay for internal UAW proceedings or any legal proceedings on these or other allegations of retaliation.” The UAW did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fain and the union on the letter, the allegations it details, and whether they plan to respond to Cassidy. Speaking to the union and to the world today @UAW President Shawn Fain said:"Donald Trump is a scab. Donald Trump is a billionaire, and that is who he represents." pic.twitter.com/aqqOUa8D9T— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) January 24, 2024 Fain has served as the UAW’s president since 2023. The union, founded in 1935, is based in Detroit, Michigan. Fain campaigned in support of then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ Democratic presidential bid in 2024, and was a harsh opponent of now-President Donald Trump, whom he called a “scab” who “doesn’t give a damn about working class people.” Since then, Fain has been critical of certain Trump policies, such as restricting federal workers’ unionization rights, but has also defended the president on policies such as tariffs. The post EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Cassidy Probes UAW Leader on ‘Workforce Retaliation’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

The U.S. capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro set in motion what could be the “equivalent to the fall of the Berlin Wall in the Americas,” the country’s opposition leader says. For the first time in history, the Americas could be free of “communism, dictatorship, and narco-terrorism,” María Corina Machado said Friday during a press conference at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.   Machado went into hiding following the July 2024 presidential election in Venezuela. Maduro, the incumbent socialist ruler of Venezuela, declared himself the winner despite widespread claims that he lost and Machado won.  Neither the U.S. nor the European Union recognized Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela following the election.   Following the U.S. capture of Maduro, who is being held in New York on federal charges that include illegal drug trafficking and narco-terrorism, there has been widespread speculation over Machado’s future as leader of the South American country.   Delcy Rodriguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, is now serving as the acting president of Venezuela, and most of Maduro’s regime remains in place.   Machado met with President Donald Trump at the White House Thursday, and assured the Venezuelan people that “Venezuela is going to be free, and that’s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States.”   Asked if she spoke with Trump about a transition of power in Venezuela, Machado said it is “not about me.”   “It is about the will of the people,” Machado said, adding she talked with Trump about the “terrible conditions” people have been living under in Venezuela and “how the regime stole that result” of the previous election, adding, “and I think he can certainly relate to that.”   María Corina Machado: Latin America May Be Experiencing Its ‘Berlin Wall’ MomentThe future of Venezuela is not about whether she becomes president, or not, but it is about “the will of the people,” @MariaCorinaYA told The Daily Signal’s @Virginia_Allen5 during a press… pic.twitter.com/ekexiIQbP2— The Daily Signal (@DailySignal) January 16, 2026 Trump “understands the moment and the implication for I would say the whole hemisphere,” the Venezuelan opposition leader said.   Not only has Venezuela had a socialist regime for decades, but it has also empowered other dictatorial nations such as Cuba, according to foreign policy experts.   Venezuela and Cuba remained close both politically and economically under the Maduro regime, according to Andrés Martínez-Fernández, senior policy analyst for Latin America at The Heritage Foundation.  “Venezuela has been the main artery for the inflow of financing to Cuba in the form of oil, primarily, and that has enabled Cuba to weather a dramatic economic crisis, long-standing economic crisis, and social unrest,” Martínez-Fernández previously told The Daily Signal.   If Venezuela achieves freedom for its people, the implications for the hemisphere will be “historic,” according to Machado.   The post Venezuelan Opposition Leader Makes Bold Prediction for the Americas appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Iran stands at an inflection point. The Iranian people have risen up with extraordinary courage and on an unprecedented scale to demand a better future. The ayatollah regime has responded with lethal repression. But the regime’s brutality cannot hide the fact that it has no answer to the forces driving the unrest: economic collapse, failure to provide basic services, and a society that increasingly rejects the regime’s ideology in favor of freedom, dignity, and human rights. A new Iranian government that ends the export of terror, ceases its ambition for military nuclear power, and chooses constructive relations with the West rather than allying itself with America’s enemies would be one of the most consequential developments for Middle East and the global order in modern history. President Donald Trump’s urging of Iranians to keep protesting, promising that “help is on its way,” while signaling that the United States is prepared to sustain and escalate pressure stands in stark contrast to the approach of recent administrations. In 2009, Iranians filled the streets in the Green Movement with a simple question—“Where is my vote?”