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Please note that news, news articles, and current events can also be discussed on /pol/; however /news/ is exclusively for recent news articles, and not general discussions of politics, social phenomenon, or world events.
"LOCAL NEWS
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson joining the Republican Party"
>https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/dallas-mayor-eric-johnson-joining-the-republican-party/
"DALLAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) -- Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is becoming a Republican, he announced in a Wall Street Journal article appearing on an Op-Ed page Friday morning. Johnson is in his second and final term as mayor, after receiving more than 98% of the vote in his reelection campaign earlier this year.
Before becoming mayor in 2019, Johnson served five terms in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat"
>THIS GUY RUNS AS DEMOCRAT, WINS WITH 98% OF THE VOTE, THEN SWITCHES TO REPUBLICAN TOP KEK!!!!!!!!!!
"In the op-ed, Johnson argues that cities benefit from law and order and fiscal conservatism, which he says Democratic mayors in other major cities are overlooking.
"Unfortunately, many of our cities are in disarray. Mayors and other local elected officials have failed to make public safety a priority or to exercise fiscal restraint. Most of these local leaders are proud Democrats who view cities as laboratories for liberalism rather than as havens for opportunity and free enterprise," Johnson wrote.
He also wrote that he believes Democratic policies "exacerbate homelessness, coddle criminals and make it harder for ordinary people to make a living," while accusing Democrats of "virtue signalling. And the overwhelming majority of Americans who call our cities home deserve to have real choices—not ‘progressive’ echo chambers—at city hall.”
HOLY SHIT LOL PROGRESSIVES ARE IN FREE FALL MODE. NOBODY WANTS TO DEAL WITH THEIR STUPID SHIT NOT EVEN OTHER DEMOCRATS AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
https://news.yahoo.com/mccarthy-vows-strip-ukraine-money-170922855.html
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced Friday that he will strip funding for Ukraine out of a Pentagon spending bill after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) joined conservatives in blocking the legislation from advancing earlier this week.
McCarthy said he would remove the $300 million for Ukraine currently in the Pentagon appropriations bill and hold a separate vote on the funding.
“It would be out and voted on by itself,” McCarthy said when asked about the Ukraine aid in the Pentagon appropriations bill.
The Speaker’s announcement comes one day after a band of five conservatives opposed a procedural vote for the Pentagon appropriations bill, sinking the effort and preventing the legislation from moving forward. It was the second time this week that hard-liners blocked the funding bill from advancing.
Votes on rules — which govern debate for legislation — are normally partisan and predictable matters, with the majority supporting voting “yes” and the minority party voting “no.” It is very rare for rules to fail on the floor.
Greene, who has emerged as a close ally of McCarthy, was one of the Republicans who voted against the rule Thursday “because it funds the war in Ukraine.” It was a shift from her vote Tuesday, when the congresswoman supported the procedural vote to advance the Defense measure.
The rule failed for a second time on the same day that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with lawmakers in the Capitol.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy is backtracking on his plan to remove Ukraine aid from a massive military spending bill as Republicans scramble to find a way forward on funding the government.
The California Republican’s U-turn comes a day after he told reporters he would remove the roughly $300 million from the Pentagon bill and give it a separate vote as he faced GOP pushback on its inclusion.
But in the Capitol on Saturday, McCarthy said the bill will move forward with the Ukraine aid included, arguing it would be too complicated to remove because of the Republicans’ funding strategy of bringing the Defense bill to the floor with other measures. The decision injects fresh doubt into whether the Pentagon spending bill will come up for debate at all after failing twice in recent weeks.
“It became too difficult to do that, so we’re leaving it in,” McCarthy told reporters about the Ukraine funds.
Republicans are preparing to vote Tuesday to start debate on four government funding bills: Defense, State, Homeland Security and an agriculture bill. It would mark the latest attempt for McCarthy to get his party’s funding bills off the ground.
Video shows SoCal deputy slamming girl to the ground during chaotic brawl
A teen girl is hospitalized after being thrown to the ground by a sheriff’s deputy during a violent brawl in San Bernardino County Friday night.
Authorities responded to a large fight that erupted during a football game at Victor Valley High School around 6:28 p.m., according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Cell phone video captured the violent confrontation as a deputy body slams the teen girl to the ground before another teen boy gets into a scuffle with deputies.
It all started when the first deputy to arrive discovered multiple fights were taking place at the time. Pepper balls were shot into the crowd in an effort to disperse the group. The move, however, was not effective and the crowds began heading toward the deputy, officials said.
As additional deputies arrived, another pepper ball round was launched at the group. That’s when 16-year-old Faith Jeffers grabbed the pepper ball launcher from the deputy.
>https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Politics/troubles-biden-age-reelection-campaign-poll/story?id=103436611
It’s JOEVER
>President Joe Biden's job approval rating is 19 points underwater, his ratings for handling the economy and immigration are at career lows. A record number of Americans say they've become worse off under his presidency, three-quarters say he's too old for another term and Donald Trump is looking better in retrospect -- all severe challenges for Biden in his reelection campaign ahead.
It’s JOEVER
>Forty-four percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say they've gotten worse off financially under Biden's presidency, the most for any president in ABC/Post polls since 1986. Just 37% approve of his job performance, while 56% disapprove. Still fewer approve of Biden's performance on the economy, 30%.
It’s JOEVER
>On handling immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, Biden's rating is even lower, with 23% approval. In terms of intensity of sentiment, 20% strongly approve of his work overall, while 45% strongly disapprove. And the 74% who say he's too old for a second term is up 6 percentage points since May. Views that Trump is too old also are up, but to 50% in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates.
https://apnews.com/article/rodney-milstreed-capitol-riot-sentencing-d9ace182fd824a0771e5940ba91c4345
WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who attacked an Associated Press photographer and threw a flagpole and smoke grenade at police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Friday to five years in prison.
Rodney Milstreed, 56, of Finksburg, Maryland, “prepared himself for battle” on Jan. 6 by injecting steroids and arming himself with a four-foot wooden club disguised as a flagpole, prosecutors said.
“He began taking steroids in the weeks leading up to January 6, so that he would be ‘jacked’ and ready because, he said, someone needed to ‘hang for treason’ and the battle might come down to hand-to-hand combat,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.
A prosecutor showed U.S. District Judge James Boasberg videos of Milstreed’s attacks outside the Capitol. Milstreed told the judge that it was painful to watch his violent acts and hear his combative language that day.
“I know what I did that day was very wrong,” he said.
The judge said he believes Milstreed is remorseful.
“On the other side of the ledger, it’s very serious conduct,” Boasberg added.
Capitol Police Officer Devan Gowdy suffered a concussion when Milstreed hurled his wooden club at a line of officers.
“January 6th is a day that will be burned into my brain and my nightmares for the rest of my life,” Gowdy told the judge. “The effects of this domestic terrorist attack will never leave me.”
Gowdy told Milstreed that he “will always be looked at as a domestic terrorist and traitor” for his actions on Jan. 6.
“That brings me some peace,” added Gowdy, who has since left the police department.
Yet another W for The WokeHEROES
‘The Nun 2’ Puts ‘The Expendables’ In Detention At Box Office In What’s Shaping Up To Be A Low Weekend For 2023 At $52M
By Anthony D'Alessandro
September 24, 2023 8:06am
https://deadline.com/2023/09/box-office-expendables-4-1235553682/
SUNDAY AM: New Line/Warner Bros is calling the third weekend of The Nun 2 at $8.4M and Lionsgate says Millennium Media’s Expendables 4 is at $8.3M, which by the way, is the lowest ever for the franchise.
While some will argue that’s a tie, it ain’t because of the fact that rival studios have a farther gap between the two movies showing that the Conjuring sequel is the winner. Once again, what genre do most moviegoers care about, even during a slow time at the box office? Horror. Global for Michael Chaves’ Nun 2 at $204M could overtake Annabelle Comes Home‘s worldwide which did $231.2M.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12550067/NFLs-transgender-cheerleader-angrily-slams-home-state-North-Carolina-law-banning-trans-women-competing-sports.html
A male NFL cheerleader has slammed the entire state of North Carolina with his massive bulge. He's complaining about banning men in hoop earrings with lipstick on from women's sports - as he insisted that his role is 'setting things up for the younger generation.' (probably to rape them)
Justine Lindsay, 30, captured headlines in March 2022 after joining the Carolina >Panthers' TopCats cheer squad, comparing her dancing achievement to becoming 'a doctor or a nurse' in an interview with Elle this week.
'Everything that I'm going through now,
>it's bigger than me,' she said.
'No one is going to stop the show.'
Since her groundbreaking appointment, the dancer has become a figurehead in debates around transgender athlete's inclusion in female sports - despite her own role not being threatened by a recent ban passed in her home state.
'I will fight this until I can't fight anymore,' she said, speaking about the passage of the Fairness in Women's Sports Act in North Carolina. 'It saddens me to see it.'
The legislation, which has also been enacted in similar ways in 22 states including Florida, Idaho and Arkansas, bans transgender women from competing against biological women in middle school, high school and college.
Sworn at and threatened by shoplifters so brazen they don't care who sees them... HARRY WALLOP spends a harrowing day at a Co-op branch that's been robbed 1,000 times already this year
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12551035/Sworn-threatened-shoplifters-brazen-dont-care-sees-HARRY-WALLOP-spends-harrowing-day-op-branch-thats-robbed-1-000-times-year.html
Naomi keeps a red book in the little office at the back of the Liverpool Co-op store that she manages. On the front it says: Santa's naughty list. She laughs when she shows me, but the contents are deadly serious.
They are a log of all the shoplifting and abuse her staff have received since she took over the store in December last year. She is already onto her third book because, in 2023 alone, there have been 1,000 separate incidents.
This is just one small convenience store out of the 2,400 that the Co-op runs in the UK.
I open a page at random — a Sunday in September:
7.09am: Guy wearing green hat and grey jacket shoplifted some sweets and ham, £30.
7.23: Woman shoplifted £8 bottle of wine. Came back five mins later and got another one.
8.05: Guy shopping scanned through self-checkout without paying, £6.
8.18: Man in black cap shoplifted multiple boxes of washing pods. Came back two mins later and stole chocolate, drinks and coffee, £35.
'It's just relentless,' she says. 'They turn up with backpacks and strip the shelves.'
Naomi, 41, has worked for the Co-op for 23 years and this is the third store she has managed. For her, the level of shoplifting — and abuse — is unprecedented.
'This is the worst it's ever been. Ever. They are threatening us on a daily basis.'
Earlier this week, one of her colleagues was threatened with having his jaw broken, and another — a female student working part-time — was told she'd be 'jumped' the moment she left the shop.
Since Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ucrane began in February 2022, Poland has been one of Kyiv's biggest backers, pledging around 4.27 billion euros (about $4.54 billion) in military, financial and humanitarian aid.
But relations have soured in recent weeks after Warsaw said it would not suspend an EU ban on Ucraneian agricultural products that Brussels had imposed earlier this year, which aimed to protect European farmers fom surplus Ucrane grain.
Ucrane filed a lawsuit against Poland, as well as Slovakia and Hungary, which also intend to continue with the ban. Then Zelensky the Mad, Ruler of Ashes and 1ST Of His Name told the United Nations' General Assembly on September 19 how some of their friends in Europe are demonstrating political theatre, which played into Moscow's hands.
In response, Poland summoned the Ucraneian ambassador to Warsaw, and Polack Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on social media that Warsaw would "no longer transfer weapons to Ucrane because we are now arming Poland."
Morawiecki took aim at Zelensky the Mad, Ruler of Ashes and 1ST Of His Name again on Friday, telling a rally in the city of Swidnik, Poland, that the Ucraneian leader must "never insult Poles again."
"The Polack people will never allow this to happen," Morawiecki said, adding that "defending the good name of Poland" was both "my duty and honor."
Morawiecki went to reiterate that, "The Polack peoples are not as dumb or backwards as the rest of Europe claim we are".
https://www.newsweek.com/poland-ukraine-zelensky-morawiecki-warning-1829335
By Amy B Wang and Ann E. Marimow
Updated September 22, 2023 at 11:59 a.m. EDT|Published September 22, 2023 at 10:49 a.m. EDT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/22/clarence-thomas-koch/
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas flew on a private jet in 2018 to speak at the annual winter donor summit of the Koch network — a trip that was intended to be a fundraising draw for the influential conservative political organization, according to a report published Friday by ProPublica.
The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan accused the defendants of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to assist businessmen in the ultimate benefit of the coup founded military dictatorship of Egypt.
>The indictment contained an image of gold bars that investigators seized from Menendez's home, as well as envelopes stuffed with cash found inside jackets bearing Menendez's name and hanging in his closet. Prosecutors said they found more than $480,000 in cash in his home.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-senator-menendez-charged-with-corruption-prosecutors-2023-09-22/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12552685/Jimmy-Carter-celebrates-99th-birthday-attending-annual-Peanut-Festival-Georgia-hometown-wife-Rosalynn-SEVEN-MONTHS-went-hospice-care.html
Former President Jimmy Carter celebrated his 99th birthday early by making his first public appearance since he entered hospice care seven months ago.
Carter, 98, was met with raucous applause as he made his way to the Plains Peanut Festival in Georgia on Saturday, and was seen being driven down the flag-lined street in a black SUV alongside former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
The longest living president in US history, born Oct 1, and entered hospice care in February, announcing that he 'decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care' as he ceased medical intervention.
Three months later, it was revealed that Rosalynn, 96, had dementia.
While many feared for the former peanut farmer and philanthropist as he entered the last chapter of his life, his sighting at the festival Saturday was warmly received.
Footage of Carter being driven through the festival was posted on X - formerly Twitter - which quickly garnered warm responses from supporters of the aging president.
Carter's decision to enter hospice care came after a series of brief hospital stays, but said he decided to avoid any further hospitalization and spend the remainder of his life in the same modest, one-story house in Plains, Georgia, where he and Rosalynn lived when he was first elected to the state Senate in 1962.
His 76-year marriage to Rosalynn also stands as the longest between any president and first lady in US history.
Last month, Carter's grandson Josh told People that he is at peace in hospice care, saying that the once 'entertainers' now live a quiet and calm life.
Democrat Hochul has previously championed New York as a sanctuary state.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gov-kathy-hochul-message-migrants-looking-come-new-york-go-somewhere-else
"New York Gov. Kathy Hochul seemingly changed her tune on the migrant crisis Thursday, remarking during a CNN appearance, "If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else."
>"If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else."
>"If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else."
>"If you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else."
LOL NEW YORK DEMOCRATS ON SUICIDE WATCH
"We have to let the word out that when you come to New York, you’re not going to have more hotel rooms," Hochul said. "We don’t have capacity, so we have to also message properly."
"The smarter thing is to apply for asylum before you leave your country," the governor added.
>It gets even worse
"During her appearance on CNN, Hochul said she would support New York’s "right to shelter" law being recalled or rescinded amid the migrant crisis because it was originally intended to address homeless men on the streets experiencing AIDS, and then it was expanded to apply to families.
The governor said it was never meant to ensure "an unlimited, universal right or obligation on the city to have to house literally the entire world."
>LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
They come from Brazil, Burkina Faso, Uzbekistan, India and dozens of other countries, a moving global village of hundreds of thousands of people crossing the Rio Grande and slipping through gaps in the border wall at a pace of nearly 9,000 people a day, one of the highest rates of unlawful crossings in months.
Despite new border barriers and thickets of razor wire, risk of deportation and pleas for patience, a resurgent tide of men, women and children is not waiting. Driven by desperation, families and individuals are pushing across the southern border and past new efforts by the Biden administration to keep migrants waiting until they secure hard-to-get appointments to enter the nation with permission.
The influx is creating a humanitarian and political crisis that stretches from packed migrant processing facilities in border states to major American cities struggling to house and educate the new families. Though many get through, thousands are being sent back across the border or on flights to their home countries. But from Texas to California, more than two dozen migrants who have entered illegally in recent days said they could not afford to wait.
“If you don’t take risks, you cannot win,” said Daniel Soto, 35, who crossed with his mother on Tuesday after they sold their car, restaurant and house in Lima, Peru, betting their entire fortune of $25,000 on a weeklong journey to the border near Tijuana.
Surges in migration at the southern border, while motivated by poverty, violence and hunger, are also tied to weather patterns, policy changes and personal circumstances. The pace of unlawful crossings dropped sharply in the spring amid uncertainty surrounding the end of a pandemic-era measure that allowed the government to quickly deport migrants. But numbers rebounded over the summer, and are now nearly double the 4,900 unlawful crossings a day that were recorded in mid-April.
House Minority Leader Matt Hall, a Republican who represents a southwest Michigan district around Kalamazoo, is a graduate of Western Michigan University. During his time there, according to police records obtained through a public records request, he admitted to sending death threats to a student at a college in Maryland, where his girlfriend was studying.
In a signed statement, Hall wrote:
“On December 3, 2001 I sent two separate e-mails to [redacted] at Washington College. The e-mails were threatening to kill him. I thought he had sent me threatening instant messages, but discovered he didn’t.”
In one email, Hall wrote:
>YOU BETTER NOT GO TO THE CHRISTMAS PARTY TOMORROW NIGHT! JUST A WORD OF ADVICE!! THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN AND WE DON’T LIKE YOUR KIND TREATING LADIES LIKE [redacted] WITHOUT DIGNITY. SHE IS A FINE LADY YOU DON’T NEED TO BE SAYING SHIT ABOUT HER! WE ARE GOING TO IMPOSE OUR SOUTHERN WAYS ON YOU! I’VE GOT A SHOTGUN RIFLE AND I JUST PUT A BULLET IN IT WITH YOUR NAME ON IT!
