Amid calls for vaccine passport system in the US, conservatives have been asking why Democrats feel such a program would is moral and just, while opposing a program that requires identification before voting. Echoing the concerns of many others conservative author, talk show host and political commentator Candace Owen tweeted: , Remember guys: mandating voter […]
People who are fully vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19 rarely contract the illness and when they do, it’s typically a no or low-symptom case, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
“For those breakthrough infections that can you know rarely occur, for the most part they are resulting in asymptomatic or very mild disease,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s director, said on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
“What we’re seeing about those infections is that they tend to have a lower amount of virus, they tend to be asymptomatic, they tend to be mild. And we believe that that lower amount of virus really means that they can’t give it to anybody else,” Walensky added on CBS’ “This Morning” on Friday.
Newly published studies show that people who are fully vaccinated can feel comfortable removing their masks, Walensky emphasized.
Maddow, a liberal host, told Walensky that some of her staffers were uncomfortable removing a mask even if they had received a COVID-19 vaccine because of concerns that people with them may have not gotten a jab.
Approximately 119 million Americans, or nearly 36 percent of the population, have been fully vaccinated as of May 13, including over 70 percent of the vulnerable 65-and-old population.
At least 9,245 Americans have tested positive for COVID-19 at least two weeks after their final shot, according to the CDC, which has not released breakthrough case figures since April 3o.
“What we’re really doing is empowering individuals to make decisions about their own health. So if you are vaccinated and you are making the decision to take off your mask, then you’ve made the decision to get vaccinated and you’re safe. If you are unvaccinated, then you have made the decision to take that risk. And we are really encouraging people who are unvaccinated not to take the risk. People who are unvaccinated should not be taking off their masks. And we’re really encouraging them to get vaccinated as soon as possible. But if you have several people in the room, and some are vaccinated, and some are not, and they’ve all chosen to take off their masks, it’s the vaccinated people who will be protected,” Walensky said.
The CDC can only recommend mask rules but the agency’s guidance is closely hewed to in a number of states and locales.
The updated guidance has not yet made its way onto the CDC’s website, which still says people should wear masks indoors around anybody who doesn’t live with them.
People who are immune-compromised, such as people who are on chemotherapy or dialysis, should consider continuing to wear masks in nearly all settings, according to Walensky.
“We’ve been saying wear a mask. And so it’s been ingrained in us, ‘you can’t leave the house without a mask.’ I went for a walk for the first time without a mask outside a week ago. And that felt strange, right? So I think we all are going to have to become comfortable with this again,” she told Maddow.”But what we’re saying is now is time to make those efforts to start getting comfortable.”
The president of Portland, Oregon’s police union said in a blistering new statement that the city is on the brink of war.
“We need to talk about the elephant in the room: gun violence. We are on the precipice of a gang war,” said Daryl Turner, head of the Portland Police Association.
Police in the state’s largest city had responded to 357 shootings as of May 9, an increase of over 100 percent from the same time period the year prior.
Portland dealt with a jump in violence in 2020, with both shootings and murders skyrocketing, along with near-nightly riots that regularly diverted attention from 911 calls.
But the city has not brought back the Gun Violence Reduction Team (GVRT) and none of the new funding went to the police. That’s on top of the City Council cutting money for the police force in 2020.
Turner said that commissioners “only use data when it serves their political agendas” and called what he sees as a continued ignorance of statistics and shifting of blame unacceptable.
“The GVRT proactively policed with a holistic approach, building partnerships and relationships to get illegal guns off the street. It’s obvious to everyone except for City Council that more guns and increased gang activity mean more violence,” he said in the new statement.
City Council members are now focused on making additional cuts to the Portland Police Bureau’s budget, which will not address the gun violence epidemic, according to Turner.
“The answer is that our community deserves a fully staffed police force with a minimum of 1,000 officers and a full budget commitment to addressing gun violence, AND our community deserves adequate social service resources. Forcing us to choose one over the other is short-sighted. Social services and alternatives resources are not a replacement for police officers and common-sense public safety infrastructure,” he said.
A spokesman for Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat who also serves as police commissioner and sits on the council, declined to comment, referring The Epoch Times to Portland’s Office of Violence Prevention. The office did not respond to an inquiry.
Nike Green, the office’s director, last month called the jump in shootings “a public health crisis.” Green said the office was using “data, research, and evidence-based practices to prioritize partnerships designed to interrupt cycles of gun violence,” such as programs with violence interrupters, who seek to stop shootings before they happen.
The other city commissioners did not respond to requests for comment.
The council on Thursday approved a 2021 budget that includes a $3 million cut to the police bureau, local media reported.
Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, a Democrat, said in a statement that she appreciated the budget not adding “ongoing funds back into the Portland Police Bureau after council reallocated money from the bureau into the Portland Street Response and other community investments last year.”
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm believes normal service at gas stations across the eastern U.S. will be back to normal by late Sunday after a spate of shortages and long lines driven by a cyber attack on a major pipeline.
The problems peaked on Thursday night and outages were down as of Friday afternoon by about 12 percent, with about 200 stations getting gas per hour, Granholm told the Associated Press.
“It’s still going to work its way through the system over the next few days, but we should be back to normal fairly soon,” she said.
As of Friday night, outages had dropped in some of the worst-hit states, according to data from the availability and pricing app GasBuddy. But 67 percent of North Carolina stations remained without gas, as did 49 percent of stations in South Carolina, 46 percent of stations in Georgia, 43 percent of stations in Virginia, 39 percent of stations in Maryland, and around a quarter of stations in Florida and Tennessee.
Granholm has urged calm, telling Americans that they don’t need to hoard and that regular supply would be restored soon. Colonial, which took the pipeline offline as a defensive measure in the wake of the attack, restored the operation on Thursday and began delivering to every market it serves, including Charlotte, North Carolina, and Baltimore, Maryland.
“Really, the gasoline is coming,” Granholm told the AP. “If you take more than what you need, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in terms of the shortages. Let’s share a little bit with our neighbors and everybody should know that it’s going to be okay in the next few days.”
A couple fills up multiple 5 gallon gas tanks at a Wawa gas station in Tampa, Fla., on May 12, 2021. (Octavio Jones/Reuters)
Patrick De Haan, an analyst with GasBuddy, told followers on Twitter on Friday that the choke point is too many stations needing fuel while there is a lack of fuel truck drivers and capacity at the rack.
He said not to expect a solid downward trend in shortages until the weekend and that drivers in some states could see shortages through May 27.
The American Automobile Association said Thursday that pumps would be full of fuel in several days.
“The restart of the pipeline is very positive news for motorists,” Jeanette McGee, a spokeswoman for the group, said. “This is an especially good update ahead of the Memorial Day holiday.”
Glad to be home again: Matteo Salvini with his daughter Mirta
A major setback for the Soros Open Borders network: The lawsuit against former Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini in Catania, Sicily was dismissed in court yesterday. Salvini hailed the decision as a signal for his next lawsuit in Palermo.
On 27 July 2019, Salvini had delayed the coast guard ship Gregoretti with 130 illegal migrants aboard from entering the port of Augusta outside Catania, Sicily, for two days until other European countries agreed to take the migrants in.
Left-wing Italian “community and recreation” network ARCI filed suit against the former interior minister of the Lega Party in two separate cases in Catania and Palermo due to “kidnapping” and “abuse of power.”
As interior minister, Salvini instituted a “Closed Ports” policy to stop Antifa-tied and Soros-funded NGOs from bringing boatloads of illegal migrants from Africa to Italy. Salvini also pressed charges against members of the NGOs “Sea-Watch” (Germany) and “Open Arms” (Spain) on grounds of human trafficking. When Salvini left office in summer of 2019, these same NGOs had his immunity revoked by the left-wingers in parliament and took Salvini to court instead.
Judge Nunzio Sarpietro now dismissed the ridiculous case in Catania, seeing “no violation of international and national law. Salvini complied with the agreements by arranging that migrants in danger be saved and delaying the disembarkation for two or three days, a power granted him by administrative provision of February 2019,” as Il Giornale reports.
Judge Sarpierto noted Salvini had not acted alone, but in concert with the rest of the Lega-Five Star government that ruled Italy June 2018-September 2019. “The indictment of Senator Salvini would have led to the indictment of former premier (Giuseppe) Conte and then-ministers Luigi Di Maio and (Danilo) Toninelli, because they were all in agreement on the redistribution of migrants, then as now.”
The left-wing ARCI network that pressed the asinine case is funded by Open Society and the EU, as Gateway Pundit revealed last October. That means they have money to burn on laughable “lawfare” cases. ARCI will continuing pressing almost the same charges in Palermo, in a case filed by NGO Proactiva Open Arms (founded 2015 by George Soros): “The dismissal of the Gregoretti case is incomprehensible and wrong,” said Filippo Miraglia, ARCI Immigration spokesman, as Il Giornale reported.
Pro-migrant extremist Mimmo Lucano, former mayor of Riace, even invoked divine judgment: “Even if Salvini escaped justice today, one day he will have to answer to a higher power!” Lucano called securing Italy’s borders against illegal immigration “racist”, claiming it “puts lives at risk.”
Actually, the numbers of deaths at sea dropped sharply due to Salvini’s “Closed Ports” policy, as UNHCR numbers show. Now that the migrant NGOs are back in business, almost as many people died or went missing at sea on the Central Mediterreanean routh this year (633) as in the entire year 2019 (753). Over 2000 illegals arrived on the island of Lampedusa last Sunday alone.
Salvini thanked his supporters, friends and family and issued a jab at his left wing opponents: “Today, we have recognized I am not a ‘kidnapper’ and I was just doing my duty as a minister. Message to all the smugglers and the Mafia: defending our borders is not a crime in Italy! It is th law and our duty. P.S.: I think the (left-wing party) PD and 5 Star Members who put me on trial should cover the costs for this nothingburger trial out of their own pockets. What do you think?”
A Portland man has been arrested after pushing a 67-year-old woman into traffic, lighting a power pole on fire, attempting to grab busses and vehicles, and then biting police officers who were attempting to detain him.
Kenneth A. Church, 39, of Portland, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of Attempted Assault in the Second Degree, Assault in the Third Degree, Assault in the Fourth Degree, Reckless Endangering, Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, Attempted Assault on a Police Officer (3 counts), Interfering with a Peace Officer, Resist Arrest, Reckless Burning, and Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree.
According to a press release from the Portland Police Department, on May 13 they received a call about a man who had pushed a woman into oncoming traffic just before 3 p.m. The woman broke her wrist during the fall.
Initially, there were no officers available to respond to the scene — but around 3:15 they were alerted that he was throwing trash cans into the street, trying to grab passing cars and busses, and setting a power pole on fire.
“Officers located the suspect at Southeast 36th Avenue and Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and attempted to take him into custody. He fought the officers, biting two of them and trying to break an officer’s finger. They called for additional officers and they were able to arrest him,” the department’s press release states.
The power pole that was burned by Church was extinguished by passerbys.
The incident is still under investigation by the Central Precinct Neighborhood Response Team. They are currently seeking any witnesses or other victims related to these incidents who have not already spoken to police.
VENICE BEACH, California — Los Angeles's ever-expanding homeless problem is now likely landing on the doorstep of celebrity-filled beachfront neighborhoods as the beleaguered City Council looks for ways to alleviate some of the stress on world-famous Venice Beach.
The 2-mile strip of Venice, where actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and many others have pumped iron on an outdoor makeshift seaside gym, has now been claimed by thousands of homeless living in a tent city. Venice is only 3 square miles, and an estimated 4,000 homeless live there, said Soledad Ursua, a member of the Venice Neighborhood Council’s Board of Directors.
Tourists pose for a photo at the Muscle Beach, as they enjoy the warm weather in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. With much of the Northeast gripped by snow and ice storms, the Southwest is riding a heat wave that is setting record high temperatures and sent people to beaches and golf courses in droves Friday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Damian Dovarganes/AP
The number is double from the previous year and nearly rivals the 4,600 living in Skid Row.
The situation is a lawless wasteland filled with filth, rats, fires, and crime, where police are defunded and residents fend for themselves from the encroaching madness, Ursua said. Senior residents are afraid to walk outside as violent robberies have risen by 177% and assaults with a deadly weapon 116% over the last year, according to Los Angeles Police Department statistics.
“We are homeowners within a homeless encampment, it's all around us,” Ursua said. “You can get shot or stabbed. No one in their right mind would take their children there at night or in the day.”
The community group Fightbackvenice.org counted 1,901 homeless in 2020. A new count was not taken this year because of the pandemic, but the current population is at least double, said Ursua, who owns a house near the beach.
Residents from the newly proposed locations have been up in arms over their likely forthcoming neighbors.
“All I hear is, ‘We don’t want to become Venice,’” Ursua said of her wealthy fellow Californians in the target zone. “Well, now you know what we have been going through because it’s coming your way.”
Vaulted enclaves such as Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey, Culver City, and Pacific Palisades have been identified as homeless shelters in the form of tiny homes, “safe camping,” and/or “RV safe parking,” according to a motion submitted by Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, who has the coastal district.
Cyclists ride through the Venice Beach neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Photographer: Allison Zaucha/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
When the Beach Boys sang about Pacific Palisades being one of their favorite spots in the hit song “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” it’s safe to say the band never envisioned an infinite row of homeless tents up on the formerly pristine California coast, where $2.6 million is the average home price.
Celebrities who have lived in "the Palisades" or currently do include actors Ben Affleck, Billy Crystal, and Dan Aykroyd; boxer Sugar Ray Leonard; and directors Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams.
"They don't have the homeless there, we have 90% of the beach’s homeless in Venice," Ursua said. "Basically, all of Venice is homeless."
Summer is coming, and it’s unclear what Los Angeles will do to keep tourists safe who visit the coast. A handful of proposed homeless shelters won’t even put a dent in the existing problem that was made worse by Bonin's proposal to cut staffing for LAPD officers who patrol the beach due to the "defund the police" movement.
A 1968 anti-camping ordinance had kept homelessness in check until Los Angeles stopped enforcing it in the past decade. A 2018 court decision negated enforcement unless enough shelters existed to house individuals. Neighboring Orange County, which has a fraction of the homeless, enforces an anti-camping law.
Los Angeles is a defendant in a federal lawsuit that accuses the city of refusing to house individuals living on Skid Row. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter, who cleaned up Orange County with a similar type of lawsuit, issued a withering opinion blasting Los Angeles city officials as corrupt.
Carter accused the city of violating the U.S. Constitution clauses of equal protection and due process in addition to creating a “state danger” that violated California law requiring “protection, care and assistance to the people of the state … by providing appropriate aid and services to all of its needy and distressed.”
At last count, Los Angeles had 66,436 homeless, a 20,000 increase over the past five years. California has one-fifth of the nation’s homeless population with 151,278 people, according to 2021 statistics by the World Population Review.
A pod of dolphins swims near a surfer at Venice Beach during the coronavirus outbreak, Wednesday, May 13, 2020, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles County reopened its beaches Wednesday in the latest cautious easing of coronavirus restrictions that have closed most California public spaces and businesses for nearly two months. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Mark J. Terrill/AP
Ursua says she hopes the judge can take a look at Venice because the problem isn’t going to be solved by City Hall.
“The beaches used to be safe for children and families,” she said. “If I wanted to live at the beach overlooking the ocean, I have to pay $2 million. Why should someone get that for free?”
Democratic operatives were relieved to see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relax requirements for face masks and social distancing, convinced the return to normal will boost the party in 2022 by allowing resumption of door-knocking and other in-person voter turnout activities.
Democratic campaigns, and Democratic voters, have been committed to observing coronavirus health precautions, forcing the party to minimize door-to-door canvassing and other person-to-person field operations considered the most effective means of turning out the vote. There was anxiety the party would be at a disadvantage heading into the midterm elections because Republican groups and party committees have been less beholden to pandemic restrictions and more active in communities interacting with voters.
“The decision not to canvass in 2020 was good policy but also hamstrung our efforts,” said Ed Espinoza, a Democratic strategist in Texas.
A Democratic operative in Washington added that efforts to preserve thin majorities in the House and Senate will be “so much easier” now that the party can get back into the field — and that voters inclined to back Democratic candidates will feel more comfortable engaging staff and volunteers. “I do think it’s a safe assumption that our voter contact starts to look normal again over the course of this year."
The Democrats had a fairly successful 2020. President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump, and Democrats flipped two Georgia seats in runoff elections Jan. 5 this year to win control of the Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote. But they lost more than a dozen House seats, coming close to losing the majority altogether, and failed to flip a single state legislature as the decennial redistricting process looms.
Some Democrats blame the party’s disappointing outcome down ballot to the decision to jettison in-person field activities in favor of digital outreach.
Republicans did the same but shifted back to door-knocking last summer. Biden and the Democrats, whose messaging revolved around following the science as it relates to the coronavirus, made a similar transition politically complicated. Given the attacks on Trump and the Republicans for being cavalier about the pandemic, Democrats felt pressure to observe strict adherence to CDC guidelines for face masks and social distancing, even as it put them at risk of falling short in November.
On Friday, Democratic groups were still adjusting to the new CDC guidelines and figuring out what a transition back to normal looked like. But some preparations were already underway.
The Democratic National Committee had previously announced a $23 million investment in state parties to beef up operations, including field staff, as necessary, with some of that money earmarked for voter registration and other activities in red states where Democrats want to compete. The DNC plans to spend another $21 million in 2021 alone to hire dozens of staff focused on “voter protection,” helping Democratic voters navigate new voting laws, in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
That money will be used as well to place communications and field organizing staff in states such as Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The goal is to take to battleground neighborhoods to tell voters about what the Biden administration has delivered. Meanwhile, the DNC believes the digital infrastructure it created to reach voters at the height of the pandemic will continue to pay dividends, even as in-person outreach becomes the norm again.
“Democrats have continued to listen to the scientists in order to keep our staff safe and healthy,” DNC spokesman Lucas Acosta said. “The CDC guidance that came out this week was the green light we were looking for, and I think you’ll start see vaccinated organizers knock on doors in next weeks and months.”
After a turbulent few months for House Republicans, culminating in the ousting of Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney as conference chairwoman and a lightning-fast replacement, members were eager to move forward and rally together against Democrats.
But the new No. 3 Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik faces an undercurrent of conservative criticism that could pose challenges for her in the future, plus loyalty to former President Donald Trump that is prime for attacks from Democrats.
"We're all united, and Elise is our chair. Now we're going to get busy, pointing out how the Democratic Party is destroying America," said Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who mounted a last-minute challenge to Stefanik and circulated a memo opposing her candidacy based on her voting record.
He punctuated the all-is-well messaging by posting a selfie with one of the cupcakes that Stefanik distributed while campaigning for conference chairwoman, with a note pledging to work to “unify our team,” “go on offense and win on the issues,” and “highlight all individual members.”
But despite endorsements from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and Trump, the Friday morning secret ballot vote 48 hours after the conference voted to remove Cheney from her leadership position resulted in around 30% of House Republicans who cast a ballot voting for someone other than Stefanik. She got 134 votes, Roy got 46, nine people voted present, and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, and former Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington each got one vote.
“It was a good solid chunk of votes that, I think, agreed that we should have had a better process,” Roy said after the vote.
Numerous conservative organizations give Stefanik a lower rating on key votes than they did for Cheney. Club for Growth gives Stefanik a 35% lifetime rating compared to 65% for Cheney; with FreedomWorks, Stefanik was at 37% and Cheney at 53%. FiveThirtyEight’s voting record tracker found that Cheney voted with Trump’s preference 93% of the time, compared to 78% for Stefanik.
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert kept her discontent with Stefanaik apparent after the vote on Friday and hinted that a magnifying glass might be on Stefanik to ensure she votes as conservatively as she talks.
“Republicans know when they run as conservatives, they win elections. And that’s exactly what we just saw. But when we legislate as conservatives, the people win," she told reporters. "I primaried a five-term incumbent who talked one way and voted another, and we don’t need the No. 3 in our party voting alongside the ‘Squad’ on most of the prominent issues. So, you know, congratulations to Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. I hope that she stays true to the promises she made while she was campaigning to win the seat.”
Stefanik, Boebert said, promised to be more conservative and argued that she has become more conservative.
In her first press conference after becoming conference chairwoman on Friday morning, Stefanik diverted away from a question about concerns with her voting record not being conservative enough.
"Listen, the Republican Party is a big-tent party, and in my district is the story of the growth of the Republican Party," Stefanik said. "My district voted for President Obama by double digits and voted for President Trump and myself by double digits."
Jordan told reporters that he was not concerned about Stefanik’s voting record being a hurdle for her uniting the party.
“If you’re going to unify, focus on all the crazy things Joe Biden, the Biden administration, and the Democrat Congress are doing,” said Jordan, a Freedom Caucus member who backed Stefanik for the No. 3 conference spot and worked with her on Trump's 2019 impeachment defense team.
Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, who nominated Roy for the conference chairman position and called Stefanik a "liberal," also expressed a willingness to move on with Stefanik.
"I think it is a mood of relief," Buck said after the vote. "The problem that Republicans have is President Biden, and Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer."
Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow is participating in a live book signing and Q&A of his investigative blockbuster "Breaking the News" on the day of its release.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) slammed the Associated Press (AP) on Tuesday for allegedly sharing a building with the Palestinian Hamas terrorist organization.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a statement Tuesday opposing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-CA) backwardly focused January 6 commission legislation due to bad-faith negotiations.
The prominent advertising-technology engineer let go by
Apple Inc.
AAPL 1.98%
this week amid an uproar over sexist passages in his memoir fired back at the tech giant, calling the company’s statements around his dismissal “defamatory and categorically false.”
Apple said Wednesday it had parted ways with
Antonio García Martínez,
who had been hired about a month ago to work on ad platforms. His departure followed complaints by some workers at Apple about sexist and misogynistic passages in a memoir Mr. García Martínez wrote about his time at
Facebook.
FB 3.50%
“At Apple, we have always strived to create an inclusive, welcoming workplace where everyone is respected and accepted. Behavior that demeans or discriminates against people for who they are has no place here,” the iPhone maker said.
Mr. García Martínez, however, disputed Apple’s version of events. “I did not ‘part ways’ with Apple. I was fired by Apple in a snap decision,” he wrote on his verified
Twitter
account Friday. “Apple has issued a statement that clearly implies there was some negative behavior by me during my time at Apple. That is defamatory and categorically false.”
In one passage of his book, “Chaos Monkeys,” which was marketed as nonfiction, Mr. García Martínez wrote: “Most women in the Bay Area are soft and weak, cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of shit.”
In an interview Friday after his tweets, Mr. García Martínez, 45 years old, said Apple was aware of his book before hiring him and the company had recruited and vetted him with his references, asking them questions about things he had written in his book and whether that was his real persona.
“That book is not me now, it wasn’t even me then,” he said. “To be honest, there was a literary persona. I was trying to create a style in my naive, first-time book writer sort of way, which in retrospect, I think was a mistake and I regret much of it.”
Earlier this week, some Apple employees communicated their unhappiness with his hiring, including in a letter to Apple senior executive Eddy Cue, who oversees internet software and services, asking for an investigation into how Mr. García Martínez was hired.
Apple said Mr. García Martínez was no longer with the company after technology-news site the Verge reported on the letter.
Apple didn’t immediately respond Friday to a request for comment about Mr. García Martínez’s tweets.
“I upended my life for Apple,” he wrote on Twitter. “I sold my WA residence which I built with my own hands, relocated myself, shut down any public media presence and future writing aspirations, and resolved to build my career at Apple for years to come.”
American companies began to rethink their requirements for face masks after federal health regulators relaxed their guidelines this week, and on Friday Walmart Inc. made the first big move to bend to the new view.
The U.S.’s largest private employer said it would no longer require vaccinated workers and shoppers to wear masks in stores and warehouses outside of municipalities that require it. Walmart’s new policy for its 1.6 million U.S. workers goes into effect May 18, the company said, while vaccinated customers could shop maskless immediately.
That made the country’s largest retailer by revenue an early mover in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new guidance. Costco Wholesale Corp. made a similar shift. Executives in sectors ranging from autos to grocers said they were still wrestling with how to respond to the new guidelines, which they note conflicts in many cases with state, local and other protocols specific to certain industries.
Car makers General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. said they are sticking with existing policies while awaiting guidance from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which has jurisdiction over their workplaces and still requires face coverings and social distancing. The agency didn’t immediately update its guidance based on the CDC announcement. OSHA representatives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Some national retailers said they were reviewing the CDC’s changes. Kroger Co. , the nation’s biggest supermarket chain, said it would continue requiring masks and encouraging social distancing. The company said it is asking employees for feedback as it reviews safety practices and the latest CDC guidance.
The second week of the trial between Epic Games Inc. and
Apple Inc.
AAPL 1.98%
has centered on expert-witness testimony debating whether smartphones are interchangeable with other videogame platforms and the definition of a market in the digital age.
Epic sued Apple in August and accused the tech giant of violating antitrust laws after it yanked the developer’s hit videogame “Fortnite” from the App Store. Apple has defended itself by arguing that its app-marketplace policies are fair and that Epic breached a contract applicable to all developers distributing apps on its mobile devices.
The Oakland, Calif., trial, in which U.S. District Judge
Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers
will decide the outcome, could help reshape the multibillion-dollar market for distributing apps on mobile devices.
Judge Gonzalez Rogers is used to handling tech-industry cases, and neither Apple nor Epic are newcomers to her courtroom. She says she helped her son find success as an aeronautical engineer by denying him videogames but also noted that her daughter has
Nintendo Co.
’s Switch.
Here is an overview of what has happened so far and what is next:
Who were Epic’s key witnesses and what did they say?
David Evans, a University of Chicago economist, argued on Epic’s behalf that game consoles aren’t good substitutes for smartphones because they can’t be used to access the internet by consumers on the go. If that were the case, “people wouldn’t use smartphones,” he said, adding that while Nintendo’s Switch is portable, it doesn’t have a cellular connection.
Dr. Evans further stated that Apple’s rules unfairly prevent developers from letting consumers know if their prices for in-app purchases take into account the iPhone maker’s 30% commission or that consumers may be able to get better deals elsewhere.
Phil Schiller, fellow at Apple, also attended the trial.
Photo:
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News
Also speaking for Epic was
Susan Athey,
economics of technology professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She said Apple locks consumers into its mobile operating system, known as iOS, because to switch devices they would in many cases have to repurchase the apps they already bought and deal with other hurdles.
Epic attorney Yonatan Even referenced a 2013 email from Apple executive Eddy Cue to current Apple Fellow
Phil Schiller
and Chief Executive
Tim Cook
: “Who is going to buy a
Samsung
phone if they have apps, movies, etc., already purchased? They now need to spend hundreds more to get where they are today.”
Who were Apple’s key witnesses and what did they say?
Lorin Hitt, a professor at University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, discussed in-app purchase pricing, noting that developers can charge various prices on iOS devices to demonstrate the flexibility of the App Store. He also said Apple lowered its developer fees on long-term subscription sales in 2016 and has said it plans to do the same this year for companies that generate less than $1 million in annual revenue through its marketplace.
Mr. Hitt said anticompetitive measures tend to result in reduced quality, yet that hasn’t happened with iPhone and iPad apps, as developers have seen their revenue increase over time. “They’ve been able to raise their prices because consumers perceive the value in what they’re offering,” he said.
Legal staff members carted boxes of court documents into the building in Oakland Thursday.
Photo:
David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News
Mr. Hitt also rejected the notion that Apple locks iPhone and iPad users into its mobile ecosystem. “For one thing, consumers actually do switch,” he said. He added that high customer retention rates aren’t evidence of high switching costs. “I stick with the product I have because I like the product I have.”
Another witness for Apple said Epic’s conclusion that the App Store is a monopoly is incorrect. Richard Schmalensee, emeritus professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said Apple’s behavior is similar to credit-card companies because they offer transaction platforms and have rules to ensure they collect commissions from sellers.
Mr. Schmalensee also argued that because Apple has the unique ability to identify the hardware connected to its App Store, it can benefit consumers by making purchases easy to complete, private and secure. With multiple third-party providers, users couldn’t automatically share purchases with family members, he said.
Apple’s stock-market value hit a new record in 2020, but its longstanding disputes with app developers are bubbling over into public view. WSJ explains why high-profile companies like Epic Games, Spotify and Tinder are at odds with App Store rules. Video/illustration: Jaden Urbi/WSJ (Video from 10/1/20)
Why did a banana in a tuxedo come up during the trial?
Testimony early in the week from Matthew Weissinger, vice president of marketing at Epic, added some levity when referencing a banana-like “Fortnite” character known as Peely. During Mr. Weissinger’s cross-examination, Apple’s attorney showed Peely’s tuxedo-wearing alter ego “Agent Peely,” saying it would have been inappropriate to show Peely without a suit in a federal courtroom. To set the record straight, Epic’s counsel questioned whether there is anything inappropriate about Peely without a suit. Mr. Weissinger replied: “It’s just a banana man.”
Mr. Weissinger also testified that his employer has had a much better relationship with console makers
Sony Group Corp.
,
Microsoft Corp.
and Nintendo than it did with Apple. Promotional collaborations with Apple around “Fortnite” were less successful and less targeted to gamers, he said.
When will we hear from Apple CEO Tim Cook?
Mr. Cook may be the final witness that Apple calls as part of its defense.
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On Tuesday Judge Gonzalez Rogers asked the parties if they are on track with witnesses and when Mr. Cook plans to take the stand. Epic’s attorneys said they will wrap their expert testimony this week, while Apple attorney Richard Doren said in regard to Mr. Cook: “It’ll be the last day of our case, we believe.”
But by Friday, it appeared the trial could extend into a fourth week. Judge Gonzalez Rogers said she reserved the courtroom for additional days.
Mr. Cook has been Apple’s chief executive since 2011 and is expected to testify about the company’s corporate values and operations, the launch of the App Store and the competition that Apple faces. He has defended the company’s App Store practices, saying in a congressional hearing last year that they help create a reliable and secure user experience. Under his leadership, Apple’s market value has risen to more than $2.2 trillion from around $350 billion.
Pennsylvania State University has been mocked after axing the words 'freshman,' 'junior' and 'senior' - as well as the phrase 'him or her' over fears they're sexist.
Last month, the University's Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs passed the 'Removal of Gendered & Binary Terms from Course and Program Descriptions' resolution with a majority vote. They said the axed terms were examples of 'male-centric' terminology that needed to be updated with more inclusive words.
Among the concerns raised by the committee were that 'freshmen' were too male-specific, with 'junior' and 'senior' axed for being 'parallel to western male father-son naming conventions.'
The phrase 'upperclassmen' was condemned for being 'both sexist and classist,' while the new rules also lashed Penn's existing documentation for many appearances by he/she pronouns.'
The bill was one of several equity and diversity resolutions to pass at the Senate's April 27 meeting, Penn State News reported.
The changes for gendered terms would apply to all written materials, including both internal and outward-facing documents, Fox News reported.
Pennsylvania State University (pictured) will no longer use labels like 'freshman,' 'junior,' or 'senior,' in an effort to be more inclusive and move away from 'male-centric' terminology
While the resolution has been mocked online, 88.75 percent of students at Penn State University said they approved the change, campusreform.org reported
The senate also recommended replacing freshman/sophomore/junior/senior with 'first-year',' second-year' etc.
Its members suggested replacing gendered pronouns with neutral terms like 'student,' 'faculty member' or staff member.'
Other recommendations included replacing 'underclassmen' and 'upperclassmen' with 'lower division' and 'upper division.'
The senate also called for the term 'super seniors' to be axed. That refers to students who have taken longer than the usual four years to complete their studies, over fears the moniker could make some of them self-conscious.
The proposal provided a suggested edit to a theater course description to read 'them' instead of 'him' or 'her.' (pictured)
But the resolution also conceded that old terms - including male and female pronouns - may be required in courses such as gender studies classes.
'The committee recognizes that there may be places where these terms, especially gender terms, may need to remain intact, for example in the case of courses or degrees that delve into gender studies,' the resolution said. 'In such cases, efforts shall be made to clearly delineate between the 'academic' study of these gendered terms, and the newly established nomenclature as it would apply to faculty, staff, students, and guests.'
Many online commenters ridiculed Penn State's changes, and predicted a drop in applications to the prestigious college
The announcement drew mixed criticism from people online, with some calling the move the schools attempt to be 'woke.'
On Facebook one parent complained about the resolution, commenting: 'Are you really getting rid of terminology such as freshman and sophomore? because I have a child at the main campus and I am at my wits end with this stupidity.'
Another Facebook commenter was even harsher, commenting: 'Your woke agenda is both sad and really pathetic and you represent what's wrong with this generation. Please pack up and leave asap because your agenda proves how worthless these students are who get triggered over real terms like male, senior and junior.'
Reactions on Twitter were not any better, with one person tweeting 'College campuses are quickly becoming complete jokes. Glad I went to college before academics went completely crazy.'
'I guess Penn State grads don't have and Alma Mater any more. I mean, 'nourishing mother' so CIS and ungender neutral. Maybe it should be Alma They?' someone tweeted in reaction to the resolution.
'Great to see we are focusing on important issues like this in the U.S,' one person sarcastically tweeted.
Another person shared a 'Family Guy' meme of Peter Griffin that reads 'Oh my god! who the hell cares!?'
One person simply tweeted 'Its official, these idiots are fully certifiable.'
While reaction to the resolution has been mixed online, students at Penn State do not seem to mind.
88.75 percent of students at the university approved the change, campusreform.org reported.
Andrew Cuomo's top aide Melissa DeRosa 'screamed' at and 'bullied' Rep. Elise Stefanik over her opposition to the governor's plan to shift ventilators from less hard-hit areas of the state to New York City last year, according to a report.
A source told the New York Post DeRosa, 38, called the Republican congresswoman, 36, on her personal cellphone 'furious' to get her to walk back her comments about Cuomo's executive order.
Stefanik reportedly refused and the two women haven't spoken since.
The incident marked the final nail in the coffin in the two women's 20-year friendship that began when they both attended elite prep school Albany Academy for Girls in upstate New York and had - up until then - survived their opposing political paths.
De Rosa, who works as secretary to the governor and is a member of his COVID-19 taskforce, has found herself increasingly drawn into the scandal surrounding Cuomo in recent months.
DeRosa was said to have been among the small inner circle of aides in the governor's office responsible for attempts to smear an ex-staffer who has accused the governor of sexual harassment.
And, back in February, it was DeRosa who made the bombshell confession that the state had withheld the damning data on the number of COVID-19 deaths in New York nursing homes from the Trump administration.
Andrew Cuomo's top aide Melissa DeRosa (left) 'screamed' at and 'bullied' Rep. Elise Stefanik (right) over her opposition to the governor's plan to shift ventilators from less hard-hit areas of the state to New York City last year, according to a report
Stefanik and DeRosa in happier times in 2015. The two women have been friends for 20 years before things soured last year
Last April, New York City became the virus epicenter of the world, hospitals were on the brink of collapse and bodies were piling up in refrigerated trucks in the streets of the city.
Cuomo announced in an executive order that he could seize life-saving medical equipment - predominantly ventilators that were in short supply - from areas less hard-hit and send them to hospitals most in need.
