Mario Nawfal

🧵 THREAD: UNPACKING SPENDING CHOICES IN THE LATEST VERSION OF THE BUDGET BILL The government just rolled out the updated 2025 Continuing Resolution, and while it keeps things running, some of the spending choices have us scratching our heads. The 2025 CR is packed with spending that has us wondering: Is this really urgent? Déjà vu, anyone? Molasses inspections made it into the cut, and long-term submarine salaries and tree planting don’t feel like immediate crises. Let’s dive into the most bizarre, questionable, and outright unnecessary expenses tucked into this “emergency” bill.... 🧵

Rosa is a poster child for why there should be term limits in Congress...

X is powered by incredible people who pour their hearts into this platform every day. @wanghaofei is one of those people. When one of our Elon Spaces crashed, he wasn’t just there with quick fixes — he worked well into the night when it mattered most. When my account was hacked, he didn’t just restore access — he responded within seconds and investigated the matter diligently. Late nights, tough challenges — Haofei shows up. Not as a faceless figure behind the scenes, but as someone who makes X feel secure, connected, and alive. When bugs hit the timeline, he doesn’t just acknowledge them — he’s there, responding to public reports, digging deep, making sure all issues are addressed. He doesn’t just fix problems — he builds bridges between the platform and its users. To Haofei, and to every single person at X who works tirelessly to make this platform better — thank you. You’re living proof of the culture @elonmusk and @lindayaX have built. Together, you’re making X more than a platform. It’s a movement. We are the media.

🇺🇸REP. ROSA DELAURO: “ELON IS A CHINESE COMMUNIST!” In a heated letter, Rep. Rosa DeLauro has accused Elon of siding with the Chinese Communist Party, claiming he acted to “protect his wallet and the Chinese Communist Party at the expense of American workers.” mmm k... Elon: “I’m concerned that a dangerous Skeksis somehow made it into the Capitol Building!” Sources: Wall Street Journal, CNN, New York Times, X

🇩🇪CHRISTMAS MARKET ATTACK: LONE WOLF IDENTIFIED USING RENTAL CAR According to Saxony-Anhalt's PM Reiner Haseloff, the suspect drove into the crowd at the Magdeburg Christmas market using a rental car with Munich license plates. The suspect, a doctor from Bernburg, a small town approx. 20 miles from Magdeburg, with Saudi Arabian roots, has lived in Germany since 2006 and holds a permanent residence permit. Haseloff stated that there was no longer any danger to the public, emphasizing that this was the act of a lone individual. Source: NTV

I have not seen a single one of these... Anyone else?

🇺🇸THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM? CONGRESS TRIES (AGAIN) TO AVOID A SHUTDOWN Speaker Mike Johnson is rolling out his third plan to keep the government’s lights on, featuring: • A funding extension until March (a.k.a. kicking the can down the road). • $110 billion for disaster relief and farmers. Gone is Trump’s demand to raise the debt ceiling. Now, Republicans are bickering, Democrats are side-eyeing, and a shutdown looms at midnight. Will this be the plan that saves the day? Source: Washington Post

🇩🇪 PM HASELOFF ON MAGDEBURG ATTACK: 1 DEATH IS 1 TOO MANY “It is a minimum of 60 people who are injured, many of them severely. At the moment, this remains speculation. This is a terrible tragedy—one death is one too many.” Source: Sky News

MOST BIZARRE HOLIDAY PHOTOS From mountain lions in cardboard trains to Santa feeding manta rays and a Navy Midshipman keeping an eye on the goat—holiday spirit is everywhere, and it's wildly entertaining! Source: Reuters Pictures t.co/h906FJJzxM

🇩🇪GERMAN POLICE: STAY HOME, PLEASE Magdeburg Police are asking all citizens to stay away from the Christmas Market after the terrorist attack. "Stay at home or head home. It would make our work much easier. We will continue to inform you about our police measures on this channel." Source: X

