The United States Government has recovered over $31 million in Social Security payments that improperly went to dead people. 

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has selected Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to serve as Ohio’s next United States senator. Husted will replace JD Vance, who is stepping down as he assumes the role of Vice President-elect.

The world’s largest lithium battery facility is on fire. Elon Musk said it has nothing to do with Tesla or its batteries. The cause is not yet known. Over 1,000 people were advised to evacuate a community in Northern California after a large fire erupted Thursday afternoon at one of the world’s largest battery storage […] The post Lithium Battery Facility Ablaze: “This is a disaster, is what it is.” appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

A career State Department official announced her retirement hours after President-elect Donald Trump asked for her resignation and those of two other officials, The Daily Wire has learned. Marcia Bernicat, the director-general of the U.S. Foreign Service and director of global talent, who has held a top role for many years, sent a farewell message on Thursday announcing her retirement, a source who saw the message said. Bernicat is essentially the top HR person in charge of shaping the State Department’s workforce. She was photographed Friday looking grim as Secretary of State Antony Blinken marked the end of his tenure. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Trump asked Bernicat, Dereck Hogan, and Alaina Teplitz to resign — an unusual move, since they are career employees, not political appointees. However, the three occupy key roles that, if held by people who oppose Trump’s mission, could have a cascading effect that neutralizes the commander-in-chief’s ability to control the government agency. (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)   Hogan is the department’s executive secretary, which “manages the flow of information between department bureaus and with the White House,” Reuters said. Teplitz has been with the department for three decades and is Assistant Secretary. Bernicat’s retirement signals that Trump’s team is heading into its second term with knowledge of the “deep state” actors that it believes are obstructing it, and that some of those are willing to accept defeat and bow out, even before Trump takes office. The State Department has been notorious for harboring left-wing civil servants, and the fact that even high-level people are not replaceable by incoming administrations highlights Trump’s plan for a “Schedule F,” which would reclassify a larger number of employees involved in policy so they could be more easily removed by a president. “It is entirely appropriate for the transition to seek officials who share President Trump’s vision for putting our nation and America’s working men and women first. We have a lot of failures to fix and that requires a committed team focused on the same goals,” Trump’s transition team told Reuters. A State Department spokesman did not return a request from The Daily Wire asking to confirm Bernicat’s retirement and whether the other two have made a decision. Related: Biden Admin Uses Loophole To Put Kamala Transition Aide In Trump Workforce