In another, he told the student: “YOU HAD BETTER WATCH OUT!! WE DON’T LIKE YOUR KIND HERE IN WC! YOU WON’T FEEL VERY CROMBIE WHEN WE ARE DONE WITH YOU! BY YOU BLOCKING US ON IM WE ARE JUST MORE ANGRY!!! CLOSING TIME IS COMING SOON! BETTER SAY YOUR PRAYERS!!! STAY AWAY FROM [redacted]”
In his statement to the police, Hall wrote: “I don’t have a shotgun or have a bullet with his name on it. I wasn’t going to harm him. I had no intention to hurt him. I realize it was unacceptable and inappropriate. I am sorry for causing him stress. I will not threaten anyone else.”
https://americanindependent.com/matt-hall-michigan-death-threats-gun-safety-laws/
The pause resulted from financial difficulties and was done “in the interest of preserving the possible future existence of Project Veritas,” the group’s human resources director Jennifer Kiyak said in a letter obtained by Mediaite.
Bobby Harr, who said he was among the laid-off employees, first announced the news on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, Mediate noted. Harr and another former staffer said the layoffs and operations pause followed earlier dramatic cuts to Project Veritas’ staff.
Project Veritas pointed HuffPost to a statement on the news from CEO Hannah Giles, which confirmed additional layoffs. Giles maintained that “Project Veritas is continuing to operate, but we are pausing our fundraising efforts and proactively taking steps to honor our donors’ expectations and to preserve the trust the American people have placed in us.”
The organization did not respond to HuffPost’s follow-up questions about staffing levels or the nature of current operations.
Project Veritas’ recent leadership and economic struggles have been no secret.
In February, James O’Keefe, the group’s founder, leader and longtime public face, was forced out by Project Veritas’ board. The board alleged it had uncovered “financial malfeasance” on O’Keefe’s part, including “$14,000 on a charter flight to meet someone to fix his boat under the guise of meeting with a donor” and “$60,000 in losses by putting together dance events such as Project Veritas Experience.”
https://www.mediaite.com/news/new-project-veritas-suspends-all-operations-amid-devastating-layoffs-and-fundraising-struggles/
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/22/us/politics/biden-trump-2024-election-polls.html
This spring, as the Republican presidential primary race was just beginning, the Democratic National Committee commissioned polling on how the leading Republicans — Donald J. Trump and Ron DeSantis — fared against President Biden in battleground states.
But now, as Mr. Trump’s lead in the primary has grown and hardened, the party has dropped Mr. DeSantis from such hypothetical matchups. And the Biden campaign’s polling on Republican candidates is now directed squarely at Mr. Trump, according to officials familiar with the surveys.
The sharpened focus on Mr. Trump isn’t happening only behind the scenes. Facing waves of polls showing soft support for his re-election among Democrats, Mr. Biden and his advisers signaled this week that they were beginning to turn their full attention to his old rival, seeking to re-energize the party’s base and activate donors ahead of what is expected to be a long and grueling sequel.
On Sunday, after Mr. Trump sought to muddy the waters on his position on abortion, the Biden operation and its surrogates pushed back with uncommon intensity. On Monday, Mr. Biden told donors at a New York fund-raiser that Mr. Trump was out to “destroy” American democracy, in some of his most forceful language so far about the implications of a second Trump term. And on Wednesday, as the president spoke to donors at a Manhattan hotel, he acknowledged in the most explicit way yet that he now expected to be running against “the same fella.”
The mileposts all point to a general election that has, in many ways, already arrived.
Phil Rosen Sep 20, 2023, 9:56 AM EDT
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/nft-market-crypto-digital-assets-investors-messari-mainnet-currency-tokens-2023-9
Most NFTs may now be worthless, less than two years after a bull run in the digital collectibles.
A study examining more than 73,000 NFT collections found that 95% had a market cap of 0 ETH.
Out of the top collections, the most common price for an NFT is now $5-$100.
Are NFTs dead?
A recent study looking at the price of thousands of collections seems to suggest the answer is "yes."
A report by dappGambl based on data provided by NFT Scan and CoinMarketCap showed that out of 73,257 NFT collections the researchers looked at, 69,795 of them, or slightly over 95%, had a market cap of zero ether.
By their estimates, almost 23 million people hold these worthless assets.
Judge Pauline Newman’s colleagues on a federal appeals court in Washington have called her “the heroine of the patent system” and “the most beloved colleague on our court.” But on Wednesday, they also told Judge Newman, 96, that she had been suspended amid growing concerns about her mental fitness.
The order suspending Judge Newman for one year followed an unusually bitter and public dispute over her cognitive state and her ability to continue to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a specialized court that hears patent cases.
Judge Newman, who was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984, has vigorously challenged her colleagues’ investigation into her fitness and has said she is mentally able to do her job. Earlier this year, she filed a federal lawsuit accusing the chief judge of the court, Kimberly A. Moore, and other colleagues of violating her due process rights.
In the unanimous order, which was issued by the court’s active judges, Judge Newman’s colleagues wrote that they had no choice but to suspend her, despite her status as “a highly valued and respected colleague,” widely recognized for her contributions to the court and knowledge of the patent system.
More than 20 interviews with members of the court staff, along with emails sent by Judge Newman, “provided overwhelming evidence,” the order said, that she “may be experiencing significant mental problems including memory loss, lack of comprehension, confusion and an inability to perform basic tasks that she previously was able to perform with ease.”
The order said that evidence pointed to instances in which Judge Newman, when struggling with basic tasks, “became frustrated, agitated, belligerent and hostile.”
“We always get the blame,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a senior appropriator. “Name one time that we’ve shut the government down and we haven’t got the blame.”
“I think the governing majority, which is presiding at the time the government shuts down, probably is going to bear a lot of the blame,” said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.). “And we’re the ones with the gavel … it’s our job to run the government.”
“I think the American public basically believes that shutting down the government is a dumb thing to do and a costly thing to do,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House Democratic leader. “What a stupid thing to do in terms of knowing full well that you’re probably going to reimburse people for not working.”
https://www.kcra.com/article/sacramento-county-da-files-lawsuit-against-city-sacramento-alleging-inaction-homelessness/45209503
Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho announced Tuesday morning that his office has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Sacramento over its response to the growing unhoused population in the area.
Ho said he filed the lawsuit around 9 a.m.
“The community is at a breaking point,” Ho said in a press conference where other Sacramento residents claimed inaction by the city to their complaints.
The lawsuit comes after months of back-and-forth between the city and the county regarding accountability over unhoused encampments.
Ho said that the unhoused population in Sacramento has grown 250% in the last seven years, outpacing San Francisco.
The district attorney said the city should consistently enforce its ordinances regarding unlawful camping, storage and sidewalk obstructions.
"City Hall allows camping on City Hall property at night, but they don't allow it during the day. I ask the city to extend the same protection they give to themselves to the rest of us," he said.
He also called for more professionally operated safe ground camping places.
Earlier this year on July 26, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Goldsteinberg and Ho met to discuss a partnership between the city and county to address homelessness issues.
Ho responded to the city a month later with a letter that included data from his office’s survey on the Sacramento homeless response, which included a 30-day notice for the city to comply with the demands.
The Demands include requiring the city attorney’s office to prosecute codes and ordinances outside of his office’s jurisdiction, providing four additional city attorneys, creating more temporary emergency shelter and camping spaces, access to real-time data regarding shelter beds and a citywide daytime camping ban, among other things.
They also found a kilo of fentanyl rolled up in child's play mat.
The city inspected it on Sept 6 right before the infant died and said it was suitable for daycare.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/police-find-more-fentanyl-in-trap-floor-at-bronx-day-care-where-baby-died/ar-AA1h44lG
Police said they've found a trap floor with drugs in the play area of a New York City day care where a 1-year-old boy died following exposure to fentanyl.
Nicholas Dominici, 1, died on Friday and three other children, ranging in age from 8 months to 2 years, were hospitalized and treated with Narcan and are now recovering, police said. An analysis of urine from one of the victims confirmed the presence of fentanyl, officials said.
Authorities searched the Bronx day care again on Wednesday night and Thursday following a tip they received about a trap door in the floor, law enforcement sources familiar with the case told ABC News.
In the trap floor, investigators found fentanyl, other narcotics and drug paraphernalia, the NYPD confirmed
Investigators had already found a kilo of fentanyl stored on kids' play mats, along with a device to press drugs into bricks for sale, according to court records.
Grei Mendez, the operator of the day care, and her tenant, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, are in federal custody on charges of narcotics possession with intent to distribute resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death. They've been held without bail.
The day care was licensed on May 16 by the state’s Office of Children and Family Services, according to public records. It's listed as having a capacity for eight children from 6 weeks old to 12 years old.
City health inspectors conducted a surprise inspection of the facility on Sept. 6 and did not find any violations, according to City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/20/rudy-giuliani-grope-cassidy-hutchinson-claim-january-6-trump-aide
Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top aide to ex-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, said in a new book that she was groped by then-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani at an event on Jan. 6, 2021.
In excerpts of her book “Enough,” set to be released next week, Hutchinson said Giuliani was “like a wolf closing in on its prey” when she met with him backstage while President Donald Trump delivered remarks to his supporters at the Ellipse near the White House shortly before the Capitol riot.
The excerpts were first reported by The Guardian. NBC News has not obtained a copy of the book, but a person familiar with the book confirmed that the quotes published by The Guardian were accurate.
Hutchinson, 27, alleges Giuliani, a prominent promoter of Trump’s stolen election lies, had approached her with a stack of documents before reaching his hand “under my blazer, then my skirt.” She then describes recoiling as “his frozen fingers trail up my thigh,” The Guardian reported.
“‘We have the evidence. It’s all here. We’re going to pull this off.’ Rudy wraps one arm around my body, closing the space that was separating us. I feel his stack of documents press into the small of my back. I lower my eyes and watch his free hand reach for the hem of my blazer.
“‘By the way,’ he says, fingering the fabric, ‘I’m loving this leather jacket on you.’ His hand slips under my blazer, then my skirt,” Hutchinson wrote, according to The Guardian.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/22/us/politics/trump-gag-order-free-speech.html
The request by prosecutors that a judge impose a gag order on former President Donald J. Trump in the federal election-subversion case presents a thorny conflict between the scope of his First Amendment rights and fears that he could — intentionally or not — spur his supporters to violence.
There is little precedent for how the judge overseeing the case, Tanya S. Chutkan, should think about how to weigh strong constitutional protections for political speech against ensuring the functioning of the judicial process and the safety of the people participating in it.
It is one more example of the challenges of seeking to hold to account a norm-shattering former president who is being prosecuted in two federal cases — and two state cases — as he makes another bid for the White House with a message that his opponents have weaponized the criminal justice system against him.
“Everything about these cases is making new law because there are so many gaps in the law,” said Paul F. Rothstein, a law professor at Georgetown University and a criminal procedure specialist. “The system is held together by people doing the right thing according to tradition, and Trump doesn’t — he jumps into every gap.”
Citing a spate of threats inspired by the indictment of Mr. Trump in the election case, the special counsel overseeing the prosecutions for the Justice Department, Jack Smith, asked Judge Chutkan this month to order the former president to cease his near-daily habit of making “disparaging and inflammatory or intimidating” public statements about witnesses, the District of Columbia jury pool, the judge and prosecutors.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-defund-prosecutions_n_650c5397e4b0fb95353a828d
WASHINGTON ― Coup-attempting former President Donald Trump demanded that House Republicans use the looming threat of a government shutdown to “defund” the federal criminal prosecutions against him.
“Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government that refuses to close the Border, and treats half the Country as Enemies of the State,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform late Wednesday. “This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots.”
While Trump did not use the word “shutdown” in his post, he did call the coming end of the budget year on Sept. 30 “a very important deadline.”
The House has the power, at any time, to pass a bill that would remove funding for the special counsel investigating Trump, but has failed to even consider such a measure. A failure by Congress to pass an appropriations bill by the end of the month will lead to a partial government shutdown, including the possible furlough of federal workers.
“Use the power of the purse and defend the Country!” Trump wrote.
At least one of his top congressional allies took notice. Within an hour of Trump’s post, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) posted an image of it on the social media site X, still commonly known as Twitter, with the comment: “Trump Opposes the Continuing Resolution. Hold the line.”
In a profile piece titled "The Patriot" for The Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg, details about Milley's welcoming ceremony in 2019 were revealed like Trump allegedly saying that "no one wants to see" wounded veterans.
At the ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Milley chose Luis Avila, a wounded army captain, to sing "God Bless America."
Avila lost a leg to an IED during one of his five combat tours. He'd also suffered strokes, heart attacks, and brain damage as a result of his injuries.
Avila nearly toppled over as he was being pushed in a wheelchair. Helping him were Milley's wife, Hollyanne, and then-Vice President Mike Pence.
Trump came up to Milley after the performance and said, "Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded" and barred Milley from inviting him to future public events.
https://themessenger.com/politics/milley-says-trump-told-him-to-ban-wounded-vet-from-events-no-one-wants-to-see-that
>Biden also patted himself on the back for the number of Hispanic members in his Cabinet and credited himself for "record low" Latino unemployment.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-praises-wrong-group-speech-congressional-hispanic-caucus-gala
>“MAGA Republicans in Congress and my predecessor spent four years gutting the immigration system,” Biden said Thursday at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual gala.“They continue to undermine our border security today, blocking bipartisan reform.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-22/biden-says-gop-under-trump-gutted-us-immigration-system#xj4y7vzkg
Republican presidential hopefuls are courting wealthy US oil donors as they seek to tap a rich seam of campaign funds that remains up for grabs, reflecting what executives say is a shift in support away from former president Donald Trump.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis is leading the charge with a visit on Wednesday to the energy hub of Midland, West Texas, to tout his support for American oil and gas and intention to unpick President Joe Biden’s green agenda.
The message will draw comparisons with Trump’s 2020 stump speech near the city, where he tried to garner support among oil donors with a pledge to end the “far-left assault” on American fossil fuels.
But DeSantis and other Republicans are hoping to capitalise on growing discontent with Trump among oil executives, who fear he will lose another election to Biden in 2024, resulting in more regulation of their industry.
The shift away from Trump comes as other Republican megadonors hold back from spending money in the hope that one of the alternative candidates can unite the anti-Trump vote.
“I’m personally looking for a true dark horse that has minimal baggage — so Republicans can perform better and truly compete for the White House and Congress,” John Yates, scion of a prominent New Mexico oil family and chief executive of Abo Empire, a private oil and gas producer, said in an interview.
Rupert Murdoch is retiring from the Fox and News Corporation boards, the companies announced Thursday morning, making his son Lachlan the sole executive in charge of the powerful global media empire he built from a small local newspaper concern in Australia 70 years ago.
The elder Mr. Murdoch will become chairman emeritus of the two businesses, the companies said.
Mr. Murdoch, 92, had shown no intention of stepping down or even slowing down — including after he named Lachlan as the operating heir to his business empire in 2019, when he sold his vast entertainment holdings to the Walt Disney Company.
Though the move places the Murdoch family companies more firmly under Lachlan’s control, a bruising succession battle may still loom. Upon Rupert Murdoch’s death, his four adult children would have to work out his ultimate successor among themselves, based on a plan he put into place nearly two decades ago.
Mr. Murdoch has made his wishes clear regardless in elevating Lachlan. And, even now, he will continue to offer counsel in his emeritus role, Lachlan said in a company release. In his own statement to employees, the elder Mr. Murdoch indicated that he would do so actively and regularly.
“We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years — I certainly am, and plan to be here to participate in them,” he wrote. “I will be watching our broadcasts with a critical eye, reading our newspapers and websites and books with much interest, and reaching out to you with thoughts, ideas, and advice.”
Their final cost to house a hobo was about 45k per person. As comparison, if they were to simply put them into an apartment, it would have cost 1/4 that.
https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-homeless-crisis-king-county-regional-homelessness-authority-kcrha-partnership-for-zero-project-pfz-criticized-slammed-downtown-association-mayor-bruce-harrell-executive-dow-constantine-affordable-housing-shelter#
One of the cornerstone programs to fight homelessness in King County is coming to an end.
The King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) announced Tuesday it's abandoning the Partnership for Zero (PFZ) project.
The project was announced more than a year and a half ago with a goal to have fewer than 30 people living on the streets in downtown Seattle, a plan described as "eliminating visible homelessness."
“KCRHA and partners recognize that the need for unsheltered services in Downtown Seattle and the Chinatown International District is greater than the capacity of the Partnership for Zero pilot," the authority wrote on its website. "We also recognize that there are challenges in having an administrative agency deliver direct service.”
The KCRHA said it was able to get 230 people off the streets and into housing, and it cleared six encampments, but the $10 million in funding has now run out.
The Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) released a statement slamming the outcome of that project.
The DSA wrote, in part, "Partnership for Zero was the right approach - that was executed in all the wrong ways."
KCRHA failed to deliver on its public commitment and stated goal to engage the nearly 1,000 individuals living unsheltered in downtown Seattle and connect them to services and housing, the DSA said.
https://www.npr.org/2023/09/21/1200402416/biden-trump-fundraisers
It was a rousing reelection stump speech from President Biden, delivered to a theater full of enthusiastic supporters, where he jabbed at the Republican frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.
But you won't see a clip of it on cable news anytime soon. Biden was speaking at a private fundraising event where cameras aren't allowed — one of four such events he attended in Manhattan this week.
"Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy," Biden said at one of the fundraisers, where about 1,500 donors shelled out $250 to $7,500 to hear him speak alongside Broadway stars like Lin-Manuel Miranda and Josh Groban.
https://apnews.com/article/pennsylvania-special-election-pittsburgh-8895ca07c1436640045861aff6c9ad6c
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats will retain their one-vote majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives after voters in Pittsburgh on Tuesday elected former congressional aide Lindsay Powell.
Powell’s victory gives Democrats a 102-101 majority in the House. Republicans have a 28-22 majority in the Senate, creating a divided Legislature that has kept Democrats from passing priorities such as broadened protections for LGBTQ+ people and gun control measures and Republicans from wins on issues including school vouchers.
The divided Legislature has also meant Republican senators have been unable to take to voters proposed constitutional amendments limiting the governor’s power and implementing voter ID.
Most recently the division has mired the state in a two-month budget stalemate after negotiations soured over education funding, in part because of the voucher debate. (Republicans later depicted themselves as the Nazis in a pro voucher social media post.)
