NATIONAL REVIEW — n recent weeks, oil has been moving below $50 a barrel -- owing partly to concerns of oversupply and partly to concerns over a slowing global economy. Petroleum has helped to fuel the global economy for over a century, and its relative abundance today contradicts the doomsayers who feared "peak oil" in the past. Cheap oil is also a problem for the environmentalists, who fear that an oversupply of fossil fuels will undermine the global transition to green energy.... (more)

WASHINGTON EXAMINER — When Melania Trump accompanied her husband President Trump to Iraq this week, it was the first time in more than a decade that a first lady of the United States had visited a war zone. Trump also became the only first lady to have visited Iraq since the war began more than 15 years ago.... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — U.S. Air Forces Europe said Thursday that U.S. troops who asked President Trump to sign their red "Make America Great Again" hats violated no military policy. "There is no rule against Airmen bringing personal items to be signed by the president," said USAFE in a statement, as reported by Stars & Stripes.... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — President Trump on Friday threatened to close the southern border if Democrats do not relent in the standoff over border wall funding, which has resulted in a partial government shutdown that has lasted a week. "We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with," the president tweeted.... (more)

NEWSMAX — Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., vowed to oppose any spending bill that doesn't include funding to build President Donald Trump's proposed wall along the southern border. Graham's comments came in a Friday tweet as the partial government shutdown continued due to the impasse between Trump and Democratic lawmakers over wall funding.... (more)

NEWSMAX — A caravan of migrants, estimated at up to 15,000 people, is set to depart from Honduras in mid-January a few months after the previous caravan, according to the San Diego Union Tribune. "They say they are even bigger and stronger than the last caravan," said Irma Garrido of Reactiva Tijuana Foundation, which advocates for migrants.... (more)

NEWSMAX — The man accused of killing a California police officer who pulled him over to investigate if he was driving drunk was captured Friday as he tried to flee to Mexico, authorities said. Gustavo Perez Arriaga was arrested in Bakersfield in connection with Wednesday's shooting of Cpl. Ronil Singh of the tiny Newman Police Department, said Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson, whose agency is leading the investigation.... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — Organizers of the Women's March in Humboldt County, California, announced Friday that they have canceled the local Jan. 19 event because the marchers are overwhelmingly white. In a Facebook statement, the group said it opted to nix the third annual march "after many conversations between local social-change organizations and supporters of the march," saying they would work on how to "broaden representation in the organizing committee."... (more)

WASHINGTON EXAMINER — A new Rasmussen Reports poll focused on gender politics asked respondents two questions: first, how important is a political candidate's gender in determining how you vote, and second, would you vote for or against a candidate solely because of their gender?... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — Libyan authorities have confirmed the existence of a mass grave with 34 Ethiopian Christians slain by ISIS terrorists. The nation's interior ministry said a farm near the coastal city of Sirte, 170 miles southeast of Misrata, was used to hide the bodies.... (more)

FOX 13 — It was a crisp winter morning in Sheffield, England, when amateur photographer and plane enthusiast Alan Meloy looked out his kitchen window and noticed a large trail in the sky. He didn't know he was about to accidentally help uncover a highly sensitive, secret presidential trip to a conflict zone.... (more)

THE WRAP — The Wall Street Journal's editorial page offered a feisty Boxing Day piece on Wednesday lashing into the Washington Post over coverage of President Trump's Christmastime visit to the troops. The Journal focused on this piece by the Post's Philip Rucker and Paul Sonne, citing the opening two paragraphs and accusing it of needlessly working in unrelated Trump scandals into a piece that did not call for it.... (more)

CBS PHILLY — A Christmas day barricade situation ended in an unusual manner after the East Vincent Township SWAT team used a different tactic -- singing a Christmas carol. The incident began when family members called police to the home of 34-year-old Nathaniel Lewis, a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard.... (more)