—and the regime answered with brutality. Prioritizing a nuclear deal with the regime over the Iranian people’s democratic aspirations, the Obama administration all but ignored the protestors. In 2022, the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement revealed once again the courage of Iran’s youth and women, but the regime survived through violence and fear, emboldened by Western inaction. Today, however, Iran’s rulers face a new reality. Trump has restored American power and standing on the international stage. Internally, the country is gripped by skyrocketing inflation, deep corruption, and a catastrophic water crisis—problems driven by the regime’s mismanagement, its refusal to abandon its nuclear ambitions, and its determination to send billions of dollars to terror proxies abroad rather than invest in Iran’s own people. Externally, the Islamic Republic’s moment of maximum regional power has passed. On Oct. 6, 2023, Tehran’s terror proxy network threatened Israel, destabilized Lebanon, endangered U.S. partners in the Gulf, and menaced global shipping lanes. In the war that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre, Israel, with U.S. support, dealt devastating blows to Hamas and Hezbollah. American and Israeli strikes severely degraded the Houthis’ ability to threaten shipping and regional partners. And the 12-day war, culminating in Operation Midnight Hammer, did not just destroy much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and ballistic missile arsenal, but dismantled key elements of Iran’s air defenses, leaving the regime in a state of heightened vulnerability. In other words, the ayatollah emperor has been revealed to have no clothes. Yet even as the regime’s weakness is exposed and the people’s desire for change is unmistakable, the most important question remains unanswered: What comes next? The best available data regarding the preferences of the Iranian people comes from the Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran. Its June 2024 survey, based on anonymous responses from more than 77,000 respondents, found that 70% of Iranians explicitly oppose the Islamic Republic. An extraordinary 89% say they support a democratic system. Two-thirds reject governance based on religious law. On the preferred alternative, Iranians are not unified around a single blueprint: about 26% favor a secular republic and around 21% support a constitutional monarchy. Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former shah, remains the most popular opposition figure listed, enjoying 31% support, but no figure is favored by a majority. This mix of deep anti-theocratic sentiment, strong democratic aspirations, and fragmented opposition means both hope and risk. The hope is obvious. The risk is that a powerful force, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or elements of the military, could attempt to capture the state in the name of stability. Still, if Iran’s future is a government that chooses normal relations with the world rather than theological extremism and revolutionary export, the strategic benefits for the United States could be historic. First, such a shift could permanently extinguish Iran’s “ring of fire.” Tehran is the banker, trainer, and armorer of the region’s most destabilizing terror networks. A post–Islamic Republic Iran could reduce the threat to U.S. forces and allies, restore confidence in global shipping routes, and open the door to news regional integration architectures. Second, it would strike a major blow to Russia. Today’s Iran is one of Moscow’s most important partners, supporting sanctions evasion and enabling Russia’s war machine. A new Iranian government seeking Western investment and sanctions relief would have strong incentives to sever that relationship. Third, it would disrupt China’s strategic foothold in the region. Beijing has benefited from Iran’s isolation, importing discounted Iranian energy and using Tehran as an anti-American anchor in the Middle East. A normalized Iran, trading broadly and transparently, would reduce China’s leverage. None of this will happen automatically. That is why America’s policy should be guided by a simple principle: support the Iranian people, deter mass repression, and prepare for multiple transition scenarios. That means enabling communications and internet access during blackouts, documenting and sanctioning perpetrators of atrocities, and making clear that sanctions relief is available only in exchange for verifiable changes—ending terror exports, accepting robust nuclear and ballistic missile constraints, and respecting fundamental rights. If the regime continues its brutal repression, a U.S.-led military response should follow. The U.S. has the capabilities to deal a devastating blow to the regime, while protecting American assets and personnel. Under Trump’s leadership, the U.S. now has an opportunity to stand with the Iranian people and to shape a more stable and peaceful future for the Middle East and the entire world. The post Advance US Interests by Supporting the Iranian People appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Why Do Environmentalists Hate Birds So Much?