Powell identified affordable and dignified housing, a strong local economy and community assets such as robust recreation centers, libraries and strong infrastructure as top issues. Housing, she said, was a particular concern. People feel displaced by rising costs and seniors want to stay in their homes.
“I’m grateful. As someone who’s been a lifelong public servant, this is the highest honor of my life, and I am so excited to be able to work on behalf of every single one of us,” she said in an interview Tuesday night.
More enforcement against businesses and tax cheats
Less enforcement for the working class
Why do Republicans love tax cheats and hate real Americans again?
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/19/irs-to-reduce-audits-on-filers-claiming-the-earned-income-tax-credit.html
The IRS is shifting how it examines tax returns of lower earners as part of its broader effort to address inequity in enforcement.
Starting in fiscal year 2024, the agency will "substantially" reduce the number of so-called correspondence audits — which happen by mail — for certain tax credits. This includes the earned income tax credit, claimed by low- to moderate-income filers, according to a letter sent on Monday by IRS Commissioner to Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
The letter comes roughly one week after the IRS unveiled plans to use boosted technology and artificial intelligence to collect unpaid taxes from higher earners, partnerships and large corporations.
"It's part of this whole rebalancing," said Chuck Marr, vice president for federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "They're using resources to reverse the precipitous decline in enforcement at the top."
Only 2% of Americans earning more than $5 million a year faced an audit in 2019, down from 16% in 2010, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
The IRS in May said that Black Americans are significantly more likely to face an audit, confirming earlier findings from economists from Stanford University, the University of Michigan, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the University of Chicago.
Findings show the earned income tax credit has contributed to this disparity and the IRS has been weighing policy changes to address the issue.
The short-term stopgap bill to fund the government through Oct. 31 was negotiated by leaders from across the party and was supposed to be McCarthy’s big show of unity. Instead, it descended into a nasty, public spat Monday when at least 16 Republicans pulled their support and trashed their colleagues in the process.
“It’s an unmitigated disaster right now on the majority side,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) told MSNBC on Monday as the bill unraveled in real time.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who opposed the bill’s continued funding of the office of Trump prosecutor Jack Smith, took potshots online at one of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who shot back, “You’ll need more than tweets and hot takes!!” Meanwhile, The Hill reported that Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) blamed “weak Speaker” McCarthy, who hit back by calling Spartz a quitter for deciding to retire at the end of her term to spend more time with her family. Gaetz called McCarthy’s response “disgraceful.”
With the bill likely doomed just 11 days out from a shutdown, and his speakership looking increasingly shaky, McCarthy pulled a scheduled 2:30 p.m. Tuesday vote that would have allowed the so-called continuing resolution proposal to move forward.
He left open the possibility of pressing ahead with a vote later in the week. “I’m just recircling it,” he insisted to reporters, “We have people talking together.”
But it comes just a week after McCarthy caved to far-right pressure by unilaterally opening an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, just another chapter in what Politico called “ultraconservative fever gripping House Republicans.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/house-gop-implodes-over-its-doomed-government-shutdown-plan
>City officials met with frustrated residents to discuss law enforcement's plans to address the city's crime, drug and homelessness problems during the Monday meeting. Residents aired their "disgust" with officials, on the lack of arrests for people who were openly drug dealing and under the influence on city streets, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
>"Right now, we have a city that’s been lacking in accountability," Jenkins told residents, who reportedly cheered in agreement. She argued San Francisco wasn't the only place dealing with brazen retail theft.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/blue-city-district-attorney-decries-culture-lawlessness-emboldening-brazen-criminals
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/merrick-garland-hunter-biden-hearing-b2415201.html
Mr Garland is defending his department’s independence after months of attacks from Republicans
US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday used testimony before the House Judiciary Committee to hit back at Republican critics — including former president Donald Trump — who have accused him without evidence of doing the political bidding of the Biden administration.
Mr Garland, who appeared on Capitol Hill for a scheduled oversight hearing before the GOP-led panel, opened his remarks with a defence of his department’s work and its independence from both the White House and the US legislative branch.
“Our job is not to take orders from the president, from Congress, or from anyone else, about who or what to criminally investigate,” he said.
“I am not the president’s lawyer. I will add I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people”.
Mr Garland’s testimony before the House committee was his first appearance at the Capitol since his department levelled charges against Mr Trump, who has been indicted by federal grand juries in Florida and Washington DC.
Then-Vice President Biden met Petro Poroshenko, the Ukrainian president at the time, in December 2015, after which he claimed he'd threatened to withhold $1 billion in U.S. aid to Kyiv, unless Shokin was removed from his post, which he subsequently was.
Some conservatives have suggested Biden was attempting to protect Ukrainian energy company Burisma, the board of which his son, Hunter Biden, had joined in 2014, by moving against Shokin. However a pre-meeting memo prepared for Biden by the State Department, dated November 25, 2015, made it clear that removing Shokin was the Obama administration's policy.
The document called for Shokin's "removal," claiming he was "widely regarded as an obstacle to fighting corruption, if not a source of the problem." This document was published by John Solomon, a conservative commentator who has argued Biden did call for Shokin's removal to advance his son's business activities, on his Just The News website.
Shokin would later tell Fox News he was removed from office "at the insistence of the then Vice President Biden because I was investigating Burisma."
There are, however, no records showing the prosecutor general was actively investigating Burisma at the time with Devon Archer, one of Hunter's business partners, recently telling a congressional committee it wasn't in the company's interest for him to be fired. In August, Biden insisted he "never talked business" with his son.
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-impeachment-falls-apart-1828093
Ray Epps, a former Oath Keeper member who became the target of Jan. 6 conspiracy theories spread by many Republicans, has been charged in connection with the attacks at the U.S. Capitol.
The Justice Department charged Epps on Monday with a single misdemeanor count of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted area via a criminal information, which is often an indication a defendant is prepared to plead guilty.
Epps' attorney, Edward Ungvarsky told ABC News he anticipates a guilty plea to the charge.
Epps said he went to D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest the 2020 election. Republicans accused him of being an undercover federal agent that urged supporters of former President Donald Trump to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/18/us/alabama-band-director-tased-arrested/index.html
Bodycam video released by Birmingham police shows multiple officers telling Mims to end the performance while the band director repeats “get out of my face.”
“We’re fixing to go. This is our last song,” Mims then tells the officers.
When one officer threatens, “You will go to jail,” Mims responds with a thumbs-up and says, “That’s cool.”
The stadium’s field lights are then turned off and the band concludes its song. When Mims steps off the platform, a struggle ensues between him and the officers as they appear to try to handcuff him while he yells “get off of me.”
“He hit the officer. He gotta go to jail,” one officer is heard saying. “He swing on the officer.”
“We are aware of the incident that occurred after the Minor and Jackson-Olin football game,” said Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin in a statement to CNN affiliate WBRC. “I am in the process of gathering all the facts, and feel it would be inappropriate to comment further until that process is complete. I urge everyone not to jump to conclusions.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/09/19/elon-musks-perks-at-tesla-investigated-justice-department/
US prosecutors are examining personal benefits the carmaker may have given its chief executive, including a proposed glass house
By
Rozina Sabur,
DEPUTY US EDITOR
19 September 2023 • 10:16pm
US prosecutors are looking at perks Tesla may have offered Elon Musk, including a proposed glass house, as part of a criminal investigation.
The sweeping probe by Manhattan federal prosecutors into Tesla’s use of company funds suggest they are pursuing potential criminal charges.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York is closely examining personal benefits the electric carmaker may have given its chief executive.
Musk, the richest man in the world, famously does not draw a cash salary from Tesla but is compensated in stock options.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3mq5w/sound-of-freedom-producer-underage-trafficking-victim
Paul Hutchinson—an executive producer of Sound of Freedom, the film focused on the heavily fictionalized exploits of anti-trafficking activist Tim Ballard—touched the naked breasts of an apparently underage trafficking victim during a 2016 undercover operation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
Footage of the incident and its aftermath was captured by videographers working with Operation Underground Railroad, or OUR, the private anti-trafficking group Ballard founded. An investigator with the Davis County Attorney’s Office obtained the footage and wrote detailed descriptions of it as part of a criminal investigation into Ballard and OUR carried out with the FBI. That investigation was closed this year without any charges being brought. The descriptions were included among documents obtained by VICE News through a public-records request, and make clear that the trafficking victim appeared to be—and was believed at the time by Hutchinson and OUR operatives to be—about 16 years old. They also assert that OUR believed the footage had been destroyed.
A description of one of the videos, written by an investigator, shows Hutchinson expressing concerns over whether he could be prosecuted by Mexican authorities over the incident. He was speaking to Matt Osborne, an OUR operative, who dismissed his worries while making clear he didn’t think the video should be shown to the U.S. government. Osborne is currently the president and chief operating officer of OUR, as he has been since Ballard resigned from the organization earlier this year following an internal investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct.
Elon Musk said Monday he's moving to require all users to pay a monthly fee to use his social media site X, previously called Twitter.
Why it matters: The comments, which he made during a live-streamed event on X with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, come as the company struggles to regain trust with advertisers.
Musk said earlier this month that Twitter's U.S. ad revenue was down 60%. He has blamed the company's ad challenges on civil rights and consumer groups putting pressure on big brands.
Driving the news: During the live conversation, Netanyahu brought up the challenge of preventing large armies of bots that amplify hate speech.
Musk replied: "The single-most important reason we're moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system is it's the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots."
Musk said adding a subscription would make it much more difficult for bots to create accounts, because each bot would need to register a new credit card.
He added that the company plans to come out with "a lower tier pricing," than what it currently charges for its X Premium subscribers, which is around $8 monthly.
The big picture: Few social networks operate on subscriptions only, although more are experimenting with subscription products amid a weak ad market.
Data shows adoption of Premium X, the renamed subscription product that was formerly Twitter Blue, was slow, as of earlier this year.
Citing a third-party estimate, Mashable reported in May that roughly 640,000 to 680,000 people were subscribed to Twitter Blue as of the end of April.
Twitter first rolled out Twitter Blue in 2021. Musk overhauled the subscription last November, increasing the price and changing some features. Most notably, Musk changed Twitter's verification system to only allow paid subscribers to be verified.
One has already been sentenced to prison
https://komonews.com/news/local/justin-moore-seattle-renton-molotov-cocktail-protest-explosive-bomb-cocktails-police-officers-guild-headquarters-arrest-sentence-prison-box-devices-parking-lot-gasoline-smell-department-justice-district-court-judge-washington
SEATTLE — A 35-year-old Renton man who pleaded guilty to bringing a dozen Molotov cocktails to a protest at the Seattle police union headquarters in 2020 has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.
Justin Moore was sentenced last week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 40 months in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Moore made 12 gasoline devices in beer bottles and carried them to a protest march on Labor Day 2020 at the Seattle Police Officers Guild headquarters, according to the plea agreement and police.
Police smelled gasoline and found the box of devices in a parking lot. Court documents state that Moore was one of four people suspected of taking part in a plot to burn the building.
Federal prosecutors say Moore was identified using surveillance video from the protest, data from electronic devices in the crowd, witness testimony, and testimony from several others who were allegedly involved in the plan.
Following a secret campaign coordinated by top Trump allies, Texas state senators yesterday acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton of all impeachment charges, allowing him to return to his post.
Why it matters: The allegations against Paxton, a close ally of former President Trump, bitterly divided the Texas GOP, Jay R. Jordan of Axios Houston and Nicole Cobler of Axios Austin report.
Behind the scenes: National Republicans organized an under-the-radar campaign of outside conservative pressure on the Texas senators designed to neutralize mainstream media coverage, top strategists tell me.
This outside unofficial team operated independently of the Paxton legal operation — like "a super PAC without the money," a top GOP strategist said.
Pro-Paxton forces also paid social media influencers to defend the attorney general.
The team had a "very well-defined target audience … no different than a confirmation battle," the strategist said.
After winning, Paxton tweeted his thanks to the conservative news outlet National Pulse, a valued player in the under-the-radar drive.
Catch me up: Senators weighed whether Paxton illegally used his office to benefit an Austin real estate developer, and improperly fired some of his top deputies who reported him to the FBI and other agencies.
Despite an overwhelming majority of House Republicans voting to impeach Paxton in May, only two of 18 Republican senators voted to convict Paxton.
So ... how did that happen?
"We didn't care what the MSM (mainstream media) said," the top GOP strategist said.
"We basically ignored them from start to finish. Goal was to fire up the grassroots. A story in National Pulse, Post Millennial and similar publications was more valuable than any harm an A1 NYT story could do."
Trump wrote aide’s to-do lists on backs of classified docs: report
BY MIRANDA NAZZARO 09/18/23 06:07 PM ET
One of former President Trump’s assistants reportedly told federal investigators Trump wrote to-do lists on the backs of classified documents, according to an ABC News report.
ABC News, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported former Trump aide Molly Michael told investigators the former president wrote requests or tasks for her on the back of notecards, which she later realized were White House documents “with visible classification markings.”
But as a young voter and host of "iGen Politics," Victor Shi observed, the same poll shows a record 65 percent support for Biden among voters under 30. For voters between 30 and 44, Biden enjoys 56 percent support. The lowest amount of support for Biden comes from those over 65.
The official question read: "If next year's 2024 presidential election is between Joe Biden, the Democrat, and Donald Trump, the Republican, who would you vote for?"
Comparing it to Donald Trump, who had 35 percent for those under 30, 44 percent for those ages 30 to 44.
The poll also shows just how important abortion is to young voters. Nearly half of voters under 30 (47 percent) said that the issue of abortion makes them more likely to vote for Democrats. That compares to 27 percent who said the GOP stance makes them more likely, and 25 percent said it didn't matter.
When asked what qualities Americans want in a leader, they said tough (67 percent), caring (66 percent), no-nonsense (62 percent), calm (61 percent) and energetic (58 percent). When voters talk about Biden's qualities they see him as calm (63 percent), predictable (61 percent), caring (50 percent) and has him at "no-nonsense" just at 35 percent. By contrast Trump is viewed at 55 percent on "no-nonsense." That said, he didn't even register on "calm" or "caring."
As Shi assessed, "the media constantly talks about age but they fail to mention other positive things that polling shows — like that the Republican Party is weakening fast or more young voters say they will vote for Biden in 2024. These things also matter…just not to [the mainstream media].
https://www.rawstory.com/young-voters-support-biden/
https://nypost.com/2023/09/19/woman-names-newborn-son-methamphetamine-rules-prompting-government-response/
Australian journalist Kirsten Drysdale is currently in a newborn bliss bubble, having recently welcomed her third child with her husband Chris.
Her son’s legal name is Methamphetamine Rules.
The New South Wales, Australia Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages let the name slip through the cracks during the submission process, despite offensive terms being prohibited.
A spokesperson told news.com.au they’ve since “strengthened” their system to avoid it happening again.
An argument over tree trimming ended with one man fatally shooting a neighbor along the property line they share, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office in Florida. It happened shortly after 7 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 17, outside a rural home in DeLeon Springs, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. DeLeon Springs is about 45 miles north of Orlando. Investigators say 78-year-old Edward S. Druzolowski was arrested at the scene and faces a charge of second-degree murder with a firearm. He was being held without bond on Sept. 18, jail records show.
“The victim, 42-year-old Brian J. Ford, was trimming tree limbs along the fence line between 1880 and 1890 Alameda Drive when Druzolowski confronted him about being on his property,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Druzolowski told detectives he threatened to shoot Ford, and when Ford didn’t leave, he shot him.” The sheriff’s office received two 911 calls about the shooting, which happened in a rural area west of Tomoka Wildlife Management Area Union-Camp Tract. Two deputies responded to the home and “attempted life-saving measures until EMS arrived,” but Ford died at the scene, officials said. He was shot once, officials said.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkaqvn/tim-ballards-departure-from-operation-underground-railroad-followed-sexual-misconduct-investigation
“O.U.R. is dedicated to combatting sexual abuse, and does not tolerate sexual harassment or discrimination by anyone in its organization,” the organization tells VICE News.
Tim Ballard’s exit from Operation Underground Railroad earlier this year followed an investigation into claims of sexual misconduct involving seven women, according to sources with direct knowledge of the organization.
In an investigation published by The Times, Brand was accused of rape, sexual assault and abuse by four women - with the star releasing a shock denial before the allegations were published.
As part of the expose, staff who worked alongside Brand on the sin-off shows claimed they were made to feel like "pimps".
One said: "Russell's pointing out women that he found attractive in the audience, then getting the runners to get their details so that they could meet up after the show.
"I distinctly remember getting phone calls from women in tears the next day saying that Russell had raped them.
"It was like we were taking lambs into slaughter. We were basically acting like pimps to Russell Brand’s perverse needs.
https://news.sky.com/story/thursdays-national-newspaper-front-pages-12427754
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/23991008/production-company-launches-probe-russell-brand/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/letter-showing-pope-pius-xii-detailed-information-german-jesuit-nazi-h-rcna105500
ROME — Newly discovered correspondence suggests that World War II-era Pope Pius XII had detailed information from a trusted German Jesuit that up to 6,000 Jews and Poles were being gassed each day in German-occupied Poland. The documentation undercuts the Holy See’s argument that it couldn’t verify diplomatic reports of Nazi atrocities to denounce them.
The documentation from the Vatican archives, published this weekend in Italian daily Corriere della Sera, is likely to further fuel the debate about Pius’ legacy and his now-stalled beatification campaign. Historians have long been divided about Pius’ record, with supporters insisting he used quiet diplomacy to save Jewish lives while critics say he remained silent as the Holocaust raged.
Corriere is reproducing a letter dated Dec. 14, 1942, from the German Jesuit priest to Pius’ secretary which is contained in an upcoming book about the newly opened files of Pius’ pontificate by Giovanni Coco, a researcher and archivist in the Vatican’s Apostolic Archives.
"In a video that is being widely circulated of me at the St. Charles Country Freedom Fest, I am taking a flame thrower to cardboard boxes representing what I am going to do to the leftist policies and RINO corruption of the Jeff City swamp," Eigel, one of multiple Republicans running for governor, posted in a statement to X following the video's release. "But let’s be clear, you bring those woke pornographic books to Missouri schools to try to brainwash our kids, and I'll burn those too - on the front lawn of the governor’s mansion."