NEONNETTLE — Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Boy Scouts of America, the 108-year-old organization synonymous with traditional American values, is on the verge of bankruptcy.A report by the Wall Street Journal revealed that a Chicago law firm, Sidley Austin, has been appointed to handle Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.Reports of sinking membership have coincided with various controversies surrounding the organization, including the decision to change its name from Boy Scouts to the more "gender natural" Scouts BSA in a bid to encourage girls and transgenders to sign up as members.... (more)

FOX NEWS — President Trump and first lady Melania Trump appeared in Iraq on Wednesday for a surprise visit with troops and senior military leadership at Al Asad Air Base. There, he said it's because of U.S. military gains against the Islamic State terror group that he can withdraw 2,000 forces from Syria.... (more)

DAILY CALLER — President Donald Trump revealed Wednesday that he was concerned for the safety of first lady Melania Trump during an unannounced trip to Iraq late Christmas evening to visit with U.S. troops for the holidays.... (more)

JOE KOVACS — President Trump has become well-known for blasting the "fake news" media as the "enemy of the people." Now, the commander in chief has yet another piece of ammunition to back up his claim. Both NBC News and Newsweek ran stories claiming Trump was the first president in many years not to visit U.S. troops during the Christmas holiday period.... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — Brit Hume, Fox's senior political analyst, schooled Soledad O'Brien over her crowing about liberal outlets having forced President Trump's Wednesday visit to U.S. troops in Iraq, "congratulating" her for noting that Mr. Trump had invented time travel.... (more)

WORLDNETDAILY — Franklin Graham, the chief of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association as well as the Christian Samaritan's Purse ministry, on Wednesday charged the "vicious" news media with their "sickening" attacks on President Trump.... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — Jon Voight issued a holiday message over the weekend slamming the media's "slanders and lies" about President Trump. The Oscar-winning actor and outspoken Republican tweeted a video of himself Sunday saying he's generally a happy person but can't help but be bothered by people trying to "hurt" the president. "I'm happy all the time actually," Mr. Voight said. "Except there are things that bother me. Most especially what bothers me is people trying to hurt our president of the United States.... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — Former acting ICE Director Tom Homan on Wednesday blasted House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi for calling a border wall ineffective and accusing President Trump of "fear mongering" with the illegal immigration issue. "Every place a wall or barrier has been built, it has resulted in decreased illegal immigration, decreased drug smuggling. One hundred percent of the time, it has proven effective," Mr. Homan said on Fox News, where he is a contributor.... (more)

NEWSMAX — The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged at least 1,000 points in a single session for the first time on Wednesday in a broad stock rebound after the benchmark S&P 500 index was on the brink of a bear market. The three major U.S. indexes all posted their biggest one-day percentage gains since March 2009, in the first day of trading following the Christmas holiday, when the market was closed.... (more)

THE HILL — A new round of Facebook data controversies has incensed lawmakers and added to the social network's mounting problems. The company endured a rough week in Washington, where lawmakers questioned if CEO Mark Zuckerberg had lied before Congress and ramped up calls for a comprehensive data privacy bill to rein in Silicon Valley.... (more)

WASHINGTON TIMES — Authorities say two men were surrounded by customers with guns while attempting to steal tools from a Washington store. The Daily Herald reports the men, ages 22 and 23, allegedly took four nail guns, each worth more than $400, from the Coastal Farm & Ranch store Saturday in Marysville. The men walked out of the store and got into a Honda Civic, only to be surrounded by about six customers with guns raised.... (more)

ALAN KEYES — According to the report I saw, a yoga group at American University spontaneously disintegrated after an "American University student...complained to AU's President's Council on Diversity and Inclusion...after seeing a non-Indian group perform an Indian epic in the school's yoga club." The episode well illustrates the insanely anti-humanitarian malice at the heart of the ill-conceived ideology that pretends to demand respect for the diverse ways in which people living in various times and places expressed their special understanding of themselves and the world in which their life unfolds.... (more)