Friday's front page of The New York Times carried this headline: Nobel Peace Laureate's Wooing of Trump Annoys Norwegians Which means it also annoys the Trump-hating Times. The Norwegian socialists are their kind of people. It's a rare conservative-pleasing headline on the front page! Inside on A6, the header was "Nobel Peace Laureate's Wooing of Trump Vexes Norwegians." Reporters Max Bearak and Henrik Pryser Libell channel all the Norwegian angst.  “A Nobel committee can never guard against peace prize laureates committing acts that run counter to the intention of the prize,’’ Lena Lindgren, a columnist for the Norwegian weekly Morgenbladet, said in an interview. “But what is new now is that the prize is being used in a political game, a warlike game.” ….What makes the dispute swirling around Ms. Machado unusual, according to Asle Sveen, a former researcher at the Nobel Institute, is Norwegians’ particularly dim view of Mr. Trump. Ms. Machado “has dedicated her Peace Prize to a highly controversial president, to put it mildly,” Mr. Sveen said. “It is nearly universally accepted in Norway that Donald Trump attacks liberal democracy.” One poll showed Norwegians would have voted for Kamala over Trump, 70 percent to 15. Once again, Norway sounds like the "news room" at the Times -- except they may have no Trump voters on staff. How much do the Norskies hate Trump? This much:  A Norwegian tabloid, Nettavisen, conducted a poll before the announcement of the award that found three-quarters of respondents were against it being bestowed on Mr. Trump, even if he were instrumental in orchestrating a peace agreement in Ukraine or Gaza. There's literally nothing Trump could do to deserve it, which underlines who has a "closed mind" on geopolitics. “The Nobel Committee has compromised the prize” by not foreseeing how Ms. Machado and Mr. Trump would use it to justify military intervention in Venezuela, Ms. Lindgren said. “Norway has been politically embarrassed and has failed to manage the symbolic capital.” Machado is scorned for how she "remained mum about a bombing campaign against boasts Mr. Trump says are smuggling drugs. The American strikes have killed more than 100 people." Obama's drone strikes killed around 500 after he won the Nobel. Machado was later accused of spreading dreadful "misinformation" in her wooing of Trump:  But she has also embraced Mr. Trump’s military buildup in the Caribbean, repeated debunked claims that Mr. Maduro manipulated U.S. elections, and parroted the Trump administration’s claim that Mr. Maduro manipulated U.S. elections, and parroted the Trump administration’s claim that Mr. Maduro simultaneously led two drug organizations, despite scant evidence. Her assertions fueled accusations that she was amplifying misinformation in what, until now, seemed a failed attempt to gain the American president’s support. The Times acknowledged there was "global outrage" when the Nobel committee picked President Obama in 2009 as he "was presiding over military engagements on several continents" (like Afghanistan). At the very end of the story, Bearak and Libell threw in an opposing Norwegian view from Marianne Dahl of the Peace Research Institute:  “It is easy to sit in comfortable Norway and criticize her for talking sweet to Trump,” Ms. Dahl said. That, she noted, is exactly what many European and even Norwegian leaders have done. “And they don’t have a repressive regime pursuing them, as Machado has had,” she said.