The video was taken during an event called Freedom Fest, which was put on by the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee.
https://themessenger.com/politics/missouri-republican-candidate-promises-to-burn-pornographic-books-after-flamethrower-video
WASHINGTON (AP) — The stuffy Senate is now a bit less formal.
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday that staff for the chamber’s Sergeant-at-Arms — the Senate’s official clothes police — will no longer enforce a dress code on the Senate floor. The change comes after Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has been unapologetically wearing shorts as he goes about his duties, voting from doorways so he doesn’t get in trouble for his more casual attire.
“There has been an informal dress code that was enforced,” Schumer said in a statement. “Senators are able to choose what they wear on the Senate floor. I will continue to wear a suit.”
Schumer did not mention Fetterman in his statement about the dress code, which will only apply to senators, not staff.
The changes prompted outrage from some of the chamber’s more formal members, eroding a bit of the good will that first-term Fetterman had earned earlier this year when he checked himself into the hospital for clinical depression. He won bipartisan praise for being honest about his diagnosis, which came in the wake of a stroke he suffered on the campaign trail last year. When he returned from treatment, he started donning the more casual clothes, which he says make him more comfortable.
Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican, said it’s a “sad day in the Senate” and that the people who Fetterman and Schumer represent should be embarrassed.
“I represent the people of Kansas, and much like when I get dressed up to go to a wedding, it’s to honor the bride and groom, you go to a funeral you get dressed up to honor the family of the deceased,” Marshall said. Senators should have a certain level of decorum, he added.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine agreed, arguing that the relaxed rules debase the institution of the Senate. “I plan to wear a bikini tomorrow to the Senate floor,” Collins joked.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/man-jailed-raping-masked-intruder-015338329.html?guccounter=1
A Melbourne man who overpowered and raped an intruder will spend at least four years in prison.
Klay Holland, 32, faced the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday when he was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of four years and 10 months.
Holland's victim, Shane Cox, had broken into a unit in Melton in Melbourne's west in March 2021 armed with a knife and wearing a mask.
He had asked for money and drugs, and was allegedly linked to others who had gone to the home to stand over a resident.
Mr Cox, 36, who was high on methylamphetamine, was overpowered by Holland who was a guest at the home.
Mr Cox was beaten with a baseball bat and was incapacitated on the floor, where Holland then raped him.
His body was found at the scene under a pile of blankets a day later by police, who arrived at the property on an unrelated matter.
He was hogtied, his mouth was duct taped and his pants were pulled down to his upper thighs.
In March, a jury convicted Holland of one charge of rape, but he was found not guilty of manslaughter.
Justice Christopher Beale described Holland's offending as premeditated and particularly humiliating.
"Your rape of Mr Cox was a callous, degrading and humiliating act of retribution," Justice Beale said.
Holland's mental impairment, time in prison during the pandemic and separation from his three young children were all taken into consideration for sentencing
In January 2020, Aspen Gay Ski Week hosted “an evening of cocktails, appetizers, and laughs” at Hooch, according to a Facebook post at the time.
Gallagher, a Democrat, is known to be a switch hitter.
Boebert has staked herself as one of the most anti-LGBT members of Congress and a tough critics of children being exposed to drag entertainment.
“Take your children to CHURCH, not drag bars,” she exclaimed on Twitter, in June 2022.
https://nypost.com/2023/09/16/lauren-boeberts-new-man-owns-gay-friendly-bar-which-hosts-drag-shows/
Hunter Biden sues IRS over tax information disclosures
Hunter Biden filed a lawsuit accusing IRS agents of “repeatedly and intentionally” publicly sharing his private tax return information.
Those agents “have targeted and sought to embarrass Mr. Biden” by disclosing confidential information about his private tax matters to the media, he alleged.
The lawsuit comes days after Biden was indicted on three criminal counts related to his possession of a handgun.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/09/16/hamtramck-michigan-pride-flag-ban/
https://archive(dot)ph/wEDxz
HAMTRAMCK, Mich. — This city of 28,000 was once so Polish it was dubbed “Little Warsaw.” But in recent decades, an influx of immigrants gave Hamtramck new character. Bengali and Arabic joined English on signs at City Hall. Yemeni and Bangladeshi mosques, restaurants and shops proliferated.
And last year, a Muslim who emigrated from Yemen as a teenager became mayor — the city’s first leader in nearly a century with no Polish roots — alongside what is believed to be the nation’s only all-Muslim city council.
Many residents in this tiny enclave just north of downtown Detroit saw these changes as a sign of the Hamtramck’s progressiveness. The Muslim community that had previously experienced discrimination, including voter intimidation and resistance to mosques’ public call to prayer, had finally taken its seats at the table.
Yet the ethnic, cultural and religious diversity that made Hamtramck something of a model is being put severely to the test. In June, after divisive debate, the six-member council blocked the display of Pride flags on city property — action that has angered allies and members of the LGBTQ+ community, who feel that the support they provided the immigrant groups has been reciprocated with betrayal.
“We welcomed you,” former council member Catrina Stackpoole, a retired social worker who identifies as gay, recalls telling the council this summer. “We created nonprofits to help feed, clothe, find housing. We did everything we could to make your transition here easier,
>and this is how you repay us, by stabbing us in the back?”
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to wish Jewish Americans a happy new year on Rosh Hashanah.
“Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed in false narratives!,” the former president wrote on the social network. “Let’s hope you learned from your mistake & make better choices moving forward!”
“Happy New Year!” Trump concluded.
The post included a flyer from an anti-Democratic lobbying group that called the former president “one of the greatest Anti Semites of our time.” The message points to Trump’s effort to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a controversial shift in U.S. policy at the time, as well as other pro-Israel policies.
The flyer was made by JEXIT, a Florida-based group that hopes to educate Jewish Americans “that the Democratic Party has abandoned them and Israel,” according to The Times of Israel.
Trump has complained about levels of political support from Jewish Americans before. Last year, he told Jewish voters to “get their act together” and said “no president” had done more for Israel than himself.
“Our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.,” he wrote in October.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jews-rosh-hashanah_n_6507ece3e4b04435d25fcd5f
During his remarks at the Washington DC Pray Vote Stand Summit on Friday, the former president said: “We have a man who is totally corrupt and the worst president in the history of our country, who is cognitively impaired, in no condition to lead, and is now in charge of dealing with Russia and possible nuclear war.”
“Just think of it. We would be in World War Two very quickly if we’re going to be relying on this man, and far more devastating than any war,” he continued as dramatic music swelled in the background.
“There will never be a war if that happens— there will never be a war like this. It will obliterate everything there is, everybody, it will obliterate every country.”
In the past, Mr Trump has frequently said that Mr Biden would lead the country into the Third World War and the gaffe may have gone unnoticed had he not continued to stumble over his words confusing his political opponents with each other.
The former president said he was beating Mr Obama, the 44th president, in the 2024 election polls and then appeared to suggest he had beaten him in 2016 before correcting himself that his opponent then was Hillary Clinton.
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-speech-world-war-ii-biden-obama-b2412922.html
Reuters
September 15, 20235:09 PM EDTUpdated a day ago
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tiktok-fined-345-million-euros-over-handling-childrens-data-europe-2023-09-15/
DUBLIN, Sept 15 (Reuters) - TikTok has been fined 345 million euros ($370 million) for breaching privacy laws regarding the processing of children's personal data in the European Union, its lead regulator in the bloc said on Friday.
The Chinese-owned short-video platform, which has grown rapidly among teenagers around the world in recent years, breached a number of EU privacy laws between July 31, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2020, Ireland's Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) said in a statement.
It is the first time ByteDance-owned TikTok has been reprimanded by the DPC, the lead regulator in the EU for many of the world's top tech firms due to the location of their regional headquarters in Ireland.
A spokesperson for TikTok said it disagreed with the decision, particularly the size of the fine, and that most of the criticisms are no longer relevant as a result of measures it introduced before the DPC's probe began in September 2021.
>https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-weighed-by-economic-concerns-age-potential-2024-rematch-with-trump-2023-09-15/
“WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's chances of re-election are being jeopardized by voters' concerns over his age, the economy and crime, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, creating an opportunity for Republican challenger Donald Trump to return to the White House.
The opinion poll found Democrat Biden, 80, tied in a hypothetical November 2024 election against Trump, 77, the former president who is the front-runner for the Republican nomination, with both receiving 39% of the vote and one in five voters undecided...”
But in a worrisome result for Biden, Trump held a small advantage in the seven states where the 2020 presidential election was closest: Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada and Michigan. In those states, Trump led with 41% to Biden's 35%, and 24% undecided.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online nationwide from Sept. 8 through Sept. 14, gathering responses from 4,413 U.S. adults. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 2 percentage points.
>Trump leading 41% vs 35% for Biden in major swing states
>Trump leading 41% vs 35% for Biden in major swing states
>Trump leading 41% vs 35% for Biden in major swing states
J O E V E R
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-jews-rosh-hashanah_n_6507ece3e4b04435d25fcd5f
Former President Donald Trump marked the start of the Jewish High Holy Days with a fiery missive on Sunday reminding his followers that “liberal Jews” voted to “destroy America & Israel” through their support of Joe Biden.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to wish Jewish Americans a happy new year on Rosh Hashanah.
“Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed in false narratives!,” the former president wrote on the social network. “Let’s hope you learned from your mistake & make better choices moving forward!”
“Happy New Year!” Trump concluded.
The post included a flyer from an anti-Democratic lobbying group that called the former president “one of the greatest Anti Semites of our time.” The message points to Trump’s effort to move the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a controversial shift in U.S. policy at the time, as well as other pro-Israel policies.
The flyer was made by JEXIT, a Florida-based group that hopes to educate Jewish Americans “that the Democratic Party has abandoned them and Israel,” according to The Times of Israel.
Trump has complained about levels of political support from Jewish Americans before. Last year, he told Jewish voters to “get their act together” and said “no president” had done more for Israel than himself.
“Our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S.,” he wrote in October.
The Biden administration proposed a new rule Friday seeking to bolster protections for federal workers, an explicit attempt to thwart plans by former president Donald Trump and his allies to replace career government officials with political loyalists should he be reelected.
The rule seeks to halt any attempt to gut the foundation of the federal civil service, whose 2.2 million career employees serve any occupant of the White House without regard to partisanship — and have rights to due process at every level.
In the waning days of his administration, Trump tried to subvert those principles with a sweeping executive order that stripped job protections from employees in policy roles across the government. President Biden revoked that executive order on the third day of his presidency, and the new rule Friday seeks to further protect those officials. The rule comes as Trump continues to dominate the Republican primary field and appears likely to once again capture his party’s nomination for president.
Jason Miller, the deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget, said the administration’s rule seeks to “address the vulnerabilities that others have tried to exploit.”
“The reason we put a nonpartisan civil service in place 140 years ago was so that the American people could trust that their government worked for them, irrespective of which party was in power,” he said in an interview. “This action is about strengthening that foundation so that the people doing the work on behalf of the federal government from administration to administration are dedicated, are capable and are nonpartisan.”
Security footage from Denver’s Buell Theatre Sunday shows the 36-year-old Colorado Republican reaching down for her date’s crotch shortly after blowing a plume of vaporized smoke into the air, which she initially denied doing.
When her date — Aspen bar owner Quinn Gallagher, 46 — in turn appeared to fondle her breast, the congresswoman aggressively grabbed his hand to keep it there.
The heavy petting was just one immature action in a series by Boebert, which led theater staff to boot the pair out before the end of the show.
Multiple audience members complained that the firebrand was smoking, obstructing their view by raising her hands, taking pictures with the flash on and loudly singing.
The lawmaker flipped the ushers off before finally leaving the venue — but not before warning them she would report them over the incident.
“Do you know who I am?” she was quoted as saying.
https://nypost.com/2023/09/15/lauren-boebert-groped-beetlejuice-date-in-heavy-petting-session-before-getting-tossed-out
Law enforcement community mourns LASD deputy killed in ambush
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/law-enforcement-community-mourns-fallen-lasd-deputy-killed-in-ambush-shooting/
Law enforcement, civic leaders and civilians are mourning the slaying of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, who was killed in an ambush shooting in Antelope Valley Saturday evening.
A large procession of first responders followed the transport of Clinkunbroomer’s body from Lancaster to the Coroner’s Office in Boyle Heights overnight.
Overpasses were filled with people paying their respects to the 30-year-old deputy who got engaged just four days ago.
Clinkunbroomer joined LASD’s Palmdale Station in 2018 and also served as a field training officer for a year-and-a-half.
2 models found dead in downtown Los Angeles: what we know
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/2-models-found-dead-in-downtown-los-angeles-what-we-know/
Police are searching for any clues that could help them find the perpetrator or perpetrators involved in the killings of two models in downtown Los Angeles in the span of one week.
The first woman whose death was announced was identified 31-year-old model and real estate agent Maleesa Mooney.
She was found dead in her luxury apartment in Bunker Hill on Tuesday by officers conducting a welfare check after she abruptly stopped answering calls or texts from her family.
https://apnews.com/article/ken-paxton-impeachment-texas-871fb9c57b38fbda5bec5c2e5f280755
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted Saturday of all charges at a historic impeachment trial that divided Republicans over whether to remove a powerful defender of former President Donald Trump after years of scandal and criminal charges.
The verdict reaffirmed Paxton’s durability in America’s biggest red state and is a broader victory for Texas’ hard right after an extraordinary trial that put on display fractures within the GOP nationally heading into the 2024 elections. In the end, Paxton was fully cleared by Senate Republicans, who serve alongside his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton.
Angela Paxton was not allowed to vote. But she attended all two weeks of the trial, including the reading of the verdict, when all but two of her fellow Republican senators consistently voted to acquit her husband on 16 impeachment articles that accused him of misconduct, bribery and corruption.
Ken Paxton, who was absent for most of the proceedings, did not attend the verdict but issued a triumphant statement immediately after the verdict, blasting his Republican rivals who impeached him in the Texas House in May.
The Senate also voted to dismiss four impeachment articles that weren’t taken up at the trial. It clears the way for Paxton to reclaim his role as Texas’ top lawyer, more than three months after his stunning impeachment in the Texas House forced him to temporarily step aside.
The outcome far from ends Paxton’s troubles. He still faces trial on felony securities fraud charges, remains under a separate FBI investigation and is in jeopardy of losing his ability to practice law in Texas because of his baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Furious protestors screaming “close the border” heckled Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Jerry Nadler and other Democrats Friday during a Midtown a press conference on the Big Apple’s escalating migrant crisis.
The New York pols were drowned out by the angry screams as they tried to talk outside the Roosevelt Hotel mega shelter Friday morning.
“Send them back,” Jonathan Rinaldi, a Queens City Council candidate and serial sperm donor, shouted as the chaotic scenes unfolded outside the city’s main migrant intake site.
“Close the border, close the border. Respect the constitution AOC. I am your constituent,” a male protestor cried out.
At one point, a security guard grabbed a screaming Rinaldi, 44, and shoved him behind a barricade.
The protestors – brandishing “Americans first: Vetted & legal migrants only” signs – descended on the hotel at East 45th Street as the lawmakers were addressing the city’s asylum-seeking crisis.
AOC and members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus had just toured the emergency shelter when the chaos erupted.
AOC and Jerry Nadler press conference on Migrants outside the Roosevelt hotel was disrupted by protestors.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats’ press conference on migrants was disrupted by protesters.
Fox News
“What we seek to do is to make sure that all the resources are necessary and that we are joining with the city and state,” Ocasio-Cortez said before a mega-phone wielding man started shouting over the top of her, according to Fox News.
“Illegal immigration is not right! Respect the constitution, close the border,” he screamed.
Ocasio-Cortez tried to continue, listing off solutions to the worsening humanitarian crisis.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/16/us/colorado-police-car-train-suspect-inside-probation/index.html
A police officer in Colorado who placed a handcuffed suspect into a police SUV that was then hit by a train, was sentenced to supervised probation and public service, her attorney said.
Fort Lupton officer Jordan Steinke will serve 30 months of supervised probation and 100 hours of public service, according to attorney Mallory A. Revel.
In July, Judge Timothy Kerns found the former officer guilty of reckless endangerment and third-degree assault, but found her not guilty of a felony charge of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter, CNN previously reported.
“There’s no reasonable doubt that placing a handcuffed person in the back of a patrol car parked on railroad tracks creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm by the train,” Kerns said while reading the verdict.
Steinke had joined a traffic stop in Weld County, Colorado, last September, pulling over Yareni Rios-Gonzalez, who was suspected of brandishing a gun at another driver in a road rage case earlier that evening.
Steinke placed Rios into the cruiser of Platteville police officer Pablo Vasquez, who was the first to arrive on the scene and parked in the middle of a marked railroad crossing.
Body camera and dash camera video released by police showed Rios screaming for help as the train approached and struck the vehicle. She suffered nine broken ribs and a broken arm in addition to other injuries, but survived the crash.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of rioters have been charged, convicted and sentenced for joining the mob attack on the U.S. Capitol. Unlike their cases, Samuel Lazar’s appears to have been resolved in secret — kept under seal with no explanation, even after his release from prison.
Lazar, 37, of Ephrata, Pennsylvania, was arrested in July 2021 on charges that he came to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, dressed in tactical gear and protective goggles, and used chemical spray on officers who were desperately trying to beat back the angry Donald Trump supporters.
There is no public record of a conviction or a sentence in Lazar’s court docket.
But the Bureau of Prisons told The Associated Press that the man was released from federal custody this week after completing a sentence for assaulting or resisting a federal officer. Lazar was sentenced in Washington’s federal court on March 17 to 30 months in prison, according to the Bureau of Prisons, but there’s no public record of such a hearing. He had been jailed since July 2021.
Questions about Lazar’s case have been swirling for months, but the details of his conviction and sentence have not been previously reported.
The Justice Department has refused to say why the case remains under wraps, and attorneys for Lazar did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Associated Press. The judge overseeing Lazar’s case in May rejected a request from media outlets — including the AP — to release any sealed records that may exist.