'I'm going to sign an executive order that says the state can take ventilators and personal protective equipment from institutions that don't need them now and redeploy them,' Cuomo said at the time.
The announcement sparked an instant backlash from some state and federal New York lawmakers, with Stefanik leading the revolt.
She publicly hit out at the plan calling it a 'grave concern to the hospitals in my district' saying it could leave the most vulnerable areas without when cases rises in those areas.
Stefanik, a Republican, represents New York's 21st congressional district in Glen Falls, which is home to the state's highest percentage of seniors of any congressional district.
Despite DeRosa's phone call, Stefanik refused to walk back her comments.
Cuomo later abandoned his plan for ventilators but the damage was already done to the two women's longtime friendship.
Since then, the feud has escalated and they have exchanged barbs with each other in public ever since.
Following the January 6 MAGA mob riot where Donald Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a violent insurrection that left five dead, calls mounted for Stefanik's resignation.
Last April, Cuomo said he would seize life-saving medical equipment from areas less hard-hit and send them to hospitals most in need in NYC. This sparked a backlash from some lawmakers, with Stefanik leading the revolt
Last April New York City was the virus epicenter of the world. A nurse treats a COVID-19 patient at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Manhattan last April
Workers move bodies into refrigerated trucks in Brooklyn last April as funeral homes and hospitals struggled to cope with the death rates
The lawmaker was among the Republicans who objected to the electoral college results being certified in favor of Joe Biden - despite multiple lawsuits, probes and a DOJ investigation finding no evidence of Trump's false claims that the election was 'stolen.'
This led to a spat between the two women on Twitter with Stefanik making a thinly-veiled jibe at DeRosa and Cuomo's office while DeRosa accused her of being 'complicit' in the attempt to overthrow the government.
'The Worst Governor in America cowardly sends out his own NY Dem State Party Chair, top advisors, and spokespeople who publicly call for my resignation. And then they cowardly try to walk it back,' Stefanik wrote on January 8.
'Worst Governor in America. He and his team earn this title every single day.'
DeRosa fired back heaping the blame for the five deaths onto her foe.
'Let's all say it together now: @EliseStefanik was complicit in an attempt to overthrow the US government,' she wrote.
'The effort resulted in 5 deaths, including a law enforcement officer. No amount of deflection changes these facts.'
The next month, the tensions mounted further when DeRosa found herself at the center of the state's apparent cover-up of nursing home COVID-19 deaths.
Stefanik called DeRosa's damning phone call where she admitted the state withheld data on the true number of deaths a 'bombshell admission of a coverup' and called for her and Cuomo to be prosecuted.
The feud has escalated with DeRosa accusing Stefanik of being 'complicit' in the MAGA mob riot at the US Capitol in January
Stefanik called for DeRosa and Cuomo to be prosecuted over the COVID-19 nursing home death scandal after the aide admitted withholding data
'Governor Cuomo, the Secretary to the Governor, and his senior team must be prosecuted immediately - both by the Attorney General of New York State and the U.S. Department of Justice,' Stefanik said in a statement.
'This bombshell admission of a coverup and the remarks by the Secretary to the Governor indicating intent to obstruct any federal investigation is a stunning and criminal abuse of power.
'I have said from the beginning that this is more than a nursing home scandal, this is a massive corruption and coverup scandal at the highest level of New York State Government implicating the Governor, the Secretary to the Governor, the New York State Health Commissioner and the Governor’s staff.'
Cuomo's top aide had admitted in a call with Democratic state legislators that officials 'froze' in August when then-President Donald Trump's Department of Justice asked for data on the number of nursing home residents who died from the virus.
DeRosa said on the call that the state then hid the damning data and rebuffed the request.
'We were in a position where we weren't sure if what we were going to give to the Department of Justice, or what we give to you guys, what we start saying, was going to be used against us while we weren't sure if there was going to be an investigation,' she said.
Just one year before the pandemic hit, DeRosa heaped praise on her 'little sister'
DeRosa then walked back her claims insisting the state was 'comprehensive and transparent' with the DOJ.
Her comments came just two weeks after the New York State Attorney General Letitia James revealed Cuomo's office had grossly downplayed the number of nursing home deaths by around 50 percent.
It was then claimed that DeRosa and other top officials successfully pushed state health officials to alter the death data in a report before it was released to the public in July.
An original version of the report said almost 10,000 nursing home residents died, they said.
The final version released to the public put the figure at 6,432.
A separate federal probe is now looking into the state's handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes and the release of the data.
The public spat is a marked turnaround for the two women who have previously spoken highly of their enduring friendship.
They first met at Albany Academy for Girls where they both got a flavor for a career in politics serving on the student council.
They stayed in touch despite their political differences, with Stefanik this week being appointed the number three Republican in the House of Representatives and DeRosa being a Democrat and working for a high-profile Democrat governor.
DeRosa pictured with Cuomo in 2017. She has found herself increasingly drawn into the scandal surrounding Cuomo in recent months
When Stefanik got married in 2017, her friend DeRosa was at the wedding.
Just one year before the pandemic hit, DeRosa heaped praise on her 'little sister'.
'We may not agree on everything, but I will never stop being in awe of my little sister and middle school student council running-mate, @EliseStefanik. Nothing but class,' she tweeted in January 2019.
Stefanik replied with a kiss face emoji, writing: 'Thx Missy!'
According to writer Charlotte Alter, DeRosa spoke very highly of Stefanik around that time.
'"There have been times over the years when I have called her, practically in tears, saying, ‘This just happened, I feel so beaten down, I don’t know what to do anymore,’” DeRosa told me,' tweeted Alter this week.
'“And she is so morally supportive and will be there to coach through whatever the issue is.”'
A mother of a former classmate of the two former friends told the Post she found it 'sad' that their relationship had soured.
'Of course, it's sad. This goes to their positions in life and their livelihoods,' said Leah Aronowitz.
The two women were friends after they both attended elite prep school Albany Academy for Girls in upstate New York
'They're from two very different ends of the political spectrum and politics has become very nasty.'
DailyMail.com has reached out to Cuomo's office and Stefanik's office for comment.
Cuomo's office told the Post 'Stefanik politicized a pandemic and showed the world she didn't give a damn about saving the lives of New Yorkers.'
While Stefanik's office hit out at the various scandals involving Cuomo and called for him 'and his top aides' to 'be prosecuted.'
Cuomo is under investigation by the state AG's office over allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior.
At least nine women have come forward with accusations including three former and two current aides in his office.
The governor has repeatedly denied the allegations saying he 'never touched anyone inappropriately' and 'never made any inappropriate advances' but has apologized for making anyone feel 'uncomfortable.'
The governor is also being investigated over claims he covered up COVID-19 deaths in the state's nursing homes.
Tiger King's Joe Exotic has revealed he has prostate cancer.
The former zoo owner took to Twitter on Friday to share his cancer diagnosis, and once again pleaded for a pardon from President Joe Biden in the wake of his illness.
Exotic, 58, was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire in his plot to kill nemesis and Big Cat Rescue owner, Carole Baskin in 2019 - and sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Health concerns: Tiger King's Joe Exotic revealed he has prostate cancer via Twitter on Friday and pleaded for a pardon AGAIN in the wake of the diagnosis
In his social media post, Exotic wrote: 'John Phillips [Joe's lawyer] has received my medical records from FMC Fort Worth and my PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer.
'The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in. My body is tired, I have lost a tremendous amount of weight, the mouth sores are out of control, I throw up more than I eat.'
He added that he didn't 'want anyone's pity' but was instead keen for a pardon from 'President Biden, VP Harris and the Attorney General', and he accused the police and the Department of Justice of corruption.
Diagnosis: In his social media post, Exotic wrote: 'My PSA count came back very high for prostate cancer. The prison has approved testing to verify what stage it is in'
Plea: Exotic added that he didn't 'want anyone's pity' but was instead keen for a pardon from 'President Biden, VP Harris and the Attorney General'
Exotic went on: 'Make this right and sign that pardon that Trump left behind so I can go home and get proper medical care and proper food.
'Thank you for all the love and support from all over the world. I love you all. Wish me luck…#JusticeForJoeExotic #TigerKing #JoeExotic @JohnPhillips.'
The Kansas native requested a pardon from one-term President Donald Trump back in September, sending him a handwritten letter, later suing the Justice Department in December as a last-ditch effort - but this failed.
He most recently hired a new legal team, as they plan to use unaired Tiger King footage to push for a new trial.
Jailed: Exotic was convicted on 17 federal charges of animal abuse and two counts of attempted murder for hire in his plot to kill nemesis and Big Cat Rescue owner, Carole Baskin in 2019 - and sentenced to 22 years in prison
Attorney John Phillips of Phillips & Hunt, who previously represented the family of Baskin's missing husband Don Lewis, made the announcement in a video on Joe's Twitter.
He said: 'We are honored to announce that Joe has retained our firm. We're going to seek a new trial, and justice in the criminal and civil courts.'
Joe has also promised some juicy secrets in Tiger King: The Official Tell-All Memoir, which is set to set to be published in November.
He told E! News of the book: 'It's going to be a truth-tell book... Everybody that's ever done anything good, it's going to be in there and anybody that's got bones in your closet, you better look out.'
His nemesis: Carole Baskin is pictured with husband Howard at Big Cat Rescue
In April, Exotic claimed he has been 'kidnapped for a political agenda' in a furious audio recording as he continues to push for a presidential pardon.
In an audio recording for the Social Media Superstar Awards and obtained by The Sun, the former zoo owner said his conviction cast 'a black cloud over our entire justice system in America' and claimed he had 'compassion for zoo animals and humanity.
He said: 'What has been done to me puts a black cloud over our entire justice system in America and our leaders of this great country should be ashamed that our own Department of Justice can take part in kidnapping me for a political agenda to only end big cats in America.
'The real guy who has compassion and love for zoo animals, for the homeless, and for the sick, but most of all for humanity as a whole.
'I intend to use my new platform to speak for justice and prison reform and speak for the thousands of men and women in this country who have been wrongfully convicted or over sentenced in this country for simply no reason other than for profit.'
Exotic said his conviction was a 'conspiracy' and an 'obstruction of justice' - as he continues to push for a presidential pardon, this time from President Biden.
He continued: 'To all of the people in the streets of America trying to end racism; slavery is very much alive in America, folks. It is camouflaged by prison walls.
'Please ask President Biden to make history and sign every pardon on his desk and every compassionate release at the beginning of his term, not at the end.'
Presidential pardon: The Kansas native requested a pardon from one-term President Donald Trump back in September, sending him a handwritten letter, later suing the Justice Department in December as a last-ditch effort (pictured in August, 2013)
WHAT IS PROSTATE CANCER?
How many people does it kill?
More than 11,800 men a year - or one every 45 minutes - are killed by the disease in Britain, compared with about 11,400 women dying of breast cancer.
It means prostate cancer is behind only lung and bowel in terms of how many people it kills in Britain.
In the US, the disease kills 26,000 men each year.
Despite this, it receives less than half the research funding of breast cancer and treatments for the disease are trailing at least a decade behind.
How quickly does it develop?
Prostate cancer usually develops slowly, so there may be no signs someone has it for many years, according to the NHS.
If the cancer is at an early stage and not causing symptoms, a policy of 'watchful waiting' or 'active surveillance' may be adopted.
Some patients can be cured if the disease is treated in the early stages.
But if it diagnosed at a later stage, when it has spread, then it becomes terminal and treatment revolves around relieving symptoms.
Thousands of men are put off seeking a diagnosis because of the known side effects from treatment, including erectile dysfunction.
Tests and treatment
Tests for prostate cancer are haphazard, with accurate tools only just beginning to emerge.
There is no national prostate screening programme as for years the tests have been too inaccurate.
Doctors struggle to distinguish between aggressive and less serious tumours, making it hard to decide on treatment.
Men over 50 are eligible for a ‘PSA’ blood test which gives doctors a rough idea of whether a patient is at risk.
But it is unreliable. Patients who get a positive result are usually given a biopsy which is also not foolproof.
Scientists are unsure as to what causes prostate cancer, but age, obesity and a lack of exercise are known risks.
Anyone with any concerns can speak to Prostate Cancer UK's specialist nurses on 0800 074 8383 or visit prostatecanceruk.org
President Biden revoked several Trump-era executive orders Friday, among them being an order to protect historical federal statutes, like those vandalized during the summer protests.
Trump executed order 13934, “Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes,” during a time when federal monuments of civil war veterans and slave-owning historical monuments faced vandalism from Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA activists.
Biden also revoked executive order 13925 “Preventing Online Censorship,” 13978 “Building the National Garden of American Heroes,” 13964 “Rebranding United States Foreign Assistance to Advance American Influence” and 13980 “Protecting Americans From Overcriminalization Through Regulatory Reform.”
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
Following the violence in Israel and Gaza, Democratic representatives have taken stances against Israel. Now, the Muslim Brotherhood is applauding them for “demand[ing] the protection of Palestinians from Zionist attacks”
The jihadist extremist group was shouting out Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Andre Carson (D-IN), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Cori Bush (D-MO), as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
“A large number from the American Democratic Party urged their government to try stopping the violence of the occupation forces against the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank,” the article reads. While it was originally written in Arabic, it has since been translated by independent translators for The Washington Free Beacon.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
Following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announcing that vaccinated people don’t have to wear masks anymore, an altercation over masks broke out in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Hill’s Scott Wong was in the room when it happened. Rep. Marjorie Greene Taylor’s (R-GA) Communications Director Nick Dyer started the spat. When he saw Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) wearing a mask on the floor, he reminded him of Thursday’s subsequent announcement from President Biden.
I saw the altercation but was not close enough to hear Swalwell.
“Biden says you can take off your mask,” Dyer said.
Wong saw Swalwell get “in [Dyer’s] face.” Then, according to Dyer, Swalwell told him: “You don’t tell me what to f***ing do!”
Then, after reports of the incident, Swalwell doubled down, saying he “regret[s he] wasn’t more explicit.” To hear him tell it, he was standing up to a bully. “No one should be bullied for wearing a mask.” In the tweet, he called the director an aide.
I had a mask on as I stepped off the Floor. An aide with @mtgreenee yelled at me to take my mask off. No one should be bullied for wearing a mask. So I told the bully what I thought of his order. Predictably, he went speechless. I regret I wasn’t more explicit. https://t.co/o8j0DXWOBm
But Greene says Swalwell was the bigger bully. She claims he “chased my staffer into the Capitol, cornered him and exploded in anger inches from his face.”
Stop lying, Jamie.
Eric Swalwell chased my staffer into the Captiol, cornered him and exploded in anger inches from his face.
A day after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks, National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci says unvaccinated children still have to wear masks. He appeared on an interview with CNN’s “The Lead.”
Host Jake Tapper asked Fauci if kids who haven’t received the vaccine still need to wear masks. “The children do when they’re out there playing with their friends, particularly in an indoor situation, they do,” Fauci responded.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s essentially over,” Fauci said. “I think this is a very important step in the direction of trying to get back to some degree of normality. Because this is something that everyone has had on their mind … and being able to go around without a mask indoors as well as outdoors is really a big step in that direction.”
Squad of Three Fully Equipped and Armed Soldiers Standing on Hill in Desert Environment in Sunset Light.
After President Biden announced he will be ending “America’s longest war” this year, a US official confirmed to Fox News that all military personnel have left the Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan. Kandhar is the country’s second-largest city.
The official reported that the troops left earlier this week. At the time Biden promised to pull all troops out of Afghanistan, there were about 2,500 soldiers stationed there.
After ousting Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) Wednesday, Republican House members voted Thursday to elect Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as GOP Conference Chair.
Thank you to my House GOP colleagues, President Trump, and my constituents in #NY21 for the opportunity to serve as House Republican Conference Chair. I am truly humbled and honored. pic.twitter.com/Seq6lrnh0R
The New York Rep. swept the vote, getting 134 of the 212 votes. Last-minute nominee Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) received 46 votes, and Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Catherine McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) each received one vote.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
Carter interviewed Jimmy Hobbs, the Texas farmer who found five abandoned girls on his property Sunday. He and his wife Katie have lived in Quemado, Texas all their lives. Moreover, their family has lived in the area for generations but only now are they feeling the adverse effects of a weak immigration policy.
“We don’t feel like we’re a sovereign nation any more,” Katie said. “We don’t have a border down here in the south.”
Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano also talked to Carter about what it’s like running a city as it experiences a surge in illegal immigration.
“This administration is telling the American people, taxpaying citizens, that [the border] is under control,” Lozano said. “How is an increase of 396% under control, while this time last year it was 18,000 detainees — we are at 97,000 in this sector alone.”
Lozano is disappointed that the Biden administration isn’t called out enough for their failure at the border. “There’s no accountability,” Lozano said. “I was elected to do a duty that is to protect my community and if it means calling out a person from the same party, so be it. I am not going to back down.”
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
The Israel Defense Forces overnight targeted terrorist tunnel networks in Gaza used by Hamas.
The massive operation came after Israel warned of a ground invasion in Gaza. However, the operation was conducted outside of Gaza with the IDF utilizing the power of 160 aircraft, tanks, artillery, and infantry units just along the border.
The IDF said they struck 150 targets, destroying kilometers of the tunnel network, which they’ve dubbed the “Hamas ‘Metro’.”
The target: The Hamas ‘Metro’ tunnel system in Gaza.
The operation: 160 aircraft, tanks, artillery and infantry units along the border.
We struck 150 targets and damaged many kilometers of the Hamas ‘Metro’ network. pic.twitter.com/otn7JKxB9c
Gaza continues firing hundreds of rockets a day at Israel’s civilian population. In Israel, 9 people have died from the attacks.
In response, the IDF has been conducting operations targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist strongholds in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 119 people have been killed in Gaza. It should be noted that hundreds of rockets from Gaza have been misfired and landed within the territories, causing significant casualties and injuries.
You can follow Jennie Taer on Twitter @JennieSTaer
VENICE BEACH, California — Los Angeles's ever-expanding homeless problem is now likely landing on the doorstep of celebrity-filled beachfront neighborhoods as the beleaguered City Council looks for ways to alleviate some of the stress on world-famous Venice Beach.
The 2-mile strip of Venice, where actor Arnold Schwarzenegger and many others have pumped iron on an outdoor makeshift seaside gym, has now been claimed by thousands of homeless living in a tent city. Venice is only 3 square miles, and an estimated 4,000 homeless live there, said Soledad Ursua, a member of the Venice Neighborhood Council’s Board of Directors.
Tourists pose for a photo at the Muscle Beach, as they enjoy the warm weather in the Venice Beach area of Los Angeles, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. With much of the Northeast gripped by snow and ice storms, the Southwest is riding a heat wave that is setting record high temperatures and sent people to beaches and golf courses in droves Friday. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Damian Dovarganes/AP
The number is double from the previous year and nearly rivals the 4,600 living in Skid Row.
The situation is a lawless wasteland filled with filth, rats, fires, and crime, where police are defunded and residents fend for themselves from the encroaching madness, Ursua said. Senior residents are afraid to walk outside as violent robberies have risen by 177% and assaults with a deadly weapon 116% over the last year, according to Los Angeles Police Department statistics.
“We are homeowners within a homeless encampment, it's all around us,” Ursua said. “You can get shot or stabbed. No one in their right mind would take their children there at night or in the day.”
The community group Fightbackvenice.org counted 1,901 homeless in 2020. A new count was not taken this year because of the pandemic, but the current population is at least double, said Ursua, who owns a house near the beach.
Residents from the newly proposed locations have been up in arms over their likely forthcoming neighbors.
“All I hear is, ‘We don’t want to become Venice,’” Ursua said of her wealthy fellow Californians in the target zone. “Well, now you know what we have been going through because it’s coming your way.”
Vaulted enclaves such as Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey, Culver City, and Pacific Palisades have been identified as homeless shelters in the form of tiny homes, “safe camping,” and/or “RV safe parking,” according to a motion submitted by Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin, who has the coastal district.
Cyclists ride through the Venice Beach neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Photographer: Allison Zaucha/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
When the Beach Boys sang about Pacific Palisades being one of their favorite spots in the hit song “Surfin’ U.S.A.,” it’s safe to say the band never envisioned an infinite row of homeless tents up on the formerly pristine California coast, where $2.6 million is the average home price.
Celebrities who have lived in "the Palisades" or currently do include actors Ben Affleck, Billy Crystal, and Dan Aykroyd; boxer Sugar Ray Leonard; and directors Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams.
"They don't have the homeless there, we have 90% of the beach’s homeless in Venice," Ursua said. "Basically, all of Venice is homeless."
Summer is coming, and it’s unclear what Los Angeles will do to keep tourists safe who visit the coast. A handful of proposed homeless shelters won’t even put a dent in the existing problem that was made worse by Bonin's proposal to cut staffing for LAPD officers who patrol the beach due to the "defund the police" movement.
A 1968 anti-camping ordinance had kept homelessness in check until Los Angeles stopped enforcing it in the past decade. A 2018 court decision negated enforcement unless enough shelters existed to house individuals. Neighboring Orange County, which has a fraction of the homeless, enforces an anti-camping law.
Los Angeles is a defendant in a federal lawsuit that accuses the city of refusing to house individuals living on Skid Row. U.S. District Court Judge David Carter, who cleaned up Orange County with a similar type of lawsuit, issued a withering opinion blasting Los Angeles city officials as corrupt.
Carter accused the city of violating the U.S. Constitution clauses of equal protection and due process in addition to creating a “state danger” that violated California law requiring “protection, care and assistance to the people of the state … by providing appropriate aid and services to all of its needy and distressed.”
At last count, Los Angeles had 66,436 homeless, a 20,000 increase over the past five years. California has one-fifth of the nation’s homeless population with 151,278 people, according to 2021 statistics by the World Population Review.
A pod of dolphins swims near a surfer at Venice Beach during the coronavirus outbreak, Wednesday, May 13, 2020, in Los Angeles. Los Angeles County reopened its beaches Wednesday in the latest cautious easing of coronavirus restrictions that have closed most California public spaces and businesses for nearly two months. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Mark J. Terrill/AP
Ursua says she hopes the judge can take a look at Venice because the problem isn’t going to be solved by City Hall.
“The beaches used to be safe for children and families,” she said. “If I wanted to live at the beach overlooking the ocean, I have to pay $2 million. Why should someone get that for free?”
Democratic operatives were relieved to see the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relax requirements for face masks and social distancing, convinced the return to normal will boost the party in 2022 by allowing resumption of door-knocking and other in-person voter turnout activities.
Democratic campaigns, and Democratic voters, have been committed to observing coronavirus health precautions, forcing the party to minimize door-to-door canvassing and other person-to-person field operations considered the most effective means of turning out the vote. There was anxiety the party would be at a disadvantage heading into the midterm elections because Republican groups and party committees have been less beholden to pandemic restrictions and more active in communities interacting with voters.
“The decision not to canvass in 2020 was good policy but also hamstrung our efforts,” said Ed Espinoza, a Democratic strategist in Texas.
A Democratic operative in Washington added that efforts to preserve thin majorities in the House and Senate will be “so much easier” now that the party can get back into the field — and that voters inclined to back Democratic candidates will feel more comfortable engaging staff and volunteers. “I do think it’s a safe assumption that our voter contact starts to look normal again over the course of this year."
The Democrats had a fairly successful 2020. President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump, and Democrats flipped two Georgia seats in runoff elections Jan. 5 this year to win control of the Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote. But they lost more than a dozen House seats, coming close to losing the majority altogether, and failed to flip a single state legislature as the decennial redistricting process looms.
Some Democrats blame the party’s disappointing outcome down ballot to the decision to jettison in-person field activities in favor of digital outreach.
Republicans did the same but shifted back to door-knocking last summer. Biden and the Democrats, whose messaging revolved around following the science as it relates to the coronavirus, made a similar transition politically complicated. Given the attacks on Trump and the Republicans for being cavalier about the pandemic, Democrats felt pressure to observe strict adherence to CDC guidelines for face masks and social distancing, even as it put them at risk of falling short in November.
On Friday, Democratic groups were still adjusting to the new CDC guidelines and figuring out what a transition back to normal looked like. But some preparations were already underway.
The Democratic National Committee had previously announced a $23 million investment in state parties to beef up operations, including field staff, as necessary, with some of that money earmarked for voter registration and other activities in red states where Democrats want to compete. The DNC plans to spend another $21 million in 2021 alone to hire dozens of staff focused on “voter protection,” helping Democratic voters navigate new voting laws, in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
That money will be used as well to place communications and field organizing staff in states such as Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The goal is to take to battleground neighborhoods to tell voters about what the Biden administration has delivered. Meanwhile, the DNC believes the digital infrastructure it created to reach voters at the height of the pandemic will continue to pay dividends, even as in-person outreach becomes the norm again.
“Democrats have continued to listen to the scientists in order to keep our staff safe and healthy,” DNC spokesman Lucas Acosta said. “The CDC guidance that came out this week was the green light we were looking for, and I think you’ll start see vaccinated organizers knock on doors in next weeks and months.”
After a turbulent few months for House Republicans, culminating in the ousting of Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney as conference chairwoman and a lightning-fast replacement, members were eager to move forward and rally together against Democrats.
But the new No. 3 Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik faces an undercurrent of conservative criticism that could pose challenges for her in the future, plus loyalty to former President Donald Trump that is prime for attacks from Democrats.
"We're all united, and Elise is our chair. Now we're going to get busy, pointing out how the Democratic Party is destroying America," said Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who mounted a last-minute challenge to Stefanik and circulated a memo opposing her candidacy based on her voting record.
He punctuated the all-is-well messaging by posting a selfie with one of the cupcakes that Stefanik distributed while campaigning for conference chairwoman, with a note pledging to work to “unify our team,” “go on offense and win on the issues,” and “highlight all individual members.”
But despite endorsements from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and Trump, the Friday morning secret ballot vote 48 hours after the conference voted to remove Cheney from her leadership position resulted in around 30% of House Republicans who cast a ballot voting for someone other than Stefanik. She got 134 votes, Roy got 46, nine people voted present, and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, and former Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington each got one vote.
“It was a good solid chunk of votes that, I think, agreed that we should have had a better process,” Roy said after the vote.
Numerous conservative organizations give Stefanik a lower rating on key votes than they did for Cheney. Club for Growth gives Stefanik a 35% lifetime rating compared to 65% for Cheney; with FreedomWorks, Stefanik was at 37% and Cheney at 53%. FiveThirtyEight’s voting record tracker found that Cheney voted with Trump’s preference 93% of the time, compared to 78% for Stefanik.
Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert kept her discontent with Stefanaik apparent after the vote on Friday and hinted that a magnifying glass might be on Stefanik to ensure she votes as conservatively as she talks.
“Republicans know when they run as conservatives, they win elections. And that’s exactly what we just saw. But when we legislate as conservatives, the people win," she told reporters. "I primaried a five-term incumbent who talked one way and voted another, and we don’t need the No. 3 in our party voting alongside the ‘Squad’ on most of the prominent issues. So, you know, congratulations to Conference Chair Elise Stefanik. I hope that she stays true to the promises she made while she was campaigning to win the seat.”
Stefanik, Boebert said, promised to be more conservative and argued that she has become more conservative.
In her first press conference after becoming conference chairwoman on Friday morning, Stefanik diverted away from a question about concerns with her voting record not being conservative enough.
"Listen, the Republican Party is a big-tent party, and in my district is the story of the growth of the Republican Party," Stefanik said. "My district voted for President Obama by double digits and voted for President Trump and myself by double digits."
Jordan told reporters that he was not concerned about Stefanik’s voting record being a hurdle for her uniting the party.
“If you’re going to unify, focus on all the crazy things Joe Biden, the Biden administration, and the Democrat Congress are doing,” said Jordan, a Freedom Caucus member who backed Stefanik for the No. 3 conference spot and worked with her on Trump's 2019 impeachment defense team.
Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, who nominated Roy for the conference chairman position and called Stefanik a "liberal," also expressed a willingness to move on with Stefanik.
"I think it is a mood of relief," Buck said after the vote. "The problem that Republicans have is President Biden, and Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer."
CNN anchor Don Lemon abruptly announced the last airing of his show CNN Tonight on the network Friday evening.
The brief message, delivered before Lemon signed off for the night, prompted speculation that he was leaving the network, but he quickly clarified that he is not leaving the network.
"So earlier I told you I had an announcement. And I do. It's been really really great. This is the last night that we'll be seeing Tonight with Don Lemon. So I appreciate all the years of CNN tonight with Don Lemon. But changes are coming. And I will fill you in," the anchor said at the end of his show.
"But until then, I'm very proud of my CNN special about Marvin Gaye's groundbreaking album, what's going on, what's going on Marvin Gaye's anthem for the ages, starts right now," he added.
Within minutes, the anchor posted on his Twitter account to address the wave of speculation about his future at the netowrk that followed his sign-off.
CNN's Don Lemon announces his upcoming departure from his nightly program:
"I appreciate all the years of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon, but changes are coming and I will fill you in." pic.twitter.com/GBxUKOD5i1
"So I got back down to my office after the show. Everybody calm down. I didn't say I was leaving CNN, I just said it was the end of an era for CNN Tonight with Don Lemon. I'm not leaving CNN, so you will have to tune in Monday at 10 o'clock to see, that's it. So relax. I'm not leaving," Lemon added.
It is not immediately clear what Lemon's plans are with the network, or whether the cryptic announcement is a teaser for a new time slot for the anchor on CNN.
A nonprofit group tied to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration financed most of the charter flight when she visited her father in Florida at a time when the Democrat's administration was urging residents not to travel during the coronavirus pandemic.
JoAnne Huls, the governor's chief of staff, made the announcement in an unaddressed email memo on Friday, according to a Detroit News report which noted that the disclosure raised questions about the financial arrangement.
"Due to ongoing security and public health concerns, we made a decision to use a chartered flight for this trip," Huls wrote in the memo. "The governor's flight was not a gift, not paid for at taxpayer expense and was done in compliance with the law."
Michigan Transition 2019, a social welfare nonprofit organization that state business records show was formed in late 2018 to assist in funding Whitmer's inauguration, chartered the private plane, which brought her to Florida on March 12 and returned her to Lansing on March 15.
On April 5, Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services issued an advisory warning residents that travel could increase the risk of spread of COVID-19.
The organization spent $27,521 on travel during the first 14 days of May, the voluntary disclosure revealed, which covered the March flights. Whitmer paid the nonprofit group $855 for her seat on the flights, according to Michigan Information & Research Service News, which first reported about the arrangement.
Republicans said the disclosure was troubling and warranted more explanation.
"Tonight's revelations raise additional questions and concerns surrounding the financial arrangements of Gov. Whitmer's secret, unvaccinated trip to Florida on a private jet," said Ted Goodman, a spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party.
Whitmer has insisted the previously disclosed travel was for an "important family reason." The Democrat claimed the flight was "not a gift" and "not paid for at taxpayer expense."
Huls said in her Friday memo that the health of Whitmer's father, Richard, began to deteriorate after she returned to Michigan on March 15. The chief of staff added that on Monday the governor took her father to Ann Arbor for a medical procedure to begin intravenous antibiotics and that it was a success.
A Wisconsin high school teacher was placed on administrative leave following an incident in which a viral video appears to show her berating a student for failing to wear a mask as a precaution meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Talk radio host Vicki McKenna shared the video, claiming that she found it on TikTok and edited the shot to protect the student's identity. She declined to say who published the video.
“I don’t care if you’re vaccinated, you little dink,” the teacher told the student in the video. “I don’t want to get sick and die. There’s other people you can infect just because you’re vaccinated. You know what? You’re not a special person around here," the unidentified teacher can be heard saying.
“You should hear about how everyone talks about you around here. You’re a jerk. You’re a jerk. And you need to have respect for other people in your life," the teacher continued. "You’re not a big man on campus, quit walking around here like you have a stick up your butt."
The Poynette School District has not confirmed the video, though District Administrator Matt Shappell acknowledged an incident occurred on Tuesday this week in a Facebook post. The Washington Examiner reached out to the school district for comment.
This is the video I talked about on the air today of the WI teacher verbally abusing a student for not wearing a mask while he ate lunch. (This is video 1/2)https://t.co/bsWcnGRW3I
"The School District of Poynette is aware of an incident that occurred today, May 11th, 2021, involving a teacher and student at the Poynette High School," Shappell said, adding, "The District is initiating an investigation and the teacher involved has been put on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation."
Shappell said the district contacted the parents and administrative officials are "taking steps to provide the appropriate support for the student involved."
The administrator said masks are required in school buildings and on district-sponsored transportation but declined to say what the consequences are for students who break the rule, according to an email obtained by the Portage Daily Register.
BEIJING — China has landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time in the latest advance for its space program.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday that the lander had touched down, citing the China National Space Administration.
Plans call for a rover to stay in the lander for a few days of diagnostic tests before rolling down a ramp to explore an icy area of Mars known as Utopia Planitia. It will join an American one that arrived at the red planet in February.
China's first Mars landing follows its launch last month of the main section of what will be a permanent space station and a mission that brought back rocks from the moon late last year.
"China has left a footprint on Mars for the first time, an important step for our country's space exploration," Xinhua said in announcing the landing on one of its social media accounts.
The United States has had nine successful landings on Mars since 1976. The Soviet Union landed on the planet in 1971, but the mission failed after the craft stopped transmitting information soon after touchdown.
A rover and a tiny helicopter from the American landing in February are currently exploring Mars. NASA expects the rover to collect its first sample in July for return to Earth in a decade.
China has landed on the moon before, but landing on Mars is a much more difficult undertaking because it has an extremely thin atmosphere.
Spacecraft must use heat shields for protection from the searing heat of reentry and both retro-rockets and parachutes to slow enough to prevent a crash landing. The parachutes and rockets must be deployed at precise times to land at the designated spot.
Only mini-retro rockets are required for a moon landing, and parachutes alone are sufficient for returning to Earth, which has a much bigger atmosphere.
Touchdown was at 7:18 a.m. Beijing time (23:18 GMT; 7:18 p.m. EDT), according to the State Administration of Science. Technology and Industry for National Defense.
The distance between Earth and Mars caused a delay for mission control in Beijing to confirm successful deployment of a conical heat shield, rockets, and a giant parachute to control the craft's descent.
NASA Associate Administrator Thomas Zurbuchen tweeted his congratulations, saying, "Together with the global science community, I look forward to the important contributions this mission will make to humanity's understanding of the Red Planet."
China's Mars landing was the top trending topic on Weibo, a leading social media platform, as people expressed both excitement and pride at the achievement.
Former President Donald Trump could end up stuck in Florida if he is indicted in New York and there is resistance to him being extradited, according to a top prosecutor in Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation.
Looking ahead, Andrew Weissmann, a former Justice Department official and FBI general counsel, also suggested such a situation could limit Trump's ability to inhabit the White House should he run for the presidency again in 2024.