🇩🇪 “WHEN WILL THIS MADNESS END?”: GERMAN POLITICIANS REACT TO CHRISTMAS MARKET ATTACK Leaders across Germany are responding to the shocking terrorist attack at Magdeburg’s Christmas market: • Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck called it “terrible news” during what should have been a peaceful advent celebration. • CDU leader Friedrich Merz expressed solidarity with the victims, calling it “awful news.” • AfD leader @Alice_Weidel : “Devastating... When will this madness end?” Source: Express, BNO

🚨🇺🇸 REP. MASSIE: WE WILL NOT HAVE A SHUTDOWN Rep. Thomas Massie: “We have a unified Republican conference. There is a unanimous agreement in the room that we need to move forward. We will not have a government shutdown, and we will meet our obligations for our farmers who need aid, for the disaster victims all over the country, and for making sure that military and essential services and everyone who relies upon the federal government for a paycheck is paid over the holidays.” Source: @CollinRugg

🚨🇩🇪CHRISTMAS MARKET ATTACK IN MAGDEBURG: DRIVER IS A DOCTOR FROM SAUDI ARABIA At least 2 people have been killed in the attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg, according to Saxony-Anhalt's PM Reiner Haseloff. The suspected perpetrator is reportedly a doctor from Saudi Arabia working in Saxony-Anhalt. Sources: MDR

Wait.... what?!

🚨CONFUSION OVER CASUALTIES IN MAGDEBURG CHRISTMAS MARKET ATTACK: DRIVER ARRESTED At 7:04 PM, a dark BMW was used in the ramming attack at Magdeburg’s Christmas market. While conflicting reports on the number of casualties have emerged, Magdeburg Mayor Regina-Dolores Stieler-Hinz confirmed at least one death and over 50 injuries. The city reported 68 people affected, with 15 in critical condition. The driver was arrested immediately after the attack. Source: Bild

🚨SAUDI NATIONAL ARRESTED AFTER RAMMING ATTACK AT MAGDEBURG CHRISTMAS MARKET, NO PREVIOUS TIES TO ISLAMIC EXTREMISM The Saudi national arrested for a ramming attack at the Christmas market in Magdeburg was reportedly not previously known to law enforcement as an Islamic extremist. Source: @sentdefender , SHOT

🚨🇩🇪CHRISTMAS MARKET IN CENTRAL GERMAN CITY OF ERFURT EVACUATED AFTER MAGDEBURG ATTACK As a precautionary measure following the Magdeburg attack, the Christmas market in Erfurt has been evacuated. Thuringian Interior Minister Georg Maier confirmed the move, which was made at the request of organizers, though he emphasized there were no specific threats identified. Source: Bild

🎄Christmas markets in Dubai t.co/0lQYqE1UFO

ELON: IF THERE’S NO FILTER TO IMMIGRATION, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO’S COMING IN?  "I'm very much in favor of legal immigration.  I think that generally, I think one should welcome to a country anyone who is willing to work hard, is honest, has high integrity and will add to any given country.  If somebody is an asset to the country, why not have them join? That's obviously a great thing to do. I think that's great. But if it's illegal immigration and there's no filter, how do you know who's coming in? You don't know. So, you have to have some basis for saying somebody should come in or not come in. And my argument is, it should be a very simple basis. Will they add to the country? Will they be a productive part of the economy? Do they admire the culture? Do they want to join because of the culture? Then, that's great. But if there's no process for that, then you don't know.  And I want to be careful because my words will be misconstrued. I'm not saying all illegal immigrants are bad. Perhaps most of them are good. But if there's no process for reviewing, not at all, then how can you say that everyone who is an illegal immigrant is going to be honest and hard-working? You can't say that because you simply don't know." Source: Interview in Rome, Italy, December 2023