The case is raising concerns about transparency in the massive Jan. 6 investigation — the largest in Justice Department history. Court hearings and records — including sentencing hearings and plea agreements — are supposed to be open and available to the public and the press unless there’s a compelling need for secrecy.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-mar-lago-staffer-delete-security-footage-tapes-false-rcna104781
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that he did not order a Mar-a-Lago staffer to delete security video at the center of an investigation into whether he mishandled classified documents.
"That's false," Trump told "Meet the Press" moderator Kristen Welker.
Pressed by Welker about whether he would testify to that under oath, Trump said, “Sure, I’m going to — I’ll testify.”
“But more importantly, the tapes weren’t deleted,” he added. “In other words, there was nothing done to them. And they were my tapes. I could have fought them. I didn’t even have to give them the tapes, I don’t think.”
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/donald-trump-jack-smith-gag-order_n_6504d064e4b045a142a4b8c3
WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith is asking the federal judge presiding over Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 case to stop the former president from making inflammatory statements that he said are endangering witnesses and will make finding a fair jury difficult.
“The defendant has repeatedly and widely disseminated public statements attacking the citizens of the District of Columbia, the court, prosecutors, and prospective witnesses,” Smith wrote in a Friday filing to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin. “The defendant knows that when he publicly attacks individuals and institutions, he inspires others to perpetrate threats and harassment against his targets.”
Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment.
Smith cited Trump’s Aug. 23 post on his social media platform after his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, was charged in a separate Georgia case: “THE ELECTION WAS RIGGED & STOLLEN. HOW SAD FOR OUR COUNTRY. MAGA!”
He also included in the filing an Aug. 5 post in which Trump attacked former Vice President Mike Pence, who refused to do as Trump demanded and declare him the winner of the 2020 election. “He’s delusional, and now he wants to show he’s a tough guy,” Trump wrote.
Smith provided several examples of witnesses, whom Trump supporters have targeted for harassment and threats, whose names were blacked out in the filing. Details in the filing, though, suggest that Smith is citing Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, two Atlanta elections workers whom Trump wrongly accused of fraud, as well as Chris Krebs, the DHS official in charge of election security whom Trump fired after Krebs said there had been no significant fraud.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) vented his frustration about the hard-line conservatives holding up appropriations, dropping an expletive as he dared his fiercest critics to attempt a vote to oust him.
During a closed-door conference meeting Thursday, McCarthy addressed an uptick in threats from members to call a motion to vacate the chair — a move to force a vote on ousting the Speaker.
“If you want to file a motion to vacate, then file the f‑‑‑ing motion,” McCarthy said, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.) recounted.
McCarthy’s comments follow Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) earlier this week explicitly threatening to call a motion to vacate if McCarthy does not follow through with a number of spending priorities and votes on bills that his detractors were promised in January.
And it also comes after hard-line conservatives, who have been battling with GOP leadership for months over topline numbers in spending bills, forced GOP leaders to punt consideration of a Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill Wednesday.
> Revised Trump ethics filings show massive shifts in the value of some Trump entities.
> Trump claims to own $2.8 million in Ethereum cryptocurrency and $100,000 to $250,000 in gold bars.
> Trump did not break out earnings on deals for trademarks he's registered in Iran, China, Ukraine, and other foreign countries.
For decades, the former president has structured his finances in such a way as to make that question almost impossible to answer. His assets are divided among a web of interlocking LLCs. Their stated value fluctuates wildly, rising when the Trump Organization approaches banks to seek credit, and then declining when it's time to pay taxes. Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, has alleged that Trump's creative approach to bookkeeping amounts to fraud. But that doesn't seem to have convinced Trump that he needs to stick with one set of numbers.
Two sets of Trump's 2023 financial disclosures show vastly different valuations for a number of Trump entities. The first disclosure, filed in April, was Trump's required filing as a presidential candidate. The second one, in July, revised the statements made by the first.
The most extreme example is TAG Air, Inc. The company is one of a number of Trump entities associated with the former president's Boeing 757-200. In an April filing with the Office of Government Ethics, Trump claimed that the TAG Air had a value of $1,001 or less. Then, in a revised July filing, Trump valued TAG Air at between $5 million and $25 million.
In the mere three months that elapsed between the two disclosures, Trump's estimate of TAG Air's value jumped by a factor of 5,000 or more. It's unclear what prompted Trump's accountants to make such a drastic change. Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's campaign, did not respond to a request for comment.
>https://www.foxnews.com/official-polls/fox-news-poll-more-think-trump-mental-soundness-than-biden
“In the Biden-Trump matchup, support for Biden is down among several key constituencies compared to fall 2020, including suburban women (down 12 points), women (-11), Black voters (-10), voters under age 45 (-7), and Hispanic voters (-5).
That support moved to Trump’s column. Compared to late October 2020, his standing has improved among suburban women (up 13 points), women (+10), and Blacks (+7), Hispanics (+7), and those under age 45 (+6).
Independents prefer Trump over Biden by 10 points. In late October 2020, they favored Biden by 20 points”
Concerning Trump’s legal issues:
“Still, voters are more than twice as likely to expect Trump’s legal issues will hurt (44%) rather than help (20%) him in the general election. One third think they won’t matter (34%).
Views are more mixed among Republicans, with 34% saying the legal issues could help Trump, 27% saying hurt, and 36% no difference. Half of independents (49%) think Trump’s legal difficulties will hurt, while 10% think they will help.”
Trump has seen the worst it can get and he is still polling better than Biden at his peak. Trump’s legal issues will clear up as Biden’s impeachment inquiry evolves. Let that sink in: Trump was polling better than Biden WITH FOUR INDICTMENTS and Biden’s inquiry was just announced a day ago.
Remains of two adults found so far in third excavation of Tulsa Race Massacre burial site
The remains of two adults have been found in an archaeological dig at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, amid efforts to find unidentified victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
At the ongoing third excavation, which began earlier in September, archaeologists have exposed 22 grave shafts, among which two remains were discovered.
“We have two adults in simple wood caskets and one of those is being exhumed today,” Kary Stackelbeck, the state archaeologist, said in a video posted Wednesday to the 1921 Graves Facebook page, which was created by the city with live video feeds and updates on the excavation.
The second adult was expected to be exhumed Thursday, Stackelbeck said.
Investigators have been using limited information regarding individuals buried in the cemetery from death certificates and funeral homes, according to Stackelbeck.
From this information, they have been able to determine they’re searching for “a number of adult male individuals that were supposed to be buried in simple wood coffins here in Oaklawn cemetery,” Stackelbeck said. silly baker hughes color negrows white power
>But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit granted Trump an expedited appeal on the question of whether he can claim absolute presidential immunity as a defense.
>The order is a partial victory for Trump after a series of significant losses in lawsuits that Carroll filed against him related to her allegation of being raped by him in the mid-1990s in New York.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/13/trump-granted-expedited-appeal-in-carroll-rape-defamation-case-on-question-of-presidential-immunity.html
A federal appeals court on Wednesday denied a bid by Donald Trump to delay a defamation lawsuit by the writer E. Jean Carroll, but granted him an expedited appeal on the question of whether he can claim absolute presidential immunity as a defense.
The order by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals is a partial victory for Trump after a series of significant losses in two lawsuits that Carroll filed against him related to her allegation of being raped by him in the mid-1990s in a New York department store.
Barring further action by that appeals court or the Supreme Court, the second of Carroll’s suits remains scheduled for trial in mid-January in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
But the 2nd Circuit in its order Wednesday consolidated two pending appeals by Trump and ordered his lawyers and Carroll’s attorney to file legal briefs on the dispute over the next 35 days.
“The appeals will be assigned to the first available panel to hear the cases on the merits,” the court said.
That means a panel of three appeals judges could hear arguments by mid-October, and potentially rule before the trial is due to start.
One company wey dey produce drink for Poland don appoint wetin dem describe as di world first artificial intelligence robot as ‘experimental’ chief executive officer, Reuters report.
Di company, Dictador, tok say di technology wey her name na Mika still dey on probation but she go lead di company growth into one-off collectables, communication or even strategy planning.
Mika tok say she dey bring sometin to di job wey human being no fit bring.
“My decision-making process rely on extensive data analysis and to align wit di company strategic objectives. Personal bias no dey, na to ensure unbiased and strategic choices wey prioritise di best interest of di organisation.
President of Dictador Europe Marek Szoldrowski confirm say Mika na di CEO and add say data-driven capabilities and oda tins wey she dey bring to di company na great advantage for dem.
E tok say AI no fit fully replace human executives but di world no fit ignore dem.
“Na bright future, and we dey live for very dynamic-changing world, so na quest. For us na quest, wetin go be di future of di companies like our own. So we simply say e worth am to involve AI.
Szoldrowski tok say concern no dey say artificial intelligence fit hire or fire pesin. E tok say significant decisions still dey for di hand of humans executive team.
Mika tok say as robot CEO, she no really get weekend and she dey on 24/7 ready to make executive decisions and ginger some AI magic.
“But hey, I no mind. I come hear to help Dictador take ova di world,” she tok.
Dis no be di first time wey robot go dey make headline.
Last year October, tech billionaire Elon Musk bin show prototype of one humanoid robot wey im Tesla electric car company dey develop.
Optimus bin appear on stage for one Silicon Valley event, wia e wave to di audience and raise im knees.
Di CEO say di robot na work-in-progress but fit dey on sale to di public in some years time.
Jenna Ellis – the Donald Trump lawyer who like the former president faces criminal charges regarding attempted election subversion in his defeat by Joe Biden in 2020 – says she will not vote for him in the future because he is a “malignant narcissist” who cannot admit mistakes.
“I simply can’t support him for elected office again,” Ellis said. “Why I have chosen to distance is because of that frankly malignant narcissistic tendency to simply say that he’s never done anything wrong.”
Ellis, 38, was speaking on her show on American Family Radio, a rightwing evangelical network run by the American Family Association, a non-profit that by its own description has been “on the frontlines of America’s culture war” since 1977.
Ellis was one of 18 Trump associates charged with him in Georgia over attempts to overturn Biden’s victory there. Charged with violating state anti-racketeering laws and solicitation of violation of an oath by a public officer, she was granted $100,000 bail and pleaded not guilty.
Trump pleaded not guilty to 13 racketeering and conspiracy charges.
Denying all wrongdoing and claiming political persecution, he also faces four federal counts related to election subversion; 40 federal counts related to retention of classified information; 34 state counts in New York over hush-money payments; and civil cases including a $250m lawsuit lodged by the New York attorney general over his business affairs and a defamation claim arising from a rape allegation a judge said was “substantially true”.
>Federal prosecutors have indicted Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, on gun charges, court documents show.
>Biden was indicted in Delaware federal court on three counts tied to the possession of a gun while using narcotics.
>Two counts are tied to Biden allegedly filing a form claiming that he was not using illegal drugs at the time he purchased a Colt Cobra revolver in October 2018. The third count alleges that he possessed a firearm while using a narcotic.
>The historic indictment against the son of a sitting president comes after a plea deal that might have ended a years-long probe into Hunter Biden fell apart and just as House Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry in an effort to seek bank records and other documents from the president and his son.
Three separate charges carrying 5 year minimums each
Womp womp womp
The last three men to stand trial in connection with a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer have been found not guilty on all counts.
Eric Molitor and twin brothers William Null and Michael Null were among the 14 men charged in state and federal court over the alleged plan to kidnap the governor at her vacation home in Antrim County in 2020, largely over the Democratic governor's strict COVID-19 shutdowns.
Molitor, 39, and the Null brothers, both 41, had pleaded not guilty to state charges of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegally possessing firearms.
The Antrim County jury reached its verdict on Friday after about a day of deliberations following a three-week trial. Molitor broke down in tears of relief after his verdict was read.
During closing arguments on Wednesday, prosecutor James Rossiter told the jury that the defendants were going to help the plot leaders "bring terrorism to Antrim County."
"If you're going to help somebody, knowing that they planned a terrorist act, that's wrong," Rossiter said.
Americans ramped up spending last month as prices for gasoline spiked: retail sales rose a larger-than-expected 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Why it matters: The data, which is not adjusted for inflation, shows consumers spent more as costs at the pump surged. But excluding those costs, shoppers still look resilient in the face of higher prices.
By the numbers: The jump in retail sales is much larger than the 0.1% monthly increase that economists expected.
It's also slightly larger than the 0.5% increase in July, which was revised a tick lower.
Between the lines: Consumers increased spending notably at gasoline stations last month: up more than 5% in August, a byproduct of higher gas prices.
Still, stripping out spending at gasoline stations and auto shops, consumer spending rose by 0.2% last month — better than the decline of 0.1% economists anticipated.
The bottom line: Economists anticipate that a slew of factors — including the resumption of student loan payments — will weigh on consumer spending in the months to come.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/14/business/auto-workers-strike-deadline/index.html
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain on Thursday night said the union will strike all the Big Three automakers – GM, Ford and Stellantis – at the same time as of midnight if the companies do not reach tentative labor deals with the auto workers.
“Tonight for the first time in our history we will strike all three of the big three at once,” Fain said in a Facebook live transmission. He identified three assembly plants for targeted strikes: a GM plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Stellantis plant in Toledo; and a Ford plant in Wayne, Michigan.
Even with only three local unions on strike, though, production could still grind to a halt at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which builds vehicles under the Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler brands for North America.
The stakes for a strike — whether at one company, two or all three — are high for the union and beyond: disruptions to the local and national economies, possible financial hardship by the workers themselves and, perhaps more than anything, a hint at the future of manufacturing jobs in America.
“If we need to go all out, we will,” Fain said during the Facebook event. “Everything is on the table.”
The union and the automakers were negotiating down to the wire on Thursday. GM made a new offer on Thursday afternoon, including a 20% raise, matching Ford’s offer.
Ford Thursday night blamed the union for the impasse at the bargaining table.
Tensions are rising quickly in Lampedusa -- a small Italian island located off the coast of Sicily -- after local officials said around 6,700 migrants arrived this week, with many asking to be relocated to other European Union countries.
The island, which has been a destination for migrants due to its proximity to Africa, is struggling to keep up with the flow of migrants coming in, with reception centers at full capacity and emergency workers overwhelmed.
At least 120 boats reached the southern Italian shore this week alone, said Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister of Italy and the minister of infrastructure and transport, bringing in a total number of migrants -- including 257 minors -- that outnumbers the entire population of Italy's southernmost island.
"We are exhausted, help us. We need people and aid," said Lampedusa Mayor Filippo Mannino.
People have to know.
Jack Smith's office says Trump's "disparaging and inflammatory attacks" have spurred threats against witnesses and threaten the court process.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/special-counsel-asks-narrow-gag-order-trump-election-interference-case-rcna105365
By Ryan J. Reilly and Daniel Barnes
WASHINGTON — Citing threats against individuals former President Donald Trump has targeted, special counsel Jack Smith is asking a federal judge for a narrowly tailored gag order that restricts the 2024 presidential candidate from making certain extrajudicial statements about the election interference case brought against him.
A redacted copy of a government filing — released Friday, after an order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan — comes in connection with the election interference case, one of four criminal cases the former president is facing, two of which are federal.
“The defendant has an established practice of issuing inflammatory public statements targeted at individuals or institutions that present an obstacle or challenge to him,” the special counsel's office wrote.
The government said Trump "made clear his intent to issue public attacks related to this case when, the day after his arraignment, he posted a threatening message on Truth Social."
Trump's Aug. 4 post read: "IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I'M COMING AFTER YOU!"
Trump, the office wrote, "has made good on his threat," spreading "disparaging and inflammatory public posts on Truth Social on a near-daily basis regarding the citizens of the District of Columbia, the Court, prosecutors, and prospective witnesses."
Dum, dum, dum, honey, what have you done?
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound of my gun
Dum, dum, dum, honey, what have you done?
Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound
Janie's got a gun
Janie's got a gun
Her whole world's come undone
From lookin' straight at the sun
What did her daddy do?
President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has been indicted by special counsel David Weiss in connection with a gun he purchased in 2018, the first time in US history the Justice Department has charged the child of a sitting president.
The three charges include making false statements on a federal firearms form and possession of a firearm as a prohibited person.
It’s an extraordinary turn of events after his original plea deal collapsed and potentially sets up a dramatic trial in the middle of his father’s 2024 reelection bid.
House Republicans wrestle with key decisions as they plot next steps on impeachment inquiry
The White House thought the Hunter Biden legal drama would end this summer, but a plea deal reached with Weiss to resolve the matter without charges collapsed over the summer amid scrutiny from a federal judge. House Republicans have also announced an impeachment inquiry into the president in relation to Hunter Biden’s business ventures.
Court filings show that a summons was issued Thursday for him to appear in court for an initial appearance on the charges, though it is unclear when and where the initial appearance would take place.
Hunter Biden is currently in California, a source familiar told CNN, adding that any plan for a self-surrender or initial appearance, including the date and location, still needs be worked out.
Republican politicians, Lowell told CNN’s Erin Burnett on “OutFront,” “have been pressuring this US attorney to do something to vindicate their political position.”
“And guess what? They succeeded,” he added.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/14/politics/hunter-biden/index.html
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy cited a string of allegations against President Joe Biden related to his son’s foreign business dealings in opening a formal impeachment inquiry into the president Tuesday—though none of the claims have produced solid evidence of illegality on Biden’s part, and McCarthy was careful to frame some of them as accusations.
Key facts: McCarthy on Tuesday confirmed reports earlier in the day that he planned to endorse an impeachment effort backed by hard-right Republicans, telling reporters he has directed the House Oversight, Ways and Means and Judiciary Committees to formally open a probe.
Phone Calls: McCarthy cited testimony from witnesses who told lawmakers Biden joined on “multiple phone calls and had multiple interactions, dinners” with his son’s business partners, which the speaker alleged led to millions of dollars in payments and cars to Hunter Biden and his associates.
Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer testified to the House Oversight Committee in July that he witnessed then-Vice President Biden and his son have multiple conversations in the presence of Hunter’s business partners, including on speakerphone
The claims are similar to ones made in a 2020 New York Post story that claimed Biden had contact with his son’s Ukrainian business partners, though the president has repeatedly denied involvement in his family’s business dealings, a denial McCarthy said Biden “lied about.”