“This happens all the time in foreign countries, where essentially you have people who are sort of imprisoned in a country. Here, Donald Trump would be imprisoned in Florida," Weissmann said during an appearance on MSNBC. "If he went overseas, if he went to any other state, he would be subject to those laws, and so he would really have to stay in Florida. It certainly would be quite an interesting issue if he were to, for instance — this is way down the road — but if he were to try and run again for president, he would not be inhabiting the White House in that situation because there would be papers seeking his extradition to New York.”
Weissmann, who played an instrumental role in winning convictions against former Trump campaign officials Paul Manafort and Rick Gates during the Russia investigation and later lamented how he believed that the special counsel "could have done more" to hold Trump accountable, was reacting to a Politico report on Thursday that said officials in Palm Beach County, Florida, are grappling with the possibility of Trump being indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., who is looking for possible bank, tax, or insurance fraud.
One point of discussion is the topic of extradition and the role of local law enforcement. A Florida statute gives the governor, who right now is Ron DeSantis, the ability to intervene and investigate whether a person charged with a crime "ought to be surrendered" to another state.
“The statute leaves room for interpretation that the governor has the power to order a review and potentially not comply with the extradition notice,” Joe Abruzzo, clerk of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County, told the outlet.
Although some experts argue it would be a lost cause, Weissmann said DeSantis and Trump may very well have ways to delay extradition, but he warned that Florida would be acting "at its peril" because "one of the things that Florida wants is ... to have its own extradition papers adhered to when they are seeking fugitives around the country to be extradited back to Florida for prosecution. So if they were to sort of play games with this, other states could, you know, retaliate."
DeSantis is a former Republican congressman whom Trump has floated as a possible running mate if he runs for the White House again in 2024. While he might be opposed to extraditing Trump to New York, the situation gets more complicated with Trump expected to spend his summer in Bedminster, New Jersey, as his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach shuts down for the season.
The Politico report noted that New Jersey has a similar statute that gives the governor a warrant to investigate from out of state. That governor is Phil Murphy, a Democrat who has been critical of Trump, particularly after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Abruzzo was identified as being a former close associate of President Joe Biden's younger brother, Frank, but he assured the outlet “the full extent of the law will be followed and carried out appropriately, without bias.”
The report said Trump's legal team could negotiate a condition of surrender if he is indicted, which could preclude involvement of local law enforcement, but an attorney for the former president declined to comment. Vance announced plans earlier this year to retire at the end of 2021, and the report noted that there is speculation that indictments could happen before he leaves office.
The Trump Organization is also under investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump denies any wrongdoing and in February decried what he dubbed a "new phenomenon of ‘headhunting’ prosecutors and AGs."
The FBI quietly admitted Friday that the 2017 Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field shooting that nearly killed Rep. Steve Scalise has been classified as “domestic terrorism” carried out by a “domestic violent extremist” targeting Republicans after the bureau previously classified it as “suicide by cop.”
The revelation appears in the middle of an appendix on page 35 of a 40-page FBI-DHS report released on Friday titled “Security Strategic Intelligence Assessment and Data on Domestic Terrorism.” In a section describing approximately 85 different “FBI-Designated Significant Domestic Terrorism Incidents in the United States from 2015 through 2019,” the Alexandria baseball field shooting appears, with the FBI categorizing the perpetrator as a “Domestic Violent Extremist” and describing the incident thusly: “An individual with a personalized violent ideology targeted and shot Republican members of Congress at a baseball field and wounded five people. The subject died as a result of engagement with law enforcement.”
In June 2017, James Hodgkinson, a man from Illinois who was living out of a van in Alexandria, opened fire at Eugene Simpson Stadium Park after asking GOP Rep. Jeff Duncan, who was leaving practice early, if the players were Republicans or Democrats. Hodgkinson struck Scalise in the hip, hit lobbyist Matt Mika in the chest, and injured two U.S. Capitol Police officers, Crystal Griner and David Bailey. Scalise nearly bled to death and required multiple surgeries before returning to Congress.
Hodgkinson, an avid liberal and supporter of Democratic presidential primary candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, was killed by law enforcement. He had posted on Facebook that “Trump is a Traitor. Trump Has Destroyed Our Democracy. It's Time to Destroy Trump & Co.” and joined other groups such as "Terminate The Republican Party" and "Join The Resistance Worldwide!!"
Last month, the FBI had said that the shooting would have been classified as "domestic terrorism" if it happened today, but that seemed to dance around the issue of how it should properly be classified. Earlier in April, Republican congressmen had criticized the decision by the FBI, led in an acting capacity at the time by Andrew McCabe, not to label the shooting by Hodgkinson as domestic terrorism despite his targeting of elected Republican leaders as they practiced for the annual congressional baseball game, calling upon FBI Director Christopher Wray, who has led the bureau since August 2017, to provide answers.
Scalise and other Republicans sent Wray a letter on Tuesday demanding answers, noting that Hodgkinson had “a potential ‘hit list’ of six Members of Congress – Republicans Trent Franks, Jim Jordan, Morgan Griffith, Scott DesJarlais, Jeff Duncan, and Mo Brooks – in his pocket” — yet the FBI had classified it as “suicide by cop.” The letter, signed by everyone at the practice and everyone on the purported hit list, was “demanding answers and accountability from the FBI.” The letter added: “We all agree that violent extremism of any kind must be rooted out and addressed by our law enforcement agencies. But we cannot presume to understand the scope of this issue if our law enforcement agencies do not investigate all instances of extremism, regardless of motivating ideology, with equal vigor.”
The new report from the FBI stated that the bureau was “conducting approximately 1,000 pending domestic terrorism investigations each year” from 2017 through 2019 and that from 2015 to 2019, approximately 846 domestic terrorism subjects were arrested by or in coordination with the bureau. The report said, “The greatest terrorism threat to the Homeland we face today is posed by lone offenders, often radicalized online, who look to attack soft targets with easily accessible weapons” and that “many of these violent extremists are motivated and inspired by a mix of socio-political goals and personal grievances against their targets.”
During a late April hearing in front of a House appropriations subcommittee, Jill Sanborn, the executive assistant director of the FBI's National Security Branch, acknowledged it was an intentional attack on lawmakers and that, if it happened today, Wray’s FBI would consider it to be domestic terrorism.
Rep. Robert Aderholt argued last month that “classifying the attack as a suicide by cop really defies logic,” and the Alabama Republican asked Sanborn if “the FBI cleared up this by reclassifying the incident as an act of domestic terrorism.”
“It’s fair to say that the shooter was motivated by a desire to commit an attack on members of Congress and then knowing by doing so he would likely be killed in the process," Sanborn said. “Cases like this are challenging because there were, as you mentioned, a couple clues left behind, but he died in the process, never allowing us to fully examine through, say, an interview, his motivation. There are also indicators that the shooter intended the shooting to be his final act on earth, but those things are not inconsistent with someone who is motivated by a variety of factors to commit violent acts based on a blend of ideological or personal motivations, and this conduct is something that today we would characterize as a domestic terrorism event.”
Sanborn added: “This is also a good example of ... a trend we started to see probably 2016-ish, which is that the motivation and sort of what drove someone to mobilize is a very personalized grievance that they hold, which is something different from the domestic terrorism threat that we saw in years past.”
Aderholt asked if that meant the FBI considered the shooting to be an act of domestic terrorism, and Sanborn replied, "If it were to happen today, we would open this as a domestic terrorism case.”
The Republican asked why the FBI hadn’t classified it as domestic terrorism in the first place, and she replied, “I would have to get back to you on the specifics of what that rationale was, but in going back and looking at it, and honestly, at the trend of that personalized grievance motivation, it fits squarely into the phenomena that the director and I have talked about often, which is this very personalized sort of blending of ideologies that motivates somebody.”
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, an Ohio Republican, broke the news during a House Intelligence Committee meeting earlier in April that the FBI privately informed Congress in November 2017 that it considered the shooting to be “suicide by cop.”
“Much to our shock that day, the FBI concluded that this was a case of the attacker seeking suicide by cop,” Wenstrup said. “Director, you want suicide by cop, you just pull a gun on a cop. It doesn't take 136 rounds. It takes one bullet. Both the DHS and the [Office of the Director of National Intelligence] published products labeling this attack as a domestic violent extremism event, specifically targeting Republican members of Congress. The FBI did not.”
Rep. Jackie Speier and Rep. Jim Cooper, Democrats from California and Tennessee, backed Wenstrup's criticism.
Wray called the shooting “the horrific, horrific attack at the baseball field on that day.”
Alexandria's top prosecutor, Bryan Porter, released a report in October 2017 concluding the shooting was terrorism.
"The evidence in this case establishes beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect, fueled by rage against Republican legislators, decided to commit an act of terrorism as that term is defined by the Code of Virginia," the report read. "The suspect, using a lawfully-purchased assault rifle and handgun, ambushed a peaceful assembly of people practicing baseball and began to fire indiscriminately in an effort to kill and maim as many people as possible."
Virginia's code defines terrorism as “an act of violence … committed with the intent to intimidate the civilian population at large or influence the conduct or activities of the government ... through intimidation.” But a week after the shooting, an FBI report said it “does not believe there is a nexus to terrorism.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene may have violated a Georgia tax exemption law by receiving homestead exemptions for two residences.
Georgia law only allows individuals to obtain the exemption for their primary residence, but Greene has homestead exemptions for houses in both Fulton and Floyd counties, according to a Friday report from Channel 2 Action News.
"You get a tax break for your permanent residence. But you don’t get to do that in two places. That’s against the law," William Perry, founder of the nonprofit group Georgia Ethics Watchdogs, told the outlet.
In a Floyd County exemption application, Greene's husband reportedly left blank the portion that asked whether they had another active homestead exemption or any other property.
"The property owners filed for homestead exemption in Fulton County in May of 2019 and it became effective for the 2020 tax year," the Fulton County board of assessors said in a statement. "Per GA law, you can only have one homestead exemption. In this case, Fulton County will consult with Floyd County to confirm and determine in which county the exemption is not valid."
In response, Greene said the reporter behind the story needed to "mind his own business."
"Georgians care about their livelihoods and their family’s safety," she said in a statement. "Yet WSB is focused on paperwork, which is being taken care of. I’m a proud resident of the 14th district. Justin Gray needs to mind his own business instead of launching yet another pathetic attempt to smear me and my family."
One such flight, according to a complaint filed with the House Committee on Ethics, involved Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who flew from Washington, D.C., to Minneapolis on April 17 to attend the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin. Waters was already accompanied by two armed Capitol Police and two U.S. Secret Service agents when she allegedly requested two air marshals and two more marshals on touchdown to escort her in the airport.
On Friday night US Capitol Police and US Secret Service deny those claims telling Fox neither agency provided in-flight protection for the congresswoman.
“Congresswoman Maxine Waters utilized numerous government resources inappropriately,” the complaint reads. “Federal Air Marshals were removed from a “High Risk” flight to cover Ms. Waters flight to Minnesota. The High Risk flight took off with no armed law enforcement on board leaving a gap in National Security.”
“Air marshals for Miss Waters trip were assigned high risk missions, they were removed from those missions and assigned to Miss Waters mission on top of her already armed security detail from the Capitol Police,” Hightower said. “That was not an official business trip. We still don’t have any justification as to why government resources were utilized to fly Miss Waters out to Minnesota.”
It’s pretty hilarious that the woman who spent her entire trip to Minnesota trashing police and calling for extreme pushback against them is turning around and requesting exorbitant protection from law enforcement.
This woman is such an out-of-touch loon.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that America is unmasking. She went on her show and said that she now has to “rewire” herself to not see unmasked individuals as a “threat” after the CDC issued new guidelines for vaccination people.
“I feel like I’m going to have to rewire myself so that when I see someone out in the world who’s not wearing a mask, I don’t instantly think, ‘You are a threat,’” Maddow commented. “Or you are selfish or you are a Covid denier and you definitely haven’t been vaccinated. I mean, we’re going to have to rewire the way that we look at each other.”
The perfect response for an absolutely unhinged and crazy rant.
Well done, Megyn, well done.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
No, he believes, just like Biden, that everything is fine and these ideas that American’s are incentivized to stay out of work with big unemployment checks is just hogwash.
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He also stated that all this talk about inflation is just non-sense, too.
I mean…what planet is this guy living on?
That’s what Jesse Watters would like to know, and tore into Juan for being a privileged elite living in a clueless DC bubble.
Juan Williams just claimed there isn't a labor shortage nor any signs of inflation on The Five.
Well, it’s pretty obvious that Juan has been inside of his elitist bubble a little too long.
And of course he’s getting absolutely shredded online for his pompous behavior:
“Hey @TheJuanWilliams It’s not “petty” to see the gas pumps 1/4 mile from my house shut down. It’s not “petty” to see small town restaurants closing because they can’t find servers, it’s not “petty” to get videos from friends in Israel showing rockets exploding and sirens blaring”
“I turn the volume down when he speaks. Clueless and very annoying.”
“I’m grateful for Juan Williams. There’s really no other way to display an example of leftist idiocy.”
“He needs a lumber 2×4 adjustment. The price shock will knock some sense into him.”
“Sometimes I just don’t know what planet Juan lives on.”
It’s really such a cop-out for Biden and Juan to say that there’s no evidence of Americans choosing unemployment over the option to work.
Everyone knows you can’t literally track something like that…people lie all the time about job offers and whatnot.
This is one reason the Dems just “canceled” COVID – that jobs report was so devastating to Biden, they need to get people back in the workforce and show some “growth.”
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As you likely know by now, Teigen was “canceled” after the media finally got wind of an old story from 10 years ago, when for some unknown reason, Chrissy decided to severely bully a 16-year-old girl and tell her to kill herself both publically and privately.
Well, Chrissy issued a pretty standard apology – that most people did not think was enough.
And apparently, it wasn’t enough, because she’s still getting backlash.
Chrissy’s cooking line has been canceled by Target.
She and Target are claiming this was “mutual” and it was in the works since December. That could be true, but it could also be her PR spin and Target’s desire not to be involved in the drama.
Either way, she’s toast.
Bizpacreview reported that Target has “parted ways” with model and television personality Chrissy Teigen’s cookware due to what they claim is a non-exclusivity arrangement, and not because of her alleged past cruel and vicious cyberbullying
Teigen’s Cravings cookware line has been dumped by Target and is no longer on its website. However, her three Cravings cookbooks are still reportedly available for sale on the site.
According to Target’s rep via Fox Business: “We made the mutual decision in December to no longer carry the cookware line, given our continued focus on brands we develop and that can only be found at Target.” They contend it has nothing to do with the model’s cyberbullying scandals. A source from the retailer reportedly told TMZ that the line was removed last month and was done so due to a mutual and amicable decision that was agreed to in December of 2020.
Target exclusively carried the line of cookware when it debuted. But it appears to now be available on Teigen’s website and through other outlets as well. The company says that some of their brick-and-mortar stores still have the cookware in inventory.
This is how it usually starts with these “cancel” situations…one domino falls and the others follow, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Chrissy over the next few weeks.
But if anyone deserves to get canceled, it’s her. She’s a nasty, angry, mean person.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
First off, it appears that Michelle suffers from seasonal depression. She talked at length about how she hates the winter. I mean, she really, really hates the winter.
In fact, she said that she hopes to never experience winter again.
“I’ve been telling my daughters I’m moving toward retirement right now, picking projects and chasing summer,” she said. “Barack and I never want to experience winter again.
“Depression is understandable during these times,” Michelle said, adding that this is something that is important to both recognize and talk about.
“I needed to acknowledge what I was going through, because a lot of times we feel like we have to cover that part of ourselves up, that we always have to rise above and look as if we’re not paddling hard underneath the water,” Michelle said.
Well, Michelle certainly didn’t “cover” it up a lot. She’s never had what you’d call a “bright/peppy” energy, and she seemed angry a lot.
Michelle’s revelation about her mental health also comes on the heels of her admitting that her marriage to Barack has been “rocky” at times and they actually had to get into marital therapy. Yikes.
Honestly, this sounds like a really miserable family with a lot of problems that they need to work through.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
If this woman is so concerned about her health and safety, she should focus on her eating habits, because research shows COVID wreaks havoc on obese folks.
The teacher, who unleashes on this poor student like an unhinged madwoman, got some instant karma for what she did – she has been suspended, while the case is investigated.
Madison.com reported that a teacher in the Poynette School District has been placed on administrative leave following an incident at the high school Tuesday.
A video being shared on social media allegedly shows a Poynette teacher berating a student for failing to wear a mask, calling him a “jerk” and “dummy.” The district has not confirmed the video, which was shared by talk radio host Vicki McKenna, is related to the teacher being placed on leave.
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McKenna said she got the video from TikTok and edited it to protect the student’s identity. She declined to say who had posted the video to TikTok and a search of the platform did not immediately turn up a related video.
The school issued the following statement: “The District is initiating an investigation and the teacher involved has been put on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The District contacted the parents and we are taking steps to provide the appropriate support for the student involved.”
This virus, with a 99.8 percent survival rate for healthy folks, has turned a lot of people into complete lunatics.
This woman should be fired.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
There’s a method to Soror’s madness. He knows he can’t back big political names with a lot of money – that would draw way too much attention to him.
So, he goes after the smaller elections that nobody’s really paying any attention to and he picks a candidate who isn’t flashy and throws his money and power behind him or her.
That’s precisely what happened in Arizona with the Maricopa County Sherrif election.
George dropped $2 million on Paul Penzone in order to beat Joe Arpaio, and now George’s Sherriff is springing into action against the Arizona audit – and he’s trying to derail the process with a PR blitz, calling it “reckless” and dangerous, and questioning the legality of it and. insinuating that it could have a “far-reaching” impact on law and order.
AZ Central reported that Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone called the Arizona Senate’s demands for its audit of Maricopa County’s presidential election “mind-numbingly reckless and irresponsible.”
Penzone said the law enforcement agency would be at risk if the county turned over the state Senate’s intensified demand for certain routers or digital copies of the routers. The Senate also is demanding certain administrative passwords to voting machines that county officials say they do not have.
Providing the routers could compromise confidential, sensitive, and highly classified law enforcement data and equipment, he said in a statement on Friday.
“The Senate Republican Caucus’ audit of the Maricopa County votes from last November’s election has no stopping point. Now, its most recent demands jeopardize the entire mission of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office,” Penzone’s statement said.
This is Soros getting his money’s worth. This sort of action from Penzonne is George’s payoff.
And here’s how George does it:
Watch:
Always follow the money. Maricopa county's sheriff, Paul Penzone, received 2 million dollars from George Soros in campaign funds and now he is worried about the recklessness of the audit. pic.twitter.com/DSRgUKLpWc
And he’s smart…he’s flying under the radar, but he’s making a huge impact on everything.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
George P. Bush, son of the failed presidential candidate and Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, spoke out on Thursday to express his support for Republicans removing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her conference chair responsibilities the day before.
“Republicans deserve leadership that represents the views of their constituents, not their own personal vendettas,” Bush wrote on Twitter. “We need leaders in Congress that stand up for conservative Republican ideology, and Liz Cheney is not that leader.”
Republicans deserve leadership that represents the views of their constituents, not their own personal vendettas. We need leaders in Congress that stand up for conservative Republican ideology, and Liz Cheney is not that leader. pic.twitter.com/0Mpo0D6jeW
Bush, who is currently the Texas Land Commissioner, added that Cheney should have been less focused on former President Donald Trump and more concerned with President Joe Biden and what his administration is doing.
“So instead of training fire on the President, she really should have been firing on Biden and that agenda…that’s what you want out of your leadership, & unfortunately…she didn’t rise to the challenge,” Bush added.
This statement was particularly surprising given the fact that Bush is the nephew of former President George W. Bush, who worked alongside Cheney’s father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Cheney was one of the Republicans who voted in favor of impeaching Trump, who was quick to celebrate after she was ousted.
“Liz Cheney is a bitter, horrible human being,” Trump said in a statement, according to Yahoo News. “She has no personality or anything good having to do with politics or our country. She is a talking point for Democrats, whether that means the border, the gas lines, inflation, or destroying our economy.”
“She is a warmonger whose family stupidly pushed us into the never-ending Middle East Disaster, draining our wealth and depleting our great military, the worst decision in our country’s history,” Trump concluded. “I look forward to soon watching her as a paid contributor on CNN or MSDNC!”
Trump had urged Republicans to remove Cheney earlier in the day.
“The Republicans in the House of Representatives have a great opportunity today to rid themselves of a poor leader, a major Democrat talking point, a warmonger, and a person with absolutely no personality or heart,” Trump said.
“As a representative of the Great State of Wyoming, Liz Cheney is bad for our Country and bad for herself. Almost everyone in the Republican Party, including 90% of Wyoming, looks forward to her ouster—and that includes me!” he added.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
Now, what Glenn says, will probably be called a “conspiracy theory” by the left – that’s what they call everything nowadays that they disagree with.
But he makes some very chilling and good points, and it’s worth a listen.
In short, Glenn Beck argues that the entire financial system in this country is being weaponized by “climate change,” in order to enact the “Great Reset” and install an oligarchy.
And we all know the re-set a cornerstone of Obama’s third term.
Two weeks ago, Glenn Beck exposed how the financial system was being weaponized, in the name of climate change, to enact the Great Reset and usher in an oligarchy. And just this week, a former BlackRock executive— who is a true believer — spoke out in frustration, saying this is all just “a distraction from the problem of climate change” and it’s being done for money and power.
In this video clip from the full episode, which you can find here, Glenn broke down how the green global elites are now planning, not only to categorize you based on your skin color, religion, occupation, ideology, and carbon footprint, but to give you an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) score. Your score will determine everything for you: Whether you can buy a home, get a new car, open a business … everything.
Honestly, this is something right out of a movie, but the frightening part is that this feasibly could happen in our country.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
There are many good things about the “Great One” Mark Levin – but the main one is how he’s able to see past the hype and chatter around an issue and get right to the heart of what’s actually happening.
The thing about the Dems is that they’re always up to something. They’re doing one thing, but it’s just a small puzzle piece in a much bigger, way more diabolical thing.
Here’s what Mark said: George Floyd’s death was the fuse that lit the fires engulfing our nation in protests.
The Marxist left has seized this opportunity to tear our country apart, claiming the US is “systemically racist”, protests are “mostly peaceful” even as cities burn and innocent Americans die.
Now, in the wake of Daunte Wright’s shooting and the George Floyd murder trial, Congresswoman Maxine Waters enters the fray. Filled with hate and a disregard for the rule of law, she seeks to intimidate the George Floyd jury to secure a guilty verdict. As Mark reveals, she’s a hater and a race-baiter; and she just might be guilty of being an insurrectionist.
You can watch the video below:
This is going to be a long four years – filled with one fight and battle after another.
Bt we need to stay engaged and keep pounding away. We may have lost a battle, but we did not – and will not – lose the war.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pushing back again his Democrat colleagues who are calling for a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.
An adviser to President Trump confirmed his signature MAGA rallies are making a comeback in just a few weeks. That's according to The Hill Monday, which also reported two events are set to be held in June and one in early July.
A video resurfaced of one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter optimistically promoting a book she compared to infamous Chinese leader Mao Zedong's communist red book.
Afghani President Ashraf Ghani said his country is preparing for the worst in the wake of a delayed and disorienting withdrawal of U.S. troops. On Monday, he told reporters that after the years he has spent working to restore the government, he would not give into to Taliban demands.
The Biden administration is sending an additional 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses overseas. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced the decision during Monday's briefing.
The U.S. Treasury Department is cracking down on people and businesses funneling money to ISIS. On Monday, the agency slapped sanctions on three individuals and one entity who were found to have contributed money as well as services to help Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Turkey.
The director of the Ohio Lottery Commission, Pat McDonald, has been telling residents how to enter the statewide Vax-a-Million contest. On Monday, he explained how residents can register in order to be eligible for one of five $1 million cash prizes.
Over 60 per cent of police and military say they will vote for Marine Le Pen in next year’s French presidential election.
In a humiliating blow for Rothschild puppet President Macron, a survey published by the Centre for Political Research of Sciences Po (Cevipof) found that a plurality of 44 per cent of police and military would vote for Le Pen in the first round of the election.
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In a second round run off against President Macron, this number rises to 60 per cent, a three per cent increase on the 57 per cent figure she achieved in 2017.
Summit.news reports: Among active duty police officers, support for the National Rally leader rises to a massive 74 per cent.
Around 48 per cent of police say Le Pen “understands the problems of people like us” compared to just 13 per cent who say the same of Macron.
“A report released by the newspaper Le Figaro this week details the extent of attacks on police as they carry out their duties, claiming that last year alone 8,719 police officers and gendarmes were injured and 11 officers killed,” reports Breitbart.
“In the first three months of 2021, the newspaper states that 727 officers have been injured during operations, and notes that an officer is assaulted on duty every hour in France, on average.”
Police, ambulance workers and fire crews are routinely attacked when they try to enter Islamist no go zones, despite the media still claiming they don’t exist.
Last weekend, a group of anonymous active duty military personnel wrote a letter warning Macron of a “civil war” in the country due to his concessions to Islamists and the far-left.
“If a civil war breaks out, the military will maintain order on its soil because it will be asked to do so,” stated the letter.
A poll conducted last month found that the majority of French citizens agree that the country is headed towards civil war.
Some of America’s biggest corporate retailers will still force customers to wear masks despite the CDC’s decision to relax mask wearing for vaccinated people.
According to reports, Macy’s, Target, and Starbucks are among those saying they’ll still make masks mandatory for shoppers and workers in their stores.
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Other Democrat-supporting companies that have boasted they will keep their mask mandates include:
• Kroger • Home Depot • Publix • Dollar General
Breitbart.com reports: The report follows CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s announcement regarding the easing of mask mandates. Walensky noted that fully vaccinated people are still required to wear masks on modes of transportation such as es airplanes, buses, and trains.
“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” Walensky said told reporters during a Thursday press conference. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”
“This is an exciting and powerful moment, it could only happen because of the work of so many who made sure we have the rapid administration of three safe and effective vaccines,” she added.
However, some states such as New York are keeping mask mandates in place as state health officials review the CDC’s new guidelines.
“In New York, we have always relied on the facts and the science to guide us throughout the worst of this pandemic and in our successful reopening,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor to the president, reacted to the CDC’s announcement with a warning of his own: Parents should ensure that their children still wear masks while playing outside with friends to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
“Yeah, the children do when they’re out there playing with their friends and, you know, and – particularly in an indoor situation, they do,” Fauci told CNN host Jakes Tapper on Thursday when asked if children should still wear masks.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced she will continue forcing House members to wear masks, even if they are vaccinated, despite the new CDC guidelines.
“No,” Pelosi barked. “Are they all vaccinated?” she retorted when asked if she would change the rule requiring masks on the floor.
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi told me “no” she isn’t changing the rule requiring masks on the House floor.
Breitbart.com reports: However, 33 House Republicans signed a letter asking Pelosi to normalize voting procedures and return to maskless House requirements Thursday, the Daily Caller reported.
“Speaker Pelosi, In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance released on May 13, 2021 we urge you to immediately return to normal voting procedures and end mandatory mask requirements in the House of Representatives,” Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) wrote in the letter.
The CDC decided Thursday to lifted mask mandates for fully vaccinated Americans. “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities large or small without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced. “This is an exciting and powerful moment.”
But Walensky provided a caution to unvaccinated people, asserting they should continue masking and social distancing until they are fully vaccinated.
“You remain at risk of mild or severe illness, of death, or of spreading the disease to others,” she said. “You should still mask, and you should get vaccinated right away.”
President Joe Biden’s Twitter account spun a rule after the news Thursday to either “get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.”
The rule is now simple: get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.
England’s proposed roadmap out of lockdown may be disrupted because of the threat posed by the Indian Covid variantaccording to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Johnson issued a warning after cases of the virus strain, also known as the variant of concern, more than doubled in a week.
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He told a news briefing on Friday: “I have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step four in June”
Health officials have confirmed that the Indian variant, which had hit the North West towns of Bolton and Blackburn, had now been detected in Cambridge.
RT reports: Step four of Britain’s lockdown exit plan allows nightclubs to reopen and large events to take place. That final phase of reopening has been pencilled in for no earlier than June 21 under the government’s plans for easing Covid restrictions.
However, that schedule could now be derailed after the number of UK cases of the variant first detected in India doubled in the last week to more than 1,300, according to data from Public Health England.
“I urge everyone to exercise the greatest caution because the choices we each make in the coming days will have a material effect on the road ahead,” Johnson said during Friday’s briefing.
On Friday it also emerged that four people in the UK have died from the variant known as B.1.617.2, which experts believe may be more transmissible.
At the press conference Johnson issued a plea to those in the North West towns of Bolton and Blackburn – two areas hit hard by the variant – to be “extra cautious.”
Asked by a journalist specifically about his guidance for people visiting relatives in areas affected by the variant, Johnson said he “would urge people just to think twice about that.”
The PM also announced that people over the age of 50 and the clinically-vulnerable will now be able to get their Covid-19 booster jabs just eight weeks after their first dose, in an acceleration of the inoculation roll-out prompted by concerns over the Indian variant.
The move follows advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and will still allow those yet to receive a first dose to be vaccinated, including the over-40s.
Speaking alongside Johnson, England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said there is now “confidence” that the Indian variant is more transmissible than the so-called UK strain, known as B117.
“We expect over time this variant will overtake and come to dominate in the UK in the way that B117 took over and other variants have taken over prior to that,” he told the news briefing.
President Biden is now pushing parents to get their children vaccinated, after the covid jab was authorized for kids as young as 12 years old.
After a CDC advisory panel endorsed the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine in 12- to 15-year-olds on Wednesday, Biden told reporters: “This is one more giant step in our fight against the pandemic”
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RT reports: The shot was already available to anyone over 16, and the FDA on Monday gave emergency authorization to expand eligibility down to the age of 12.
Biden noted that there have been about three million Covid-19 cases among US children. But while Americans 17 and under account for around 9% of cases, they make up less than 0.1% of Covid-19 deaths. Children who are infected with the virus don’t typically suffer serious illness or death.
1/ Whaddya know? Turns out the serious adverse events for the @pfizer shot in teens followed a pattern after all – 4 of the 5 were psychiatric, including a case of suicidal ideation. But Pfizer assures us it examined the cases and none were related. Nothing to see here, folks! pic.twitter.com/TjQ7SmQI3V
Biden suggested that inoculating children will help stop them from spreading Covid-19 to parents, grandparents and other people. However, the CDC has noted that while the three available Covid-19 vaccines offered in the US protect those inoculated from being infected, it’s not yet clear how well they prevent a person from spreading the virus to someone else.
Wednesday’s CDC decision means that US 12- to 15-year-olds will be able to start receiving Covid-19 vaccines through 15,000 pharmacies, as well as family doctors and pediatricians, on Thursday.
Biden said adding the new age group makes an additional 17 million Americans eligible to get the jabs. He touted a new program through which Uber and Lyft will give free roundtrip rides to vaccination sites. “It’s never been easier or more convenient to get vaccinated,” the president said.
Biden set a goal of having 70% of American adults receive at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by July 4. He said on Wednesday that the country will reach 60% by next week. He held a meeting with a group of governors on Tuesday to discuss creative ways that states have tried to reach more people with the vaccines.
One such example is Maine, which is offering adults who get their first dose by May 31 the choice of a free fishing license, a free hunting license, a free state park day pass, a $20 L.L. Bean gift card, a free ticket to a minor league baseball game, a free ticket to an auto race, or a free ticket to a wildlife park.
“July 4, let’s celebrate our independence as a nation and our independence from this virus,” Biden said.
If urging parents to get their children vaccinated isn’t enough, the CDC also is suggesting the reverse. CDC director Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday urged children to ask for the vaccine if their parents are hesitant. Vaccinating children may be necessary for the US to reach herd immunity, containing the spread of Covid-19, Walensky told a Senate committee.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will continue to force vaccinated House members to wear masks on the House floor despite new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
On Thursday the CDC decided to lift mask mandates for fully vaccinated Americans.
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When asked by CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju if she would change the rule requiring masks on the floor, Pelosi replied: “No” asking “Are they all vaccinated?”
Speaker Nancy Pelosi told me “no” she isn’t changing the rule requiring masks on the House floor.
Breitbart reports: However, 33 House Republicans signed a letter asking Pelosi to normalize voting procedures and return to maskless House requirements Thursday, the Daily Caller reported.
“Speaker Pelosi, In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance released on May 13, 2021 we urge you to immediately return to normal voting procedures and end mandatory mask requirements in the House of Representatives,” Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) wrote in the letter.
The CDC decided Thursday to lifted mask mandates for fully vaccinated Americans. “Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities large or small without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced. “This is an exciting and powerful moment.”
But Walensky provided a caution to unvaccinated people, asserting they should continue masking and social distancing until they are fully vaccinated.
“You remain at risk of mild or severe illness, of death, or of spreading the disease to others,” she said. “You should still mask, and you should get vaccinated right away.”
President Joe Biden’s Twitter account spun a rule after the news Thursday to either “get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.”
The rule is now simple: get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared he will pardon all residents who have been charged for breaking unconstitutional coronavirus restrictions on mask wearing and social distancing.
Appearing Wednesday on Fox News with gym owners Mike and Jillian Carnevale, who were arrested on several occasions and threatened with prison time for allowing people to enter their gyms without a face mask, DeSantis said he would overrule the “total overreach” against them.
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“This is exactly what we ordered against last summer, many months ago,” DeSantis announced, before saying that “effective tomorrow morning” he would “sign a reprieve under my constitutional authority” that would “delay the case for sixty days.”
Rt.com reports: DeSantis then also revealed that in the coming weeks he would “issue pardons, not only for Mike and Jillian, but for any Floridian that may have outstanding infractions for things like masks and social distancing.”
“The fact is, it’s not even right to be wearing masks when you’re exercising,” he argued, noting that the World Health Organization “advises against it” and that coronavirus restrictions “should be advisory.”
DeSantis – a close ally to former President Donald Trump – has been a staunch opponent of authoritarian practices during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Unlike many other governors, DeSantis has called coronavirus lockdowns a “mistake,” rejected mandatory face masks, and overruled local authorities’ restrictions.
Earlier this month, DeSantis also banned all businesses and government buildings from requiring Floridians to disclose their vaccination status in order to enter – a more complete ban than other governors, who merely prohibited government buildings, but not private companies, from requiring vaccine passports.
Judge Judy has slammed ‘woke’ leftists for trying to spread their PC agenda and cancel culture in America.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Judge Judy Sheindlin said that America has become a “frightening place to be” thanks to those spreading cancel culture.
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“To have a fear of speaking your opinion, for fear of being put on somebody’s list and canceled? It’s a frightening place for America to be,” the judge said. “I’m not a big fan of the PC police.”
“Is it PC to say to people who are 19 or 23 years old, have no job, no prospects and six children, ‘Find something else to do with that organ?’ No. But where I come from, I’ve seen the ravages of that kind of neglect,” she said.
Dailywire.com reports: Judge Judy differentiated cancel culture with accountability by saying people who are actually bad and have done wrong should be “prepared to pay the piper.”
“If you’re a bad person, if you’ve done something wrong, you’ve got to be prepared to pay the piper,” she said. “And there are people who have done just that. They’ve paid the price with their good name, their footprint. That’s a good thing.”