🚨PIECE OF LUGGAGE FOUND IN VEHICLE AFTER CHRISTMAS MARKET ATTACK IN GERMANY | EXPLOSIVE SUSPECTED Police have cordoned off the entire Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany, after reports that an explosive device may be in the suspect’s vehicle. The car, still at the scene, is being closely examined by authorities. A piece of luggage was found on the passenger seat. This follows the earlier attack where the vehicle drove into the crowd, causing multiple injuries and fatalities. Source: The Telegraph

ELON: IF WE DON’T MAINTAIN THE CULTURAL IDENTITIES OF THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES, THEY WILL DISAPPEAR “I think there is value to a culture, we don't want Japan to disappear, we don't want Italy as a culture to disappear, we don't want France as a culture to disappear. I think we have to maintain the reasonable cultural identity of the various countries, or they simply will not be those countries. Italy is the people of Italy. The buildings are there, but really, what is Italy? Italy is the people of Italy.” Rome, December 16, 2023

… at least he didn’t sniff the kid t.co/qTBkmZBEIj

🚨🇩🇪FIRST PHOTO OF TERRORIST WHO RAMMED CAR INTO GERMANY'S CHRISTMAS MARKET RELEASED Source: @nicksortor t.co/KcXjBa7y9O

Legacy media reporting be like: A car drives itself into people standing in its way... t.co/B3jQCdTXUh

🚨🇩🇪GERMAN POLICE FOCUS ON SWISS ARMY KNIFE INSTEAD OF TERRORIST THREAT AT CHRISTMAS MARKETS This is what German police made headlines for this Christmas season. t.co/SPPr0mVDkj

🚨🇩🇪SCHOLZ: REPORTS FROM MAGDEBURG HINT AT SOMETHING TERRIBLE Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "My thoughts are with the victims and their families. We stand with them and with the people of Magdeburg. My gratitude goes to the dedicated rescue workers during these anxious hours." Source: X

ELON: IT’S TOTAL MADNESS FOR GERMANY TO SHUT DOWN ITS NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS “I think it's very important that Germany does not shut down its nuclear power stations. I think this is extremely crazy. I want to be super clear: In my opinion, Germany should not only not shut down the nuclear power plants, it should reopen the ones that were shut down. Those are the fastest ones to restart. It's crazy to shut down nuclear power plants, especially if you're in a place where there's no natural disasters. Maybe, if you're somewhere where there are severe earthquakes or tsunamis or something like that, it's more of a question mark. But if there's no massive natural disaster risk, which Germany does not have, then there's really no danger with nuclear power plants. I can't emphasize enough: Please, do not shut down the nuclear power plants. And please, reopen the ones that have been shut. This is total madness to shut them down, I want to be clear. I would say this is a national security risk. Listen: Playtime is over, okay? Obviously, playtime is over. I think people don't understand: Coal power plants, because of their emissions, cause a certain number of deaths every year. It's far more dangerous than nuclear power plants.” Source: Welt, April 2022

🚨JOHNSON DROPS TRUMP'S DEBT LIMIT DEMAND IN LAST-DITCH EFFORT TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN House Republicans are pushing forward with a last-minute plan to prevent a government shutdown by voting on a clean continuing resolution to extend current funding levels until mid-March. The proposal excludes Trump’s demand to raise the debt ceiling, which had been a sticking point for many GOP members. The bill also includes $110.4 billion in disaster aid and economic assistance for farmers. However, it will require Democratic support to pass, and negotiations continue as lawmakers try to avoid a shutdown. Source: Just the News

🚨GERMANY’S MAGDEBURG ATTACK COMES 8 YEARS AFTER AN ISIS TERRORIST PLOUGHED THROUGH BERLIN CHRISTMAS MARKET The vehicle attack in Magdeburg, Germany, that injured more than 80 and killed dozens tonight, comes just 8 years after a similar ISIS-inspired attack in Berlin. On December 19, 2016, a terrorist drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market, killing 13 people and injuring dozens. Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the latest incident. Source: Daily Sabah

What's New in Web3 Gaming? w/@AshesOfMankind_ t.co/1i15yoJBLX