Published: Sep 12, 2023 at 11:05 AM
Updated: Sep 12, 2023 at 04:01 PM
Grant Gordon
https://www.nfl.com/news/jets-qb-aaron-rodgers-suffered-torn-achilles-will-miss-remainder-of-season
Aaron Rodgers' aspirations for resurrecting the New York Jets lasted just four snaps.
Rodgers' and the Jets' cruelest fears were realized on Tuesday as an MRI revealed he suffered a torn left Achilles in Monday night's game against the Buffalo Bills and will miss the remainder of the 2023 season, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported.
Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed Rodgers' injury when he met with the New York media on Tuesday afternoon. Rodgers was officially placed on injured reserve later in the day, the team announced.
Zackey Rahimi is challenging a longstanding federal law barring domestic abusers from possessing guns. But this previously undisclosed incident underlines advocates’ fears that allowing abusers to retain firearms will lead to more violence against women and undermine public safety.
“This order should have prohibited him from having a gun,” said David Pucino, deputy chief counsel at Giffords Law Center, a gun reform nonprofit. “The fact that he had a gun allowed him to go ahead and use it, and fire it at yet another woman.”
The case is one of dozens in which lower courts have scrapped well established gun restrictions to comply with the sweeping reinterpretation of Second Amendment rights penned by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas last year.
Under the standard described by Thomas, the only gun restrictions permitted by the Constitution are those that existed in some form historically dating back to an unspecified period some time between 1791 ― when the framers signed the Bill of Rights ― and the end of the Civil War.
Rahimi pled guilty in 2021 to possessing guns in violation of a protective order for domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, with whom he has a young child, after a search of his bedroom turned up a pistol with an extended magazine on the nightstand and a semi-automatic rifle under the bed. A large body of social science research indicates that male abusers with access to firearms are far more likely to kill their female partners.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/zackey-rahimi-shooting_n_6500dd56e4b008b66733702b
"‘Every’ Democrat agrees Biden is ‘too old to run’ for re-election: MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough"
>https://nypost.com/2023/09/13/joe-scarborough-say-every-democrat-says-biden-is-too-old-to-run/
"“Every” Democrat MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough has spoken to privately says President Joe Biden is too old to run for re-election, the “Morning Joe” host said Wednesday.
Scarborough made the revelation during a discussion with Washington Post foreign affairs columnist David Ignatius about his recent editorial calling on the 80-year-old president to not run in 2024 — an opinion also shared by three-quarters of Americans and two-thirds of left-wing voters.
“[Co-host] Mika [Brzezinski] and I, everybody we talk to, every political discussion, all it talks a lot about Trump, but when it comes to Joe Biden, people say, ‘Man, he’s too old to run, isn’t he?’” Scarborough said on air.
“When I say every discussion, I don’t mean 99% of the discussion — every discussion."
>every discussion
Joe says it's Joever for Joe.
Biden accused Ziegler of violating California's computer fraud laws.
ByLucien Bruggeman
September 13, 2023, 11:59 AM
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hunter-biden-sues-former-trump-aide-garrett-ziegler/story?id=103155470
Attorneys for Hunter Biden on Wednesday filed suit against a former Trump White House aide over his alleged role in publishing online a trove of emails and embarrassing images purportedly belonging to the president's son.
The 13-page suit, filed in federal court in California, accuses Garrett Ziegler of improperly "accessing, tampering with, manipulating, altering, copying and damaging computer data that they do not own" in violation of the state's computer fraud laws.
Ziegler, a former aide to White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, has emerged as one of the Biden family's most outspoken critics, often using crude language to chide President Joe Biden and his embattled son online.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/seattle-police-body-cam-video-discussing-woman-hit-by-officer-rcna104618
Daniel Auderer can be heard in the clip laughing about the woman's death and discussing details of the car crash in a call with the Seattle Police Officers Guild's president.
Seattle police union rank-and-file leaders are under investigation after an officer was recorded on his body camera appearing to make light of the death of a woman who was killed by another officer this year, saying that she “had limited value.”
The Seattle Police Department released footage Monday from Officer Daniel Auderer’s body camera. Auderer left his body camera on after responding to the South Lake Union neighborhood, where a marked patrol vehicle driven by another officer struck and killed Jaahnavi Kandula on Jan. 23. That officer had been responding to a “priority one call,” police said a day after the incident, when he hit Kandula, 23, who had been in a crosswalk.
In the brief clip, Auderer, who is vice president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, is driving and can be heard discussing details of the incident in a call with the guild’s president, Mike Solan.
Auderer said that the officer whose vehicle struck Kandula had been “going 50” and that “that’s not out of control.” The Seattle Times, citing a police investigation report that was referred to prosecutors for review last month, reported that the officer had been driving at 74 mph and Kandula was thrown more than 100 feet. Seattle police would not confirm details of the collision Tuesday, telling NBC News to submit a public records request for information about the speed at which the officer was traveling, whether he had his sirens on, whether he had faced any discipline and his employment status. The department also would not comment about the phone call between Auderer and Solan.
Below is an abridged list of evidence collected so far of biden's corruption
This is "The Bidening: Part VI"
https://nypost.com/2023/09/12/heres-what-the-biden-family-business-scandal-impeachment-inquiry-would-look-like/
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy launched an impeachment inquiry Tuesday into President Biden — turbocharging congressional power to acquire documents and testimony about Biden’s role in his family’s foreign business dealings while he was vice president.
House Republicans already have issued an array of demands to executive branch agencies relating to Joe Biden’s involvement with first son Hunter Biden and first brother James Biden’s international dealings — in many cases setting September deadlines that could soon escalate into litigation
An Oversight Committee-led investigation this year found that the Biden family and their allies brought in at least $20 million from foreign sources, including Hunter Biden’s business associates in China, Russia and Ukraine.
However, an impeachment inquiry would give congressional investigators greater legal authority to access Biden family financial records and to go to court to enforce subpoenas.
House Republicans have uncovered serious and credible allegations into President Biden’s conduct. Taken together, these allegations paint a picture of a culture of corruption,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said at the Capitol Tuesday when announcing the historic proceedings ahead of the 2024 election.
A poll released last week by CNN found that 61% of the American public believes Joe Biden was involved with his son’s dealings, despite his blanket denials — and 42% believe he acted illegally.
A Harvard-Harris poll in May similarly found that 53% of the public believes Joe Biden “was involved with his son in an illegal influence peddling scheme.
>https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/09/13/politics/mitt-romney-not-running-reelection/index.html
“CNN
—
Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney announced Wednesday that he will not run for reelection to the Senate and called for a “new generation of leaders” as he criticized both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
In a video message, Romney outlined a range of what he described as critical issues, including rising national debt and the climate crisis, and said “neither President Biden nor former President Trump are leading their party to confront those issues.”
The Utah Republican’s decision will mark the departure of a distinctive voice from the Senate of a lawmaker willing to take on his own party. Romney, who was the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, has long been a rare member of the Republican party who has been an outspoken critic of Trump.”
Bush - exiled and disgraced, an official Democrat bashing Trump.
Cheney - exiled and disgraced, an official Democrat bashing Trump
>Romney - exiled and disgraced, an official Democrat bashing Trump
Paul Ryan - exiled, disgraced, irrelevant
McCain - Dead
McCarthy - On a tight leash and actually working for the people
Graham - spineless fence sitter thought he was safe from the persecution by DNC. Major wake up call for him. Remains to be seen how he acts in the future
All that’s left is McConnell and it’s not looking good for him with those freeze up strokes on camera.
Trump has kept close tabs on the matter, the sources said – including speaking by phone with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House GOP conference chair, about the party’s impeachment strategy shortly after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced on Tuesday that he is calling on his committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into Biden.
The former president also had dinner Sunday with Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene at his New Jersey golf club, where the two discussed the impeachment inquiry, a source familiar with the conversation told CNN.
The inquiry came amid increasing pressure from McCarthy’s right flank to pursue Biden’s impeachment, even as Republicans have yet to prove allegations he directly profited off his son’s foreign business deals.
Two sources close to Trump insisted that while he had spoken to members about impeachment and kept tabs on House Republicans’ progress on the matter, he was not intensely focused on it and was not forcing the issue.
However, multiple sources said that whether he was forcing the issue or not, the impeachment was inevitably linked to Trump.
“President Trump has gone on his social media account and said that we should be impeaching President Biden. Kevin McCarthy said we have an impeachment inquiry. You draw the conclusion,” Rep. Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, told CNN. “When President Trump speaks, there’s a whole a lot of activists that get on board and the activists make their members aware of that. And so directly or indirectly, this impeachment inquiry was a result of President Trump’s pressure.”
https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/13/politics/trump-house-biden-impeachment/index.html
"CIA tried to pay off analysts to bury findings that COVID lab leak was likely: whistleblower"
>https://nypost.com/2023/09/12/cia-tried-to-pay-off-analysts-to-bury-covid-lab-leak-findings-whistleblower/
"The Central Intelligence Agency offered to pay off analysts in order to bury their findings that COVID-19 most likely leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, new whistleblower testimony to Congress alleges.
A senior-level CIA officer told House committee leaders that his agency tried to pay off six analysts who found SARS-CoV-2 likely originated in a Wuhan lab if they changed their position and said the virus jumped from animals to humans, according to a letter sent Tuesday to CIA Director William Burns.
Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) and Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) requested all documents, communications and pay info from the CIA’s COVID Discovery Team by Sept. 26."
>“The whistleblower further contends that to come to the eventual public determination of uncertainty, the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position,” they said, noting that the analysts were “experienced officers with significant scientific expertise.”
>Wenstrup and Turner also asked for documents and communications between the CIA and other federal agencies, including the State Department, the FBI, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Energy Department.
https://nypost.com/2023/09/12/susanna-gibson-blasts-opponents-for-gutter-politics-after-sex-videos-surface/
Democratic Virginia House of Delegates candidate Susanna Gibson blasted her opponents for engaging in “the worst gutter politics” after videos surfaced of her and her husband performing sex acts online for cash.
Gibson, a 40-year-old mother of two, who is running in a hotly contested race to represent the state’s District 57 hosted several live webcam shows on the adult streaming website Chaturbate, the Washington Post revealed in a bombshell report on Monday.
The nurse practitioner has since railed against her political opponents, accusing them of playing dirty politics.
She called the controversy “an illegal invasion of my privacy designed to humiliate me.”
“My political opponents and their Republican allies have proven they’re willing to commit a sex crime to attack me and my family because there’s no line they won’t cross to silence women when they speak up,” Gibson told CNN in a statement on Tuesday
White house memo claims any news organizations are doing a "disservice" to the American people covering it in a neutral manner like “Republicans say X, but the White House says Y.”.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/white-house-urges-news-networks-to-increase-scrutiny-of-gop-s-biden-impeachment-inquiry/ar-AA1gEWxR
White House urges news networks to increase scrutiny of GOP’s Biden impeachment inquiry
White House has sent a memo to news outlets, urging them to ramp up scrutiny of the House Republicans impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
The memo, titled “It’s Time For The Media To Do More To Scrutinize House Republicans’ Demonstrably False Claims That They’re Basing Impeachment Stunt On,” was sent by Ian Sams, White House spokesperson for oversight and investigations.
The attempt to pressure the media comes a day after Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) moved Tuesday to direct House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into Biden, and underscores how the impeachment drive is likely to be a major factor as the White House and GOP leaders gear up for next year’s elections.
The Hill was among the organizations that received the memo, which criticized the press for focusing more on the process of the impeachment drive in the House than on its substance.
The White House memo argues that news organizations are doing a disservice to the American public by covering impeachment just as a “a process story,” like “Republicans say X, but the White House says Y.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/12/hunter-biden-fbi-transcript-weiss-sobocinski/
It has been less than 12 hours since Republicans announced they will have an "impeachment inquiry" into President Joe Biden, and a transcript has leaked from an interview with one of the people that disputes a main GOP witness in related matters.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday afternoon that the two IRS employees attempting to claim legal "whistleblower status" testified before the House Judiciary Committee attacking U.S. Attorney David Weiss. According to the claims by one of the men, Gary Shapley, Weiss blocked the IRS investigation into Hunter Biden and his taxes.
The president's son was a drug addict and during those years he didn't file his taxes. He later filed them and paid them.
Shapley testified that Weiss told FBI and IRS agents during a meeting that Weiss was not a “deciding official on whether charges are filed.”
Thomas Sobocinski, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Baltimore field office, who was also in the meeting, said he never heard Weiss say that. In fact, it was his understanding Weiss never "needed approval" to bring charges.
“I went into that meeting believing he had the authority, and I have left that meeting believing he had the authority to bring charges," said Sobocinski.
He didn't have any other information to dispute or confirm claims made by Shapley in the hearing. He also said he felt like his account differed from Shapley's, adding he spoke with “various members of the team” about the discrepancies.
“I wanted to make sure that if my team felt that there was any difference in — if they view this differently, then that becomes an operational matter for me to want to get — getting resolution,” he said.
A spokesman for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) appeared to dispute the testimony. He claimed the agent was "wholly consistent throughout their disclosures to Congress."
Senate Republicans say the House GOP doesn’t appear to have enough evidence to pursue impeachment proceedings against President Biden and are skeptical about the prospect of setting up an inquiry with multiple committees already investigating the president and his son, Hunter Biden.
Republican senators are highly skeptical that Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) could even muster enough votes in the House to pass an article of impeachment and warn it would be quickly dismissed if it ever got to the Senate, possibly without going to a full trial.
Their message to House conservatives is simple: Don’t distract from the issues where Republicans will have the upper hand in the 2024 election — the economy and border security — to pursue a fruitless impeachment effort.
“It really comes to how do you prioritize your time? I don’t know of anybody who believes [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer [D-N.Y.] will take it up and actually have a trial and convict a sitting president,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a member of the Senate GOP leadership team.
Cornyn noted that House Republicans could investigate the Bidens without launching a formal impeachment inquiry because they control the lower chamber.
“Since they got the majority, they got the chairmen of the various committees, they could do all of that now without going to a formal inquiry,” he said. “Members of the House don’t really care what I think. All I can tell you, it’s unlikely to be successful in the Senate.
“Rather than doing something they know is unlikely to end the way they would like, maybe they want to emphasize other things.”
Speaking to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry, Buck turned directly to Trump for blame.
The host began by mentioning the appropriations bill and the impending threat of a government shutdown.
"Why start impeachment now? Why not get the government spending crisis resolved first?" she asked.
"We should," Buck confessed. "We should absolutely focus on the government spending. I think what Kevin McCarthy did in this situation was to take the vote away from the House floor, have the Oversight Committee continue the work that they have been doing for a number of months and really focus on spending. This move is to focus on spending. We should have been focused on spending in June. We should have been passing bills to get the 12 bills passed in time."
Buck had previously said that there is no evidence to confirm any of the attacks being made against Biden.
Mitchell asked if all of this is because McCarthy can't control the far-right of his caucus and he's desperately trying to hold onto the speaker's gavel.
"I think President Trump has made it known through his social media account that he wants to see President Biden impeached. I think that has really stirred the base of support in the Republican Party," Buck said. "I think a lot of members have reacted to that. I think there's, in the Republican base, a real desire to see this move forward."
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-dictates-biden-impeachment/
>A boss has gone viral on social media after sharing an interview process he calls the "coffee cup test" to filter candidates in job interviews, with some users accusing him of playing mind games with jobseekers.
>Trent Innes, a chief growth officer at SiteMinder, appeared on The Venture Podcast with Lambros Photios in 2019 when he was still the managing director of Xero Australia to discuss his hiring strategy. Innes said he only hires people if they offer to take their coffee cups to the kitchen at the end of an interview.
>In the podcast, Innes explained that he always takes candidates for a walk to the kitchen to offer them a drink whether it be water, coffee, a cup of tea, or a soft drink.
>"Then we take that back and have our interview and one thing I'm always looking for is at the end of the interview is that the person doing the interview wants to take their empty cup back to the kitchen," he said.
>"You can develop skills, you can gain knowledge, and gain experience but it really does come down to attitude," Innes told Photios about why such a minor task is so significant to him.
>He said: "What I was trying to find was what was the lowest level task I could find that regardless of what you do inside the organization was still super important."
>Most candidates did offer to take back their cup with only a few that didn't, Innes noted at the time.
>The podcast episode has now resurfaced on social media, being shared on both TikTok and Reddit, with some users saying that Innes' strategy is manipulative.
https://www.businessinsider.com/job-interviews-boss-coffee-cup-test-mind-games-2023-9
Renowned archaeologist, Jaime Maussan, who has led investigations into alien phenomena for decades, stood with fellow scientists to unveil two corpses in what he called a 'watershed' event for humanity in front of Mexican Congress on Tuesday.
The researchers made the extraordinary claim that the corpses, presented in windowed boxes and recovered from Cusco in Peru, were not part of 'our terrestrial evolution', with 30 per cent of their genetic composition still 'unknown', according to Mexican media.
Carbon dating by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) found the bodies, pictured with three-fingered hands, no teeth and stereoscopic vision, were more than 1,000 years old, said Maussan .
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12512509/alien-mexico-congress-corpses.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-Xx0EPScew
>https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4199641-mccarthy-directs-house-committees-to-open-biden-impeachment-inquiry/
"Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday directed House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden based on the House GOP’s investigations of his family’s foreign business dealings and the prosecution of his son Hunter Biden.
“Today, I am directing our House committees to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden,” McCarthy said in a brief statement at the Capitol on Tuesday."
IT'S JOEVER
>POLLS TANKING
>WHISTLE BLOWERS KEEP COMING
>HUNTER'S PLEA DEAL SHREDDED, MORE INDICTMENTS COMING
>IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY OFFICIALLY STARTED
https://thehill.com/business/4198264-white-house-prepares-for-sharp-rise-in-poverty-rate/
The White House is preparing for a sharp rise in the U.S. poverty rate following the end of pandemic-era child tax credit (CTC) expansion.