During the 2020 Democratic primary, Judge Judy endorsed former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg for president, saying he was the only one who could bring a divided America together.
“I’ve never seen Americans so angry with each other as a family and it became sort of frightening when you couldn’t go to a social gathering and have a difference of opinion… if you view America as the greatest family on the planet, I felt as if it was time for America, which is the greatest country in the world, to have the greatest president,” she said. “When I looked at the field of 2020 candidates… there was no other voice, for me, other than the voice of someone who has experience in governance second only to the President of the United States.”
It seems that almost every week, a celebrity has come out against cancel culture. Last week, “The Who” frontman Roger Daltrey denounced the woke generation for making life miserable for everyone.
“It’s just getting harder to disseminate the truth,” Daltrey said. “It’s almost like, now we should turn the whole thing off. Go back to newsprint, go back to word of mouth, and start to read books again. It’s becoming so absurd now with AI, all the tricks it can do, and the woke generation,” he said. “It’s terrifying, the miserable world they’re going to create for themselves. I mean, anyone who’s lived a life and you see what they’re doing, you just know that it’s a route to nowhere. Especially when you’ve lived through the periods of a life that we’ve had the privilege to. We’ve had the golden era. There’s no doubt about that.”
Delta now requires all new employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the airlines CEO declared in an interview on Thursday.
Ed Bastian told CNN’s “Quest Means Business,” that while old employees will be exempt, new employees will need to have recieved the shot in order to work for the airline.
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“Any person joining Delta in the future, future employees, we’re going to mandate they be vaccinated before they can sign up with the company,” Bastian told host Richard Quest.
Nypost.com reports: More than 60 percent of Delta workers already have at least one dose of the vaccine, Bastian said, adding he expects that 75 or 80 percent of staffers will eventually be fully vaccinated.
But “anyone already here, I don’t think that’s fair to force them to get vaccinated if there’s some kind of philosophical issue they have,” the top executive said.
“I’m not going to mandate and force people if they have some specific reason why they don’t want to get vaccinated,” Bastian said. “But I’m going to strongly encourage them and make sure they understand the risk to not getting vaccinated.”
Bastian also noted staffers who don’t have their shots likely won’t be able to fly an international flight, since local authorities may require the vaccine in order to enter the country.
Prince Harry has slammed the First Amendment, claiming the idea of free speech is utterly bonkers to him.
Speaking on the ‘Armchair Experts’ podcast hosted by Dax Shepard, the British royal began the interview by telling off comedian and mixed martial arts colour commentator Joe Rogan for recent comments questioning the value of coronavirus vaccines for healthy young people, then claimed online algorithms radicalize people into believing misinformation.
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Breitbart.com reports: He went on to suggest that the people responsible for such algorithms are “all male and all white” before coming onto the topic of himself and his mental health.
Harry suggested that his decision to share his “story” came from “a place of courage,” and complained that “some quarters” of the media appeared to think he could not be suffering because he is “privileged.”
He explained that “a lot of genetic pain and suffering [got] passed on” to him by his father, Prince Charles, and appeared to indicate that he had in turn been badly parented by the Queen and her recently deceased husband, Prince Philip.
“[S]uddenly I started to piece it together and go ‘OK, so this is where he went to school, this is what happened, I know this about his life, I also know that is connected to his parents so that means he’s treated me the way he was treated, so how can I change that for my own kids’. And here I am, I moved my whole family to the US, that wasn’t the plan but sometimes you’ve got make decisions and put your family first and put your mental health first,” he said.
On royal life more specifically, Harry likened it to “a mixture between The Truman Show and being in a zoo” — referring to the 1998 film starring Jim Carrey as a man whose world revolves entirely around him as part of a reality television show he is not aware of.
“It’s the job right? Grin and bear it. Get on with it. I was in my early twenties and I was thinking I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this. Look what it did to my mum [Princess Diana], how am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family when I know it’s going to happen again’?” he said.
“I’ve seen behind the curtain, I’ve seen the business model and seen how this whole thing works, and I don’t want to be part of this,” he said of his “angry” outlook prior to meeting wife Meghan, 39.
He also complained of the media “feeding frenzy” he experienced while living in Tyler Perry’s mansion and hinted that he did not appreciate the First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press in America, saying: “I’ve got so much I want to say about the First Amendment; I still don’t understand it, but it is bonkers.”
Harry also raised the issue of so-called “unconscious bias,” suggesting that those who are made aware of it but choose not to tackle it are “heading towards racism.”
Judicial Watch Sues for Pentagon Communications about Tucker Carlson, Fox News
As Joe Biden and his handlers remake the federal government in their own image they are clumsily tripping over the U.S. Constitution. Consider the Pentagon and Tucker Carlson of Fox News.
In the March 9, 2021, broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson said, in criticizing a “woke” public relations push by the military:
So we’ve got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military. Well, China’s military becomes more masculine as it’s assembled the world’s largest navy…. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that Defense Secretary Austin was “revulsed” by Carlson’s comments. Official military Twitter accounts were also used to attack Carlson’s views.
What was going on behind the scenes at the Pentagon? To find out we filed a FOIA suit against the Department of Defense seeking communications between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top military officials regarding Fox News and Carlson, whose recent commentary on the U.S. military was attacked by top Pentagon officials (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Department of Defense (No. 1:21-cv-01225)).
We sued here in federal court after the Department of Defense failed to reply to our March 16, 2021, request for:
All emails sent between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and email accounts ending in .gov and/or .mil containing the terms “Tucker Carlson” and/or “Fox News.”
All emails sent between Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and email accounts ending in .gov and/or .mil containing the terms “Tucker Carlson” and/or “Fox News.”
All emails sent between Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten and email accounts ending in .gov and/or .mil containing the terms “Tucker Carlson” and/or “Fox News.”
We’re asking for emails sent between March 1, 2021, and March 16, 2021.
On his March 11 show, Carlson accused the Pentagon of declaring “war on a domestic news operation:”
Since when does the Pentagon declare war on a domestic news operation? We can’t remember that ever happening. But we’re going to pass on that, because this is bigger than a feud with some flack at the Pentagon. This is genuinely worrisome.
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to Defense Secretary Austin demanding a meeting with the Commandant of the Marine Corps to account for the attacks on Carlson and “a plan to prevent other military units from being similarly mobilized against the speech of American citizens.”
In the letter, Sen. Cruz wrote:
I am deeply troubled that the comments you made, and the military’s broader obligation to avoid political endorsements and controversy, are being systematically undermined for the sake of leftwing ideology and political expediency. The last week has witnessed the Pentagon mobilize systematic, public attacks against television host Tucker Carlson that in substance, tone, and political resonance are inexplicably inappropriate.
The Department of Defense has rules about how members of the U.S. military can participate in politics. Active military members may express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues, but they cannot express opinions on behalf of or as a representative of the U.S. military.
We are deeply disturbed over the Pentagon’s illicit secrecy about its coordinated attacks on the First Amendment-protected speech of Tucker Carlson.
To sum up, we asked the Pentagon to search two weeks’ worth of email, in three accounts, using two search terms. And they stonewalled.
The fact that we must take the Pentagon to federal court for these documents suggests the agency has something to hide.
Illegal Immigration Overwhelms Sheriffs; Families Exposed to Gang Violence
As the corrupt media is focused on promoting the anti-Trump politician Liz Cheney, the deadly dangerous Biden border crisis continues unabated. But sheriffs of many counties across the country are making a stand for the rule of law, our sovereignty, and the rule of law — as our Corruption Chronicles blog reports.
Local law enforcement agencies nationwide are overwhelmed with criminal activity linked to a huge increase in illegal immigration, and families are being exposed to violence associated with drug trafficking and transnational gangs, according to hundreds of sheriffs across the United States. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the law enforcement officials in more than two dozen states blast the administration’s “reckless and irresponsible” open border policies that are exposing innocent citizens to illegal alien violence. Titled, “Help America’s Sheriffs Keep Our Neighborhoods and Communities Safe by Halting Illegal Immigration,” the document asserts that the crisis began when Biden was vice president.
“In a myriad of ways, you and your administration are encouraging and sanctioning lawlessness and the victimization of the people of the United States of America, all in the name of mass illegal immigration,” the sheriffs write. “What is most troubling to America’s Sheriffs is that you and your administration were well aware that this crisis would happen when you ceased construction of the border wall and changed border security policies.” The law enforcement officials continue: “Sheriffs were talking with the Obama/Biden administration about these same concerns that we were experiencing at the time based on the lax policies then being implemented. In fact, America’s Sheriffs attended meetings in Washington with then-Undersecretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas, who is now your Secretary of Homeland Security. You and he are fully aware of what illegal immigration does to our citizens, legal residents and our communities.”
Among the letter’s signatories are sheriffs in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, and Texas to name a few. Even sheriffs, who are typically elected to head county law enforcement agencies, in states that broadly offer illegal immigrants sanctuary signed the letter. They include several in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, and Vermont. “You may imagine how violated America’s Sheriffs feel that you unleashed a predictable crisis upon our nation that puts those we promised to protect at risk of grave danger,” the cops write to the commander-in-chief. “America’s Sheriffs will not defy our oaths. We will not join with those who suggest that we ignore existing laws in collusion with those elected officials who arbitrarily feel that they should be excused from being accountable and required to follow our laws. To do so would violate the promise of America’s Sheriffs to those who bestowed upon us the honor and privilege to represent their safety and security concerns.”
The officials continue by writing that Americans expect them to uphold and enforce the rule of law and assure that they will uphold the oath to do so. “In the interests of ending the undermining of our laws and the increased risks to the safety and security of the people of the United States of America, we respectfully request that you immediately reverse course on your pro-illegal immigration policies, resume the border wall construction, and embrace the common-sense, public-safety-supporting border policies of the previous administration.” The Obama and Trump administrations “recognized the threats and dangers presented by illegal immigration,” the law enforcement officials write, adding that it is “critically important” that Biden see it as well.
The sheriff who wrote the letter, Thomas M. Hodgson in Bristol County, Massachusetts, sent it to his counterparts throughout the U.S. and 275 sheriffs in 39 states quickly signed it. Hodgson authored it after government figures revealed a record number of illegal immigrant minors entered the country from Mexico. Around the same time, the U.S. Border Patrol disclosed that it arrested more than twice as many criminal migrants in the first six months of fiscal year 2021 than it did in all of 2020. In the first half of this fiscal year, the Border Patrol apprehended 5,018 “criminal aliens” compared to 2,438 in all of fiscal year 2020. The agency defines criminal aliens as individuals who have been convicted of one or more crimes, whether in the U.S. or abroad, prior to interdiction by federal agents.
Maxine Waters and Congressional Special Security Demands Puts Americans at Risk
Reasonable security for congressmen and other public officials is necessary, but it shouldn’t come at the direct expense of the safety and protection of Americans. But that’s exactly what is happening. Here are the shocking details from our Corruption Chronicles blog.
Federal Air Marshals (FAM) were yanked from a high-risk flight so Congresswoman Maxine Waters could have extra security during a recent trip to Minnesota, though she was already covered by a four-man detail consisting of two Capitol Police officers and two Secret Service agents, according to multiple law enforcement sources interviewed by Judicial Watch. The veteran FAM sources say the California Democrat had two air marshals reassigned to a plane that would otherwise not qualify because it was not considered high-risk. The transfer forced the high-risk flight to complete its trip without the two air marshals originally assigned to it, said Sonya Hightower-LaBosco, a retired FAM who serves as executive director of the Air Marshal National Council. The union represents thousands of air marshals nationwide. “Two air marshals were pulled off a high-risk flight so Maxine Waters’ aircraft could have six armed agents,” Hightower-LaBosco said, adding that two additional armed agents met the congresswoman on the ground.
FAMs are federal law enforcement officers whose primary function is to protect commercial passenger flights by deterring and countering the risk of terrorist activity, aircraft piracy and other crimes to protect the nation’s transportation infrastructure. However, a special “VIP” program launched about a year ago allows members of Congress to get extra protection even though they often already travel with plenty of security on flights that do not meet the threat criteria, usually determined by the FBI, for air marshals. The program “has left a glaring hole in America’s aviation security,” according to a whistleblower complaint filed this year by the Air Marshal National Council with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General. “Recently, the Federal Air Marshal service has assigned a full-time position at the Capitol in Washington D.C. to take requests from Congressional members for Federal Air Marshal coverage of flights these Congressional members are on,” the document, which is also addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, states. “The FAMS are now taking agents off of regularly scheduled high risk flights to put them on flights with members of Congress, that in most cases have their own armed federal security details onboard already. It has become akin to a type of extremely expensive concierge service for Congressional members.” The document cites the recent Waters request as an example, confirming what other sources told Judicial Watch, that “FAMS were pulled off of a scheduled high-risk flight to cover” the congresswoman’s plane.
Waters received the extra security while traveling to Minnesota in mid-April to support protestors in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb, after police shot and killed a black man with an open warrant related to an aggravated armed robbery. The Derek Chauvin trial was wrapping up around 10 miles away and the 82-year-old lawmaker incited the crowd, encouraging protestors to “get more confrontational” if the former Minneapolis cop was not convicted of murder for George Floyd’s death. “We gotta stay on the street, we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational, we’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business,” Waters said ahead of closing arguments in Chauvin’s trial. The former officer was convicted and the judge presiding over the trial called the congresswoman’s comments “abhorrent.”
Judicial Watch is investigating Waters’ special security arrangement and has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with DHS for documents associated with the April 17 Delta Airlines flight from Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. In the public-record request Judicial Watch writes that Waters raised the potential for violence, directed lawlessness, and may have interfered with a co-equal branch of government. Furthermore, Judicial Watch points out that it is still not known what authorized official government business the congresswoman, who represents Los Angeles in the House, was attending in Minnesota and the appearance is her travel was for personal gain. “How do you go out and promote defunding the police then call for more police protection,” said Hightower-LaBosco, a former police officer who served 12 years as an air marshal. Hightower-Bosco says the estimated cost of Waters’ security detail is about $10,000 for each leg.
Wednesday’s White House summit with congressional leaders on the $2.3 trillion infrastructure bill, officially known as the American Jobs Plan, made little headway in forging bipartisan consensus. A large part of the problem is that President Biden and Congressional Democrats have decided that virtually any aspect of their big-government agenda can be redefined as infrastructure and tossed in the mix.
For example, fighting climate change is now part of infrastructure. The bill would fund a “Civilian Climate Corps,” a nod to the old Civilian Conservation Corps from the FDR era, which seeks to “put a new, diverse generation of Americans to work conserving our public lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, and advancing environmental justice.” In other words, it will spend billions to underwrite make-work jobs with full health benefits for environmental activists who can’t find gainful employment in the private sector. There are also $175 billion in subsidies for electric vehicles, which could very well be a replay of the Solyndra solar panels debacle. And throughout the bill are nods to promoting green best practices and “environmental justice,” whatever that is.
Education is now part of infrastructure. There is $100 billion devoted to public schools, on top of the $128 billion from the COVID-19 relief bill. A further $12 billion goes to community colleges, in addition to the planned $109 billion in the American Families Act to provide two years of tuition-free education. And other billions are devoted to reducing “racial and gender inequities” in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.
Federal Air Marshals (FAM) were yanked from a high-risk flight so Congresswoman Maxine Waters could have extra security during a recent trip to Minnesota, though she was already covered by a four-man detail consisting of two Capitol Police officers and two Secret Service agents, according to multiple law enforcement sources interviewed by Judicial Watch. The veteran FAM sources say the California Democrat had two air marshals reassigned to a plane that would otherwise not qualify because it was not considered high-risk. The transfer forced the high-risk flight to complete its trip without the two air marshals originally assigned to it, said Sonya Hightower-LaBosco, a retired FAM who serves as executive director of the Air Marshal National Council. The union represents thousands of air marshals nationwide. “Two air marshals were pulled off a high-risk flight so Maxine Waters’ aircraft could have six armed agents,” Hightower-LaBosco said, adding that two additional armed agents met the congresswoman on the ground.
FAMs are federal law enforcement officers whose primary function is to protect commercial passenger flights by deterring and countering the risk of terrorist activity, aircraft piracy and other crimes to protect the nation’s transportation infrastructure. However, a special “VIP” program launched about a year ago allows members of Congress to get extra protection even though they often already travel with plenty of security on flights that do not meet the threat criteria, usually determined by the FBI, for air marshals. The program “has left a glaring hole in America’s aviation security,” according to a whistleblower complaint filed this year by the Air Marshal National Council with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General. “Recently, the Federal Air Marshal service has assigned a full-time position at the Capitol in Washington D.C. to take requests from Congressional members for Federal Air Marshal coverage of flights these Congressional members are on,” the document, which is also addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, states. “The FAMS are now taking agents off of regularly scheduled high risk flights to put them on flights with members of Congress, that in most cases have their own armed federal security details onboard already. It has become akin to a type of extremely expensive concierge service for Congressional members.” The document cites the recent Waters request as an example, confirming what other sources told Judicial Watch, that “FAMS were pulled off of a scheduled high-risk flight to cover” the congresswoman’s plane.
Waters received the extra security while traveling to Minnesota in mid-April to support protestors in Brooklyn Center, a Minneapolis suburb, after police shot and killed a black man with an open warrant related to an aggravated armed robbery. The Derek Chauvin trial was wrapping up around 10 miles away and the 82-year-old lawmaker incited the crowd, encouraging protestors to “get more confrontational” if the former Minneapolis cop was not convicted of murder for George Floyd’s death. “We gotta stay on the street, we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational, we’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business,” Waters said ahead of closing arguments in Chauvin’s trial. The former officer was convicted and the judge presiding over the trial called the congresswoman’s comments “abhorrent.” Last month Judicial Watch filed acomplaintwith the chairman of the House Office of Congressional Ethics against Waters for violating House ethics rules by encouraging violence and attempting to intimidate the jury in the Chauvin trial.
Judicial Watch is investigating Waters’ special security arrangement and has filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with DHS for documents associated with the April 17 Delta Airlines flight from Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. In the public-record request Judicial Watch writes that Waters raised the potential for violence, directed lawlessness, and may have interfered with a co-equal branch of government. Furthermore, Judicial Watch points out that it is still not known what authorized official government business the congresswoman, who represents Los Angeles in the House, was attending in Minnesota and the appearance is her travel was for personal gain. “How do you go out and promote defunding the police then call for more police protection,” said Hightower-LaBosco, a former police officer who served 12 years as an air marshal. Hightower-Bosco says the estimated cost of Waters’ security detail is about $10,000 for each leg.
Local law enforcement agencies nationwide are overwhelmed with criminal activity linked to a huge increase in illegal immigration and families are being exposed to violence associated with drug trafficking and transnational gangs, according to hundreds of sheriffs across the United States. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the law enforcement officials in more than two dozen states blast the administration’s “reckless and irresponsible” open border policies that are exposing innocent citizens to illegal alien violence. Titled, “Help America’s Sheriffs Keep Our Neighborhoods and Communities Safe by Halting Illegal Immigration,” the document asserts that the crisis began when Biden was vice president.
“In a myriad of ways, you and your administration are encouraging and sanctioning lawlessness and the victimization of the people of the United States of America, all in the name of mass illegal immigration,” the sheriffs write. “What is most troubling to America’s Sheriffs is that you and your administration were well aware that this crisis would happen when you ceased construction of the border wall and changed border security policies.” The law enforcement officials continue: “Sheriffs were talking with the Obama/Biden administration about these same concerns that we were experiencing at the time based on the lax policies then being implemented. In fact, America’s Sheriffs attended meetings in Washington with then-Undersecretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas, who is now your Secretary of Homeland Security. You and he are fully aware of what illegal immigration does to our citizens, legal residents and our communities.”
Among the letter’s signatories are sheriffs in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, and Texas to name a few. Even sheriffs, who are typically elected to head county law enforcement agencies, in states that broadly offer illegal immigrants sanctuary signed the letter. They include several in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, Illinois, Oregon, and Vermont. “You may imagine how violated America’s Sheriffs feel that you unleashed a predictable crisis upon our nation that puts those we promised to protect at risk of grave danger,” the cops write to the commander-in-chief. “America’s Sheriffs will not defy our oaths. We will not join with those who suggest that we ignore existing laws in collusion with those elected officials who arbitrarily feel that they should be excused from being accountable and required to follow our laws. To do so would violate the promise of America’s Sheriffs to those who bestowed upon us the honor and privilege to represent their safety and security concerns.”
The officials continue by writing that Americans expect them to uphold and enforce the rule of law and assure that they will uphold the oath to do so. “In the interests of ending the undermining of our laws and the increased risks to the safety and security of the people of the United States of America, we respectfully request that you immediately reverse course on your pro-illegal immigration policies, resume the border wall construction, and embrace the common-sense, public-safety-supporting border policies of the previous administration.” The Obama and Trump administrations “recognized the threats and dangers presented by illegal immigration,” the law enforcement officials write, adding that it is “critically important” that Biden see it as well.
The sheriff who wrote the letter, Thomas M. Hodgson in Bristol County, Massachusetts, sent it to his counterparts throughout the U.S. and 275 sheriffs in 39 states quickly signed it. Hodgson authored it after government figures revealed a record number of illegal immigrant minors entered the country from Mexico. Around the same time, the U.S. Border Patrol disclosed that it arrested more than twice as many criminal migrants in the first six months of fiscal year 2021 than it did in all of 2020. In the first half of this fiscal year, the Border Patrol apprehended 5,018 “criminal aliens” compared to 2,438 in all of fiscal year 2020. The agency defines criminal aliens as individuals who have been convicted of one or more crimes, whether in the U.S. or abroad, prior to interdiction by federal agents.
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Defense seeking records of communications between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other top military officials regarding Fox News and its host Tucker Carlson, whose recent commentary on the U.S. military was attacked by top Pentagon officials (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Department of Defense (No. 1:21-cv-01225)).
Judicial Watch filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia after the Department of Defense failed to reply to a March 16, 2021, FOIA for:
All emails sent between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and email accounts ending in .gov and/or .mil containing the terms “Tucker Carlson” and/or “Fox News.”
All emails sent between Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley and email accounts ending in .gov and/or .mil containing the terms “Tucker Carlson” and/or “Fox News.”
All emails sent between Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten and email accounts ending in .gov and/or .mil containing the terms “Tucker Carlson” and/or “Fox News.”
The time frame of the request was identified as March 1, 2021 to March 16, 2021.
In the March 9, 2021, broadcast of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Carlson said:
So we’ve got new hairstyles and maternity flight suits. Pregnant women are going to fight our wars. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military. Well, China’s military becomes more masculine as it’s assembled the world’s largest navy…. It’s a mockery of the U.S. military.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that Defense Secretary Austin was “revulsed” by Carlson’s comments.
Official military Twitter accounts were also used to attack Carlson’s views.
On his March 11 show, Carlson accused the Pentagon of declaring “war on a domestic news operation:”
Since when does the Pentagon declare war on a domestic news operation? We can’t remember that ever happening. But we’re going to pass on that, because this is bigger than a feud with some flack at the Pentagon. This is genuinely worrisome.
“Judicial Watch is disturbed about the Pentagon’s illicit secrecy about its coordinated attacks on the First Amendment-protected speech of Tucker Carlson,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “The fact that we must take the Pentagon to federal court for these documents suggests the agency has something to hide.”
Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to Defense Secretary Austin demanding a meeting with the Commandant of the Marine Corps to account for the attacks on Carlson and “a plan to prevent other military units from being similarly mobilized against the speech of American citizens.”
In the letter, Sen. Cruz wrote:
I am deeply troubled that the comments you made, and the military’s broader obligation to avoid political endorsements and controversy, are being systematically undermined for the sake of leftwing ideology and political expediency. The last week has witnessed the Pentagon mobilize systematic, public attacks against television host Tucker Carlson that in substance, tone, and political resonance are inexplicably inappropriate.
The Department of Defense has rules about how members of the U.S. military can participate in politics. Active military members may express a personal opinion on political candidates and issues, but they cannot express opinions on behalf of or as a representative of the U.S. military. As Miliary.com stated in 2016:
The DoD’s regulations are guided mostly by the Hatch Act, a federal law passed in 1939 restricting certain types of political activity among military members and other federal employees. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel provided updated “guidance” to the act regarding social media activity in 2012 and again in late 2015.
NEW: Iowa Gov’t Officials Coordinated with Big Tech to Censor Judicial Watch Election Posts
Last week we released records from the Secretary of State of California revealing how state officials pressured social media companies (Twitter, Facebook, Google (YouTube)) to censor election posts. Included were “misinformation briefing” emails compiled by communications firm SKDK, which lists Biden for President as its top client of 2020.
The state agency successfully pressured YouTube to censor a Judicial Watch video concerning vote by mail and a Judicial Watch lawsuit settlement about California voter roll clean up.
It turns out that California wasn’t the only state acting in seeming violation of the First Amendment. The new information from Iowa revealed below exposes the dirty details of the expanding conspiracy against free expression.
We received 624 pages of records from the Secretary of State of Iowa showing how state officials pressured social media companies Twitter and Facebook to censor posts about the 2020 election.
Included in these records were emails from Iowa state officials to representatives of Big Tech pressuring these companies to remove some of Judicial Watch’s posts. The emails show how the state agency successfully pressured Facebook to censor our post about Iowa’s management of its voter rolls.
We received the records as a result of a June 2020 Iowa Open Records lawsuit filed after the Iowa Secretary of State failed to comply with our February 2020 request for records and communications about a Judicial Watch report regarding the accuracy of the state’s voter registration rolls (Judicial Watch v. Iowa Secretary of State(No. 05771 EQCE085973)). We were represented by Iowa lawyer Alan R. Ostergren of Des Moines, Iowa.
The records show that officials in the Secretary of State’s office on multiple occasions contacted officials from Facebook and Twitter to try to have these companies remove Judicial Watch posts that raised concerns about Iowa’s failure to maintain accurate election rolls.
On February 3, 2020, at 5:19 p.m., Kevin Hall, the communications director for the Iowa Secretary of State, wrote in a February 3, 2020, email to Facebook official Rachel Holland:
Circling back with an update regarding the content posted by Judicial Watch. Our third-party fact checkers have rated this content false, and we have applied a filter over the content warning users before they click to see it that the content has been rated false by independent fact checkers.
Please continue to report violating content to us by emailing [email protected], and copying me ([email protected]), as I will be on an airplane for the next couple hours. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding this or any other matters.
A couple of hours later, Hall followed up, “Thank you! They have new posts up, doubling down on the false claims.”
And Holland responded, “Thanks for flagging- we’ve got a full team with eyes on this now and are applying the false filter to similar articles as well. I’ll send you an additional update shortly!”
That same day, Hall and Maria Benson, the director of communications at the National Association of Secretaries of State, both tried to convince Twitter to censor Judicial Watch’s posts but were ultimately unsuccessful.
Hall filed a report with Twitter, and Benson escalated it by looping in Kevin Kane from Twitter. On February 3, 2020, Benson wrote, “Iowa Secretary of State has reported the below election misinformation, but Twitter has declined to take it down. As you can see from the facts the tweets are clearly wrong. I wanted to bring this to your attention to hopefully remedy the situation. I’ve cc’d Kevin Hall, their Communicators Director.”
Kane responded rejecting the request saying, “Thanks Maria – This was reviewed by our team and is not in violation of our election integrity policy as it does not suppress voter turnout or mislead people about when. where. or how to vote. I understand this is not the outcome you are seeking and appreciate you continuing to report Tweets to our team.”
In an email the next day, Hall wrote to Kane saying, “Facebook, thankfully, was helpful. I would suggest perhaps reviewing your policies at Twitter and putting them more in line with what Facebook is doing to counter election misinformation.”
After being rejected by Twitter, Benson emailed Brian Scully, an official at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, writing on February 3, 2020:
Hey Brian,
Can you report this as well? Hannity is now retweeting and Twitter isn’t playing ball with us. I’ve cc’d Kevin Hall who you met Saturday. He’s IA SOS’s Communications Director. He’s been reporting and playing wack a mole by trying to reply to misleading tweets.
Scully responded promising to contact Twitter. “Sorry … been out of pocket a bit. Will reach out to Twitter. Let me know if you get something.”
These records are yet another example of state officials conspiring with Big Tech to deny Americans their First Amendment rights. These records further show that Big Tech censorship is a government scandal: Iowa government officials worked with Facebook to remove posts they did not like, and Facebook bowed to this political pressure immediately. It should be disturbing to all Americans that government officials are working to censor speech they disagree with and that these behemoth companies often seem willing to roll over and censor free speech.
Judicial Watch Sues over Abuse of Children Tied to Biden Border Crisis
Little children are in trouble on the border. Texas welfare officials received three reports of abuse and neglect at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, where more than 1,300 migrant children reportedly had been held. The site is one of several set up to handle the recent surge. This came on the heels of claims that multiple facilities where children are being held are unsafe.
To dig into this, we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit against the Department of Health and Human Services for records about assaults on and abuse of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) in HHS custody (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (No. 1:21-cv-01190)).
We sued after the HHS denied our February 26, 2021, FOIA request for:
All summaries from individual case files of reports of physical and/or sexual abuse or assault of Unaccompanied Alien Children under the care of HHS, its sub-agencies, and or volunteer agencies, contractors, grantees, and sub-grantees, to include all segregable, non-exempt information.
Records reflecting aggregated data of physical and/or sexual abuse and assault of UACs under the care of HHS, its sub-agencies, and or volunteer agencies, contractors, grantees, and sub-grantees.
We are concerned that the surge of migrants seeking to take advantage of the Biden administration’s lax immigration policies has resulted in the foreseeable abuse of children, as overwhelmed federal authorities are ill-equipped to handle the huge number of children crossing the border. The unprecedented secrecy and censorship surrounding these sites compounds the problem and limits accountability. Our lawsuit aims to expose the full truth about this particularly troubling consequence of the Biden administration’s lawlessness on immigration.
This is not a new problem. We uncovered HHS records in July 2018 revealing that in multiple cases, unaccompanied alien children (UACs) processed during the Obama administration were assaulted by government employees.
We began investigating this matter in 2014 when a wave of UACs swamped the southwest border. Since that time, we have been investigating incidents of violence, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other criminal activities, as well as whether migrant children were being abused while in U.S. shelters.
Facebook’s Brazen Ban of President Trump Should Concern Every American
The Facebook Oversight Board’s decision upholding President Trump’s Facebook ban undermines the First Amendment and free speech. The brazen ban of President Trump is already chilling the speech of other Facebook users and Internet users generally, who fairly worry about Facebook and Big Tech censoring and deplatforming them.
I have been personally locked out of Twitter for four months over a tweet previously found not to be in violation of Twitter’s rules.
Judicial Watch previously argued that Facebook’s Oversight Board should have reversed the president’s ban because the ban is an affront to First Amendment protections of free speech, peaceable assembly, and the right to petition the government. There is no credible evidence that President Trump either morally or legally incited violence. He was resoundingly acquitted by the United States Senate after the impeachment “prosecutors” failed to produce credible evidence he incited violence. For Facebook and its Oversight Board to suggest President Trump incited violence and that complaints about the administration of an election could incite violence is a political position aligned with the Left and political opponents of President Trump and his supporters.
Judicial Watch Reveals CENSORED History of 2020 Election
We continue to investigate the serious questions concerning the 2020 election. Our chief investigative reporter, Micah Morrison, summarizes our efforts in his Investigative Bulletin:
Judicial Watch has uncovered critical new details in the secret history of the 2020 election: how state government officials—at times interfacing with the Biden presidential campaign—colluded with Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to censor freedom of speech.
The new information raises enormous constitutional and legal questions. It challenges the conventional wisdom that the companies are operating solely as private actors and can remove or ban users of their services as they see fit, with no violation of First Amendment rights.
The new documents “suggest a conspiracy against the First Amendment rights of Americans,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These documents blow up the big lie that Big Tech censorship is ‘private’—as the documents show collusion between a whole group of government officials in multiple states to suppress speech about election controversies.”
In California, we obtained more than 500 pages of documents showing how a state agency, the Office of Election Cybersecurity, tracked social media commentary and pushed Big Tech to take down posts. Included in the documents were so-called
“Misinformation Daily Briefings” from the communications firm SKDK. The firm also was deeply involved in the Biden presidential campaign, developing its mail-in voting program for four key electoral states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
For Big Tech and state officials, questioning the wisdom of mail-in voting was not allowed. On September 11, 2020, when JW’s Tom Fitton made the common-sense observation on Twitter that “mailing 51 million ballots to those who haven’t asked for increases risk of voter fraud and intimidation,” SKDK put him in its “misinformation brief” to California election security officials.
(In January, Twitter suspended Tom for tweeting another common-sense observation—“hydroxychloroquine is a safe drug”—a comment he had several times earlier made on Twitter and which the tech giant earlier had found not to be in violation of its rules. Read more on the incident here.)
California officials went after Tom again on September 24, falsely stating that he claimed in a YouTube video that Democrats would benefit from incorrect voter rolls and ballot collection. In the video, in fact, Tom was updating viewers about Judicial Watch’s highly successful, non-partisan lawsuit settlement with Los Angeles County to clean up voter rolls. Judicial Watch is a national leader in a non-partisan effort to clean up voter rolls.
California officials directly contacted YouTube complaining about the Judicial Watch video. Three days later, the video was deleted from YouTube.
In Iowa, Judicial Watch obtained 624 pages of records revealing how state officials pressured Twitter and Facebook to censor posts about the 2020 election. Included in the records were emails pressing the companies to remove Judicial Watch posts.
The emails show how the state agency successfully worked with Facebook to censor a Judicial Watch post about Iowa’s management of its voter rolls:
An Iowa state official emailed Facebook official Rachel Holland complaining that a Judicial Watch story on Iowa’s management of voter rolls was “false.” (It wasn’t.) The time stamp on the email is 5:19 p.m.
By 6:11 p.m., Facebook hit back. Facebook factcheckers “have rated this content false,” Holland wrote the Iowa official, “and we have applied a filter over this content warning users.”
Of course it’s not just Judicial Watch in the crosshairs of companies like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. On Wednesday, Facebook moved to continue its ban on Donald Trump, now a private citizen. Judicial Watch has argued that the ban is an affront to First Amendment protections of free speech, peaceable assembly, and the right to petition the government.
It’s also an ominous sign that Big Tech censorship is growing—and growing bolder. “If they can ban President Trump,” warned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, “all conservative voices could be next.”
Judicial Watch Sues for Records of Biden Dogs after Biting Incidents
On March 9, 2021, the White House confirmed that President Biden’s dog Major, an adopted German Shepherd, “did in fact bite someone at the White House, causing a “minor injury.” Press secretary Jen Psaki said the dogs, “are still getting acclimated and accustomed to their new surroundings and new people.”
On March 30, 2021, the White House reported that, “President Biden’s dog Major on Monday afternoon bit another employee, who then required medical attention.” The encounter reportedly took place on the White House South Lawn Monday, March 29.
Americans are understandably curious, and we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suit against the Department of Homeland Security for communication between Secret Service officials assigned to the White House regarding the Biden family dogs (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security(No. 1:21-cv-01194)).