As the unrest in Minneapolis continues, and the media narrative to paint ICE as the problem grows bolder and bolder, ignoring not only the violent actions of the so-called "protesters", but also the inflammatory statements made by the Mayor of that city and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Thursday night's edition of The Ingraham Angle on Fox News provided some much needed perspective. Host Laura Ingraham proclaimed Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, "The Worst Mayor in the U.S.A." Frey, who began his bashing of ICE even before the shooting of Renee Good, has a history and Ingraham was more than happy to present it to her viewers. She began with her declaration of Frey's new title.   "It's official. He's taken the trophy from Chicago's Brandon Johnson, and he squeaked past L.A.'s Karen Bass and so far he's even edging out New York's Zohran Mamdani. Yes, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is now officially our worst Mayor in the United States of America."  Ingraham then  began presenting some of the factors that apparently led to her determination. INGRAHAM: Remember, Jake didn't complain one time when Biden's ICE arrested 6,000 Minnesota illegals, but now -- FREY: (ON VIDEO) This is not creating safety. It's certainly not creating safety when a huge percentage of the shootings that have taken place so far this year in Minneapolis have been by ICE. Let's be very clear. I have seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. INGRAHAM: ...He's a duplicitous dweeb, he's a flagrant fraud. He doesn't care about safety because if he did he wouldn't have made a fool of himself in the aftermath of George Floyd... (VIDEO PLAYS crowd chants "Go home Jacob, go home."  INGRAHAM: ..Even they didn't like him. They booed him off the stage. Then he prostrated himself, of course, before BLM, wept at the casket, it was all performative. Even before the Antifa crowd now, he's playing to those cheap seats. Then Ingraham told her audience what truly sets this Mayor apart, doing what so badly needs to be done, but rarely is. She named illegals who have committed horrible crimes, and some of the victims as well.  INGRAHAM: So his victims are not the people truly brutalized or ripped off by illegals committing crimes. Whether fraud or.. violent crimes. People who are truly terrorizing neighborhoods, such as, Vannaleut Keomany, Laos, convicted of two counts of rape. Tou Vang, from Laos, convicted of 1st degree criminal sexual assault with a child under 13. How about of Teng Houa Vang of Thailand convicted of domestic assault who pled guilty to terroristic threats...Then there's Francisco Salazar-Solorzano, El Salvador and he's charged with assault, domestic violence, and DUI. Then Ingraham named some victims. "So, has Jacob or Tim (Walz) called the family of Victoria Eileen Harwell, a Minnesota mom, who was killed in a vehicular homicide by an illegal alien from Ecuador? Or maybe Hallie Helgeson and Brady Heiling, two Minnesota teens, boyfriend and girlfriend, killed after a drunk illegal alien crashed into them, while they were driving the wrong way down the  highway. Those Minnesotans did not count."  So true and so very important to inform the public and make sure they do not forget that reality, something the liberal media has no desire to participate in. And Ingraham had another point to make about the Mayor with that new title, addressing panelist Nick Sortor. INGRAHAM: Nick, apparently enforcing the law is itself a crisis because, enforcing the law disrupts certain daily routines. Let's listen to this. VIDEO OF FREY: There is no doubt in my mind that you love your town. Imagine if that city or that town was suddenly invaded by thousands of federal agents that do not share the values that you hold dear. Imagine if your daily routines were disrupted. INGRAHAM: What daily routines is he talking about? Because the only daily routines that ICE is interested in interrupting are the routines of criminals and those with outstanding deportation orders. Bravo to Laura Ingraham for bestowing the new title to Jacob Frey, and for presenting more than enough evidence to justify that dishonor. Speaking of dishonor, shame on the liberal media for giving a nod of approval, whether through words, or through their silence, to the shameful performance of the "Worst Mayor In The USA."

Warning: This post contains explicit language. Reader discretion is advised. On Thursday’s episode of the podcast I’ve Had It, co-host and miserable, affluent, white, female liberal (AWFL) Jennifer Welch teamed up with deranged former CNN correspondent Jim Acosta for 79 minutes of dangerous, unhinged lunacy lamenting the state of America that included joking about wanting someone to “choke the living shit out of” CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil, comparing Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to ISIS, smearing Erika Kirk, and promising mass prosecutions of Republican when Democrats retake power. It began with Acosta screeching about miserable his life in D.C. has become simply because of who’s President: Jim Acosta on what it’s like to live in Washington D.C. under a second Trump term... “Oh, Jesus Christ, it is — it’s my worst nightmare. I thought we were rid of this clown four years ago. But no, they’ve come back with a vengeance. Fortunately, the DC restaurant scene is set up… pic.twitter.com/Gm9U6FamA3 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Similarly, Welch then whined how the White House has been soiled by such