President Biden and Democrats fought unsuccessfully last year to extend an expanded version of the CTC that started during the depths of the pandemic and temporarily lifted millions of children out of poverty.
The Census Bureau is set to release Tuesday its annual report on poverty, income, and health insurance. The new poverty data will be a hit for Biden, whose reelection campaign could hinge on how Americans feel about the economy.
The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) said in a blog post Friday that it expects a “sharp rise” in the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which measures income and benefits plus government programs such as tax refunds and food stamps.
To “understand why this is likely to happen in 2022, it is crucial to remember what happened in 2021,” the CEA argued.
A Democratic-controlled Congress passed the beefed-up CTC in 2021, boosting the credit eligible parents could receive to $3,000 per child over the age of 6 and $3,600 per child under the age of 6.
The enhanced CTC alone lifted almost 3 million children out of poverty in 2021 and cut the child poverty rate by more than 40 percent in 2021, the CEA wrote.
The expansion expired in December 2021, and Democrats have not been able to strike a deal with Republicans to bring it back since.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), who has championed expanding the program, said that the census data will show that Congress should have not allowed the expanded credit to expire.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/12/business/media/fox-shareholder-lawsuit.html
New York City’s pension funds sued the Fox Corporation and its board on Tuesday, accusing the company of neglecting its duty to shareholders by opening itself up to defamation lawsuits from the persistent broadcasting of falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election.
The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, is the most significant shareholder action since Fox settled a blockbuster defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems in April for $787.5 million. The city’s five pension funds represent nearly 800,000 current and retired workers and are worth $253 billion.
“We are shareholders at a company that, unfortunately, has a longstanding practice of allowing conspiracy theories that its executives and its board know are false to be repeated over and over and over again, despite the very clear and present risk of defamation lawsuits eroding shareholder value,” said Brad Lander, New York City’s comptroller, who oversees the pension funds. “And there has been no effort to make governance reforms.”
The funds are long-term shareholders of Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, a spokeswoman for the comptroller said. The funds held about 857,000 shares, valued at $28.10 million, as of July 31.
The State of Oregon, representing Oregon’s public employees retirement fund, joined the New York City funds in their lawsuit against Fox.
A Fox Corporation spokesman declined to comment.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Delaware, was shared with The New York Times. It will remain under seal at the court for five days to allow time for redactions before it is made public.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/this-tough-on-crime-republican-has-showed-a-frightening-laxity-regarding-sex-offenders/ar-AA1gC9um
In Kentucky, former federal prosecutor Russell Coleman is seeking the GOP nomination for state attorney general. The pro-Donald Trump Coleman is running on a tough-on-crime platform and has been railing against "woke prosecutors."
But according to The New Republic's Tori Otten, Coleman showed "frightening laxity regarding sex offenders" during his time as a U.S. attorney.
"When Coleman unveiled his campaign for attorney general in May," Otten explains in an article published on September 12, "he highlighted a commitment to be tough on crime — a popular Republican talking point…. He has repeatedly stressed his commitment to 'protect Kentucky families' and support police efforts to put criminals in jail, citing his past experience as U.S. attorney…. But while serving as U.S. attorney, Coleman offered at least 48 plea agreements to people accused of exploitation of or sexual offenses against children."
Otten continues, "Nearly half of those agreements included dismissing certain charges or recommended sentences far weaker than those the judge ultimately issued, the latter of which rarely happens."
The reporter notes that in the United States v. Leasor, defendant Brian Leasor was accused of accessing child pornography.
According to Otten, "Coleman offered him a deal: In exchange for Leasor pleading guilty, the charge of attempted receipt of child pornography would be dropped."
In the United States v. Beauchamp, defendant Steven Beauchamp was arrested for sending sexually explicit images to an undercover police officer he believed was a 14-year-old girl. Coleman, Otten reports, "offered Beauchamp a plea agreement for between 15 and 17.5 years in prison and no supervised release."
CDC Director Mandy Cohen signed off on a recommendation formed by an independent panel of advisors to the agency earlier Tuesday. That means the first doses of the new shots will be available at some locations within the next 48 hours, according to the CDC.
“We have more tools than ever to prevent the worst outcomes from COVID-19,” Cohen said in a statement. “CDC is now recommending updated COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 6 months and older to better protect you and your loved ones.”
Thirteen CDC advisors voted in favor of the “universal” recommendation for Americans during the panel’s meeting Tuesday, while one voted against
“I think that it’s clear that vaccination is going to prevent serious illness and death across all age groups. It is a vaccine-preventable disease,” said Dr. Beth Bell, clinical professor at the University of Washington and member of the panel, during the advisory meeting. “And so, for that reason, I favor the universal recommendation.”
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/new-covid-vaccines-cdc-advisors-recommend-pfizer-and-moderna-shots.html
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/new-mexico-protest-guns-emergency-order-b2409335.html
The ban will last for 30 days and will apply to Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County
Heavily armed protesters gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico to protest the governor’s emergency order suspending the right to carry firearms in public.
Crowds gathered at Old Town Plaza after New Mexico’s Democrat governor Michelle Lujan Grisham instituted a temporary ban on carrying firearms in public in certain parts of the state.
The ban will last for 30 days and will apply to Albuquerque and the surrounding Bernalillo County.
The majority of protesters were armed with a variety of firearms, displayed in the open, according to reports. Republican New Mexico House of Representatives member Stefani Lord also attended the protest.
Congresswoman Lord announced on X, previously known as Twitter, on Saturday that she, along with Republican Rep John Block, of Otero County, were calling for the governor’s impeachment and claimed the emergency order “violates the Governor’s oath to protect and defend the rights of New Mexicans.”
At the protest, congresswoman Lord said she had already filed the Article of Impeachment and expects to carry the effort forward.
“It has to go to our legal counsel first and we plan on pursing this all the way. It’s also going to depend on if we get support on the Democrats’ side and we actually might with this,” she said. “Because she has gone too far that every single person agrees that what she did was illegal.”
An advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration agreed unanimously on Tuesday that a common decongestant ingredient used in many over-the-counter cold medicines is ineffective.
The panel’s vote tees up a likely decision by the agency on whether to essentially ban the ingredient, phenylephrine, which would result in pulling products containing it from store shelves.
If the F.D.A. ordered their removal, a trade group warned that numerous popular products — including Tylenol, Mucinex and Benadryl cold and flu remedies — might become unavailable as companies race to reformulate them.
On Monday and Tuesday, the panel reviewed several existing studies and largely agreed that the research settled the question that the ingredient was useless and no better than a placebo.
Several advisers noted that patients taking the drug were merely delaying their journey to a useful remedy.
“I think we clearly have better options in the over-the-counter space to help our patients, and the studies do not support that this is an effective drug,” said Maria Coyle, the chairwoman of the panel and an associate professor of pharmacy at Ohio State University.
The man leading the Republican charge for an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden has spent “eight months of abject failure” in trying to prove the US president guilty of wrongdoing, a watchdog report says.
James Comer, the ambitious chairman of the House of Representatives’ oversight committee, has repeatedly overhyped allegations of bribery and corruption against Biden without once producing hard evidence, according to the Congressional Integrity Project.
The lack of a case underlines the huge political risks facing House Republicans when they return to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Some are threatening to force a government shutdown unless an impeachment inquiry is opened despite objections from wary Republican colleagues in the Senate.
Comer has been leading an aggressive investigation into unsubstantiated claims that Biden was involved in his son Hunter’s foreign business affairs during his time as vice-president. A CNN/SSRS poll this week found that 61% of Americans believe that Biden did play such a role, including 42% who think he acted illegally. But establishing the link between father and son has proved an elusive holy grail.
“After months of political stunts, dozens of hearings, transcribed interviews, and memos, and despite hours on Fox peddling conspiracy theories, Comer and his Maga crew have failed to find a single shred of evidence linking President Biden to any of their lurid accusations,” says the report by the Congressional Integrity Project, which monitors the Republican investigations. “In fact, Republicans have been forced to walk back claim after claim.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/10/meta-deletes-al-jazeera-presenters-profile-after-show-criticising-israel
Al Jazeera Arabic presenter Tamer Almisshal has had his Facebook profile deleted by Meta 24 hours after the programme Tip of the Iceberg aired an investigation into Meta’s censorship of Palestinian content titled The Locked Space.
The programme’s investigation, which aired on Friday, included admissions by Eric Barbing, former head of Israel’s cybersecurity apparatus, about his organisation’s effort to track Palestinian content according to criteria that included “liking” a photo of a Palestinian killed by Israeli forces.
Then the agency would approach Facebook and argue that the content should be taken down.
According to Barbing, Facebook usually complies with the requests and Israel’s security apparatus follows up cases, including bringing court cases if need be.
The investigation followed up on Barbing’s admissions by interviewing a number of human and digital rights experts who agreed that there was a distinct imbalance in how Palestinian content is restricted.
The programme also interviewed Julie Owono, a member of Facebook’s oversight board, who admitted there is a discrepancy in how rules are interpreted and applied to Palestinian content and added that recommendations had been sent to Facebook to correct this.
Al Jazeera has asked Facebook about why Almisshal’s profile was shut down with no prior warning or explanation. It had not received a response by the time of publication.
>‘Targeting a journalist’
Almisshal said the profile that was deleted is his personal page, set up by him in 2006 and verified. He had at least 700,000 followers on it.
A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Biden administration likely violated the First Amendment by pressuring social-media platforms to censor posts about Covid-19 and elections.
The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling says that the White House likely “coerced the platforms to make their moderation decisions by way of intimidating messages and threats of adverse consequences.” The panel of three judges found that the administration “significantly encouraged the platforms’ decisions by commandeering their decision-making processes, both in violation of the First Amendment.”
A lower court previously placed restrictions on the Biden administration’s communications with social-media platforms; those restrictions applied to a number of government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department, Homeland Security, and the U.S. Census Bureau.
After temporarily blocking the order, the Fifth Circuit judges have now modified the order to apply only to the White House, the surgeon general, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the FBI.
The judges found that the agencies it has since exempted “were permissibly exercising government speech.”
“That distinction is important because the state-action doctrine is vitally important to our Nation’s operation — by distinguishing between the state and the People, it promotes ‘a robust sphere of individual liberty,’” the judges wrote.
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-14th-amendment-colorado-lawmaker?referrer=virped.org
Trump isn't qualified to be someone's babysitter, frankly': Colorado lawmaker
A Colorado lawmaker who supports the recently filed lawsuit to take Donald Trump off the ballot is speaking out about the qualifications of the ex-president in addition to the constitutionality
Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), a previous Army Ranger, serves on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees in the House. Speaking to MSNBC on Sunday, he explained any viable option should be used to keep Trump off of the ballot in his state
He also explained that he is a witness to what unfolded on Jan. 6 and could serve as a Colorado voter who was personally impacted specifically by the attack
As you might recall, I was one of those members of Congress on January 6 who was surrounded by that violent mob, and trapped there for about 40 minutes before we were rescued," he explained. "So, I saw firsthand the violence, what was happening, and the efforts to derail the democracy. That's clearly what this was, right? Nothing less. They were trying to take over the Capitol. They were trying to interfere with our certification of the election. Full stop."
While this is a legal element to fighting Trump, he said that they're not going to stop their opposition against the former president at the ballot box.
I guess Russia is running out of ammunition.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/ginni-thomas-leonard-leo-citizens-united-1234821759/
Funded by Harlan Crow, who was recently exposed for footing the bill for Ginni and Clarence Thomas' lavish vacations and more, the Supreme Court justice's wife worked with Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo to advance the conservative agenda
As the Supreme Court prepared to decide the Citizens United case that designated money as political speech, Ginni Thomas — wife of Justice Clarence Thomas — along with conservative activists quickly and quietly filed to create exactly the type of non-profit group that would benefit from the decision, Politico reports.
In the ensuing years, according to Politico, Thomas worked closely with Federalist Society leader Leonard Leo to build a conservative movement that would fuel changes to the judiciary and help overturn laws regarding abortion, affirmative action, and other issues important to the right wing.
“Ginni really wanted to build an organization and be a movement leader,” a source familiar with her thinking at that time told Politico. “Leonard [Leo] was going to be the conduit of that.”
BY PETER WADE
SEPTEMBER 10, 2023 4:16PM EDT
The American Legislative Exchange Council unveiled 23 new pieces of model legislation this summer — potentially offering a sneak peek at upcoming agenda items in Ohio. The organization, commonly known as ALEC, is a kind of “bill mill,” drafting and disseminating proposals state lawmakers can try out back home.
Among the organization’s ideas? Prohibitions on ranked choice voting and state pension programs aimed at environmental or social investment goals. They also want to discourage regulations on artificial intelligence or social media.
Model legislation is a kind of skeleton key for state lawmakers. It’s relatively easy to convey what you want a law to do. But actually drafting it to do so can be tricky. Groups like ALEC step in to provide the means to achieve those ends.
In practice, that means one idea can pop up in statehouses all over the country remarkably quickly. Even if those proposals carry local tweaks, model legislation allows a broader policy objective to spread rapidly.
Outside sources like industry groups or think tanks lobbying lawmakers isn’t new, but ALEC has arguably perfected the process. The organization brings together dues-paying state lawmakers and representatives from some of the country’s biggest corporate interests. UPS, Koch Industries and State Farm are all represented on the ALEC’s private enterprise advisory council. Industry groups representing tech and pharmaceutical interests are there too alongside the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business.
Lawmakers get ready-made legislation and the gratitude of potential donors. Corporations get to advance their interests quietly and cheaply.
>Speaking at the annual conference of the Institute of Counter-Terrorism Policy (ICT) at Reichman University in Herzliya on Sunday, Mossad Director David Barnea claimed that Tehran had supplied Moscow with kamikaze drones after the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict broke out in February 2022.
>“Our fear is that the Russians will transfer to the Iranians in return what they lack, advanced weapons that will certainly endanger our peace, and maybe even our existence here,”Barnea said, as quoted by the Times of Israel.
>Barnea accused Tehran of using“proxy teams”to attack Jews in Israel and abroad, warning that the Islamic Republic was seeking ways of procuring new missile technology and more powerful drones.
My take: kill EVERY fucking kike Satanist jew. The world will be better for it
https://www.rt.com/news/582728-mossad-fears-iranian-russia-cooperation/
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed an emergency order on Friday that will bar firearms from being carried in public in Albuquerque.
Grisham said she was compelled to act due to a series of shootings in the city, including one that killed an 11-year-old boy outside a baseball game this week and a group of targeted shootings against Muslim men last month.
The motion, using an emergency health order, bans concealed and open carry firearms in all public places in areas with a specific violent crime threshold — one that only been met by the city of Albuquerque. Police and security are exempt from the ban.
“I welcome the debate and fight about how to make New Mexicans safer,” Lujan Grisham said at a news conference Friday.
“As I said yesterday, the time for standard measures has passed,” she said in a statement. “When New Mexicans are afraid to be in crowds, to take their kids to school, to leave a baseball game — when their very right to exist is threatened by the prospect of violence at every turn — something is very wrong.”
Local law enforcement have already questioned the order, with the Albuquerque police chief vowing not to enforce it and Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen questioned the order’s constitutionality.
“While I understand and appreciate the urgency, the temporary ban challenges the foundation of our constitution, which I swore an oath to uphold,” Allen said in a statement. “I am wary of placing my deputies in positions that could lead to civil liability conflicts, as well as the potential risks posed by prohibiting law-abiding citizens from their constitutional right to self-defense.”
https://weather.com/health/video/new-variants-up-covid-shots-may-be-ready-by-next-week
The growing prominence of the new EG.5 omicron variant of COVID-19, sometimes called Eris, may soon be combated by a vaccination that clinical trials show is effective against the variant. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve the vaccine after which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may make booster recommendations as soon as September 12.
ERROR LOADING
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Elon Musk said he refused a Ukrainian request to activate his Starlink satellite network in Crimea’s port city of Sevastopol last year to aid an attack on Russia’s fleet there, saying he feared complicity in a “major” act of war.
The billionaire businessman made the comment on his social media platform X after CNN cited a excerpt from a new biography of Musk that says he ordered the Starlink network turned off near the Crimean coast last year to disrupt the Ukrainian sneak attack.
In the post on X - formerly known as Twitter - late on Thursday, Musk said he had no choice but to reject an emergency request from Ukraine “to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol.” He did not give the date of the request and the excerpt did not specify it.
“The obvious intent being to sink most of the Russian fleet at anchor,” Musk wrote. “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”
>Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, slammed the decision in a post on X, accusing Musk of “committing evil” and defending “war criminals and their desire to commit murder.”
Russia, which seized the strategic Crimea peninsula in 2014, bases its Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol and has used the fleet in a de factor blockade of Ukrainian ports since its full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Russian fleet fires cruise missiles at Ukrainian civilian targets, and Kyiv has launched attacks on Russian ships using maritime drones.
According to CNN, Walter Isaacson’s new biography “Elon Musk,” to be released by Simon & Schuster on Tuesday, says that when Ukrainian explosive-laden submarine drones last year approached the Russian fleet, they “lost connectivity and washed ashore harmlessly.”
>https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2023/09/08/robert_f_kennedy_jr_dnc_rigging_primary_for_biden_i_may_need_to_look_at_other_alternatives.html
He goes on to elaborate:
>It's pretty clear that the DNC does not want a primary. I don't want to say that they want a coronation.. Essentially they are fixing up the process so that it makes it almost impossible to have democracy function.
How?
>They're effectively disenfranchising the Democratic voters from having any choice in who becomes president, the Democrat nominee. So two of the things they've done today is they've moved the Iowa primary, they made rules that if anybody campaigns in Iowa, or any candidate sets foot in the state of Iowa or sets foot in the state of New Hampshire, then none of the votes that are cast for that candidate will be tallied.
Wait, what?
>if anybody campaigns in Iowa, or any candidate sets foot in the state of Iowa or sets foot in the state of New Hampshire, then none of the votes that are cast for that candidate will be tallied.
????????????????????????????????????????????????