We sued after the Secret Service failed to process records in a timely manner in response to a March 10, 2021, FOIA request seeking:
All records of communications between USSS officials responsible for protection at the White House regarding the Biden family dogs, named Champ and Major.
On April 12, 2021, the Secret Service replied to Judicial Watch’s FOIA request saying that they had identified responsive records which were being processed but have yet to produce them.
The public has a right to know the details about any incident in which Secret Service personnel were injured by President Biden’s dog. We have no doubt that Major and Champ are good dogs but politicians and bureaucrats can’t be trusted to tell us everything.
Judicial Watch has uncovered critical new details in the secret history of the 2020 election: how state government officials—at times interfacing with the Biden presidential campaign—colluded with Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to censor freedom of speech.
The new information raises enormous constitutional and legal questions. It challenges the conventional wisdom that the companies are operating solely as private actors and can remove or ban users of their services as they see fit, with no violation of First Amendment rights.
The new documents “suggest a conspiracy against the First Amendment rights of Americans,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “These documents blow up the big lie that Big Tech censorship is ‘private’—as the documents show collusion between a whole group of government officials in multiple states to suppress speech about election controversies.”
In California, we obtained more than 500 pages of documents showing how a state agency, the Office of Election Cybersecurity, tracked social media commentary and pushed Big Tech to take down posts. Included in the documents were so-called “Misinformation Daily Briefings” from the communications firm SKDK. The firm also was deeply involved in the Biden presidential campaign, developing its mail-in voting program for four key electoral states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona.
For Big Tech and state officials, questioning the wisdom of mail-in voting was not allowed. On September 11, 2020, when JW’s Tom Fitton made the common-sense observation on Twitter that “mailing 51 million ballots to those who haven’t asked for increases risk of voter fraud and intimidation,” SKDK put him in its “misinformation brief” to California election security officials.
(In January, Twitter suspended Tom for tweeting another common-sense observation—“hydroxychloroquine is a safe drug”—a comment he had several times earlier made on Twitter and which the tech giant earlier had found not to be in violation of its rules. Read more on the incident here.)
California officials went after Tom again on September 24, falsely stating that he claimed in a YouTube video that Democrats would benefit from incorrect voter rolls and ballot collection. In the video, in fact, Tom was updating viewers about Judicial Watch’s highly successful, non-partisan lawsuit settlement with Los Angeles County to clean up voter rolls. Judicial Watch is a national leader in a non-partisan effort to clean up voter rolls.
California officials directly contacted YouTube complaining about the Judicial Watch video. Three days later, the video was deleted from YouTube.
In Iowa, Judicial Watch obtained 624 pages of records revealing how state officials pressured Twitter and Facebook to censor posts about the 2020 election. Included in the records were emails pressing the companies to remove Judicial Watch posts.
The emails show how the state agency successfully worked with Facebook to censor a Judicial Watch post about Iowa’s management of its voter rolls:
An Iowa state official emailed Facebook official Rachel Holland complaining that a Judicial Watch story on Iowa’s management of voter rolls was “false.” (It wasn’t.) The time stamp on the email is 5:19 p.m.
By 6:11 p.m., Facebook hit back. Facebook factcheckers “have rated this content false,” Holland wrote the Iowa official, “and we have applied a filter over this content warning users.”
Of course it’s not just Judicial Watch in the crosshairs of companies like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. On Wednesday, Facebook moved to continue its ban on Donald Trump, now a private citizen. Judicial Watch has argued that the ban is an affront to First Amendment protections of free speech, peaceable assembly, and the right to petition the government.
It’s also an ominous sign that Big Tech censorship is growing—and growing bolder. “If they can ban President Trump,” warned House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, “all conservative voices could be next.”
***
Micah Morrison is chief investigative reporter for Judicial Watch. Follow him on Twitter @micah_morrison. Tips: [email protected]
Investigative Bulletin is published by Judicial Watch. Reprints and media inquiries: [email protected]ch.org
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for records about assaults on and abuse of unaccompanied alien children (UAC) in HHS custody (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (No. 1:21-cv-01190)).
The lawsuit was filed against Health and Human Services after the HHS denied a February 26, 2021 FOIA request for:
All summaries from individual case files of reports of physical and/or sexual abuse or assault of Unaccompanied Alien Children under the care of HHS, its sub-agencies, and or volunteer agencies, contractors, grantees, and sub-grantees, to include all segregable, non-exempt information.
Records reflecting aggregated data of physical and/or sexual abuse and assault of UACs under the care of HHS, its sub-agencies, and or volunteer agencies, contractors, grantees, and sub-grantees.
Texas welfare officials received three reports of abuse and neglect at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, where more than 1,300 migrant children reportedlyhad been held. The site is one of several set up to handle the recent surge.
This report came on the heels of claims that multiple facilities where children are being held are unsafe.
“We are concerned that the surge of migrants seeking to take advantage of the Biden administration’s lax immigration policies has resulted in the foreseeable abuse of children, as overwhelmed federal authorities are ill-equipped to handle the huge number of children crossing the border. The unprecedented secrecy and censorship surrounding these sites compounds the problem and limits accountability,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Our lawsuit aims to expose the full truth about this particularly troubling consequence of the Biden administration’s lawlessness on immigration.”
Judicial Watch uncoveredHHS records in July 2018 revealing that in multiple cases, UACs processed during the Obama administration were assaulted by government employees.
Judicial Watch began investigating this matter in 2014 when a wave of UACs swamped the southwest border. Since that time, Judicial Watch has been investigating incidents of violence, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and other criminal activities, as well as whether migrant children were being abused while in U.S. shelters.
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton issued the following statement in response to the decision of Facebook’s Oversight Board to uphold President Trump’s Facebook censorship:
Today’s Facebook Oversight Board decision upholding President Trump’s Facebook ban undermines the First Amendment and free speech. The brazen deplatforming of President Trump is already chilling the speech of other Facebook users and Internet users generally, who fairly worry about Facebook and Big Tech censoring and deplatforming them.
It is notable that Facebook refused to disclose to its designated Oversight Board whether the Trump ban resulted from collusion with other government officials and politicians. Indeed, Judicial Watch recently uncovered that state government officials in Californiaand Iowa successfully pressured Facebook, Youtube/Google, and Twitter to censor election social media posts by Judicial Watch and other citizens. (I have been locked out of Twitter for four months over a tweet previously found not to be in violation of Twitter’s rules.)
Judicial Watch had argued that Facebook’s Oversight Board should have reversed the president’s ban because the ban is an affront to First Amendment protections of free speech, peaceable assembly, and the right to petition the government. There is no credible evidence that President Trump either morally or legally incited violence. He was resoundingly acquitted by the United States Senate after the impeachment “prosecutors” failed to produce credible evidence he incited violence. For Facebook and its Oversight Board to suggest President Trump incited violence and that complaints about the administration of an election could incite violence is a political position aligned with the Left and political opponents of President Trump and his supporters.
In an investigation fit for “McGruff the Crime Dog,” a fiscal watchdog group has sued for details on the two biting incidents by President Joe Biden’s dog Major.
In its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, Judicial Watch said it is seeking from the Department of Homeland Security “records of communication between Secret Service officials assigned to the White House regarding the Biden family dogs.”
While Major has been labeled as the biter in two cases, Judicial Watch also wants communications mentioning the second Biden German shepherd, Champ.
Twice in March, the White House said Major bit people. In the first, it caused a “minor injury” to a member of the Secret Service, and the second required “medical attention” for a Park Service official.
The media reported that after the first incident, Major was sent to obedience school. It is unclear if he was otherwise punished.
“The public has a right to know the details about any incident in which Secret Service personnel were injured by President Biden’s dog,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said. “We have no doubt that Major and Champ are good dogs, but politicians and bureaucrats can’t be trusted.”
An Israeli airstrike demolished a Gaza City high-rise building that housed journalists from the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other outlets on Saturday afternoon.
The Israeli military had given the building’s occupants a one-hour warning to evacuate, but had given no explanation for why they were being targeted. Several networks, including Al Jazeera, showed the building collapsing on live TV.
It’s not clear if anyone was still in the building when it was razed. One of Associated Press’ Gaza correspondents, Fares Akram, tweeted that he had been watching from afar and praying the army would retract its threat.
“And now bombs could fall on our office,” he wrote. “We ran down the stairs from the 11th floor and now looking at the building from afar, praying Israeli army would eventually retract.”
Shortly before, another Israeli airstrike flattened a three-story home in a Gaza City refugee camp, killing eight children and two mothers, and leaving a 5-month-old baby as the family’s sole survivor.
In response, Hamas fired rockets into Israel to avenge what it called a “massacre”—the deadliest of Israel’s attacks since the conflict erupted six days ago at a Jerusalem holy site revered by both Palestinians and Jews.
The attack came as victims gathered to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, witnesses told reporters.
“There was no warning,” Jamal Al-Naji, who lived in the destroyed building, told the Associated Press.
Directing his comments toward Israel, he added: “You filmed people eating and then you bombed them? Why are you confronting us? Go and confront the strong people!”
The dead were identified by Haaretz as Maha al-Hadidi, 36, and four of her children: Suhaib, 14; 'Abd a-Rahman, 8; Osama, 6, and Yahya, 11. Her infant, Omar, was reportedly found alive in the rubble, shielded by his mother’s body. Also killed were Jasmine Hassan, 31, and her three children: Yosef, 11; Bilal, 10, and Ala, 5.
On Saturday, the Palestinian health ministry, which is run by Hamas, said 139 Palestinians—including 39 children and 22 women—have been killed since Monday. Israel has reported eight deaths.
The stage was set for even more violence on Saturday, which is known as Nakba Day, when Palestinians remember the expulsion of 700,000 during the 1948 war.
Scouting Report: This sleek looking AC unit cools down a room in no time, and when you're not using it, disappears into the background.
I don’t have central AC in my apartment which I’ve always thought was a bummer. I’m someone who gets really hot, really quickly. As in, the second it hits 70 degrees, the AC goes on for the rest of the season. My dingy old window unit used to be a nightmare—not only did it have no remote and only three different temperature settings—hi, med, and lo, but it also was extraordinarily loud. Last summer, I got the chance to try out the Windmill, a relatively new AC Unit company, and I feel the need to tell everyone who needs an AC Unit that this is the one you should get.
Windmill Air
For starters, the Windmill is incredibly sleek looking. It looks like it’s part of my decor and not an eyesore unit jutting out from the window like my old one. It has a simple and easy-to-use interface—a few sleek buttons up top and an LED display that fades after 10 seconds so you’re not looking at numbers all day. There are three settings—Cool, Fan, and Eco, and you can choose between three different speeds, going from 1 to 3. Funnily enough, I just keep it on 1 all day and my room is crisp and cool—always the exact temp I set it to. You can also connect to it via WiFi and your phone, so you can set schedules for when it should go on, control temperature, and change modes. I love this because if I leave and think I forgot to turn off my AC, I can just turn it off from my phone, no problem.
Beyond being beautiful and easy to use, the machine is powerful. It boasts dual-filtration and double insulation resulting in cleaner, healthier air. It is not an air purifier, but it’s pretty damn close. The filter is easy to wash (just run it under cold water every month or so), and it alerts you, too, so the air is always as fresh as can be. Another thing I love is that the Windmill doesn’t blow air directly at you (although it can with its fan setting). Instead, when it’s on “cool” it directs air upwards, to actually maximize cold air distribution throughout my space.
I’ve had the Windmill for almost a year now, and it’s stayed up year long thanks to its weatherproofing and beautiful design. It’s the best: it’s an AC unit for when I need it, and when I don’t it disappears seamlessly into my living room. I never thought I’d say that I was in love with my AC unit, but after all, I never thought anyone would create an AC unit quite as great as this one.
Scouted selects products independently and prices reflect what was available at the time of publish. Sign up for our newsletter for more recommendations and check out our coupon site for more deals. If you buy something from our posts, we may earn a small commission.
It should be common knowledge that Black women invented rock and roll. Memphis Minnie, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, Bessie Smith and Sister Rosetta Tharpe should be names known as widely as those of the men who came after them, especially the white boys who have been canonized and made infinitely wealthy for biting their style.
Instead, even as they’re cited in the annals of musicology and name-checked by music nerds, these Black women innovators are still far less famous than the musicians they influenced, and rock and roll writ large is almost always raced and gendered as white and male. But it’s Black women who laid the foundation of a musical powerhouse that racism and sexism vaingloriously settler-colonized.
Their talents are captured on “race records,” where Black music was relegated before it was columbused and repackaged for white consumption. Sister Rosetta Tharpe—a queer Black woman from Cotton Plant, Arkansas, who performed to Pentecostal church crowds by age 4, and was billed as the “Singing and Guitar Playing Miracle” by age 6—reworked gospel hymns into secular hits before “crossover” was even a thing.
It was love at first sight. I was 14, leaning against a railing on the top deck of a large old ship that had taken much too long to make the 18-mile journey from Naples. I looked out at the port of Ischia and the hills and mountains that engulfed it. Even before I stepped foot on the island, I knew it was where I belonged.
I have been fortunate enough to have gone to Ischia every year since. While New York is where I make my home and my living, Ischia has always had my heart and always will. My family comes from the island, friends I have had for decades live there and it is where some of my warmest memories rest. My two grown children have grown to love the island as much as I have, moving our family love affair with Ischia one generation forward.
But Covid-19 changed that. I could not go to Ischia last summer and have no plans to go this summer. But, I will be there come summer 2022, to again visit the places and people I have known most of my life.
Here are a few of the things I can’t wait to do when I get back:
1. LUNCH AT DA SALVATORE. It’s a small restaurant on the beach, nestled between another restaurant and a hotel. It’s a family run operation—the father takes your order; the son brings the food; their wives prepare the meals. Father and son are always in bathing suits and usually shirtless. The wine is local and served chilled, the food is top-tier and made from local produce. The view is stunning and the company of Salvatore and son will always leave you with a smile.
2. ALDO POLI AT THE BAR CALISE. The Calise is open all day and night, every day of the week. And there is no better way to bring an end to your day than with a stop there, to drink, have a gelato and listen to Aldo Poli sing and play. He starts his show at nine, but it really gets going at 11 p.m. and wraps up at 2 a.m. During those hours, both locals and tourists come to listen to him play and take over the dance floor to his mix of Southern Italian love ballads, ready to rock medleys and contemporary sounds. For me, as I listen to Poli, usually with one or two glasses of Fernet Branca on ice, I look at the people around me. The older couples who have been coming to the Calise since they were teenagers, either dancing or sitting together and holding hands; and the young couples just beginning their life’s journey. The Bar Calise is a large space, covering two square blocks, tables out and in, always crowded and always welcoming. It is more than a bar. It is a place that holds memories, all of them warm and cherished.
3. THE SANTUARIO DEL SOCCORSO. This 16th century church is dedicated to sailors and emigrants. The exterior is white plaster and all sides of the church are embraced by the waters of the bay. It is my favorite church to visit, located in the borough of Forio (one of the five that make up the 48- mile island). I like to go in the late morning, when it is empty and sit either inside or on the square and enjoy the beauty and serenity of the view.
4. THE D’AMBRA VINEYARDS. The largest vineyard of the five on Ischia, it has been there since before World War II and its wines can be found in every restaurant on the island. Touring the vineyard, under the skilled eye of co-owner Sara D’Ambra, a young and energetic woman with a great smile and a warm manner, is a must do when I visit Ischia. It’s located in Serra Fontana, on the highest point of the island. The view from the vines down to the waters miles below is stunning. And then, after the tour, you enter the main office, where Sara breaks out a selection of her best wines and serves them with a platter filled with cheese, prosciutto, salami and oven-fresh bread. The stories that are shared are as good as the wine. A great place to spend a long sun-drenched afternoon.
5. THE CASTEL ARAGONESE. It is the castle that centuries ago, protected the island against invaders. These days, it welcomes tourists and locals alike. The walk up to the top of the castle is steep, but around every bend there is something to see, a piece of history to absorb. On the third tier is the medieval room, where weapons from a time long past are stored behind glass cases. On the fourth, there is a small bar that serves the freshest lemonade on the island. The next tier is home to an upscale restaurant, The Monastery. At the very top, there is a place to sit, enjoy a gelato from the nearby bar and take in the view. It is a view that on a clear day, allows you to see the islands of Capri and Procida and, with luck, the volcano that embraces the city of Naples. It is a place for tourists to take photos; lovers young and old to sit and take it the view. Once seen, the memory of the visit will always be remembered.
Much like the island of Ischia.
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[unable to retrieve full-text content]Seven of the nine people who were injured in Thursday's shooting in Providence, Rhode Island, remained hospitalized Friday, the city's police chief said.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Three Nashville police officers who raided the wrong apartment last summer will be suspended without pay as well as face other disciplinary measures, the city's police chief said Friday.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Philadelphia's city health commissioner is resigning after news he cremated and disposed of some of the remains of the 1985 MOVE bombing victims, the mayor announced Thursday.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]An indicted close confidant of Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz has struck a deal with federal prosecutors to greatly reduce his criminal case and plans to help investigators in their sprawling investigation that includes a sex trafficking probe.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]The General Services Administration has provided House Democrats with documents related to former President Donald Trump's Washington hotel, in the second case this week where the Biden administration gave the House information that the Trump administration had blocked it from obtaining.
[unable to retrieve full-text content]President Joe Biden issued executive orders on Friday revoking several executive actions taken by former President Donald Trump, including a proclamation that required that visa applicants have health insurance or the means to pay for medical care, an action related to online censorship and an order to build "the Garden of American Heroes."
[unable to retrieve full-text content]In accepting her new position to replace Liz Cheney as conference chair of the Republican party, Rep. Elise Stefanik went after President Joe Biden and what she called his "far-left radical socialist policies."
[unable to retrieve full-text content]Target has announced that it will temporarily stop selling trading cards -- of both the sports and Pokémon variety -- in stores following a recent violent dispute at one of its locations.
Some of the country’s largest retailers will still require masks inside stores despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) decision to loosen mask wearing for fully vaccinated individuals.
Business Insider reported Friday: “Macy’s, Target, and Starbucks are among those saying they’ll still make masks mandatory for shoppers and workers in their stores.” Other companies that told the publication they will keep their mask mandates for now include:
• Kroger • Home Depot • Publix • Dollar General
The report also identified several companies that are evaluating their policies in light of the CDC announcement but have not yet made any changes:
• Walgreens • CVS • Gap • Ulta
The report follows CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s announcement regarding the easing of mask mandates. Walensky noted that fully vaccinated people are still required to wear masks on modes of transportation such as es airplanes, buses, and trains.
“Anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” Walensky said told reporters during a Thursday press conference. “If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. We have all longed for this moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy.”
“This is an exciting and powerful moment, it could only happen because of the work of so many who made sure we have the rapid administration of three safe and effective vaccines,” she added.
However, some states such as New York are keeping mask mandates in place as state health officials review the CDC’s new guidelines.
“In New York, we have always relied on the facts and the science to guide us throughout the worst of this pandemic and in our successful reopening,” Cuomo said in a statement. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical advisor to the president, reacted to the CDC’s announcement with a warning of his own: Parents should ensure that their children still wear masks while playing outside with friends to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
“Yeah, the children do when they’re out there playing with their friends and, you know, and – particularly in an indoor situation, they do,” Fauci told CNN host Jakes Tapper on Thursday when asked if children should still wear masks.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the president, said Friday that children who haven't received the COVID-19 vaccine should continue wearing masks when classes resume this fall.
The nation's leading infectious disease expert stated the guidance after CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked him how parents can keep their children safe while vaccine approval is still pending for them.
"OK, so if you go back to the original CDC guideline, which says that [if] you're a vaccinated parent or a grandparent, and you have an unvaccinated child in the home, in the home setting, absolutely, you don't need to wear a mask, you could have physical contact," Fauci said Friday.
"When the children go out into the community, either an indoor or in certain outdoor settings, they should wear a mask if they're unvaccinated. When they ultimately get vaccinated, it will be the same as the adults," the chief medical adviser added.
Fauci affirmed that classes "absolutely" should resume for in-person sessions in the fall of 2021 after numerous schools across the country moved to online learning following the onset of the pandemic last year.
Pfizer is expected to submit an emergency use authorization application to the Food and Drug Administration in September to widen eligibility to children 2 to 11, though the current timeline would indicate not all students would be vaccinated in time before classes resume.
The medical adviser also said that "most of the schools are going to say you have to wear a mask if you're in the school and unvaccinated."
Fauci maintained that local authorities, schools, or businesses are “perfectly justified” to continue to require masks if they want.
His remarks come just days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced people who have received the COVID-19 vaccine no longer need to wear masks in most settings.
Journalists claimed on Friday they found President Joe Biden's "secret" Venmo account after only a brief search, saying the ease of access presents a "major privacy concern for everyone" using the money exchanging platform.
Buzzfeed reported on the existence of the account following a report in the New York Timesthat mentioned Biden sent his grandchildren money on Venmo.
During the search, "BuzzFeed News found nearly a dozen Biden family members and mapped out a social web that encompasses not only the first family, but a wide network of people around them, including the president’s children, grandchildren, senior White House officials, and all of their contacts on Venmo," the report said.
The article noted the "president's transactions are not public," adding the journalists would not reveal the identifying usernames for the accounts mentioned in the report due to "national security concerns."
Shortly after the White House was notified that Biden's profile and other related accounts were visible to the public, all the friends on Biden's Venmo account had been removed, the report added.
It would not be the first time an elected official's Venmo account was found to be easily accessible to the public. Reporters discovered in April the existence of Venmo accounts tied to Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and his associate Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector who has admitted to paying an underage girl to have sex with him as well as other men.
Greenberg, who court documents on Friday show is ready to cooperate with federal investigators, reportedly used the account to pay three young women for "tuition" and "school," although these accounts appeared to have more public visibility and showed transactions.
Additionally, former President Donald Trump's White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, had a personal Venmo account that was discovered by the public in February 2017.
Another potential security risk was discovered in January in relation to the president's technology, when the New York Timesreported Biden's Peloton bike, which features a built-in camera and microphone, could potentially be a security and privacy risk.
Lawmakers in the Empire State want to hold the firearms industry accountable for gun violence, which is on the rise in New York. Already there are measures underway that could bypass federal protections and allow individuals to sue gun makers when their products are used in a crime.
Last year, New York State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) authored a bill he said he believes would significantly expand the state’s ability to challenge manufacturers whose products are used illegally. The measure would amend the state’s criminal nuisance law to include the sale or manufacture of a product that endangers people’s health or safety.
The goal of it is to allow New Yorkers to sue companies or individuals that violate the statute. While guns are the intended target of the Democratic lawmaker’s proposed bill, it isn’t clear how any product that could be dangerous to use couldn’t also face similar scrutiny while its manufacturers face lawsuits. Couldn’t it be argued that an automobile or airplane endanger health or safety?
However, a new survey conducted by Data for Progress found that there is widespread concern across the state when it comes to gun violence. The poll found that sixty-three percent of Empire State residents expressed concerns about the issue in their communities, while eighty-six percent said they were worried about shootings in America at large.
Surprisingly, eighty-three percent of New York State residents also said that lawmakers should pass legislation that would stop the flow of illegal guns into the state.
“I think the poll demonstrates that there is overwhelming and bipartisan support for the Legislature to take action on a scourge that everyone recognizes is a deep problem here in the state of New York,” told reporters, according to The New York Daily News.
The question is how a law could stop the flow of guns that are already illegal – especially as New York City and other parts of the state already have had problems addressing the flow of untaxed cigarettes from other states.
Myrie has continued his agenda as New York City has seen an increase in gun violence, including a shooting in Times Square that left three innocent bystanders with injuries.
“There is an illegal trafficking pipeline that has gone unabated in which the gun industry has done nothing to help stem,” Myrie added. “This bill … is saying we are no longer going to tolerate you having a business model that allows you to profit off of the death of people here in this state.”
In other words, the lawmakers hope to sue legitimate businesses for conducting normal business operations when their products are sold illegally by unrelated third parties.
Myrie has already found allies in the state capital. Assemblywoman Pat Fahy (D-Albany) is sponsoring the bill in her chamber.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
Israel bombed the home of a Hamas military leader and destroyed a cyber intelligence site on Friday as part of its campaign to destroy the network of terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip.
A Hamas “cyber intelligence storage cell” in northern Gaza was also wiped out by the Israel Defense Force’s elite technological unit, the C4i and Cyber Defense Directorate, and the Israeli air force, the news outlet said.
About 160 military aircraft took part in a 40-minute, coordinated assault on the tunnel network that marked the largest military strike since fighting erupted earlier this week, the Times of Israel said.
About 450 missiles were fired at 150 targets, mainly around the city of Beit Lahiya, IDF spokesperson Hidai Zilberman said.
Smoke billows after an Israeli airstrike on Gaza City targeted the Ansar compound, linked to the Hamas movement, in the Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021.MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images
Israeli tanks, artillery and infantry also opened fire on Hamas operatives armed with rockets and anti-tank missiles, launching more than 500 explosive shells and flares. Zilberman described the tunnel network — which the IDF calls “the metro” — as a “strategic asset” for Hamas.
Gazans began using tunnels to smuggle goods from Egypt during the mid-1990s, according to a 2016 report in The Tower magazine by Dan Feferman, then a major in the IDF reserves.
Protesters hold “Free Gaza from Hamas” signs at a demonstration against anti-Semitism in Munich, Germany, on May 14, 2021.ZUMAPRESS.com
By 2001, Hamas terrorists were employing the tunnels to plant bombs under Israeli military installations, and in 2006 emerged from one near Kibbutz Keren Shalom to ambush a tank unit.
That incident left two Israeli soldiers dead and led to the capture of Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was held in captivity for five years before being freed in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
The historic, lopsided deal marked the first time in 26 years that a captured Israeli soldier came back alive.
The aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on May 14, 2021. ZUMAPRESS.com
“We had to return home a soldier that we sent out to fight for us,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the time.
In 2014, the IDF said it destroyed 32 tunnels — including 14 that crossed into Israel — during a military campaign dubbed “Operation Protective Edge.”
At the time, an IDF spokesman said the move was intended to prevent a “simultaneous, coordinated, surprise attack within Israel” by Hamas.
“They planned to send 200 terrorists armed to the teeth toward civilian populations,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner told Vanity Fair.
Hamas wanted to “pull off something they could show on television,” a senior military intelligence official added, and reportedly planned to kidnap both civilians and soldiers for use as a “bargaining chip.”
A destroyed Hamas security site is seen in the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes amid a flare-up of Israel-Palestinian violence, in Gaza City on May 11, 2021. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
But Hamas quickly began rebuilding the underground network, with leader Sheikh Ismail Haniyeh predicting there would soon be twice as many tunnels as the Viet Cong dug during the Vietnam War.
During a 2016 sermon ahead of a funeral for seven militants killed while repairing a tunnel in northern Gaza, he said, “I tell all those who are doubtful at our resilience: Forgo this logic.”
A Hamas “cyber intelligence storage cell” in northern Gaza was destroyed in the Israeli airstrike.ZUMAPRESS.com
“In east Gaza, there are heroes digging tunnels under the ground and in the West there are those testing rockets,” he said, according to Haaretz.
“The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades are digging tunnels to defend Gaza and turn it into a launchpad for all of Palestine.”
Critics of the Second Amendment, including President Joe Biden, have long perpetrated a myth that mass shootings only occur in the United States. This overlooks tragic incidents that have occurred in nations that have far more restrictive gun control laws than anything we have in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
It was on Monday that at least nine people were killed, including seven children, in the Russian city of Kazan when 19-year-old Illnaz Galyaviev allegedly went on a shooting rampage at a school. Dozens more were wounded and some of the victims remain in critical condition days after the attack. Videos of the massacre circulated online, and showed that some students even jumped out of windows to escape – and at least two of the students were killed from the fall.
While such mass shootings aren’t exactly common in Russia, these types of events have been on the rise. It was reported that the weapon used in the shooting was a Hatsan Escort semi-automatic shotgun, and was produced by the same Turkish company that the pump-action shotgun used to kill twenty-one students during the Kerch Polytechnic College mass shooting in Crimea in 2018.
Now in response to this most recent tragedy, President Vladimir Putin is calling for further gun control measures.
“The president gave an order to urgently work out a new provision concerning the types of weapons that can be in civilian hands, taking into account the weapon [used today],” said Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov as reported by The Daily Beast.
Gun Control in Russia
The Russian Federation has no “Second Amendment” or anything similar in its constitution. And while self-defense and protection of personal property is a constitutional right guaranteed to Russian citizens, gun control is relatively strict.
The acquisition of guns is based on licenses provided for a five-year period by local police departments and involves a rigorous background check including an evaluation of his/her medical records. The mentally ill as well as those treated for substance abuse are not allowed to possess firearms. According to The New York Times, “Applicants for a firearm’s license must pass psychological exams and own a smoothbore shotgun for a trial period before obtaining a rifle.”
Firearm permits are issued for hunting and sports. However, multiple outlets have also noted that the corruption in Russia has resulted in many individuals not actually going through the supposedly rigorous background checks.
Russia faces many of the same problems that occur in the United States, and that includes lax efforts to determine whether an individual suffers from any mental health issues, while efforts to cross reference any mental health databases are rarely conducted.
Even as President Putin has called for new gun control the question is whether it would make any difference in actually reducing gun violence in Russia.
The United States Library of Congress cited a report from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, which found that there were 6.3 million nonmilitary weapons registered in the Russian Federation, but also noted that there were approximately twelve million guns held illegally and not registered. In 2012, the year the report was written, the police investigated 26,500 crimes related to the illegal circulation of weapons.
“There is a huge black market for weapons, and most weapons used by criminals are stolen military or police guns, guns sold by law enforcement personnel who seized illegal weapons from criminals and did not register the confiscation of those firearms, or firearms made from modified nonlethal guns,” according to the Library of Congress.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
The ongoing tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas have brought to the fore the Iron Dome, a Star Wars-looking interceptor system that has been working overtime over the past few days.
The Iron Dome is an air-defense system designed to intercept rockets and artillery shells with ranges of up to 44 miles. Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Elta Systems, the Iron Dome is comprised of a battery, radar, and a command and control system. Each battery has three launchers that carry 20 interceptor missiles each for a total of 60 missiles per battery.
What makes Iron Dome so useful is its technical capability to track the trajectory of each incoming rocket or artillery shell and determine if it is heading towards an urban area. Only if the incoming munition is going to strike a city or village will the Iron Dome attempt to intercept it.
Iron Dome launcher (WikiMedia Commons)
According to the Israeli Defence Force, Iron Dome had shot down 85-90% of incoming rockets that were projected to land within populated areas by Wednesday of this week.
Here is some video footage from the ongoing engagements in the skies over Israel that show the Iron Dome in action. It is definitely an interesting sight as Iron Dome interceptor missiles destroy several rockets fired by Hamas in midair.
Downsides to the Iron Dome
But the Iron Dome does have its downsides.
The air-defense system is expensive, with each interceptor missile costing between $40,000 to $50,000. Hamas, on the other hand, spends approximately $800 to a few thousand dollars for each rocket it launches against Israel.
Thus, the Iron Dome system might be very effective in terms of interception rates, but it is financially inefficient compared to the threat. Of course, it’s hard to put a price tag on the psychological benefits of your population knowing that there is an unseen umbrella that can protect you quite effectively from rocket or artillery attack. Additionally, there is an undetermined financial benefit of preventing munitions from disrupting normal life.
The Iron Dome makes sense for a country like Israel, which is bordered by real threats that can reach deep into the country and target the civilian population, but it doesn’t make that much sense for a country, like the U.S., that isn’t surrounded by adversaries.
The Iron Dome system’s utility to U.S. bases overseas also may not be great in this era of renewed near-peer conflicts. Nations such as China and Russia are vastly more advanced than organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are designated as terrorist organizations by the United States.
For example, while Hamas is lobbing a few dozens or even a hundred rocket against Israel at a time, a Russian artillery battalion using the simple BM-21 truck-mounted rocket launcher can launch up to 720 rocket in 20 seconds—there is a reason why the German infantry was so afraid of the Soviet Katyusha rocket launcher during the Second World War.
Russian BM-21 (Courtesy of the Kremlin)
Similarly, two or three North Korean ICBMs fired at the same target can achieve better results than hundreds of small-yield rockets.
However, the US military has decided to purchase the Iron Dome system for installation protection, presumably in the Middle East, where the threat from Iran, which employs similar tactics as Hamas and Hezbollah, is great.
In comparison, the US military has opted for a layered, forward-deployment missile defense that incorporates not only several services but also at times other countries, such as South Korea and Japan.
Some of the air defense systems that the US military employs for missile defense are the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), which is designed to intercept short and medium-range ballistic missiles, the MIM-104 Patriot, which is designed for short to medium interceptions, and the AEGIS, which is primarily deployed on Navy destroyers but can also be placed ashore, but with questionable effectiveness.
If you’ve seen the movie – and really who reading this magazine hasn’t seen Patton at least once – you already know the myth of the larger-than-life general.
He was born to a family with an extensive military background and attended both the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
He believed he was born to lead men, and as a believer in reincarnation, he claimed he had seen combat many times before in his previous lives. He was reportedly told prior to the 1943 invasion of Sicily by British General Harold Alexander, “You know, George, you would have made a great marshal for Napoleon if you had lived in the 19th century.” Patton replied, “But I did.”
In his actual life he studied fencing and even designed the M1913 Cavalry Saber, today known more commonly as the “Patton Saber.” Patton competed in the modern pentathlon in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, and finished in fifth place. He would have medaled was it not for a controversy in the pistol-shooting event. The judges believed he missed the target, while he argued he was such a fine marksman that one of his bullets traveled through a bullet hole from a previous shot!
While he was also known to be a leader whose adherence to the rules often pushed his men to the breaking point, he was also flamboyant when it came to his choice of small arms.
Patton had many “favorite” firearms, and had described the M1 Garand as “the greatest battle implement ever devised,” but when it came to personal sidearms, two handguns are commonly associated with him. These include his .45 Long Colt Single Action revolver, 1873 Army Model; and a .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson revolver.
Both of the handguns are now in the collection of the General George Patton Museum of Leadership at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Because of the movie starring George C. Scott, Patton is remembered for carrying both at the same time, but in reality he rarely wore them together. The mistake may be due to the fact that as his favorites he posed for some wartime photos with both and the legend stuck that Patton had a revolver strapped to each hip like a cowboy. As a young officer, he did carry two revolvers during General Pershing’s “Punitive Expedition” into Mexico to hunt down the infamous Pancho Villa.
He had reportedly carried the Colt SAA .45 with the hammer down on an empty chamber, and hence only had five rounds. During an encounter with bandits, he found himself with an empty weapon, and after that he would generally carry two handguns – but not always his two favorites and rarely both in holsters in his hips. Instead, he’d carry a Colt Detective Special .38 revolver, Colt Pocket Model hammerless or even a Remington Model 51 .380. It was the latter handgun that he used to fire at the Luftwaffe aircraft that strafed his encampment.