In all my years of monitoring the liberal media, I've never seen anything quite like this. On today's CNN This Morning, host Audie Cornish attempted to corner a panelist. She repeatedly tried to get Rob Bluey, an MRC alum and executive editor of the Daily Signal, to state, in light of recent ICE activities, whether he feels the need to carry ID proving he's an American. "Let me let Rob get a word in, because sometimes I go online and you're out there saying online like, this is good. I'm glad the president is going after these illegals, and I don't hear you addressing these kinds of questions, which is if you're someone who's not in this dragnet, what are your rights? Carrying papers. Rob, are you going to start carrying, like, real I.D.?" Lulu Garcia-Navarro piled on, telling Rob that [as a person of pallor] he might not have to carry ID, but she [as a Hispanic] has to worry about it. For the record, Lulu doesn't exactly look like a Tren de Aragua member herself. [Back in her NPR days, Lulu once said that getting kisses sent from the three Castro brothers was "like getting the blessing of the Holy Trinity.”] Cornish was relentless, cutting Lulu off and getting back on Rob's case: "But let him answer this, because I am genuinely curious. No, I'm curious." Note the crafty way Cornish framed her attempted cornering of Rob. Instead of frankly admitting she was trying to put Bluey on the spot, Cornish cast it as if she were doing Rob a favor: "Let me let Rob get a word in," and later, cutting off another panelist, "Let him answer this," and then, "I just wanted to make sure that you got a chance to answer this." Yeah, thanks for nothin', Audie! Cornish once again assembled a lib-loaded panel that included no fewer than three NPR alums: Noel King, Garcia-Navarro, and Audie herself. There was also Elliot Williams, who tends to be less partisan but is a former senior Obama appointee. So Rob was outnumbered four-to-one. Bluey didn't deign to answer Cornish's question directly about whether he feels the need to carry ID. He focused instead on the failure of Minneapolis authorities to better control the situation, and on Biden having let 10 million illegal immigrants into the country during his four years as president. He did answer it on X:  For the record, @AudieCornish, I have a REAL ID and I would have no problem showing it to police if asked. I also 100% support state voter ID laws. Here’s the reality: If you are in the United States illegally, you should self-deport or face the consequences. The reason we’re… pic.twitter.com/Q2JTqyqert — Rob Bluey (@RobertBluey) January 16, 2026 Here's the transcript. CNN This Morning 1/16/26 6:07 am ET REPORTER: Why are we seeing Americans being asked on the street to provide proof of citizenship in Minnesota? Is that targeted enforcement? And are you advising Americans to carry proof of citizenship?  KRISTI NOEM: In every situation, we're doing targeted enforcement. If we are on a target and doing an operation, there may be individuals surrounding that criminal that we may be asking who they are and why they're there and having them validate their identity.  AUDIE CORNISH: Papers, please.  ELLIOT WILLIAMS: Papers, please. CORNISH: Let me let Rob get a word in, because sometimes I go online and you're out there saying, online, like, this is good. I'm glad the president is going after these illegals.  And I don't hear you addressing these kinds of questions, which is, if you're someone who's not in this dragnet, what are your rights?  ROB BLUEY: Look, I think that ultimately, Audie, a lot of this could have been solved had the local law enforcement in Minneapolis had a better control of the  situation. The only reason -- CORNISH: Are you gonna start carrying papers, Rob? Are you going to start carrying, like, real ID or a passport? LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO: The fact is, he doesn't have to. I mean, my daughter said to me in the car yesterday hey Mom, we're Hispanic. Um, do you have to carry ID now? Should I carry ID? Are we going to be stopped? Are you gonna be taken away? I mean, you know, this is the reality here where maybe for you, you won't be stopped and you might not be dragged out of your street, but there are swaths of people. We are seeing Native Americans -- CORNISH: But let him answer this, because I am genuinely curious. No, I'm curious.  BLUEY: But again, I think we need to take a step back. We wouldn't be in this situation if we didn't have, what, 10 million illegal immigrants coming to this country during Joe Biden's four years. Donald Trump was crystal clear during the presidential campaign of 2024 that he was going to carry out the largest deportation in United States history. That is what he is doing right now.  CORNISH: So this is, no, I like this argument. Because this is the midterms argument. And you'll be making this argument in the face of polling like this. Does ICE make cities more safe? 51% say, less safe. That's a lot of people you've got to convince of your point heading into midterms.  But I just wanted to make sure that you got a chance to answer this. Because it's one of those questions that, within MAGA circles, I remember the real ID argument. We shouldn't have to carry documents. We shouldn't have to have. Do you remember covering this? It was like a story about paperwork that turned into a story about civil liberties.  And these same people are saying, well, maybe you should carry something. Maybe you should prove you belong here. 

Mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest level in more than three years, Freddie Mac announced Thursday, releasing results of its latest weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS®). In its announcement, Freddie Mac reports: The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.06%, down from 6.16% last week and 7.04% a year ago. At 6.16%, the 30-year FRM is the lowest in more than three years. The 15-year FRM averaged 5.38%, down from 5.46% the previous week and 6.27% year-ago. “The impacts are noticeable, as weekly purchase applications and refinance activity have jumped, underscoring the benefits for both buyers and current owners,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater noted: “It’s clear that housing activity is improving and poised for a solid spring sales season.”  On Thursday, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported survey results showing that mortgage applications for new home purchases in December increased 2.5% from a year ago. Additionally, the MBA reported that its Refinance Index increased 40% from the previous week and 128% from year-ago, while its seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 16% from a week earlier. On Wednesday, the MBA reported that the its weekly survey found that mortgage applications were up 28.5% from last week. When President Donald Trump began his second term in the White House a year ago in January of 2025, 30-year fixed rate mortgages averaged 7.0%, more than four percentage points higher than the 2.8% average rate when he left office in January of 2021. During his first term, the average rate decline by 1.3 percentage points.

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