odious figures like “all of the emotionally stunted dweebs.” Acosta then pitched a hissy fit because staffers in the first Trump administration...threw office happy hours: Jennifer Welch says that, in December 2024, she told her husband she was upset at a Biden Christmas party because all she could think of was “all the f**ery and all of the emotionally stunted dweebs that are going to be walking around in the White House” Jim Acosta replies:… pic.twitter.com/FZQVOyUKfu — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Following a diversion about NFL officiating and Acosta lamenting the hate for his James Madison University reaching the College Football Playoff, Welch launched into her disgusting comparison between ICE and ISIS. Obviously, Acosta concurred: WOW: Jennifer Welch says “ICE...needs to be abolished” because “this is an organization that’s behaving like ISIS” since “people would get kidnapped and they had hostages and they had on masks” and ICE drives around in “a big pickup truck with a bunch of flags in the back of it,… pic.twitter.com/QfJhJ0toSr — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Acosta giddily predicted bloodshed on American streets if Trump remains in power: [Y]ou can’t have a situation like we had in Minnesota play out all over the country. The citizens are not going to tolerate it. People are not gonna, they’re just not gonna tolerate it. And the governor of whatever state can go out there and say, please remain calm, we can’t have rioting in the streets, that’s gonna give them what they want...But at some point, it’s just gonna happen, like people are gonna, they, they, they’re gonna reach the point where they’ve had enough. Because no one has had a rougher life than Jim Acosta, Welch invited him to explain how terrible his life was while covering the first Trump White House for CNN. Acosta played all of the greatest hits from on-air meltdowns (and his wildly stupid book): Jim Acosta still wants us to feel bad that people at Trump rallies would mercilessly boo him, equating media criticism with death threats pic.twitter.com/U5TE8cxJRn — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Remember, being booed at a Trump rally is dangerous! Welch, having heard Acosta go on for over four minutes uninterrupted, jokingly said “it sounds like you’re in an abusive relationship and you need to draw boundaries and you need to get out of this” since “Donald Trump is an abuser,” “adjudicated rapist,” “emotional abuser,” and “psychological abuser.” The conversation then turned to the current state of the media with Welch asserting the press aren’t actively partisan and working to take down Trump. “[Y]ou have people like Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison. That own these news organizations...and they allow for this abuse to be hurled at their employees making a very unsafe workspace and, to me, this is a really big story, but there’s so much fuckery going on we don’t talk about it, but there’s there’s been such a — a — a receding of decency,” she declared without a tint of irony. Claiming the media are free from “abuse” because “we are protected by the Constitution,” Welch and Acosta had the gall to claim it’s the right who’s hurled death threats and lamented Fox News viewers have put them “in the hot seat” saying “we hope you die, we hope you get gang raped.” This inevitably turned to CBS News with David Ellison coming on as the head of their parent company. Welch took the first swing, whining about “what Bari Weiss is doing right now to those poor journalists at CBS” and “serious journalists at — at 60 Minutes.” Acosta responded by first bragging about how much he loved Jeff Zucker and complaining Weiss is no Zucker because “60 Minutes is in trouble” and thus “we’re all in trouble” with Weiss “spiking a segment on CECOT and the gulag...down there in El Salvador, a torture prison.” Then came the sophomoric attacks, including joking about wanting Walter Cronkite to come back from the dead so he could “choke the living shit out of” CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil for his January 6 segment about Marco Rubio memes: WATCH: After saying CBS News is “state-compromised media...subject to the whims of a mad king president,” Jim Acosta threatens @CBSEveningNews anchor @TonyDokoupil, saying he wishes Walter Cronkite could “come back from the great beyond to choke the living **** out of him and… pic.twitter.com/mg0b9izNQl — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 The two then mocked a new core value of the CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil about loving America: Jennifer Welch mocks CBS News for its core value declaring we love America because “that’s not your job” and journalists shouldn’t “feel emotion toward America.” Jim Acosta slightly disagrees, saying “we all love America” and “that’s why we’re doing this” and “I f***ing love… pic.twitter.com/BwAUwNQ76s — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Of course, Acosta went right to Dokoupil’s news brief from January 6 on the fifth anniversary of the Capitol riot, insisting this was proof we should all ask “what the fuck is going on with these people” and America lacks “a free press that can hold the goddamn President of the United States accountable.” Because this is what the left thinks America wants more of, Acosta had more f-bombs to hurl at Dokoupil and Weiss: More Jim Acosta on why he doesn’t believe Bari Weiss and Tony Dokoupil are real journalists because real journalist would tell Donald Trump on the phone to “go f*** yourself”.... “[W]hen I saw CBS [saying they love America], I said, what the fuck is going on with these people?