All of his handguns were personalized to some extent, and that included being inlaid with the initials “GSP” as well as the stars of a U.S. Army general. One detail the movie got right was when a reporter asked about his “pearl-handled pistols.”
In true Patton fashion, he angrily responded, “They’re ivory. Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl-handled pistol.”
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He regularly writes about military small arms, and is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
JUST IN: Program Leader Says High Costs Pose ‘Existential Threat’ to F-35
Air Force photo by Senior Airman Codie Trimble
High costs and concerns about affordability threaten the future of the F-35 joint strike fighter, the program executive officer for the aircraft warned May 13.
The jet is the most expensive acquisition effort in the history of the Defense Department. Current Pentagon plans call for procuring more than 2,400 of the platforms — including the A, B and C variants operated by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, respectively — at a cost of about $400 billion. The price tag for operations and sustainment is expected to top $1 trillion during the lifecycle of the aircraft.
“I see cost as the program's greatest enemy,” said Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, PEO for the F-35, at the McAleese and Associates annual defense programs conference. “I see high costs as an existential threat to the F-35 as an enterprise. And that cost happens not just in development, not just in production, but in sustainment as well.”
Problems associated with technology refresh 3, or TR3, are impacting the move to Block 4 capabilities which are needed for the jet to be effective in a future high-end fight against advanced adversaries, Fick noted. While a handful of the new capabilities have already been delivered, the tech refresh is needed to enable the remainder of the 70 or so upgrades planned for Block 4, which includes 14 new weapons and a number of software-enabled systems.
“Now we have a cost overrun and we've got some schedule slips on TR3,” Fick said. “As a result of the cost overrun driven by TR3, we've had to slow development and, in some cases, stopped development on some of those Block 4 capabilities.”
Fick did not provide a dollar figure for the cost overruns, which he said are related to the integrated core processor. He noted that the Joint Program Office is working with F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin and subcontractor L3Harris to address the issues and try to keep the initiative on track.
The new hardware was slated to be added during Lot 15 production beginning in 2023. The Pentagon and Lockheed are currently in negotiations for Lots 15, 16 and 17, Fick said.
The procurement cost for the F-35A have come down, and are now under $80 million per plane, which is on par with some legacy fighters. However, high sustainment costs continue to plague the program.
The cost per flying hour for the A variant has come down to $33,300 (in base year 2012 dollars), Fick said. The goal is to lower that to $25,000 by 2025.
“Eighty percent of the program costs [over the life of the program] … are in that sustainment place. So, that really presents to me both the greatest challenge and the greatest opportunity for us to reduce overall program costs,” Fick said. “That's where we really have the biggest mandate … when we look at the services’ affordability targets.”
There are several ways to potentially reduce the total price tag for operations and sustainment. One is to leverage simulation tools, Fick said.
“I can fly less, maybe offload some of that work to our full mission simulators, our advanced simulators, which is something we're considering and working with the services on,” he said. While that would reduce total O&S costs, it would also lead to an increase in cost per flight hour because fixed costs would be divided by fewer flight hours, he noted.
Another potential cost saver would be to reduce the number of contractors supporting the aircraft on the flight lines, he said.
“They are great Americans doing great work but they're very expensive. So targeting the sustaining support that we have on the flight lines today, looking at ways to reduce that” is a priority, he said.
Reducing the number of servicemembers required for maintenance could also drive down costs, he added.
“The next biggest piece has to do with the spares and the parts we buy and the parts that we repair,” Fick said. “Driving cost out of that piece is really the next lever” for making sustainment more affordable.
That goal “is really kind of at the heart of the conversation that we've had about a performance-based logistics contract with Lockheed Martin,” he added.
Fick’s comments came at a time when the program is under fire from key lawmakers and other observers for cost overruns and technology problems, and the Air Force is conducting a tac-air study of its fighter portfolio.
Air Force leaders are considering what mix of platforms will be needed to compete against advanced adversaries such as China in the 2030s. The study will inform funding requests for the future years defense program.
“It is helping shape some of the ‘22 [budget blueprint], but it’s really designed to help me build out ’23,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. said May 12 at the McAleese conference.
The Air Force is working with the Joint Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, he noted. “We’re looking across the board at all of our combat aircraft.”
The Air Force currently has seven fighter fleets, but Brown wants to set the service on a path to reduce that to four — a future Next-Generation Air Dominance platform, F-15EX, F-16 and F-35 — plus the A-10 Thunderbolt II which is being re-winged. Notably, Brown did not include the stealthy F-22 Raptor in his long-term vision of the tactical aircraft fleet.
The F-35 will be the “cornerstone” of the future force, he said, although it’s unclear what the exact mix will be.
“We have to work the long-term sustainment costs,” Brown said. “I’ve been engaging with the leadership at Lockheed Martin as well as my staff and the Joint Program Office, and we’ve got to really work this together.”
Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is all but guaranteed a victory in an election scheduled for May 26, a sham no serious observer considers free and fair.
As this latest chapter of the Syrian decade-long tragedy continues to unfold, Russia, a chief Assad supporter, is using the election to promote its own broader narrative and build influence.
How Russia Is Using the Election To Its Advantage
The Russian foreign affairs ministry decried the “alleged illegitimacy” of the election as interference in Syria’s internal affairs. “No one has the right to tell the Syrians when and under what conditions they should elect their head of state,” said the ministry’s statement. Then it proceeded to denounce the “illegal foreign occupation” of Syrian territory, implicitly referring to the US. Russian officials have made it clear over the years the Kremlin wants the small remaining American contingent to leave Syria. They remain committed to this goal.
Russia’s Kommersantpresented Russia as the voice of dispassionate reason which “calls for respect for the basic law of the [Syrian] republic,” rather than denounce the outcome of the election before it happens. To an uninformed audience this may sound sensible—and this is partly the point of Kremlin messaging— but the reality is another matter entirely.
The UN Security Council Resolution 2254 outlines steps for a political transition for Syria. The resolution chartered a Syrian-led and UN-facilitated political process that established a transitional governing body, a new constitution agreed upon by the Syrian constitutional committee, and UN-supervised elections that meet “the highest international standards of transparency and accountability, with all Syrians, including members of the diaspora.” Nothing of the sort is taking place, which makes the upcoming election a cruel and predictable farce. To date, negotiations in Geneva failed to produce a new constitution as the Assad regime, shielded by Kremlin diplomacy, purposely stalled the discussions.
It would be tempting to say that Moscow is simply rejecting the UN resolution it signed, but the reality is more nuanced. Rather, the Kremlin promotes a different interpretation of the UN resolution–it finds nothing that explicitly prohibits holding the elections now with the current Syrian constitution in place. In earlier years, Moscow diluted legal documents such as the 2012 Geneva communique, on which Resolution 2254 is based, precisely to leave these terms vague. Thus, Moscow not only supports Assad as a “legitimate” ruler of Syria but also erodes from within the spirit of international institutions that envisioned his eventual departure. In essence, this is the purpose of Russian diplomacy on Syria.
In addition, as the Syrian election nears, Moscow renewed its longstanding claim that sanctions against Assad, and especially the so-called Caesar act, hurt the Syrian people. This claim is part of the Kremlin’s narrative that portrays the West is aggressive and destabilizing, bent on ousting regimes it doesn’t like, as opposed to Russia that stands for respect of international law, anti-terrorism and Syrian sovereignty. The Caesar Act, named after a Syrian military defector who documented evidence of Assad’s war crimes, officially took force in July 2020. It sanctions governments, companies, and individuals indirectly funding Assad’s regime. The Syrian people are not the target, while the act does not hinder the provision of humanitarian aid to the Syrian people–rather Assad, with Moscow’s support is doing that.
Russia’s Strategy
It is no accident Moscow is now focused on sanctions. Leveraging humanitarian assistance to support Assad is crucial to Moscow’s play. Just as Moscow blocked last year’s UN efforts to deliver cross-border humanitarian aid to Syria, it appears set to do the same this summer at the upcoming vote as it pushes for the aid to be delivered from Assad-controlled areas. Perhaps nothing highlights the Kremlin’s position as clearly as this month’s conversation with Vladimir Putin and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “When considering the humanitarian situation in Syria, concern was expressed over the tightening of unilateral sanctions against the legitimate authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic,” according to the Kremlin’s statement about the meeting.
Indeed, to shift pressure away from Assad, the narrative that sanctions—rather than Assad—are suffocating the Syrian people has resurfaced in the Russian state-controlled press in the context of the Syrian election. In a recent interview Russian foreign affairs minister Sergei Lavrov said the West aims to “suffocate the Syrian people so that they stand up and overthrow Syrian president Bashar Assad,” echoing earlier comments published in Russia’s Izvestiya by the Syrian ambassador to Russia Riad Haddad, “they do everything they can do suffocate us.” Moreover the argument that sanctions against Assad are ineffective or harm the civilian population has taken hold in the West, showing that it is not immune to Kremlin narratives. The Middle East region too has shifted towards the Kremlin position as the Arab League moves closer to accepting Assad, something Lavrov has not failed to highlight. “[M]any Arab countries are realizing the importance of restoring ties with Damascus. For our part, we fully support this readiness,” he told Egypt’s Al-Ahram last month.
In this context there is a hint of indifference to the West in Russian press comments. One Russian analyst quoted by state-run RIA Novosti said that even if the West does not accept the Syrian election as legitimate it will still have to deal with Assad. In a similar vein, Vitaly Naumkin, director of the Institute of Oriental Studies told Kommerstant reporter in the article cited earlier, “There is no tragedy that the West does not recognize the [Syrian] elections. Obviously, Assad will win. But there are sane people in the West who understand that the idea of postponement [of elections] is absurd, since in that case anarchy and chaos will ensue.”
A Sad Past, Present, and Future
It’s hard to see how legitimizing a man who spared no depravity to cling to power and plunged his country into a war that destabilized the entire region will bring stability. Moreover Western non-recognition of Syria’s “election” matters as does its commitment to Syria and more broadly the global order that the Kremlin seeks to erode— an order that says there are limits to what a state can do to its citizens. It also matters that while the true scope of Syria’s horrors has largely gone unnoticed by the Russian public a group of Russian human rights groups recently unveiled a report, the first of its kind, that describes Russia as a perceived gross violator of humanitarian law in Syria, not a liberator. The Kremlin made many serious gains in its great power contest with the West as a result of Vladimir Putin’s intervention to save Assad. But the story of Russia’s Syria adventure is not over and the US role remains crucial.
One such flight, according to a complaint filed with the House Committee on Ethics, involved Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who flew from Washington, D.C., to Minneapolis on April 17 to attend the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin. Waters was already accompanied by two armed Capitol Police and two U.S. Secret Service agents when she allegedly requested two air marshals and two more marshals on touchdown to escort her in the airport.
On Friday night US Capitol Police and US Secret Service deny those claims telling Fox neither agency provided in-flight protection for the congresswoman.
“Congresswoman Maxine Waters utilized numerous government resources inappropriately,” the complaint reads. “Federal Air Marshals were removed from a “High Risk” flight to cover Ms. Waters flight to Minnesota. The High Risk flight took off with no armed law enforcement on board leaving a gap in National Security.”
“Air marshals for Miss Waters trip were assigned high risk missions, they were removed from those missions and assigned to Miss Waters mission on top of her already armed security detail from the Capitol Police,” Hightower said. “That was not an official business trip. We still don’t have any justification as to why government resources were utilized to fly Miss Waters out to Minnesota.”
It’s pretty hilarious that the woman who spent her entire trip to Minnesota trashing police and calling for extreme pushback against them is turning around and requesting exorbitant protection from law enforcement.
This woman is such an out-of-touch loon.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow is having a hard time coming to grips with the fact that America is unmasking. She went on her show and said that she now has to “rewire” herself to not see unmasked individuals as a “threat” after the CDC issued new guidelines for vaccination people.
“I feel like I’m going to have to rewire myself so that when I see someone out in the world who’s not wearing a mask, I don’t instantly think, ‘You are a threat,’” Maddow commented. “Or you are selfish or you are a Covid denier and you definitely haven’t been vaccinated. I mean, we’re going to have to rewire the way that we look at each other.”
The perfect response for an absolutely unhinged and crazy rant.
Well done, Megyn, well done.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
No, he believes, just like Biden, that everything is fine and these ideas that American’s are incentivized to stay out of work with big unemployment checks is just hogwash.
More from Wayne Dupree
He also stated that all this talk about inflation is just non-sense, too.
I mean…what planet is this guy living on?
That’s what Jesse Watters would like to know, and tore into Juan for being a privileged elite living in a clueless DC bubble.
Juan Williams just claimed there isn't a labor shortage nor any signs of inflation on The Five.
Well, it’s pretty obvious that Juan has been inside of his elitist bubble a little too long.
And of course he’s getting absolutely shredded online for his pompous behavior:
“Hey @TheJuanWilliams It’s not “petty” to see the gas pumps 1/4 mile from my house shut down. It’s not “petty” to see small town restaurants closing because they can’t find servers, it’s not “petty” to get videos from friends in Israel showing rockets exploding and sirens blaring”
“I turn the volume down when he speaks. Clueless and very annoying.”
“I’m grateful for Juan Williams. There’s really no other way to display an example of leftist idiocy.”
“He needs a lumber 2×4 adjustment. The price shock will knock some sense into him.”
“Sometimes I just don’t know what planet Juan lives on.”
It’s really such a cop-out for Biden and Juan to say that there’s no evidence of Americans choosing unemployment over the option to work.
Everyone knows you can’t literally track something like that…people lie all the time about job offers and whatnot.
This is one reason the Dems just “canceled” COVID – that jobs report was so devastating to Biden, they need to get people back in the workforce and show some “growth.”
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
As you likely know by now, Teigen was “canceled” after the media finally got wind of an old story from 10 years ago, when for some unknown reason, Chrissy decided to severely bully a 16-year-old girl and tell her to kill herself both publically and privately.
Well, Chrissy issued a pretty standard apology – that most people did not think was enough.
And apparently, it wasn’t enough, because she’s still getting backlash.
Chrissy’s cooking line has been canceled by Target.
She and Target are claiming this was “mutual” and it was in the works since December. That could be true, but it could also be her PR spin and Target’s desire not to be involved in the drama.
Either way, she’s toast.
Bizpacreview reported that Target has “parted ways” with model and television personality Chrissy Teigen’s cookware due to what they claim is a non-exclusivity arrangement, and not because of her alleged past cruel and vicious cyberbullying
Teigen’s Cravings cookware line has been dumped by Target and is no longer on its website. However, her three Cravings cookbooks are still reportedly available for sale on the site.
According to Target’s rep via Fox Business: “We made the mutual decision in December to no longer carry the cookware line, given our continued focus on brands we develop and that can only be found at Target.” They contend it has nothing to do with the model’s cyberbullying scandals. A source from the retailer reportedly told TMZ that the line was removed last month and was done so due to a mutual and amicable decision that was agreed to in December of 2020.
Target exclusively carried the line of cookware when it debuted. But it appears to now be available on Teigen’s website and through other outlets as well. The company says that some of their brick-and-mortar stores still have the cookware in inventory.
This is how it usually starts with these “cancel” situations…one domino falls and the others follow, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Chrissy over the next few weeks.
But if anyone deserves to get canceled, it’s her. She’s a nasty, angry, mean person.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
First off, it appears that Michelle suffers from seasonal depression. She talked at length about how she hates the winter. I mean, she really, really hates the winter.
In fact, she said that she hopes to never experience winter again.
“I’ve been telling my daughters I’m moving toward retirement right now, picking projects and chasing summer,” she said. “Barack and I never want to experience winter again.
“Depression is understandable during these times,” Michelle said, adding that this is something that is important to both recognize and talk about.
“I needed to acknowledge what I was going through, because a lot of times we feel like we have to cover that part of ourselves up, that we always have to rise above and look as if we’re not paddling hard underneath the water,” Michelle said.
Well, Michelle certainly didn’t “cover” it up a lot. She’s never had what you’d call a “bright/peppy” energy, and she seemed angry a lot.
Michelle’s revelation about her mental health also comes on the heels of her admitting that her marriage to Barack has been “rocky” at times and they actually had to get into marital therapy. Yikes.
Honestly, this sounds like a really miserable family with a lot of problems that they need to work through.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
If this woman is so concerned about her health and safety, she should focus on her eating habits, because research shows COVID wreaks havoc on obese folks.
The teacher, who unleashes on this poor student like an unhinged madwoman, got some instant karma for what she did – she has been suspended, while the case is investigated.
Madison.com reported that a teacher in the Poynette School District has been placed on administrative leave following an incident at the high school Tuesday.
A video being shared on social media allegedly shows a Poynette teacher berating a student for failing to wear a mask, calling him a “jerk” and “dummy.” The district has not confirmed the video, which was shared by talk radio host Vicki McKenna, is related to the teacher being placed on leave.
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McKenna said she got the video from TikTok and edited it to protect the student’s identity. She declined to say who had posted the video to TikTok and a search of the platform did not immediately turn up a related video.
The school issued the following statement: “The District is initiating an investigation and the teacher involved has been put on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. The District contacted the parents and we are taking steps to provide the appropriate support for the student involved.”
This virus, with a 99.8 percent survival rate for healthy folks, has turned a lot of people into complete lunatics.
This woman should be fired.
Attn: Wayne Dupree is a free speech champion who works tirelessly to bring you news that the mainstream media ignores. But he needs your support in order to keep delivering quality, independent journalism. You can make a huge impact in the war against fake news by pledging as little as $5 per month. Please click here Patreon.com/WDShow to help Wayne battle the fake news media.
President Biden revoked several Trump-era executive orders Friday, among them being an order to protect historical federal statutes, like those vandalized during the summer protests.
Trump executed order 13934, “Building and Rebuilding Monuments to American Heroes,” during a time when federal monuments of civil war veterans and slave-owning historical monuments faced vandalism from Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA activists.
Biden also revoked executive order 13925 “Preventing Online Censorship,” 13978 “Building the National Garden of American Heroes,” 13964 “Rebranding United States Foreign Assistance to Advance American Influence” and 13980 “Protecting Americans From Overcriminalization Through Regulatory Reform.”
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
Following the violence in Israel and Gaza, Democratic representatives have taken stances against Israel. Now, the Muslim Brotherhood is applauding them for “demand[ing] the protection of Palestinians from Zionist attacks”
The jihadist extremist group was shouting out Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Andre Carson (D-IN), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Mark Pocan (D-WI), and Cori Bush (D-MO), as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT).
“A large number from the American Democratic Party urged their government to try stopping the violence of the occupation forces against the Palestinians in Jerusalem and the West Bank,” the article reads. While it was originally written in Arabic, it has since been translated by independent translators for The Washington Free Beacon.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
Following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announcing that vaccinated people don’t have to wear masks anymore, an altercation over masks broke out in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Hill’s Scott Wong was in the room when it happened. Rep. Marjorie Greene Taylor’s (R-GA) Communications Director Nick Dyer started the spat. When he saw Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) wearing a mask on the floor, he reminded him of Thursday’s subsequent announcement from President Biden.
I saw the altercation but was not close enough to hear Swalwell.
“Biden says you can take off your mask,” Dyer said.
Wong saw Swalwell get “in [Dyer’s] face.” Then, according to Dyer, Swalwell told him: “You don’t tell me what to f***ing do!”
Then, after reports of the incident, Swalwell doubled down, saying he “regret[s he] wasn’t more explicit.” To hear him tell it, he was standing up to a bully. “No one should be bullied for wearing a mask.” In the tweet, he called the director an aide.
I had a mask on as I stepped off the Floor. An aide with @mtgreenee yelled at me to take my mask off. No one should be bullied for wearing a mask. So I told the bully what I thought of his order. Predictably, he went speechless. I regret I wasn’t more explicit. https://t.co/o8j0DXWOBm
But Greene says Swalwell was the bigger bully. She claims he “chased my staffer into the Capitol, cornered him and exploded in anger inches from his face.”
Stop lying, Jamie.
Eric Swalwell chased my staffer into the Captiol, cornered him and exploded in anger inches from his face.
A day after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced vaccinated people no longer have to wear masks, National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci says unvaccinated children still have to wear masks. He appeared on an interview with CNN’s “The Lead.”
Host Jake Tapper asked Fauci if kids who haven’t received the vaccine still need to wear masks. “The children do when they’re out there playing with their friends, particularly in an indoor situation, they do,” Fauci responded.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s essentially over,” Fauci said. “I think this is a very important step in the direction of trying to get back to some degree of normality. Because this is something that everyone has had on their mind … and being able to go around without a mask indoors as well as outdoors is really a big step in that direction.”
Squad of Three Fully Equipped and Armed Soldiers Standing on Hill in Desert Environment in Sunset Light.
After President Biden announced he will be ending “America’s longest war” this year, a US official confirmed to Fox News that all military personnel have left the Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan. Kandhar is the country’s second-largest city.
The official reported that the troops left earlier this week. At the time Biden promised to pull all troops out of Afghanistan, there were about 2,500 soldiers stationed there.
After ousting Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) Wednesday, Republican House members voted Thursday to elect Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) as GOP Conference Chair.
Thank you to my House GOP colleagues, President Trump, and my constituents in #NY21 for the opportunity to serve as House Republican Conference Chair. I am truly humbled and honored. pic.twitter.com/Seq6lrnh0R
The New York Rep. swept the vote, getting 134 of the 212 votes. Last-minute nominee Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) received 46 votes, and Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Catherine McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) each received one vote.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
Carter interviewed Jimmy Hobbs, the Texas farmer who found five abandoned girls on his property Sunday. He and his wife Katie have lived in Quemado, Texas all their lives. Moreover, their family has lived in the area for generations but only now are they feeling the adverse effects of a weak immigration policy.
“We don’t feel like we’re a sovereign nation any more,” Katie said. “We don’t have a border down here in the south.”
Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano also talked to Carter about what it’s like running a city as it experiences a surge in illegal immigration.
“This administration is telling the American people, taxpaying citizens, that [the border] is under control,” Lozano said. “How is an increase of 396% under control, while this time last year it was 18,000 detainees — we are at 97,000 in this sector alone.”
Lozano is disappointed that the Biden administration isn’t called out enough for their failure at the border. “There’s no accountability,” Lozano said. “I was elected to do a duty that is to protect my community and if it means calling out a person from the same party, so be it. I am not going to back down.”
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism
The Israel Defense Forces overnight targeted terrorist tunnel networks in Gaza used by Hamas.
The massive operation came after Israel warned of a ground invasion in Gaza. However, the operation was conducted outside of Gaza with the IDF utilizing the power of 160 aircraft, tanks, artillery, and infantry units just along the border.
The IDF said they struck 150 targets, destroying kilometers of the tunnel network, which they’ve dubbed the “Hamas ‘Metro’.”
The target: The Hamas ‘Metro’ tunnel system in Gaza.
The operation: 160 aircraft, tanks, artillery and infantry units along the border.
We struck 150 targets and damaged many kilometers of the Hamas ‘Metro’ network. pic.twitter.com/otn7JKxB9c
Gaza continues firing hundreds of rockets a day at Israel’s civilian population. In Israel, 9 people have died from the attacks.
In response, the IDF has been conducting operations targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist strongholds in Gaza.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 119 people have been killed in Gaza. It should be noted that hundreds of rockets from Gaza have been misfired and landed within the territories, causing significant casualties and injuries.
You can follow Jennie Taer on Twitter @JennieSTaer
The site is revered by both Muslims, who call it the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), and Jews, for whom it is known as the Temple Mount. Hamas demanded Israel remove police from there and the nearby predominantly Arab district of Sheikh Jarrah, where Palestinian families face eviction by Jewish settlers. Hamas launched rockets when its ultimatum went unheeded.
"We're following the medical advice and ensuring that we protect Australians here," Mr Frydenberg told reporters. "We've got to maintain our health settings because we know how damaging to the lives and livelihoods of Australians an outbreak here [can be]."
When NFL sideline reporter A.J. Ross took her 11-year-old toy poodle to PetSmart in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a nail trim last November, it should have been a brief, painless exchange.
“When I brought him in, I asked if I could stay, because he was just the type of dog that he liked to see where I was at all times,” she told People. “They told me because of COVID I couldn’t stay in the grooming area.”
That rule was Kobe the poodle’s undoing. Complying with the store’s guidelines, Ross spent the next few minutes browsing at a nearby store before returning to collect her pup.
But when she returned, Kobe was lying on the grooming table, motionless.
“He looked lifeless,” Ross recalled. “He didn’t even look like he was breathing.”
The employees said that the dog had fainted, but Ross rushed him to a veterinarian. Fifteen minutes of resuscitation efforts later, Kobe was confirmed deceased.
“I thought it would be a quick in and out,” Ross told NJ.com. “The last thing on my mind was this would be a death sentence.”
What in the world had gone wrong? Sure that “he fainted” couldn’t have been the real answer, Ross pressed for more information, requesting surveillance footage from the store.
A few weeks later, she was able to get a hold of the footage — and it was damning.
“They used two separate leashes,” she said. “One is directly above the grooming table at a vertical angle, and the other leash was horizontal. So he’s tethered in two different directions.
“They begin to clip his nails, and there’s two of them and they’re lifting him up in a way that he can’t put his paws down on the table at all.”
The video showed her poor dog struggling, suspended in the air as the groomers seemed unaware of his distress.
“He has no stability so he’s hanging by his neck and he starts to writhe and twist in pain because he can’t get any air, and they’re not paying him any attention,” Ross added.
“They just keep on going … It’s horrific to watch and [after a minute] he goes limp. They never put his feet down until after he goes limp.”
Dr. Arielle Samson with the Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh looked into the case after Ross contacted the rescue. Samson suggested, based on the video, that the dog’s airway had been crushed.
“Dr. Samson stated that the hyperextension of the neck as well as the lack of contact between Kobe’s paws and the grooming table led to Kobe’s airways being crushed which resulted in his death,” the criminal complaint against PetSmart states, according to People.
Interestingly enough, the necropsy did not find definitive evidence for strangulation, with the report stating that “strangulation cannot be completely ruled out in this case, however the lack of neck bruising makes it less likely.”
On May 5, four people — Julie Miller, Shaphan Stonge, Elizabeth Doty and Heather Rowe — were charged in the dog’s death. The charges include felony animal cruelty.
“We are heartbroken and truly sorry for the loss of Kobe,” PetSmart said in a statement. “After this terrible accident, we launched an internal investigation and found unintended failure to adhere to our pet safety processes.”
“Additionally, we cooperated with an external investigation, terminated the responsible associates and facilitated an autopsy to help provide answers.”
The preliminary hearings will take place in October. For now, Ross is doing her part to make other pet owners aware of the heartbreaking possibility that became her reality.
“I don’t often share personal things but I felt the need to share my story in hopes it never happens to anyone else,” Ross posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday. “If you’re a pet owner or lover please read this!”
Amanda holds an MA in Rhetoric and TESOL from Cal Poly Pomona. After teaching composition and logic for several years, she's strayed into writing full-time and especially enjoys animal-related topics.
As of January 2019, Amanda has written over 1,000 stories for The Western Journal but doesn't really know how. Graduating from California State Polytechnic University with a MA in Rhetoric/Composition and TESOL, she wrote her thesis about metacognitive development and the skill transfer between reading and writing in freshman students. She has a slew of interests that keep her busy, including trying out new recipes, enjoying nature, discussing ridiculous topics, reading, drawing, people watching, developing curriculum, and writing bios. Sometimes she has red hair, sometimes she has brown hair, sometimes she's had teal hair. With a book on productive communication strategies in the works, Amanda is also writing and illustrating some children's books with her husband, Edward.
A recent poll conducted by YouGov which featured hypothetical matchups against wild animals found that roughly a quarter of American men don’t think they would be able to win a fight against a rodent.
YouGov on Thursday released its findings with regard to “what wild beasts do Americans think they themselves can take on,” and the results are pretty appalling. The poll started by asking respondents which animals they think would be the toughest to defeat.
“Our survey puts 34 different animals — including humans — against one another to see which Americans think is the mightiest,” YouGov noted. “We showed people seven random pairings of animals from the list and asked them which of the two they thought would win in a fight. Animals are ranked by their ‘win percentage’, that is, how often Americans thought that animal would win in a head-to-head matchup when it was one of the two animals shown.”
Americans picked the elephant as nature’s most imposing animal. Apparently possessing both brain and brawn, the tusked giant took the crown after courting the favor of respondents who were both men and women.
“The results show that the elephant wears the crown in the animal kingdom — but only slightly. Elephants had a win rate of 74%, just fractions of a percent ahead of their single-horned cousins — the rhinoceros — in second place, also on 74%,” YouGov added. “Not far behind in third place is the grizzly bear, at 73%.”
The poll then asked its respondents which animals they felt they could defeat in a series of hypothetical fights.
Surprisingly, six percent of men surveyed expressed confidence that they would come out on top following a brawl with a grizzly bear.
Eight percent of men said they felt they would dispose of a lion, while nine percent expressed they would dispatch both an elephant and a gorilla. Confidence is key when one goes into a match against a much larger and tougher opponent, and these men have it.
But aside from these few brave and confident potential bear slayers, the poll showed a surprising number of American men are wimps — which is terrifying when you look around at some of the actual threats which could face the country from vicious foes abroad.
Do you think modern American men would have had the guts to have won World War II?
Yes: 10% (3 Votes)
No: 90% (28 Votes)
For example, roughly a quarter of American men don’t feel confident that they could defeat a rodent. When asked about fighting a rat, 74 percent of men said they couldn’t beat one.
Meanwhile, 76 percent of men weren’t even confident that they could defeat a house cat.
We knew masculinity was on the decline, but this lack of confidence indicates that men might be suffering an epidemic of wussification. Men are supposed to be strong, or at least act like it. Being overconfident is more desirable than the alternative — which is to cower and be conquered.
Forty percent of American men said they felt they would lose a battle against a medium-sized dog — while a shocking 29 percent said they would probably lose a fight against a goose.
Geese are known for having attitude problems, especially on golf courses, parks and in fishing ponds, but really? Only 71 percent of the country’s men would feel prepared to battle one of these animals?
How are men supposed to defend the country, its culture and women and children from external threats when so many, when asked, declared that a rat or goose would summarily own them on the battlefield?
Come on, America. Finally, a fun poll with some substance was released. Sadly, all it revealed is that American men have become alarmingly weak and pathetic.
The YouGov poll surveyed 1,224 American adults from April 12-13.
You’ve got to hand it to President Joe Biden: When he bought into the far left’s cancel culture, he bought in all the way — no half measures there for sure.
From the moment the former Delaware senator launched his presidential campaign, he’s been on this “Trump’s a racist, his supporters are racists and all of America’s institutions are systemically racist” tirade.
On his first day in office, Biden abolished former President Donald Trump’s 1776 Commission by executive order.
The stated purpose of the group was to “enable a rising generation to understand the history and principles of the founding of the United States in 1776 and to strive to form a more perfect Union.”
Well, Biden went further down the cancel culture path Friday via executive order.
He both revoked protections Trump put in place regarding existing monuments and nixed plans for a sculpture garden dedicated to celebrating American heroes.
Trump announced both last summer, when racial protesters were tearing down statues of such revered figures as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant and Frederick Douglass.
Relying on existing law, the 45th president issued an executive order calling for a 10-year prison sentence for those engaging in such conduct toward federal monuments — and, unsurprisingly, it stopped.
Do you think a "Garden of American Heroes" should be built?
Yes: 99% (115 Votes)
No: 1% (1 Votes)
During his speech at Mount Rushmore celebrating Independence Day last summer, Trump said, “I am pleased to report that yesterday, federal agents arrested the suspected ringleader of the attack on the statue of the great Andrew Jackson in Washington, D.C., and in addition, hundreds more have been arrested.”
During the address, which was among the best of his presidency, he also announced plans to build a “National Garden of American Heroes.”
“Americans must never lose sight of this miraculous story,” Trump said. “Nobody has ever done it like we have done it.
“So today, under the authority vested in me as president of the United States, I am announcing the creation of a new monument to the giants of our past. I am signing an executive order to establish the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.”
Biden pulled the plug and you have to ask, “Why?” Because America’s systemically racist?
Give me a break.
The U.S. is the most diverse, dynamic and benevolent nation on the face of the earth.
While it is true that the country has not always lived up to its highest ideals — expressed in the Declaration of Independence, “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” — it has striven successfully upward toward that calling.
Many times over the nation’s history, the American people have taken action, both here and abroad, to further the cause of freedom under God.
Some of those times were during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War II and during the Civil Rights era of the 1950s and ’60s.
It is a shame that Biden has bought into the far left’s cancel culture mindset, because America’s heritage is definitely worth protecting and celebrating.
Randy DeSoto has written more than 1,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Police in Colorado say that a man suspected of shooting six people, including his girlfriend, at a birthday party before taking his own life last week might have been motivated to kill after he didn’t receive an invitation to the gathering.
Officers in Colorado Springs say Teodoro Macias, 28, entered a residence in the city on May 9 — Mother’s Day — and executed six people before turning a gun on himself. All of those murdered by Macias were related, and some left behind children who are now orphans.
One of the victims in the Mother’s Day massacre was reported to have been the girlfriend of Macias. Three children at the party, ages 2, 5 and 11, were physically unharmed, while one other adult who had been at the party was able to escape.
The Denver Post reported police now have a theory as to what motivated the deranged killer: He wasn’t invited after he’d displayed signs of controlling and other alarming behaviors.
“At the core of this horrendous act is domestic violence,” said Colorado Springs Police Chief Vince Niski this week when giving updates on the horrific scene. “The suspect … displayed power and control issues … When he wasn’t invited to a family gathering, the suspect responded by opening fire.”
Macias had no criminal record, but those close to family members whom he reportedly killed told homicide investigators that the family viewed his relationship to 28-year-old Sandra Ibarra-Perez as troubled. Macias reportedly was routinely jealous. CSPD Lt. Joe Frabbiele said that Macias and Ibarra-Perez had been dating for roughly a year before the killing spree that left her and her family dead.
Killed alongside Ibarra-Perez were Melvin Perez, 30; Mayra Ibarra De Perez, 33; Jose Gutierrez, 21; Joana Cruz, 52; and Jose Ibarra, 26, according to police.
Look at the faces of these beautiful people whose smiles will never again brighten someone’s day:
Aside from the senseless killings and the incalculable toll taken on those who will forever mourn the passings of those they loved, three teenagers discovered their bodies before police arrived on scene. Those young people had narrowly avoided becoming potential victims when they briefly left the gathering to visit a neighboring home.
They will without a doubt be forever be scarred by what they saw and lost that day.
This story, aside from the obvious tragedy of the loss of human life, is sorrowful for another reason. It highlights the growing indifference in the country to the value of life — even one’s own. Not only did Macias, per police, murder six people in cold blood, but he apparently turned the gun on himself.
Now, ask yourself why? Were these people murdered by firearms, or were their lives taken by something else — something more sinister than a gun?
This massacre occurred two hours south and less than two months after another psychotic man took the lives of ten shoppers at a grocery store in Boulder.
Police in that city say 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Al-Issa opened fire at a King Soopers location in Boulder on March 22. It isn’t clear what might have motivated the alleged killer, but the case in Colorado Springs shares one thing in common with the Boulder massacre, and it isn’t the fact that innocent people were murdered after being shot with firearms in the Centennial State.