Aging sitcom stars are supposed to fade away, toil in the reality show trenches or spark sad TMZ headlines. Justine Bateman hasn’t just shattered those low expectations. She’s become Tinsel Town’s voice of uncommon reason. Bateman played Mallory on the ‘80s smash “Family Ties.” The NBC sitcom made Micheal J. Fox a superstar and showed a wholesome clash between the Left and the Right during the Reagan era. “Family Ties.” 1982. Paramount Television. Ubu Productions. IMDB. This wasn’t a “Crossfire” style shooting match but a family pushing past their political differences. The show ran for seven seasons and propelled Bateman into the running for a feature film career. Her breakout role in “Satisfaction” (1988) didn’t catch fire. She still appeared on the big and small screen for the next two decades. She eventually switched to gigs behind the camera, writing and directing indie films that didn’t crash the zeitgeist (2021’s “Violet.”) but attracted reputable stars (Justin Theroux, Olivia Munn). NBC. 20th Century Fox. Still, she was working on her craft and, more importantly, observing the cultural landscape. Now, she has a lot to say and plenty of people are nodding along. Bateman started speaking out in 2023 against AI’s reach into Hollywood fare. She became a voice during the dueling Hollywood strikes, warning what it meant to remove humans from the creative process. “I think generative AI is one of the worst ideas we’ve ever had in this society,” she told Deadline after the SAG AFTRA strike ended in 2023. She spoke with confidence and clarity at a time when many stars might have been too afraid to even touch how AI could impact the creative process. She was back in the spotlight but on her terms. Her breakout moment came last year after the presidential election results poured in. “Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years,” she posted on X, a line that has now generated more than 6 million views. Decompressing from walking on eggshells for the past four years. — Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 8, 2024 That cryptic quote touched a nerve. And, like a Hollywood veteran who understands her audience, she leaned into the sentiment. She excoriated Cancel Culture and the “woke mind virus” without using those specific terms. She sensed a free speech comeback under a second Trump administration without ever putting on a red hat. I feel like there was this kind of suffocating cloud that was kind of over us… Regular people who had questions about decisions that were being made were threatened subtly or obviously into silence. And I feel like that’s been broken, that sort of suppression has been kind of broken. She embraced X and Substack as her platforms of choice, snagging major interviews with the likes of Megyn Kelly along the way. Through her metamorphosis, she refused to align with a political party. It’s not about politics, she insisted, drawing more fans in the process. Sometimes common sense has a political bias in the 21st century. CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT She also began a series of tongue-in-cheek video reviews where she assessed amateur filmmakers melting down over the election results. She wasn’t cruel or cutting, but she offered professional advice that similarly went viral. Hashtag #SocialMediaVideoCritique Here’s just one example: “The second major issue is the unpredictability of the camera movements. Because the emotions are high, the scene would have benefitted from a locked-off camera position, or a slow, graceful movement. The jiggling of the camera doubles down on the emotions and is overkill.” – The second major issue is the unpredictability of the camera movements. Because the emotions are high, the scene would have benefitted from a locked-off camera position, or a slow, graceful movement. The jiggling of the camera doubles down on the emotions, and is overkill. 2/ — Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) November 7, 2024 She has called out incompetent California Democrats for the wildfires fiasco while high-profile comedians like Jon Stewart spin on their behalf. It’s not partisan to excoriate a mayor who directs those impacted by wildfires to visit “URL.” She even blasted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for depositing themselves in the middle of the wildfires tragedy, dubbing them “Disaster Tourists.” That label may linger. She’s even struck a blow against Hollywood ageism. She’s refused to get plastic surgery or Botox, letting the world see her 50-something face without apology. It’s not easy to greet the public as a fresh-faced teen on a hit sitcom and age like the rest of us. She’s proud of her accomplishments over her vanity. Justine Bateman directing her film short, “Five Minutes.” Photo by Steven Meiers. One irony stands out. Bateman’s brother, Jason Bateman, has been one of Hollywood’s more popular stars through the years. He, too, cut his teeth on sitcom fare like “Silver Spoons” and “The Hogan Family.” He kept working on high-profile projects, from iconic comedies (“Arrested Development”) to comedic film franchises (“Horrible Bosses”). His star rose higher when he anchored Netflix’s “Ozark,” and his recent string of successes includes “Air” (2023) and “Carry On,” one of Netflix’s most popular original films. He also co-hosts “Smartless,” one of the podcasting realm’s biggest shows alongside Will Arnett and Sean Hayes. Jason Bateman has been mostly silent on the culture war front. He’s a Democrat but he hasn’t shouted his views from the rafters. He proved more sly, literally lending his voice to the progressive cause. He appears to be of a different mindset than his older sister, but the two speak fondly of one another in public forums. He’s been far more “successful” in Hollywood parlance, but Justine Bateman’s cultural impact appears far greater at the moment. She has found her cultural voice, and she’s only warming up. * * * Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at HollywoodInToto.com. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine selected Lt. Gov. Jon Husted on Friday to fill the Senate seat left open by Vice President-elect JD Vance, while Vivek Ramaswamy is reportedly planning on announcing a run for governor. DeWine announced his Senate appointment at a press conference on Friday, ensuring that Republicans maintain a 53-47 majority when President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in on Monday. Husted, a longtime major player in Ohio politics, recently focused on election security as lieutenant governor. The appointment will put Husted in the Senate seat for nearly three years, and he will have the option to run in the 2026 special election to determine who will complete Vance’s term, which ends after 2028. “I believe and know that Jon is prepared to be United States senator from the state of Ohio,” DeWine said, according to The Columbus Dispatch. “The U.S. Senate rewards hard workers. It rewards those who master the facts. It rewards those who focus on getting things done.” DeWine met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago last week, and Trump was reportedly urging Ramaswamy to accept the Senate seat if it was offered to him. DeWine told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, “I want someone who understands Ohio, who has a deep knowledge of our state. We need a strong advocate there.” CELEBRATE #47 WITH 47% OFF DAILYWIRE+ MEMBERSHIPS + A FREE $20 GIFT The Washington Post reported, citing two unnamed sources, that Ramaswamy, whom Trump tapped to help Elon Musk run the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is planning to run for Ohio governor in 2026. According to one Ohio political operative, Ramaswamy will plan “to get accomplishments at DOGE and then announce a run for governor shortly.” Ramaswamy and Musk have said that DOGE will seek to accomplish its goals and dissolve by July 4, 2026. Ohio’s 2026 governor’s race will be wide open, as DeWine is term-limited. Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur from Cincinnati, would enter the race with experience running a large campaign after his 2024 presidential bid. However, he has never held public office. Last January, he dropped out of the 2024 primary and endorsed Trump.