… pic.twitter.com/iHvS3B6Ghk — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 To insist he was a journalist, Acosta insisted he grilled the Obama administration and angered then-Press Secretary Jay Carney because he was willing to state the obvious in October 2013 that the ObamaCare website was a disaster. “[T]hat is how it should work. The — the government, can get mad at you for doing your job, but you ought to be able to say right back, fuck off. I’m doing the news. This is how it works,” he said in summarizing that anecdote. Going to an ad break, he took another cheap shot at Dokoupil: Jim Acosta on Tony Dokoupil: “[I]f the anchor of the CBS Evening News feels that the corporate overlords are making his life a living hell, then he should go on the air at the end of his broadcast and say, they’re making my life a living hell. I can’t tell you guys the truth. I… pic.twitter.com/W25R15DH1v — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 When the chat resumed, Welch insisted CBS News is “further [right] than Fox” and Acosta joked it’s worse than “even the little North Korean lady”: LOL: Jennifer Welch and Jim Acosta say CBS News under Bari Weiss is “further [right] than Fox” and “even the little North Korean lady who reads the news is like, dial it in” and “offended” because “it’s a little out of control” pic.twitter.com/VZsFCkfi5w — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Finally moving off the media, Welch claimed influential, young conservative leaders are all gay: In which Jennifer Welch and Jim Acosta actually, seriously insist Jesse Watters and "couchf***er" JD Vance plus Josh Hawley and Harrison Butker are each in a gay affair because they have "such excellent gaydar" and should "just do it" because they'll "have a great life" and… pic.twitter.com/2o3XKe6EXB — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Acosta and Welch also prescribed their ideal future of the Democrat Party, including massive prosecutions of Republicans: Jennifer Welch says Democrats must reject "far-right AIPAC money" and the country needs true Democrat leadership again like...Andrew Cuomo during Covid or else they'll continue to be "preserving the Democratic Party that lost two times to a f***ing times to unhinged, mentally ill… pic.twitter.com/BllmfOwhNP — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 WATCH: Jim Acosta weirdly smears Erika Kirk while criticizing the Democrat Party for lacking a spine: “Erika Kirk can go off and shoot off fireworks at the Turning Point convention, and yet Hakeem Jeffries is worried about going to Mamdani’s inauguration. It was like, I would… pic.twitter.com/ot2wa6XHTg — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Jennifer Welch — an influential Democrat podcast — promises mass prosecutions of President Trump, Republicans writ large if Democrats retake power because that will be the only way to achieve true national reconciliation Jim Acosta adds Supreme Court seats must be added if… pic.twitter.com/gUdNOwarA8 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 The pair from hell even provided proof to the constant state of psychosis on the left that the next heir apparent is always worse than the current leader: Jennifer Welch — an influential Democrat podcast — promises mass prosecutions of President Trump, Republicans writ large if Democrats retake power because that will be the only way to achieve true national reconciliation Jim Acosta adds Supreme Court seats must be added if… pic.twitter.com/gUdNOwarA8 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 At the 68-minute mark, Welch hurled a slew of vile accusations at Turning Point USA and claimed without evidence the country was horrified at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service: Jennifer Welch claims there was a huge, national backlash against Christianity and MAGA because of Charlie Kirk’s funeral because... - “Nobody surrounding Charlie Kirk even talks about” gun control - It was too “pyrotechnics, Christian nationalist, Bible-thumping” - “Country… pic.twitter.com/jQYeGRCFPf — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) January 16, 2026 Before closing out (and after Acosta displayed a weird belief America is like a Disney or Rocky movie in that evil — the right — will eventually lose), Acosta trumpeted his supposedly brave act of cancelling his Washington Post subscription because the editorial board expressed support for the concept of a White House ballroom (click “expand”): WELCH: And we need to remember that none of these corporations are anything without us —  ACOSTA: That’s right. WELCH: and our money. And if they want to shit on their customers, we’ll just start boycotting them. ACOSTA: I canceled my Washington Post. I mean, this is the paper I grew up with. My mom would get it on her doorstep every morning, read it cover to cover every morning. I canceled that fucking thing. WELCH: Did it feel good? ACOSTA: When they came out with the editorial and said it was okay to bulldoze half the White House, I click, canceled — I canceled it live on my show. I — I said, no, fuck this noise. We have to start standing up, not just to Trump, but to all of the enablers, and a message has to be sent, this is running out. Which side are you gonna be on? Our side or his side? WELCH: I agree. To see the relevant transcript from January 15, click here.

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.