It’s that depraved people, too often young men, see no value in their own lives or the lives of others. The two recent Colorado massacres share that they were carried out in a society that no longer appreciates the fundamental values on which people in this country were once raised.
Do you think our country would see fewer mass shootings if people turned back to God?
Yes: 100% (11 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
“Red flag” laws and limits on the capacities of magazines — or banning guns altogether, as a majority of far-left Democrats would like to see occur — will never solve the root issue that leads to such senseless acts of violence. That issue is that our country has turned its back on God and the teachings of Scripture.
Certainly people have always engaged in acts of unimaginable depravity. But now the corruption of one’s heart is ignored as we’re told we must only focus on the method of massacres and not the hearts of those who carry them out.
Our country has collectively replaced God with vanity, self-righteousness, the desire to chase social media fame and nihilistic pantheism — the popular belief that there is no God, but rather a universe that connects people through energies and crystals.
As a result, we face a crisis that no law of man can remedy. No law will ever change the heart of man willing to kill others and then himself after failing to receive an invitation to a party.
Our country must turn back to God or continue to look on as shattered families are told that guns, and not the corruption of one’s heart, are what has left them so broken.
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Yalonda M. James | San Francisco Chronicle | Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images
Marqeta has become one of the hottest businesses in digital commerce, even though few consumers have ever heard of it.
Its name is about to become much more familiar. On Friday, the company filed to go public and, in its prospectus to investors, disclosed annualized revenue growth in the first quarter of 123% to $108 million, while its net loss narrowed to $12.8 million from $14.5 million a year earlier.
In 2020, annual revenue more than doubled to $290.3 million, and the company recorded a loss of $47.7 million.
Founded in 2010 and based in Oakland, California, Marqeta sells payment technology that's designed to detect potential fraud and ensure that money is properly routed. The company issues customized physical cards that look like credit and debit cards, which contractors from DoorDash or Instacart use to make point-of-sale purchases from restaurants or supermarkets.
Many of Marqeta's top customers are coming off record years as the pandemic pushed commerce to mobile devices. In addition to meal-delivery companies, Marqeta powers Square's debit card for small business owners and its popular Cash App for peer-to-peer payments. Affirm and Klarna, which provide small-dollar lending to consumers for purchases like bikes and TVs, use Marqeta's technology to move money with their installment loans.
Larry Albukerk, who brokers pre-IPO stocks at EB Exchange, said Marqeta shares have been trading on the secondary market for $33 to $35 each. Based on a total of 484.4 million Class A and Class B shares, as listed in the prospectus, that values the company at about $16 billion to $17 billion.
A year ago Marqeta raised capital at a valuation of about $4.3 billion.
"It's definitely one of the hottest companies in the private markets," said Albukerk, who also owns some Marqeta shares. "It's been a steady performer for the last two years and recently has become one of the most sought-after stocks to buy pre-public."
Albukerk said Marqeta is up there with Stripe and Plaid in terms of fin-tech stocks that investors are seeking, but Marqeta is the only one of the three that trades regularly because the other two companies are more restrictive with ownership transfers.
Marqeta competes on one end of the payment technology market with legacy vendors like Fiserv and FIS, and on the other end with modern vendors like Adyen and Stripe. Where Marqeta most differentiates itself is in its card-issuing service, which allows clients to create a very specialized physical or virtual card for their business partners.
The company says in the risk factors sections of its prospectus that its expansion in 2020 mirrored that of its clients in e-commerce and food and grocery delivery. As the economy reopens, spending patterns could change.
"Our net revenue growth in recent periods has increased, as additional consumers have shifted to using these services," the company said. "If this trend in consumer demand and spending patterns slows or reverses as shelter-in-place restrictions ease and as the pandemic subsides, our net revenue growth may be adversely affected."
Jerry West may be the man whose silhouette graces the National Basketball Association logo, but he's also the man responsible for making Kobe Bryant a Los Angeles Laker.
The eight-time NBA champion spoke to CNBC's "The News with Shepard Smith" about his relationship with the former Lakers superstar and his thoughts about his late friend, who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.
"I'll remember [Bryant] as someone that I loved like a brother. The playful moments with him, some of the funny things and exchanges we had. Watching him when he first started to what he became," West told CNBC.
Bryant, 41, his daughter Gianna, 13, and seven other people died Jan. 26, 2020, in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, California.
West, a former player and 14-time NBA All-Star, went on to coach the Lakers and eventually moved to the team's front office. He was behind the Lakers' dynasty in the '80s and is the proud owner of nine championship rings over his lifetime. He is also the man who is credited with bringing Bryant to the Lakers after orchestrating a draft-day trade with the Charlotte Hornets.
West saw Bryant's talent for basketball early on and didn't shy away from the 17-year-old, despite his only playing in high school.
Jerry West and Kobe Bryant greet before the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers on December 18, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
Andrew D. Bernstein | NBAE via Getty Images
"We just fell in love with him. From the time we worked him out in Los Angeles, and particularly the second time we worked him out ... from then on was like, I love this, how do we get this guy?"
The two developed a bond throughout the years. West said his son would drive Bryant around and his wife would cook him Italian food for dinner.
"He was one of the greatest players we've ever seen, but he also was one of the very smartest players we've ever seen," said West.
While Bryant achieved so much on the court, West also was proud of his off-court contributions, particularly when it came to helping women's basketball.
Bryant helped give a voice to the Women's National Basketball Association and its players, often attending games with his daughter.
"He was a bright light" for women basketball players, West said. "Whatever he did turned to gold, and I think that's who he was as a person."
On Saturday, Bryant's idol, Michael Jordan, will be inducting him into the Hall of Fame. From a young age, Bryant looked up to Jordan and even tried to model his game after him.
"This will be a historic night to honor an iconic player who is no longer with us, and it just doesn't seem right, to be honest with you," said West. "To have his idol there introducing him ... I think we all feel a little bit robbed because of that."
Phil Murphy, New Jersey's governor, second left, greets police sergeant during a tour of the Morris County Covid-19 vaccination site at the Townsquare Mall in Rockaway, New Jersey, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021.
Sarah Blesener | Bloomberg | Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday the state is keeping its indoor mask mandate in place, despite newly relaxed guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC updated its policy Thursday, saying it is safe for fully vaccinated Americans to ditch their masks in most settings, whether they are outside or indoors.
While fully vaccinated New Jersey residents can take their masks off outdoors, Murphy said those who aren't vaccinated should continue to wear masks outdoors when in "close proximity" to others.
The outbreak in New Jersey, which peaked in January at a seven-day average of more than 6,000 new cases a day, has since subsided to a daily average of around 500 cases over the past week.
CNBC Health & Science
The announcement comes as other states decide whether to incorporate new CDC guidelines into state policy.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige said his state's mask mandate will remain in effect for everyone, vaccinated or unvaccinated, despite the CDC's new recommendations. Hawaii recorded its highest seven day average of about 250 cases a day in late August; it's currently seeing less than 90 new cases a day, on average.
Texas lifted its mask mandate in March, preceding the CDC's announcement by two months. Texas recorded a peak seven-day average of more than 23,000 cases in January, just two months before it lifted its mask mandate. It's recorded an average of just over 2,200 new cases a day over the last week.
Texas' Department of State Health Services told CNBC that the agency agrees with the new CDC guidelines and is in the process of updating its recommendations.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is reviewing its mask guidance with experts from neighboring states after the new CDC recommendations. The state of New York reported a peak seven day average of almost 17,000 cases in January; it's now recording just over 2,000 cases a day.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio praised the move as a "monumental day in the fight against Covid-19" and said the city is reviewing its own guidelines.
Dr. Peter Hotez argued that the real reason a number of Americans are not getting vaccinated is their political ideology.
"They're tying their political allegiance to the political right, unfortunately. And we're seeing this play out in the bottom ten states in terms of vaccination coverage," which is half of the coverage seen in the top ten states, said Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital.
The top ten states with the highest rates of residents receiving at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose also chose President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. Polls show that more than 40% of Republicans are not planning to get vaccinated.
Hotez told CNBC's "The News with Shepard Smith" that regional flare-ups over the summer in the states with lower vaccination rates could lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ask Americans to wear masks again.
The CDC relaxed mask guidelines for the U.S. on Thursday and said fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a face mask or stay 6 feet away from others in most settings, whether outdoors or indoors.
The updated guidelines have drawn widespread criticism, but Hotez said that's because the new guidance arrived earlier than expected.
"I was expecting this sometime in June, so it's a couple of weeks early," Hoetz explained. "I think it will be okay. But I think the stores, the businesses, the universities need a little time to catch up and have some internal discussions."
Graduates of New York University and The New School are seen under the Washington Square Arch in Washington Square Park in New York City, May 13, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Disney was quick to announce that it plans to further raise capacity limits at its U.S. theme parks a few hours after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced relaxed mask guidelines for the U.S. on Thursday.
"[It's] big news for us, particularly if anybody's been in Florida in the middle of summer with a mask on," CEO Bob Chapek joked with analysts on an earnings call about two hours after the new recommendations were released.
"Given the guidance that just came today from the CDC, and earlier guidance that we got from the governor of Florida, we've already started to increase our capacities," he said.
The CDC now says fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a face mask or stay 6 feet away from others in most settings, whether outdoors or indoors, according to the updated guidance. It's the first time the federal government has encouraged people to stop wearing masks since the agency first called for face coverings more than a year ago. It marks a major turning point in the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. and brings the country one step closer to normalcy. Public health experts also said the change is likely to encourage more Americans, especially those still hesitant about receiving the shots, to get vaccinated.
The agency, however, came under sharp criticism for its quick turnabout. Just six weeks ago, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky was warning of "impending doom" as daily Covid-19 cases in the U.S. began to rise again. And many health and business leaders say the new recommendations were too ambiguous. It requires essential workers to police vaccination records and will be difficult to enforce.
Vaccine police
"Under current plans, it will be impossible to enforce in most settings," Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease physician at the University of California San Francisco, told CNBC. "Businesses, schools and event organizers may still have purview in requiring evidence of vaccination prior to inclusion in specific communities or events, but for other everyday events there will be no enforcement in the way of vaccine passports or QR codes as done in other countries."
There are some instances where fully vaccinated people still need to wear masks: traveling by plane, bus or train as well as in certain places such as hospitals, nursing homes, prisons or at establishments that require them, the agency said. The CDC's guidance also isn't mandatory. States, municipalities and businesses can decide whether or not they want to follow it, increasing confusion for many business owners and employees.
Some health and law experts told CNBC it would further complicate public health efforts to end the pandemic, adding it is "nearly impossible" to police the use of face masks because there is no way to know who is vaccinated and who isn't. More than half of the population still haven't gotten the shots, they said, risking more outbreaks from unmasked, unvaccinated individuals.
People ride a tour bus with no masks in Times Square during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, May 14, 2021.
Carlo Allegri | Reuters
"While we all share the desire to return to a mask-free normal, today's CDC guidance is confusing and fails to consider how it will impact essential workers who face frequent exposure to individuals who are not vaccinated and refuse to wear masks," Marc Perrone, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, said in a statement. "Essential workers are still forced to play mask police for shoppers who are unvaccinated and refuse to follow local COVID safety measures. Are they now supposed to become the vaccination police?"
Creates ambiguity
Lisa LaBruno, senior executive vice president of retail operations and innovation for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, told CNBC the new guidance "creates ambiguity for retailers because it fails to fully align with state and local orders."
"These conflicting positions put retailers and their employees in incredibly difficult situations. We urge state and local governments to coordinate with the CDC as additional guidance is issued on the road to normalcy," she said in a statement.
Beauty store chain Ulta Beauty said it doesn't plan to change its mask and social distancing requirements in its stores, although it is actively assessing "the implications of this updated guidance for our guests and associates." It said the health and safety of its employees and customers was its top priority.
CNBC Health & Science
"I hate to say 'It's complicated,' but it's complicated," said David French, a lobbyist for the National Retail Federation. On one hand, the CDC guidance could bring more clarity, but it also makes things more complex since businesses won't know who is or is not vaccinated — and neither will customers.
Even with the milestone announcement, shoppers shouldn't expect to see immediate changes at their grocery store or local mall, said Joel Bines, global co-leader of the retail practice at consulting firm AlixPartners. He said the guidance will make little difference for retailers who do not know people's vaccination status — and above all, want to make sure their workers and customers don't get sick.
"This is an extremely difficult management problem for any business that interacts with consumers on a physical level," he said. "There is no operating manual for this."
Law professor Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law, said the new guidance could have "serious unforeseen consequences."
"The public will not feel comfortable shopping, dining, or going to church or a gym if they have no idea whether the unmasked person standing next to them is vaccinated or not," Gostin said.
46% of U.S. population vaccinated
As of Thursday, more than 154 million Americans, 46.6% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, according to the CDC. Roughly 118 million Americans are fully vaccinated, according to the agency. The U.S. government is working to persuade more Americans to get a vaccine after the pace of shots slowed in recent weeks.
Unlike some other countries, the U.S. doesn't have a system where people can prove they've been vaccinated. Even if there was one, vaccinated people are unlikely to always have their cards with them, and not everyone will have digital proof, said Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at UC Hastings College of Law. Areas with high vaccination rates can probably lift mask restrictions entirely, she added.
"This is an exciting and powerful moment," Walensky, the CDC director, told reporters at a White House Covid-19 briefing Thursday after announcing the new guidance. "It could only happen because of the work of so many who made sure we have the rapid administration of three safe and effective vaccines."
Rochelle Walensky, Director of the CDC
Source: CDC | YouTube
From an epidemiology standpoint, the CDC guidance "means we are at a place where we are at the best place in the pandemic we have ever been as a country with continued declines in infections, hospitalizations and deaths," said Chin-Hong.
"The symbolic meaning is even more palpable," he added. "Masks have been the symbol of fear and political divisiveness [and] by casting them off, at least for vaccinated folks, it hopefully means that this is returning us to the life that we aspired to pre-pandemic."
The Nevada Gaming Control Board, which sets the rules for casinos, immediately updated its rules, allowing The Wynn Las Vegas to ease its own mask guidelines. The company said Friday fully vaccinated guests and employees won't have to wear masks at its hotels and casinos.
Bowing to pressure
Gostin and others were critical of the CDC's abrupt change in policy, saying it's bowing to pressure from the public and governors to return to normal. "As a result, CDC is making momentous shifts in its guidance, lurching from over-caution to abandoning all caution," he said, adding that it could undermine public trust in the agency. "It will make the public rely less on CDC guidance if it feels the agency is being pushed around."
On Friday, Walensky defended the timing of the new guidance. Over the last two weeks, daily Covid cases have declined by over a third, she said, and vaccinations are now widely available in most places across the U.S. She added the guidance is "empowering" people to make decisions about their own health, urging unvaccinated people not to take the risk of going out unmasked.
If several people are in a room unmasked, the vaccinated people will be protected from getting Covid, she said.
Emerging science shows that vaccinated people are protected and have a "very low risk of transmitting" Covid to other people, even with some of the variants that appear to make the vaccines less effective, she said on "CBS This Morning."
— CNBC's Nadine El-Bawab, Sarah Whitten and Michael Wayland contributed to this article.
Correction: This article was updated to reflect that Dr. Peter Chin-Hong is an infectious disease physician at the University of California San Francisco.
Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill October 23, 2019 in Washington, DC. Zuckerberg testified about Facebook's proposed cryptocurrency Libra, how his company will handle false and misleading information by political leaders during the 2020 campaign and how it handles its users’ data and privacy.
Despite a policy banning anti-vaccine messaging on its platform, as of Friday afternoon, Facebook continued to host profile picture borders that allow users to promote their anti-vax opinions.
After CNBC reached out for comment about one such frame claiming, "MY IMMUNE SYSTEM WORKS BETTER THAN THE" followed by a graphic of a syringe, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed the image had violated its policies and was removed. However, CNBC was quickly able to find at least a dozen other examples of profile picture frames that touted similar messages or at least toed the line of Facebook's policy.
The spokesperson said Facebook is working to remove variations of the message from its frame options, which appear on top of users' profile pictures. Hours after CNBC's initial outreach, many of the frames are still available for users to add to their profiles.
CNBC was able to identify several similar frames to the one removed by simply searching the word "immune" in Facebook's profile picture frame feature. Many included blatantly anti-vaccine messages like "I TRUST MY IMMUNE SYSTEM! #NOTASHOT" and "F*** your Covid vaccine."
U.S. government medical authorities have found that people who take the Covid-19 vaccines approved for use in the U.S. have significantly greater protection from the disease compared with people who have not received the vaccines. Authorities have said that the benefits of those Covid vaccines made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, far outweigh the risks.
Other frames identified by CNBC clearly advocated against vaccines but did not explicitly use the word vaccine or shots.
One example of a frame that didn't explicitly mention the vaccine said, "I HAVE AN IMMUNE SYSTEM! #MedicalFreedom" accompanied by, "My body My choice." Another included the messages, "I TRUST MY IMMUNE SYSTEM" with "COVID-19 SURVIVOR" and "MY DNA MY CHOICE," which appears to be a reference to the false claim by anti-vaccine advocates that the shots can alter a person's DNA (they cannot).
Some include emojis of syringes but no written language about the vaccines. For example, one frame identified by CNBC contained crossed-out images of syringes and the words, "I have an immune system."
Facebook did not immediately respond to a question about whether the use of emojis could enable a frame to evade being identified by its system as violating its policies. It also did not immediately provide details about how long the frames had been active and how many users added them or viewed them.
The spokesperson noted, however, that pro-vaccine frames have gained a lot of traction on Facebook.
"In countries where vaccines are available to most of the population, like the US and the UK, we ramped up our efforts to show people when their friends and neighbors share their support for vaccines through profile frames and stickers," Facebook wrote in a blog post earlier this week. "More than 5 million people globally have used these profile frames. And more than 50% of people in the US on Facebook have already seen someone use the COVID-19 vaccine profile frames, which we developed in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Throughout the pandemic, Facebook and other social media companies have adopted policies cracking down on misinformation about both the virus and the vaccine. Facebook has a lengthy guide to the type of anti-vaccine content it bans from its site, which includes a prohibition on "Claims that something other than a COVID-19 vaccine can vaccinate you against COVID-19" and "promoting alternative treatments or natural immunity, celebrating those who refuse vaccination, and encouraging vaccine refusals without citing medical rationales or guidance."
Former CBS CEO Les Moonves, who left the media company in 2018 amid sexual harassment and assault allegations, has dropped an attempt to claim a $120 million severance award.
The money, which has been held in a grantor trust, will revert back to the company, which is now ViacomCBS after its 2019 merger with Viacom.
"The disputes between Mr. Moonves and CBS have now been resolved, and on May 14, 2021, the parties dismissed the arbitration proceeding," ViacomCBS said in a company filing released Friday.
Law firm Covington & Burling is paying a settlement fee to Moonves, according to two people familiar with the matter. CBS' board had hired Covington & Burling, along with Debevoise & Plimpton, to conduct an investigation into whether Moonves had violated the terms of his employment. The New York Times reviewed and reported on a leaked internal document prepared by lawyers in Dec. 2018.
A spokesman for Covington & Burling didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesman from Debevoise & Plimpton said "Debevoise is not party to any agreements with any parties concerning its work for CBS, and no one connected to the firm leaked any confidential information related to our work for CBS."
"Leslie Moonves, CBS and a contractor to CBS have resolved their disputes," Moonves and ViacomCBS said in a joint statement. "The cost of the settlement will be borne by the contractor. Mr. Moonves has decided to contribute the entire settlement amount to various charities. There will be no further comment regarding this settlement by Mr. Moonves or CBS."
Moonves had filed for arbitration in January 2019 in an attempt to claim the money after the CBS board of directors determined Moonves had violated company policies and thus was fired for cause. The CBS board determined in December 2018 that Moonves breached his contract and intentionally didn't cooperate with an internal investigation.
"With regard to Mr. Moonves, we have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company's investigation," CBS' board of directors said in a statement at the time. "Mr. Moonves will not receive any severance payment from the Company."
Moonves left CBS in September 2018 after a series of allegations by women, spanning several decades, describing how Moonves forced sexual acts and used his professional power to retaliate if they resisted.
Moonves was one of the highest paid CEOs in the U.S. for many years, sometimes earning more than $50 million in a year. In 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth at $700 million.
The company is now controlled by ViacomCBS Chairman Shari Redstone.
Marc Benioff, chairman and chief executive officer of Salesforce.com Inc., stands in front of a poster during a topping off ceremony for the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, April 6, 2017.
Michael Short | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Cloudera exited its downtown San Francisco office early last year with plans to sublease the space and move its employees south to the software company's Silicon Valley headquarters.
But the pandemic left the company with nobody to take over the office, forcing it to take a substantial real estate write-down.
At DoorDash's nearby former headquarters, a tenant defaulted on rent a month into lockdown, resulting in lost income for the food delivery company, which was doubling as a landlord.
Airbnb said in its earnings report on Thursday that it took a $113 million impairment in the first quarter "related to office space in San Francisco that we deemed no longer necessary."
Combined, those three companies have recorded nearly $200 million in real estate impairments in the past year after Covid-19 turned the Bay Area office market into a dead zone. That dollar figure swells to almost $1 billion when adding in lease-related write-downs from large tech employers Salesforce, Dropbox, Uber, PayPal and Zendesk.
While software and internet companies continued their stratospheric ascent in 2020, the plush offices they call home sat dormant, leaving San Francisco's commercial real estate market with an unfamiliar supply glut. Much of the financial fallout was borne by the very tech companies that led a decade-plus bull market and expansion spree, snapping up massive amounts of space at record prices and often subleasing out full floors to start-ups and out-of-town businesses that were seeking a Bay Area outpost.
By the end of the first quarter of 2021, the amount of vacant sublease space in San Francisco had soared to 9.7 million square feet, up from about 3 million in late 2019, and accounted for 40% of all available commercial space in the city, according to commercial real estate firm Avison Young.
Mark Cote, co-founder of T3 Advisors, a tech-focused real estate firm that helps tenants with their growth plans, said that companies looking for an office in San Francisco have a rare opportunity over the next two to three quarters to get in at a discount. Unlike traditional landlords, which have been reluctant to drop lease prices, tech companies with excess space are sometimes willing to offer cut-rate rents and take the loss because they've already "faced the reckoning on the impairment," Cote said.
"There's a value window for tenants in San Francisco before the boomerang effect, where people and companies are going to come back," said Cote, whose firm operates in Boston, New York and the Bay Area. "If you're a sublandlord, you jump on an active tenant."
Cote said companies paying $90 a square foot may offer subleases for $20 to $25 less and eat the difference. Robert Sammons, senior director of Northern California research at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, said that in addition to those discounts, companies are "layering on incentives such as free rent and additional tenant improvement allowances."
Skyrocketing vacancies
Even with the discounts, it's still not easy to find takers.
The Bay Area has been slow to reopen, and downtown San Francisco remains fairly hollow, even as vaccination rates in the city are among the highest in the country and Covid cases have plunged. Tech companies have stayed productive with employees working from home, alleviating the pressure to bring them back to the office and leading many to start planning for a hybrid future with less need for real estate.
The overall office vacancy rate in San Francisco climbed to 18.7% in the first quarter from 6% a year earlier, Cushman & Wakefield reported in its market overview for the period. That's the highest since 2005, when the city was still recovering from the dot-com collapse. Numbers are similarly inflated in major markets such as New York and Chicago, but those cities are less reliant on tech, the industry that's gravitating most aggressively to remote work.
Prior to the pandemic, analytics company Cloudera had planned to move several hundred employees from its San Francisco and Palo Alto, California, offices into its headquarters just south in Santa Clara. When the shutdowns began, the move was underway but the company hadn't yet found any replacement tenants, leaving the space empty.
With nobody to pay the rent, Cloudera had to take an impairment charge last year of $35.8 million. Mick Hollison, Cloudera's president, said in an interview that the Palo Alto office "would have been anybody's envy just a few short years ago, and now it's very difficult to sublease."
Hollison said he expects about half of Cloudera's employees to go back to the office in some capacity this year, but it's likely that about 25% will be permanently remote and many others will only come in for part of the week.
"Our footprint will shrink over time," he said.
Elsewhere in San Francisco, DoorDash took an $11 million impairment in the first three quarters of 2020. The app-based meal delivery company said in its IPO prospectus that a tenant's business was disrupted by the coronavirus and that it told DoorDash in April "that it would not be making any future monthly rent payment."
Airbnb's $113 million charge in the first quarter of 2021 adds to $35.8 million in lease impairments last year. The room-sharing company laid off about 25% of its employees a year ago as the travel market cratered.
After Uber slashed about 20% of its workforce early in the pandemic, the ride-hailing company, which had been rapidly expanding in San Francisco, found itself with way too much real estate. Uber said in its 2020 annual report that it "exited, and made available for sublease, certain leased offices, primarily due to the City of San Francisco's extended shelter-in-place orders and our restructuring activities." The company recorded lease-related impairments for the year of $94 million.
Sign on facade at jobsite for construction of new headquarters of Uber Inc announcing work stoppage and delays during an outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus in San Francisco, California, March 19, 2020.
Smith Collection | Getty Images
Uber had 824,000 square feet of available sublease space across four locations in San Francisco at the end of the first quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield, by far the most of any company. Dropbox was second with 418,000 square feet, after the collaboration software company announced plans to go remote-first. Dropbox's impairment last year was just shy of $400 million, followed by an additional $17.3 million charge in the first quarter.
Salesforce, San Francisco's largest private employer, has 287,000 square feet available. The company took $216 million in impairments last year due to "real estate leases in select locations we have decided to exit," according to the company's annual report.
'Starting to see them reenter'
However, Sammons said, activity is picking up. Tenant demand is at the highest since before the pandemic began, indicating that more companies are shopping for space. Sammons said that a direct lease, through a landlord, of 200,000 square feet is about to be announced, which will be the largest since the pre-Covid days.
"Some had pulled out and put on pause any sort of expansions, and we're starting to see them reenter the market," Sammons said.
There's also been recent movement in subleases. Design software company Figma just took over 100,000 square feet of downtown space from Credit Karma, which moved its headquarters to Oakland.
And Dropbox has been finding takers for large chunks of its vacant space.
Vir's price per square foot starts at $47.77 this year and rises 3% annually to $68.11 in 2032, according to the lease agreement. When Dropbox signed its original 15-year lease in 2017, the company agreed to pay $62 per square foot in year one, which climbed to $93.78 in the final year. In leasing 736,000 square feet at that price, Dropbox was then reportedly signing the largest office deal ever in San Francisco.
While Dropbox may have to rely on discounts and other perks to lure potential tenants, the company is in a unique position to attract biotech firms. Its complex is in an area called Mission Bay that's filled with medical centers and is zoned for life sciences companies.
Demand for space is so high in the booming biotech industry that earlier this year private equity firm KKR purchased the property for about $1.1 billion, with Dropbox still responsible for the remainder of its lease.
"Life sciences companies are now looking at the city because they see this opportunity," Sammons said. The Dropbox building "has the floor plates and the floor plans, and everything is built and ready for life sciences companies."
The sudden shift to what Dropbox is calling its "Virtual First" model has turned a cloud software company that was at the forefront of San Francisco's emergence as a tech hub into one of the city's biggest sublessors. At its slimmed-down headquarters and at other locations across the globe, Dropbox is maintaining some space for in-person collaboration and team-gathering sessions.
Dropbox said in its latest quarterly report that while it expects to generate additional sublease income and save some money by going remote, "there is no guarantee that we will realize any anticipated benefits to our business."
Other San Francisco-based tech companies such as Twitter, Square and Okta have told employees they can work from anywhere now and into the future.
Still, T3's Cote expects San Francisco to bounce back even if 20% or so of jobs are permanently remote. Tech employers will have to be more flexible and rational with their physical space, but they still want to be in the center of the action, he said.
"The main thing everyone has to remember is the talent of the labor force," Cote said. "You can't replicate that overnight."
Andy Slavitt, a senior advisor on President Joe Biden's coronavirus response team, confirmed Friday he will be leaving his role in early June.
Slavitt, whose temporary position on Biden's Covid panel was known to be expiring next month, said that while the administration had achieved many of its goals for the pandemic, more work remains to be done.
"Look, there's never a perfect time to leave," Slavitt said in a Bloomberg interview. But he said he believes that when he does depart, "things are in really great hands with the people here, that many difficult things have been accomplished."
"There's much more work to do, but the people here, I couldn't think of a better set of people to do it than the people that will be here when I'm gone," he said.
Asked what else needs to be done, Slavitt mentioned the "big job" of persuading the remaining bloc of unvaccinated Americans to get their shots, as well as helping other struggling nations' vaccination efforts.
"There will always be things to do, there will always be challenges," Slavitt said. "Hopefully they will not be as intense for the country's sake as they've been so far."
Slavitt said he will be leaving sometime in "the beginning of June." The White House did not respond to CNBC's request for comment for more details. Slavitt was a so-called special government employee, a status that limits his service to 130 days, according to the Department of the Interior.
The shift in guidance marked a significant relaxation of social distancing recommendations that had been in effect in one form or another throughout most of the pandemic. Biden and other administration officials celebrated the update, which coincided with the U.S. hitting 250 million vaccinations, as a turning point in the United States' fight against the virus.
The work-from-anywhere culture of the coronavirus pandemic is not going away with vaccines, and that has created an opportunity for small cities to lure new residents. So-called digital nomads are in high demand and are now being offered cash to relocate.
Programs are popping up across the country. The poachers don't want the workers to quit their jobs, they just want them to do those jobs from somewhere else. New residents will contribute to local spending, pay local taxes and help juice the local housing market.
"You're just in this survival mode, and I was just terrified," she said at the time.
A Tulsa nonprofit called Tulsa Remote offers workers $10,000 to move there. They also offer social programs to connect the digital nomads in the program and help them adjust to a new city.
A year later, Marvel said: "It's been a blessing. I wouldn't want it any other way, during a pandemic or any other time.
She recently bought a home, thanks to the $10,000 and to the fact that Tulsa is much cheaper than New York City. And the social life is beyond her expectations.
"I think I've made more friends in this year, during a pandemic, than I ever had in college or any other time you're supposed to be connected with many people," said Marvel.
Tulsa is one of a growing number of cities offering cash incentives to remote workers. There is even a website, MakeMyMove.com, that tracks them.
A new program in West Virginia appears to offer the most. It combines cash and financial incentives equaling $20,000 to people willing to work from there.
Ascend WVA is a $25 million program funded by executive chairman of Intuit and state native Brad Smith, who says he is capitalizing on two new trends.
"The first is a shift towards remote work and the second is a shift in geographic preference to more rural settings, and those happened to intersect perfectly with West Virginia's most valued assets, which are welcoming communities and our outdoor recreational amenities," said Smith.
Those communities and amenities are in big demand. Ascend WVA will open later this year with 50 slots, but has already received more than 7,000 applications. The goal over seven years is to attract more than 1,000 new residents, who will bring their purchasing power, while not taking up local jobs.
In addition to Smith's financial contribution, the state of West Virginia is also supporting the program, through the governor's office, Department of Tourism and Department of Economist Development. They are making equal investments in amenities like broadband, affordable housing, and the infrastructure required to make these communities welcoming for these remote workers, according to Smith, who said the program could create even more local jobs.
"They'll have the opportunity to work in co-working facilities with fellow peers, who are also fully employed with companies, and this will start to create synergy, where these individuals can spend in our local communities, they can form relationships and friendships, and maybe down the road they'll choose to start a business there," said Smith. "So this doesn't compete for jobs in West Virginia, this brings fully employed individuals into the state which will strengthen our infrastructure, our economy and our communities."
It is very similar to what is happening in Tulsa, which started its program well before the pandemic hit. Marvel joked about the spending power of digital nomads, as well as how pricey the housing market is becoming there.
The price of a home in Tulsa is up 11% compared with a year ago, according to Zillow, but it is $147,252, which is well below the national value. Marvel bought her home after renting for a year, and rents are going up as well.
"Because we are from cities like Brooklyn and Seattle, we don't really have a sense of what we're supposed to pay for something," she laughed. "So people are willing to pay a little more."
Marvel said she does not expect to leave Tulsa anytime soon.
"New York is amazing. It's the best city in the world, but it's, you know, it's gonna be there. I can travel, but I don't need to be there all the time. I know I made the right decision."
A Trump supporter said exactly what all of us have been thinking during an absolutely epic rant at a gas station.
In a video posted to Instagram, the infuriated man paces around a gas station demanding to know why Joe Biden voters are not being forced to stand by every mistake the president makes — the way that Trump supporters had to defend every single thing he did.
“Where the f-ck are the Joe Biden supporters?” the man shouts at the crowded station at the beginning of the video. “I can tell y’all why I support Trump, tell me why y’all support this motherf-cker.”
He walked around for a minute before noting that “ain’t nobody saying nothing,” as no one was willing to stand up to him and defend Biden’s honor. He noted that liberals had a “whole lot of energy” to open their mouths when Trump was in office.
On 16 May, 2021, a man chased another man in the middle of downtown Portland and tried to stab him with a knife. This occurred near the Justice Center/central police station. Portland Police did not respond to the scene. Support Andy Ngo's journalism crowdfund by visiting: www.andy-ngo.com
Originally posted here https://twitter.com/RealBasedMAGA/status/1393303956617576452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1393303956617576452%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waynedupree.com%2F2021%2F05%2Fpoynette-wi-school-teacher-abuse%2F
If she is so concerned about her health, she should put her fork down.
Homeschool your kids if possible!!
MCLEAN, Va., April 27, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — By Light Professional IT Services LLC (By Light) announced today that it has achieved Trusted Integrator status within the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) program. In addition to our ISO9001, 20000-1 and 27001 registrations and CMMI Level 3 Dev and Services ratings, we demonstrated the staff and processes necessary to architect, design, integrate, test, document, field, and support systems that meet the requirements of the CSfC program.
Trusted Integrator status enables NSA, Authorizing Officials (AOs)/Designated Approving Authorities (DAAs) to utilize By Light’s System Integration Development and Support Services for lifecycle CSfC solution support.
“CSfC’s use of conforming commercial products in layered solutions to protect National Security Systems (NSS) data improves design, integration, and deployment timelines,” says Jeff Adelman, By Light Vice President of Integration Services. “But the solution does not end with deployment; sustainment actions including continuous testing and security incident response are critical to the lifecycle success of any CSfC Capability Package implementation.”
Trusted Integrator status complements By Light’s capabilities in tactical and strategic networking, cloud architecture, cyber security, and synthetic training environments.
About By Light
By Light Professional IT Services LLC, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is an ISO 9001, 20000-1, and 27001 registered and CMMI Level 3 rated systems integrator that provides secure, turn-key systems by incorporating exceptional engineering, project management, telecommunications, and cyber capabilities to safeguard mission success. Founded by industry professionals with extensive knowledge in the DoD, DISA, and other US Government agencies, By Light successfully implements technical solutions that integrate commercial best practices to meet the needs of government. For more information, visit http://www.bylight.com/.