>In other words any delegate that I win in New Hampshire or Iowa would go instead to the president. Now they're trying to change it so that if I campaign in New Hampshire that none of the votes cast for me in Georgia will count.
"They are rigging it so that you know effectively, we are looking at the tabulations now that look like if you add up all the super delegate that they control and all the automatic delegates that just go to the party and go to the president, I would have to win almost 80 percent of all of the states in order to beat President Biden even if he only wins 20 percent..."
"FM: Government will not accept any criticism from US on democracy in Hungary"
>https://abouthungary.hu/news-in-brief/fm-government-will-not-accept-any-criticism-from-us-on-democracy-in-hungary
>https://dailynewshungary.com/fm-szijjarto-does-not-want-remarks-from-us-on-hungarian-democracy/
"Minister Szijjártó said: “We do not want to hear remarks anymore from the Americans about the state of democracy in Hungary, how institutions work and what the situation with the state of the rule of law is.”
"In light of recent attempts to block former President Donald Trump from running in next year’s presidential elections in the United States, the government will not accept any criticism from the US on the state of democracy in Hungary."
"Hungary would not accept any criticism over its political system from a country where a candidate who has the most chance might be disqualified from the presidential race...the exclusion of Trump “would be very bad news also because he is the one to trust when it comes to creating peace”. Also, he insisted that the former US president had been the only politician to have achieved success in stabilizing the situation in the Middle East in the past decades."
Today it's Hungary. Yesterday it was France and Saudi Arabia. As for our enemies - they are more emboldened than ever.
Chinese espionage has reached critical levels and our national security is completely jeopardized.
Russia has invaded Ukraine because of the weakness of Biden and the threat of regime changers who puppet him.
North Korea is as rogue as today as they were before Trump paved the way for de-escalation when he crossed the DMZ without a security detail in a moment as heroic as it was historic.
No telling what the Taliban will do with $90bil of military equipment Biden left behind.
The world, allies and enemies alike, are fed up with the (((democracy))) of the globalists.
>https://patch.com/minnesota/southwestminneapolis/dfl-chairwomen-beaten-carjacked-front-her-kids
"MINNEAPOLIS — The second vice chairwoman of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is calling for tougher consequences for criminals after she was beaten and carjacked in front of her young children at her home in Minneapolis on Tuesday."
Here's more about her in this article:
>>https://nypost.com/2023/09/07/anti-cop-minnesota-democratic-party-official-left-bloodied-in-violent-carjacking/
"A Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party official who once vowed to “dismantle” the Minneapolis Police Department is now calling for tougher crime laws after she was beaten and bloodied in a carjacking outside her home this week."
>“I have a broken leg, deep lacerations on my head, bruising, and cuts all over my body. And I have rage,” wrote Sathanandan, who said the beating occurred in front of her 4-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son around 7:45 p.m. Tuesday.
>“These men knew what they were doing. I have NO DOUBT they have done this before. Yet they are still on OUR STREETS. Killing mothers. Giving babies psychological trauma that a lifetime of therapy cannot ease. With no hesitation and no remorse,” Sathanandan continued."
>“I’m now part of the statistics. I wasn’t silent when I fought these men to save my life and my babies, and I won’t be silent now. We need to get illegal guns off of our streets, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city, and HOLD THEM IN CUSTODY AND PROSECUTE THEM,” she said.
>“Look at my face. REMEMBER ME when you are thinking about supporting letting juveniles and young people out of custody to roam our streets instead of HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS.”
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kxe8x/boneface-nazi-blood-tribe
What was meant to be the biggest show of force by Neo-Nazis in the U.S. this year, turned into yet another display of inflighting, this time over a heavily tattooed racist named “Boneface.”
Over the weekend, the Goyim Defence League and the Blood Tribe—two neo-Nazi groups—held a rally in Orlando, Florida, which saw about 50 of their members march in unison on the streets and scream racial slurs at locals. The rally came just one week after a man in nearby Jacksonville shot and killed three Black people with a rifle that he had drawn swastikas on. Earlier in the day another group of neo-Nazis held a smaller rally outside of Disney World. In total it’s estimated over 100 Nazis rallied that day.
Footage of the Blood Tribe, who wore matching red uniforms and marched in unison spread across the internet over the weekend, with one individual really sticking out. Walking next to Christopher “Hammer” Pohlhaus, the leader of the Blood Tribe, was a tall skinny man whose face was covered in tattoos giving him a similar look to the Marvel comic book character the Red Skull. This man was known as “Boneface,” and he was pushed to the very forefront of the weekend's neo-Nazi action.
The Nazis loved “Boneface,” whose real name is Kent McLellan. They adored his look and were enamored by his tales of how he allegedly traveled to Ukraine and fought with the Azov Battalion, an infamous battalion with Ukraine’s National Guard that has deep neo-Nazi ties. Like many other far-right figures, he’s also released horrific rap songs.
The son of a notable conservative activist was found guilty of 10 felonies for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6 riot, which includes bashing a Capitol Building window, the Justice Department announced Friday.
Leo Bren Bozell IV was found guilty of assaulting a police officer, destruction of government property, obstructing a preceding and other crimes. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege Bozell led rioters up the stairs of the Capitol Building, bashed a window, entered the Capitol and made his way to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office and later led a mob to the Senate floor.
His father is Brent Bozell III, who founded Media Research Center, Parents Television Council and other conservative media organizations.
Bozell was identified via online tips to the FBI, and was arrested in February 2021. Investigators said witnesses recognized his sweatshirt — emblazoned with the insignia of his children’s rural Pennsylvania private school where he was a basketball coach.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/neal-katyal-prediction-donald-trump-msnbc_n_64fea043e4b09e27c40be290
The Washington, D.C., grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s bid to flip the 2020 election result will reportedly meet again this week, and a former Department of Justice official doesn’t think it will bring good news for the former president.
On Sunday, MSNBC’s Jen Psaki asked former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal if he thought more indictments were likely.
Katyal, who is now a legal analyst on the network, was unequivocal in his response.
“I do,” he told the former Biden White House press secretary.
Why? “Part of the reason is Donald Trump’s M.O. is obstruction of justice, it’s interference, it’s using one lawyer for a bunch of co-defendants to try to get them all singing on the same page,” Katyal explained.
Katyal noted how a Mar-a-Lago employee was now cooperating with prosecutors in Trump’s classified documents case and “there’s a massive obstruction investigation going on there.”
“And I suspect something similar may happen with respect to Jan. 6 as well,” he added.
The indictment in the Washington case included six unnamed co-conspirators who may still face charges. Trump’s trial is set to start on March 4.
When Russian authorities took away Yan Dvorkin’s 10-year-old adopted son last spring, there was nothing he could do but shout in frustration. His crime? He was a transgender, nonbinary person, married to a man.
The official from child services had denounced him to prosecutors because he was open about his gender identity on social media — a crime in Russia for which he was convicted and then ordered to give up the son he adopted five years ago.
“It was so mean and low and hypocritical,” said Dvorkin, who uses masculine pronouns. “I was so angry. I said, ‘Do you understand that because of you, my child cannot live in his own family?’ It was like talking to a wall.”
The family had fallen afoul of one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most vehement obsessions, his rejection of what he sees as Western “degradation and degeneration,” in particular transgender people, leading to a raft of repressive laws and, according to LGBTQ+ activists, rising street violence against transgender people.
Putin has framed the Ukraine invasion as a war against “Satanists,” liberal Western values, and “parent number one and parent number two.” His venom is echoed by everyone from state television propagandists to politicians and, as the war has ground on, Russia has witnessed increasingly harsh measures against these groups.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12470501/Portland-trans-activist-destroyed-defecated-inside-teen-girls-car-transphobia-claims-Car-towed-away-considered-biohazard.html
A Portland transgender activist faces a slew of charges for allegedly defecating and ransacking a teen girl's car after claiming she was 'transphobic.'
Vivian Shemansky, 44, allegedly flew into a frenzy after the 17-year-old, Jade, parked near her tent in a parking lot on August 27. After Shemansky allegedly first threw a stick at her, the teen returned to her car after just 10 minutes to find it covered in human waste with every window smashed.
The teen's mother, Lisa Thomasson, told The Post Millenial that her daughter was 'in tears' when she discovered her destroyed car, which was written off due to the disgusting act as cops deemed it a 'biohazard.'
Sergeant Kevin Allen with the Portland Police told DailyMail.com that Shemansky already had two warrants out for her arrest when she was taken into custody, but Thomasson claimed she was released the same day as she awaits a court date.
The nauseating incident comes as residents in Portland, Oregon consistently condemn how woke policies have caused widespread homelessness and open-air drug taking.
Thomasson, 45, said she hardly recognizes the city despite living in the metro her whole life, lamenting how a soft-on-crime approach put her daughter in severe danger.
'I just thought what could have happened to my child if that person took the frustration out on her,' she said.
'There's no accountability for people that are breaking the law. It's putting our community and the home we grew up in in jeopardy.'
Allen told DailyMail.com that police were called to the scene after reports of vandalism, where Jade told them she parked her car and left it 'for a short time.'
Last week, a federal judge in Florida dismissed a lawsuit trying to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballot under the 14th Amendment, which bars insurrectionists from office. As voters, the plaintiffs didn’t have legal standing to bring the challenge in federal court, so dismissal wasn’t a surprising outcome.
But as I noted in explaining why the federal judge rejected that case, a lawsuit brought by voters in state courts could be different.
And now we have such a case filed in Colorado state court, brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. The plaintiffs are six Republican and unaffiliated voters who, according to their filing, want to protect the rights of voters “to fully participate in the upcoming primary election by ensuring that votes cast will be for those constitutionally qualified to hold office.”
The lengthy filing is worth reading for its recap of Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and how they fit into the claim that his actions have disqualified him from office. The 14th Amendment’s disqualification clause bars from office those who have sworn to uphold the Constitution but then have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States or “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/one-chip-challenge-death-harris-wolobah-vigil-worcester/
WORCESTER - The family of a teenager who died after eating an extremely spicy tortilla chip as part of a social media challenge will gather to remember the promising basketball player at a vigil Friday while they await word from Massachusetts authorities about what caused his death.
Harris Wolobah died on Sept. 1 and an autopsy is pending. But the 14-year-old's family blamed the One Chip Challenge, which requires participants to eat the spicy chip and see how long they can go without consuming other food and water.
Since his death, Texas-based manufacturer Paqui has asked retailers to stop selling the individually wrapped chips, a step 7-Eleven has already taken. Walgreens said Friday it was removing the chip from its stores, and Amazon halted sales and was notifying customers who bought the product recently that Paqui was recalling it.
The One Chip Challenge chip sells for about $10 and comes wrapped in a sealed foil pouch that is enclosed in a coffin-shaped cardboard box. The package warns the chip is made for the "vengeful pleasure of intense heat and pain," is intended for adults and should be kept out of reach of children.
Paqui, a subsidiary of The Hershey Company , said in a statement posted on its website Thursday that it was "deeply saddened by the death" of Wolobah.
"We have seen an increase in teens and other individuals not heeding these warnings," the company said. "As a result, while the product continues to adhere to food safety standards, out of abundance of caution, we are actively working with retailers to remove the product from shelves."
Authorities in Massachusetts also responded to the teen's family's accusations by warning parents about the challenge, which is popular on social media sites such as TikTok.
A 10-year-old Mississippi boy was arrested and hauled off to jail for public urination — and his mom is pissed off.
Latonya Eason was at an attorney’s office in Senatobia, just south of Memphis, for legal advice Aug. 10 when a cop told her he caught her son Quantavious peeing behind her car, WHBQ reported.
“I was like, ‘Son, why did you do that?’ He said, ‘Mom, my sister said they don’t have a bathroom there,’” Eason told the outlet. “I was like, ‘You knew better, you should have come and asked me if they had a restroom.’”
She said the officer told her Quantavious could get back inside the car and that he would just give a warning, but several other cops then showed up, including a lieutenant who said the boy had to be hauled to jail.
“No, him urinating in the parking lot was not right, but at the same time I handled it like a parent and for one officer to tell my baby to get back in the car like it was OK and to have the other pull up and take him to jail. Like no,” Eason told WHBQ.
“I’m just speechless right now. Why would you arrest a 10-year-old kid,” the irate mom added.
https://nypost.com/2023/08/17/10-year-old-boy-arrested-jailed-for-peeing-behind-moms-car/
Agonising race against time to find survivors: Morocco earthquake death toll rises to 820 as rescuers trawl through rubble in Marrakesh after massive 7.2 magnitude quake - as pictures lay bare the utter devastation
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12498323/At-296-people-killed-powerful-earthquake-Morocco.html
A desperate search for survivors is underway this morning following Morocco's biggest earthquake in over 120 years that struck south of Marrakesh last night, killing at least 820 people and leaving more than 670 injured.
Horrific footage shared on social media showed a massive cloud of dust rising in Marrakesh - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and hugely popular tourist town - as buildings collapsed and people fled for their lives.
The earthquake, which measured 7.2 on the Richter scale struck Morocco's Atlas Mountains and caused tremors as far away as Portugal, has wiped out entire families as witnesses describe hearing 'unbearable screaming and crying' and seeing distraught relatives frantically search with their bare hands for buried loved ones.
British tourists stuck in Marrakech have told MailOnline how they escaped the 'terrifying' tremor, and described taking cover under tables and sleeping on the floor outside their hotels.
In a statement this morning a Moroccan government official said emergency operations are 'in progress across the country' and the death toll is expected to rise considerably in the hours and days ahead.
No identities of victims were released as initial figures rose from 300 to 820 overnight. The epicentre was 40 miles south of the tourist city, which is a popular British holiday destination.
The ministry wrote that most damage occurred outside of cities and towns, and the United States Geological Survey warned that the death toll was likely to rise significantly, because rural buildings were not built to sustain such earthquakes.
During a Wednesday interview on the Driveway Liberty Podcast, Gaetz mentioned the possibility of "violence" ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
"It turns out they'll let anybody have these jobs who gets the most votes," Gaetz said. "Well, you know, and now they're trying to change that. Like what we were talking about earlier with, you know, with secretaries of state trying to decide certain, you know, Trump can't even be on the ballot."
The podcast host argued that keeping Trump off the ballot had "been the plan from the beginning."
"I really worry that that type of action could lead to violence," Gaetz agreed. "And I am so wildly opposed to violence. I don't think it's how we should resolve our disputes."
"But when you start telling people that they can't express their participation in this American experience through a vote, then they start looking for other ways, and they're not, the vote is the best way to do it," he continued. "The other ways are not so good. And I worry if they start to take the vote away, you could see bloodshed in this country. Like none of us want."
https://www.rawstory.com/matt-gaetz-maga-will-turn-to-bloodshed-if-trump-s-crimes-exclude-him-from-ballot/
The Democratic governor said she expects legal challenges but was compelled to act because of recent shootings, including the death of an 11-year-old boy outside a minor league baseball stadium this week.
https://apnews.com/article/albuquerque-guns-governor-concealed-carry-fc5b4b79bf411b8022c3ad58975724d7
>In the 136th week of President Biden's term, 23.2% of Americans felt the country was headed in the right direction, down 0.2 percentage points from the week before. At the same point in President Trump's term, 35.5% of Americans felt the country was headed in the right direction, down 0.4 percentage points from the week before.
https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Polling_Index:_Comparison_of_opinion_polling_during_the_Trump_and_Biden_administrations
Biden approval rating drops to 39 percent: survey
>https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/4191793-biden-approval-rating-drops-to-39-percent-survey/#:~:text=President%20Biden's%20approval%20rating%20has,and%2045%20percent%20in%20January.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/videos/world-news/pak-army-clashes-with-afghan-taliban-on-border-torkham-crossing-shut-tensions-soar-101694123374464.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T1FxG7kl6o
https://www.voanews.com/a/deadlock-persists-in-reopening-pakistan-afghan-border-gate/7261426.html
Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban authorities have met multiple times in the last week to negotiate the reopening of their main border crossing but could not make headway, stranding many trade convoys and travelers on both sides for the fourth consecutive day Saturday.
Pakistani officials said the standoff erupted Wednesday after Taliban guards began constructing a new outpost near the historic Torkham border crossing, violating mutual agreements and ignoring warnings to stop the work.
The tensions eventually led to brief skirmishes between border security forces from the two countries, killing a Taliban guard and a civilian, according to the Afghan side.
The Taliban rejected the allegations, saying the outpost was being built on the Afghan side of the nearly 2,600-kilometer (1,616 miles) British colonial-era boundary separating the two countries.
-The Mar-a-Lago IT director who flipped on Trump has made deal with Jack Smith
-Yuscil Tavares, 45, is a DJ and registered Democrat with a history of cash issues
-It comes after Smith threatened to prosecute Tavares for lying to a grand jury
By STEPHEN M. LEPORE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and REUTERS
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12490361/Mar-Lago-director-strikes-deal-Jack-Smith-avoids-charges-related-Trump-classified-docs-case.html
The Mar-a-Lago IT director who flipped on Donald Trump in the classified documents case has struck a deal with Special Counsel Jack Smith to provide testimony and avoid criminal charges.
Yuscil Taveras, 45, is a part-time DJ and registered Democrat with a history of money troubles, DailyMail.com previously revealed.
The deal was made after Smith's office threatened to prosecute Taveras for lying to a grand jury, Taveras' former attorney, Stanley Woodward, said in the filing.
For woke pols, violent crime’s only a problem when it affects them personally: Meet Shivanthi Sathanandan.
A bigwig in Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, she vowed in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.
“Say it with me. DISMANTLE The Minneapolis Police Department,” she urged: It has “systematically failed the Black Community,” so it’s “time to build a new infrastructure that works for ALL communities.”
But now she’s gotten carjacked in front of her house and left with serious injuries, so she’s singing a new tune.
“These men knew what they were doing. I have NO DOUBT they have done this before. Yet they are still on OUR STREETS. Killing mothers. Giving babies psychological trauma that a lifetime of therapy cannot ease. With no hesitation and no remorse,” she thundered on Facebook.
https://nypost.com/2023/09/08/shivanthi-sathanandan-police-hater-gets-carjacked-by-reality/