HALF MOON BAY, Calif., April 6, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Treadstone 71 announced today the release of the much-awaited and industry-leading Strategic Intelligence Analysis training certification. The in-depth, on-demand course breaks down intelligence collection and analysis complexities over 12-weeks of lectures, exercises, quizzes, and hands-on case studies.
The certification includes all aspects of the pioneering Cyber Intelligence Tradecraft, Certified Cyber Intelligence Analyst course combined with comprehensive instruction on all strategic intelligence elements. The course also includes extended lectures and exercises for analytic writing and structured analytic techniques.
“The Strategic Intelligence Analysis Certification covers all aspects of building cyber intelligence programs, interacting with stakeholders, building intelligence requirements, establishing adversary threat matrices, planning for intelligence collection through execution of analytic methods,” said Jeff Bardin, Chief Intelligence Officer for Treadstone 71.
He adds, “Students and corporate teams completing this program of study are ready to analyze, write, and forecast adversary activities that can prevent cyber-attacks. We believe this course is a game-changer that shifts the paradigm away from after-the-fact indicators of compromise analysis to what Intelligence is intended to be.”
The course provides instruction in a crawl-walk-run method that gives students the confidence to execute tasks throughout the cyber intelligence lifecycle. Templates and examples show students effective practices that are both descriptive and prescriptive while at the same time allowing for adapting the practices to corporate culture.
Organizations looking to build or mature their cyber intelligence program find this course of study a natural next step in establishing resilient and sustainable intelligence capabilities that assist leadership in decision-making.
“We deliver several hands-on exercises complete with templates and examples,” continued Bardin. “We intend to send each student back to their corporate environments armed with the knowledge necessary to immediately enhance their existing programs or start new programs with a foundation rooted in excellence. Teams taking the course learn how to think independently, establishing strong unit bonds crossing technical, tactical, and strategic boundaries.”
About Treadstone 71 LLC:
Treadstone 71 ( https://www.treadstone71.com/ ), founded in 2002, is a woman and veteran-owned small business delivering cyber Intelligence, counterintelligence, strategic analysis, clandestine cyber HUMINT, OSINT training and analysis, cyber psychological and target acquisition operations.
For more information, call (331) 999-0071 or email [email protected].
DALLAS, Texas, April 5, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Baxter Clewis Consulting, an international consultancy on cyber security, announced today that it has joined the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) as a new Participating Organization. Baxter Clewis will work with the PCI SSC to help secure payment data worldwide through the ongoing development and adoption of the PCI Security Standards.
The PCI SSC leads a global, cross-industry effort to increase payment security by providing flexible, industry-driven and effective data security standards and programs. The keystone is the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which provides an actionable framework for developing a robust payment card data security process and preventing, detecting and mitigating criminal attacks and breaches.
As a Participating Organization, Baxter Clewis adds its voice to the standards development process and will collaborate with a growing community of more than 800 Participating Organizations to improve payment security worldwide. Baxter Clewis will also have the opportunity to recommend new initiatives for consideration to the PCI Security Standards Council and share cross-sector experiences and best practices at the annual PCI Community Meetings.
“In an era of increasingly sophisticated attacks on systems, PCI Security Standards and resources help organizations secure payment data and prevent, detect and mitigate attacks that can lead to costly data breaches,” said Lance Johnson, Executive Director of the PCI Security Standards Council. “By joining as a Participating Organization, Baxter Clewis demonstrates they are playing an active part in improving payment security globally by helping drive awareness and adoption of PCI Security Standards.”
“Using third-party service providers is an organizational risk from a supply chain, security, and compliance standpoint. Companies should have the assurance that their systems and PCI data is appropriately managed and secured by third-party service providers,” said Boyd Clewis, VP of Baxter Clewis Consulting. Baxter Clewis enables service-providers to enhance security and compliance programs while reducing risk with systems, processes, and automation. We are proud to partner with PCI Standards Council, and we look forward to helping address risk related to third-party service providers.
About the PCI Security Standards Council
The PCI Security Standards Council is a global forum that is responsible for the development, management, education, and awareness of the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and other standards that increase payment data security. Connect with the PCI Council on LinkedIn. Join the conversation on Twitter @PCISSC. Subscribe to the PCI Perspectives Blog.
About Baxter Clewis Consulting
Baxter Clewis Consulting is an international cybersecurity firm specializing in helping service providers meet security and compliance requirements to secure vital company data, enhance efficiency, and protect profitability. Learn more about Baxter Clewis Consulting by connecting on LinkedIn and visiting the Baxter Clewis website at https://www.baxterclewis.com/.
HERNDON, Va., March 26, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Aristi Technologies, Inc. announced that it is among the first firms to become an accredited Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Third-Party Assessor Organization (C3PAO) and Registered Provider Organization (RPO) by the CMMC Accreditation Body (CMMC-AB). C3PAOs are the only organizations authorized to conduct CMMC assessments.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) created the CMMC program to enhance the protection of sensitive data, namely, controlled unclassified information (CUI) and federal contract information (FCI), within the Defense Department’s multi-tiered supply chain of more than 300,000 companies. CMMC is specifically designed for small and mid-sized suppliers as they are more vulnerable to cyber threats in the supply chain.
These small and mid-sized contractors are increasingly being targeted by nation-state attackers; they have limited internal resources and cybersecurity expertise to adequately secure their systems and safeguard sensitive customer data.
“Aristi is honored to achieve C3PAO and RPO credentials, demonstrating our commitment to the CMMC program in supporting the DoD’s mission to secure the defense supply chain,” said Neel Gopalani, Aristi’s vice president, and a CMMC-AB Registered Practitioner (RP). “Our CMMC practice is a natural extension of our cybersecurity compliance and assessment services that we’ve provided for more than a decade.”
Over the last year, Aristi has helped small and mid-sized government contractors prepare for complying with CMMC security requirements. Aristi’s CMMC consulting services include: boundary scoping, gap assessments, remediation support, security documentation and readiness assessments. As a C3PAO and RPO, Aristi will continue to help federal contractors effectively navigate the DoD’s new cybersecurity certification process.
About Aristi Technologies
Aristi Technologies is a cybersecurity consulting firm based in the Washington DC metro area. For more than a decade, it’s provided cybersecurity risk and compliance services to organizations, nationwide, including federal agencies, government contractors, and cloud-service providers.
Aristi delivers tailored and affordable solutions to achieve compliance with federal cyber compliance standards including National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) 800-53, NIST 800-171 (the core of the CMMC framework), Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) and Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP).
MEDIA CONTACT: Neel Gopalani of Aristi +1-703-459-6268 [email protected]
DETROIT, Mich., March 18, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — UBX Cloud is the first U.S. based cloud services provider to offer Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) cloud enclaves.
The CMMC represents the Department of Defense’s continued effort to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in the defense supply chain. Building on the 110 controls set forth in NIST SP 800-171, the CMMC specifies 173 security practices across five maturity processes. Starting in fiscal year 2021, the department will pilot the implementation of CMMC requirements for Level 3 and below.
UBX Cloud now includes CMMC-compliant Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) cloud enclaves in their service offerings, as a way for suppliers and contractors to fast-track themselves into CMMC compliance. UBX Cloud promises full service at a flat rate and per user basis for an easy comprehensive package.
“Our company and our team is always focused on the simplest approach and solution to things, and in this case with our CMMC enclaves there is no difference,” said Steve Panovski, UBX Cloud president. “UBX Cloud brings a tremendous amount of value to simplify the path to compliance while providing modern cloud solutions and simplifying IT complexity, or as just a bonus.”
UBX Cloud caters specifically to the IT MSPs and MSSPs market, as well as corporate IT and Chief Technology Officers, taking the complexity out of the CMMC process with flat rate assessment services and fast deployment. The all-in white label packages include Cybersecurity services, CMMC consultancy, and VMWare-powered cloud infrastructure to provide deeper discounts, and eliminates the need for any heavy upfront investment.
About UBX Cloud
UBX Cloud is a Michigan-based cloud service provider with data centers in the United States, South America and India. Our services include Managed IT-as-a-Service, Private/Hybrid Cloud, Disaster Recovery, Cloud Workspaces, Veeam Cloud Backup, and a variety of custom IT consulting services. Our team of IT Engineers helps organizations of all kinds maintain uptime and ensure business continuity.
PITTSBURGH, Pa., March 5, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Valentis today announced that Martha Hunter will become the company’s first-ever Vice President of Strategy, effective March 2021. She fills a new position helping the company meet growing demand for expansion. Valentis is committed to an aggressive plan that focuses on messaging and education to advance its security solution, supply chain, and risk management consulting services worldwide.
Martha Hunter comes from the marketing industry where she was a Business Development Executive for six years. Hunter’s new position will be responsible for developing and implementing the strategic growth initiatives for Valentis using her experience and resolve to meet objectives to Valentis.
“Valentis already has a reputation for breaking the mold in the security and investigations industry. I have spent my career challenging people and companies to think differently and ask the question ‘Why not us? Valentis’s culture, values and leadership style embodies that spirit,” says V.P. of Strategy Hunter.
She adds, “Strategy development is not a once-a-year thing anymore, it’s ongoing and needs to come with recommendations and actions and the company needs to be willing to act. I’m honored to have the opportunity to play a role in the execution piece of strategy, and I’m thrilled to join a women-owned, purpose driven company and look forward to driving new possibilities for our people, our customers and our stakeholders.”
Marnie Sutch, CEO, of Valentis welcomed Martha to her new position, stating, “The addition of Martha to our team is about her ability to bring innovation and change to Valentis. The ability to deliver a professional service that delivers a driven result for our clients is a team effort and having Martha strengthens our team.”
About Valentis:
Valentis is a fully operational security logistics and risk management solution for a variety of clients and security concerns. We are growing domestically, and envision global ventures, with services and products under development to create a network of global affiliates, lead through branding, and expand our clients; financial institutions, governments, religious facilities, maritime, cybersecurity, combined with specially developed training, software and telecommunication consultancy, and more. We are mindful and committed and care about our clients, team, and shareholders.
ALAMO, Calif., March 2, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Essential to managing today’s and the future electric grid is data—its movement and security. GRIDEON developed by GridBright (gridbright.com) under an award from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA-E) addresses this need.
It was created in collaboration with a team of cybersecurity and utility industry experts from BetterGrids Foundation (Bettergrids.org), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (misoenergy.org), and Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative (mcecoop.com). Over 40 organizations across the grid value chain have contributed to defining the requirements for GRIDEON.
“MCEC needed to share critical data with a strategic partner. Internet and email were not sufficiently secure. For years the method was walking a USB key to the partner for exchange. GRIDEON is a better way,” says Keith Sturkie, VP of IT at MCEC. “GRIDEON improved our security posture and lowered our costs.”
GRIDEON is an open-source-based suite of easy-to-use cloud-based Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, technologies, enablement and support services, and standards that provide the full set of capabilities required to instantiate any type of secure grid data exchange.
GRIDEON efficiently ensures secure and compliant grid data exchange among all-electric ecosystem participants encompassing the entire electric value chain from generation to consumers (prosumers) spanning business and real-time operations.
It accommodates the creation of multiple types of exchanges necessitated by the utility industry’s grid data sharing applications such as collaboration, real-time system integration, publication-subscriber, one-to-many, among just a few.
Secure Grid Collaboration is the second service established on GRIDEON. The first is the BetterGrids Grid Model Repository that is presently used in 45 countries. BetterGrids.org is a free library of curated, non-sensitive grid models shared voluntarily by grid researchers. It includes synthetic and anonymized grid models and uses a rigorous curation process to ensure data quality. AI tools for semantic and natural language searching allow researchers to find their desired test data easily.
Secure Grid Collaboration extends the GRIDEON service reach. It establishes core grid data exchange standards that drive cost efficiency and management efficacy for foundational exchange artifacts such as nondisclosure agreements (NDA) between counterparties. It provides the foundation for future process management and real time services in emergency management and DER integration and beyond.
It also implements the enabling processes for secure grid data exchanges such as participant registration and advanced encryption key services that support exchange operations, security, and compliance.
Girding these key elements is a support organization providing 24 x 7 help, operations, and technical support functions required by the operational nature of many of the exchanges a typical utility will implement.
GridBright Inc. – https://www.gridbright.com/ – specializes in secure grid integration. Its services and solutions span the full electric value chain, safely interconnecting renewable and distributed energy resources to the grid, implementing and integrating modern computer applications for grid operations and planning, and providing solutions for the secure exchange of grid data among grid value chain participants.
MEDIA ONLY CONTACT Stephen J Callahan CMO, GridBright +1-415-846-6018 (media only) [email protected]
PHOENIX, Ariz., Feb. 23, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) –- TAG CXO, a provider of fractional IT executives, appointed Dan Streufert to lead its new IT Infrastructure practice area located in Phoenix, Arizona. In this role, Streufert is responsible to lead and develop the delivery teams helping TAG CXO clients build the robust and durable IT operating environments needed for growth and efficiency.
By optimizing critical IT infrastructures, clients benefit from much greater simplicity, overall security, and scalability. As practice lead, Streufert will serve existing clients, develop new clients and build the delivery bench, leading TAG CXOs infrastructure services across its national network of fractional executives.
Mr. Streufert comes to TAG CXO with broad experience designing, engineering, and implementing optimized IT infrastructures across large multi-national, multi-site businesses in the manufacturing and real estate industries. Most recently, Streufert was Principal Systems Architect for co-working giant WeWork, and formerly directed global IT operations for medical device manufacturers, Viant Medical and The Tech Group, as Head of IT. His clients have also included companies in the construction industry such as Buesing Corporation, Centuri Construction and NPL Construction. He holds a Bachelor of Business and Information Systems from the University of Phoenix.
“Dan Streufert is easily one of the best hiring decisions I made during my corporate career, and it’s a joy to be working together again,” said Paul Theisen, enthusiastically. “Dan is always professional, technically current, insatiably curious, humble yet driven, and has a very astute business mind,” Theisen described. “Now, 25 years into his career and seasoned with a depth of global-enterprise experience, Dan’s unique qualifications are available to the benefit of TAG CXO clients.” “To sum it all up,” Theisen concluded, “Dan has a certain techno-functional-engineering-business-leadership genius he brings into every interaction; and he really exemplifies the TAG CXO promise – to provide our clients with the best enterprise-level, industry-trained, battle-tested IT leaders…not career consultants.”
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, TAG CXO is a privately held company, providing Interim and Fractional IT leadership executives, founded in 2019. The company maintains a bench of industry-trained, enterprise-level executives, available on-demand to mid-market CEOs. TAG CXO executives help to round-out a firm’s leadership team and close the IT talent gap with fully qualified expertise, offering a more affordable, lower-risk option than hiring full-time staff. Learn more at: https://tagcxo.com/.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 2, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants is pleased to welcome John Prentis and Larry Bowlus to its Executive Risk and Cyber practice. Joining from a global broker, Prentis and Bowlus will focus on large public, technology, and financial institution executive liability coverages, including Directors & Officers Liability as well as Errors & Omissions, General Partnership Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Fiduciary, Crime, and Kidnap & Ransom.
The senior team of Prentis and Bowlus brings a combined experience of 50 years in the industry. Prentis most recently co-led Aon’s Financial Services Group in San Francisco, providing advisory and placement services for a variety of executive lines. Bowlus served as senior vice president and team leader within the same group, specializing in D&O and management liability insurance programs for public and private companies. Both bring a breadth of experience across industry groups, with deep experience handling executive risks for technology, life science companies and financial institutions, among many others in the public and private sectors.
“We are extremely pleased to welcome John and Larry to EPIC,” said Steve Denton, EPIC CEO. “Their experience serving large publicly traded clients and deep expertise in the technology sector fits perfectly with our deep resources currently deployed in the large account risk management sector. In fact, they will work closely with our Policy Response Unit focused on complex shareholder claims and our Analytics practice where we perform risk modeling and benchmarking analysis.”
Prentis and Bowlus will lend significant expertise to EPIC’s Executive Risk and Cyber practice, which emphasizes a holistic approach to identifying, understanding and managing risks.
“We’re fortunate to add two senior risk advisors and brokers in John and Larry to our team of experts,” said Kelly Geary, EPIC National Practice Leader, Executive Risk and Cyber. “Our clients will benefit instantly from their perspective and expertise, particularly in today’s challenging and dynamic marketplace.”
Prentis and Bowlus will work from the firm’s San Francisco office.
EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants has more than 2,600 team members operating from more than 80 offices across the U.S., providing Property and Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs, and Private Client solutions to EPIC clients. For more information on EPIC, visit: https://epicbrokers.com/.
WARRENTON, Va. and Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 2, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Pulsar Global Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Valentis, a defense and risk management firm, announces the acquisition of Blueshield Security and Investigations, LLC based in Warrenton, VA. The acquisition by Pulsar Global brings to realization the investigation unit of Valentis Security.
Pulsar Global Solutions is a new concept developed by Valentis that will provide investigative and intelligence services to commercial and government clients as well as individuals.
Blueshield Security & Investigations, LLC has been serving Fauquier and surrounding counties since 2006. Blueshield provides a full service private investigative business that specializes in domestic cases with a very high success rate. Case expertise include suspect cold case murder investigations, white collar crime, fraud, missing persons, accident investigations, and background investigations.
“It is with a happy heart and a desire to expand the business that I have decided to hand the business over to a new owner. Valentis Security has the experience and manpower to both take Blueshield into new directions, while continuing to service businesses and citizens with private investigative needs. The new staff at Blueshield will continue to ‘Find the Truth’ by doing the right thing for the right reasons, as we always have, said Elizabeth Kurtz, President of Blueshield.
“I guarantee you will find that under this new ownership, more can be accomplished. My thanks to all past and present clientele for allowing us to be there for you when you needed us. I have every confidence that you will continue to share your future needs with the new owners,” said Kurtz.
“Today we added a new piece to the puzzle with Blue Shield Security and Investigations LLC. This new piece brings Pulsar Global to market and helps our parent company, Valentis Security, grow stronger with more concepts to service clients,” said Daniel Ries, Executive Director of Pulsar Global Solutions.
Pulsar Global will operate as Blueshield until the State of Virginia finalizes the registration paperwork. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About Valentis:
Valentis is a fully operational security logistics and risk management solution for a variety of clients and security concerns. We are growing domestically, and envision global ventures, with services and products under development to create a network of global affiliates, lead through branding, and expand our clients; financial institutions, governments, religious facilities, maritime, cybersecurity, combined with specially developed training, software and telecommunication consultancy, and more. We are mindful and committed and care about our clients, team, and shareholders.
Well, after bingeing the entire series over the past few weeks, I’ve had to stop and ask whether or not I overreacted the first time around.
The answer? Hell no I didn’t overreact. It’s just as terrible as I remember. In fact, I think I might hate it more now than I did at the time I watched it.
The bingeing really reminded me just how incredible “Game of Thrones” was as a show when it aired on HBO.
The fact the show was so amazing makes the ending that much worse. Bran becomes king out of left field, Arya becomes Dora the Explorer, Jon never fulfills his destiny and everything else about it was awful.
The only part that was satisfying was Sansa becoming queen in the north. The rest of it was hot trash.
CNN host Don Lemon announced Friday night that it was his last episode of “CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” but later clarified that he was not leaving the network altogether.
“So I appreciate all the years of CNN Tonight with Don Lemon,” he added. “But changes are coming. And I will fill you in. But until then, I am very proud of my CNN special about Marvin Gaye’s groundbreaking album ‘What’s going on.'”
A special about Gaye’s album followed Lemon’s announcement. The special aired during the 11:00 time slot, which is usually allocated for Lemon’s show.
Lemon later clarified in a Tweet that he is not leaving the network altogether.
News Cycle Media president Jon Nicosia reported earlier Friday that a “big CNN anchor” would be leaving the network before June 1, but said that it was not Lemon.
CNN has experienced a large drop in ratings since January. Lemon’s 10:00 hour had just 764,000 viewers on average for the week ending May 7, the second-lowest for prime time shows. The only other prime time show that had worse ratings was CNN’s Anderson Cooper, who had 753,000 viewers.
DarkSide, the cyber outfit responsible for hacking the Colonial Pipeline and causing gas shortages and havoc in the United States, has lost control of its servers and is shutting down its operations, the New York Post reported.
FireEye, a cybersecurity company tasked with investigating the hack, is reporting that the company has shut down after pressure by U.S. authorities, according to the New York Post.
New activity related to DARKSIDE:
.@Mandiant has observed multiple actors cite a May 13 announcement that appeared to be shared with DARKSIDE RaaS affiliates by the operators of the service. (1/3)
“A few hours ago, we lost access to the public part of our infrastructure, namely: Blog. Payment server. CDN servers,” a user by the username of Darksupp alleged, according to The Record. “Now these servers are unavailable via SSH, and the hosting panels are blocked.”
A subsidiary of FireEye, Mandiant Threat Intelligence, announced that DarkSide communicated with their other syndicates about their reversal of fortune and intention to shut down, the New York Post reported.
“This announcement stated that they lost access to their infrastructure, including their blog, payment, and CDN servers and would be closing their service,” said Kimberly Goody, senior manager of financial crime analysis at Mbandiant. “The post cited law enforcement pressure and pressure from the United States for this decision.”
The Pennsylvania State University’s faculty senate has passed legislation that recommends replacing the “male-centric” terms, like “freshman,” “sophomore,” “junior” and “senior” with the more neutral “first-year,” “second-year,” “third-year” and “fourth-year.”
The school’s legislative body’s Committee on Curricular Affairs recommended avoiding the use of the terms that “can be interpreted as both sexist and classist” in all written materials, the resolution reads. He/she pronouns will now also be changed to either they/them/theirs or non-gendered terms, such as student.
Penn State plans to change binary and gendered language in admissions materials, scholarship information, housing materials, and more. https://t.co/2M57JhKrSP
The suggested changes are expected to be reflected in “recruiting materials, admissions materials, scholarship information, housing materials, other outward-facing documents, internal documents, and websites,” the document states.
“The University, as with most all academic institutions world-wide, has grown out of a typically male-centered world,” the document read.
“Terms such as ‘freshmen’ are decidedly male-specific, while terms such as ‘upperclassmen’ can be interpreted as both sexist and classist. Terms such as ‘junior’ and ‘senior’ are parallel to western male father-son naming conventions, and much of our written documentation uses he/she pronouns.”
Penn State has joined the cohort of schools that have pushed for the removal of gendered language from instructional and promotional materials.
The University of Virginia‘s Student Council voted to remove the gendered pronouns from the school’s constitution on April 19. Nearly 89 percent of students who cast ballots on that day supported the measure, according to Campus Reform.
The sale of Emily Ratajkowski’s first NFT is definitely getting everyone’s attention after the photo of her standing in front of herself in a painted bikini sold for $140,000.
The photo shows Ratajkowski in the background wearing a painted bikini top for her appearance in the 2014 annual swimsuit issue with the supermodel standing in front of the photo, for an NFT, which stands for non-fungible token. NFT is a unit of data stored on a digital ledger called a blockchain, the outlet noted. It records transactions and gives buyers proof of ownership.
Emily said she was paid $150 for the image as part of her swimsuit shoot for SI. Artist Richard Prince then co-opted the shot for his own series and Ratajkowski bought it back for more than $80,000.
“Works of unnamed muses sell for millions of dollars and build careers of traditionally male artists, while the subjects of these works receive nothing,” Emily wrote on Instagram. “NFTs carry the potential to allow women ongoing control over their image and the ability to receive rightful compensation for its usage and distribution.”
A court case against the nation’s three largest pharmaceutical distributors revealed emails in which executives of big pharmaceutical companies ridiculed and mocked the victims of West Virginia’s opioid epidemic, according to Mountain State Spotlight.
Cabell County attorney Paul Farrell Jr. showed the emails — some of which mocked the addicts as ‘pillbillies’ — as evidence during the trial in Charleston, West Virginia, the outlet reported. Farrell, who represents the county and the city of Huntington, contends that the companies facilitated the addictions and the subsequent opioid crisis.
In one of the emails that Farrell shared, AmerisourceBergen executive Chris Zimmerman ridiculed West Virginia addicts by emailing a parody of the theme song for the 1960s classic television show, “The Beverly Hillbillies.” In the email, Zimmerman mocked a “poor mountaineer” that bought drugs at a “cash ‘n carry” pain clinic, Mountain State Spotlight reported. (RELATED: New Jersey Doctor Illegally Prescribed Enough Opioids To Kill His Entire County)
A second email was titled “OxyContinVille,” a play on the famous Jimmy Buffett song, “Margaritaville.” It included a parody of a drug addict driving across state lines to Kentucky to purchase pills.
Huntington, West Virginia, was considered ground zero of the epidemic at one point, ABC News reported. A new program that began in 2017 helped to alleviate damage from the epidemic, however, the COVID-19 pandemic reversed some of the progress that was made.
AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp are accused of being the catalyst for a “public nuisance” by ignoring the addiction that was destroying the local community and peddling approximately 80 million opioid doses over eight years in Cabell County and the city of Huntington, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
A drug overdose report revealed that 7,200 West Virginians — the majority between 35 and 54 — died with at least one opiate in their system between 2001 and 2015, The AP reported.
Zimmerman apologized in court for the insensitive emails and stated that the term “pillbillies” was not in reference to the victims but rather the drug dealers, according to Mountain State Spotlight.
Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds snapped back at Salon journalist Sophia Tesfaye for calling him “the other black republican” on Friday.
Donalds slammed Tesfaye’s comments about Republican Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, who had written a letter to the Department of Education about critical race theory and how it might violate the 1964 Civil Rights Act. “What about the other Black Republican in the House? He didn’t want to argue that discussing systemic racism is a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act?” Tesfaye’s tweet read.
What about the other Black Republican in the House? He didn’t want to argue that discussing systemic racism is a violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act? https://t.co/jm14CkK3xf
Donalds responded, saying, “Since you struggle with the basics of Journalism 101, let’s start here: Who: Me, ‘the other Black Republican,’ Rep. Byron Donalds to you What: Doing MY job When: 24/ 7/ 365 Where: ‘In the House’ Why: Aren’t you doing yours? How: Am I schooling a ‘journalist’ on a Friday?”
Since you struggle with the basics of Journalism 101, let’s start here:
Who: Me, “the other Black Republican,” Rep. Byron Donalds to you What: Doing MY job When: 24/ 7/ 365 Where: “In the House” Why: Aren’t you doing yours? How: Am I schooling a “journalist” on a Friday?????????♂️ https://t.co/Looe335rTl
“One hundred years ago, if you had told me there was systemic racism in the United States, I would’ve said absolutely there was,” Donalds said. “Systemic and institutionalized racism today in the United States. No, no.”
He is one of two black Republicans in the House, with the other being Rep. Owens, who is set to introduce legislation fighting critical race theory in federal institutions, according to documents obtained by the Caller.
Nicki Minaj finally broke her silence Friday on her “devastating loss” after her father, Robert Maraj, was killed three months ago in a hit and run accident.
“[Though] I can’t really bring myself to discuss the passing of my father as yet; I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life,” the 38-year-oldrapper shared in a message to fans on her website. The comments were noted by E! News.
In the same message, the “Bang Bang” hitmaker talked about learning of rapper DMX’s death in April and said it “hit [her] like a ton of bricks.” The performer was 50 and died from a heart attack.
“Losing him felt like losing someone I grew up with,” Nicki wrote. “I adored him. Blessings to his family.”
The “Anaconda” hitmaker recently gave birth to a baby boy with husband Kenneth Petty in September 2020.
Former dashboard manager for the Florida Department of Health (FDOH), Rebekah Jones, was promoted in corporate and left-wing media for months while making unfounded claims about Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Jones claimed in May 2020 that she was fired for refusing to alter Florida’s COVID-19 data to make the state’s virus response better. Fact checks and analysis done in recent months revealed that there weren’t any significant issues with the state’s COVID-19 reporting.
Charles C.W. Cooke claimed in the New York Post that Jones was fired for accusations that she sabotaged the state’s dashboard, shared confidential data and disrupted operations in her department.
On those accusations, Jones told the Daily Caller she is “looking forward to seeing Charles Cooke in court.” She added that she “never actually named Ron DeSantis before me he smeared me in front of Mike Pence.”
For some time, Jones became an iconic “whistleblower” after she accused Gov. DeSantis of engaging in a conspiracy to cook the books on his COVID-19 response. Since being fired, Jones created her own COVID-19 dashboard with inflated statistics, collected hundreds of thousands of dollars through GoFundMe and spread some misinformation about a police visit to her home after she allegedly hacked into the FDOH and stole data.
Many outlets, presented her version of events without skepticism. In some digital outlets, the coverage was more fawning. “Rebekah Jones Tried to Warn Us About COVID-19. Now Her Freedom Is on the Line,” read the title of a Cosmopolitan profile published in March 2021. “Florida Scientist Vows To Speak COVID-19 ‘Truth To Power’ Despite Police Raid,” wrote the Huffington Post.
The rising Republican star has been the subject of much debate since he decided to lift most COVID-19 restrictions in the Fall of 2020, far earlier than nearly any other state. Florida’s death rate from the pandemic has been roughly in-line with the national average, despite flags raised by DeSantis critics that he was killing people by letting businesses operate and not mandating mask-wearing.
Jones became a foil to DeSantis for some, and she was aided in large part by the likes of the media who bolstered the unfounded claims without a critical eye.
Former President Donald Trump released a statement Friday, attacking former White House deputy chief of staff and Fox News contributor Karl Rove over what he claims is Rove’s lack of support of the “MAGA Movement.”
“Everyone is so tired of watching Karl Rove on Fox News. He has played the game for decades, but all he and his buddies want to do is take your money and run,” Trump said. “He’s totally ineffective and does not represent the MAGA Movement in any way, shape, or form.”
.@POTUS45 slams @KarlRove: “Everyone is so tired of watching Karl Rove on Fox News. He has played the game for decades, but all he and his buddies want to do is take your money and run. He’s totally ineffective and does not represent the MAGA Movement in any way, shape, or form.” pic.twitter.com/VQBbJD3hZo
Shortly after the 2020 presidential election, Rove penned a piece in The Wall Street Journal contradicting Trump’s claim that the election had widespread voter fraud. “To win, Mr. Trump must prove systematic fraud, with illegal votes in the tens of thousands, there is no evidence of that so far,” Rove wrote.
Leaders in the Minneapolis suburb where a police officer fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop in April are expected to vote Saturday on a resolution that would put the city on track to major changes to its policing practices.
The resolution, backed by Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott, would create new divisions of unarmed civilian employees to handle non-moving traffic violations and respond to mental health crises. It would also limit situations in which officers can make arrests.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota called the proposed changes "an important first move" in changing policing. But several police groups raised concerns, saying parts of the resolution conflict with state law and will put public safety at risk.
The city attorney said in a Friday memo to City Council members that adopting the resolution wouldn’t be a final action, but would commit the city to change.
Katie and Aubrey Wright, parents of Daunte Wright, cry as the speak during funeral services of Daunte Wright at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Wright, 20, was fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer during a traffic stop. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, Pool)
Elliott introduced the resolution last week, less than a month after then-Brooklyn Center Officer Kim Potter, who is white, fatally shot Wright, a 20-year-old Black motorist, setting off protests in the city. The city’s police chief, who has since stepped down, said at the time he believed Potter meant to use her Taser on Wright during the April 11 stop instead of her handgun. She’s charged with second-degree manslaughter and has also resigned.
Some City Council members in Minneapolis failed last year to overhaul that city’s police department in the wake of George Floyd’s death, and are mounting another effort this year. The move in Brooklyn Center, an inner-ring suburb of just 30,000 people, echoes some of the ideas in the Minneapolis plan.
On Twitter last week, Elliott called the plan "a common sense approach to public safety" that would make police "not the only option when our community is in need."
Wright’s death came after he was pulled over for what police said was expired tags — the kind of traffic stop that many community members say often unfairly targets people of color. It escalated when, according to police, they realized Wright was wanted on a felony warrant.
The Brooklyn Center resolution would put enforcement of non-moving traffic violations — such as Wright’s expired tags — in the hands of unarmed civilians.
It would also create a department of unarmed workers trained to respond to medical and mental health calls, addressing another frequent criticism that 911 calls can end in the death of someone in crisis when confronted by armed officers.
And it would create a new Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention to oversee efforts on community health and public safety, led by a director with public health expertise.
The resolution would also require more de-escalation efforts by police before using deadly force; ban deadly force in some situations, such as firing on moving cars; and bar arrests or searches of people during non-moving traffic violations, non-felony offenses or warrants.
Rev. Al Sharpton eulogies Daunte Wright during funeral services at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis, Thursday, April 22, 2021. Wright, 20, was fatally shot by a Brooklyn Center, Minn., police officer during a traffic stop. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, Pool)
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, the Law Enforcement Labor Services, the Minnesota Sheriffs’ Association and the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association wrote to the City Council urging them to reject the resolution, saying parts of it conflict with several state statutes. And they said it would be dangerous to have civilians take over certain policing situations, both for the public and the civilian workers, and would likely lead to criminals fleeing.
The resolution is named for Wright and Kobe Dimock-Heisler, a 21-year-old man with autism and mental illness who was fatally shot by officers in June. Officers in that incident were not charged.
And now, DeJesus is now the victim of another violent crime after at least two male suspects on Thursday pulled in front of her car while she was driving, forced a gun to her head and ordered her to get out of her vehicle, Fox 8 Cleveland first reported, citing local law enforcement and the FBI.
The Cleveland Division of Police is seeking the public’s help to locate the vehicle, which is believed to be a silver 2015 Toyota Camry, and suspects, according to a blog post.
Gina DeJesus carjacking and robbery vehicle (Credit: Cleveland Police Department blog)
The carjackers stole her purse, credit card and demanded she hand over her key fob, Fox 8 reported.
"We are happy to report that Gina is unharmed and in good spirits despite the events that took place," Cleveland Missing, a group DeJesus helped create that highlights missing persons, told Fox 8.
The FBI's violent crime taskforce, which includes federal agents and Cleveland police, is investigating the incident, according to the outlet.
Anyone with information about the suspects or vehicle involved can contact the Cleveland Police Department's First District Detective Unit at 216-623-5118. Anyone can leave anonymous information at 216-25-CRIME.
Sending your student off to college can be one of the most exhilarating and stressful times of your life. As your student embarks on this new journey, all of your parental guidance and input will be put to the test.
For many students, moving away from home will teach them how to navigate life’s challenges on their own. You may wonder if you have prepared them enough for this leap of independence.
Before they pack their bags and head out the door, here are five topics to discuss with your children.
1. Friends – College is an opportune time to develop relationships that can last a lifetime. However, your student’s friend group can make or break their college experience. An assistant professor of sociology at Dartmouth College, Janice McCabe, detailed in her book, "Connecting in College," how a student’s academic and social life intertwine. McCabe’s research found that students who had a close group of friends that provided academic motivation and support were more likely to graduate.
Parents should encourage their students to participate in a wide variety of activities – from student leadership to clubs – to meet new friends. However, as a parent, I always reminded my children that the people they surround themselves with will influence them whether or not they realize it.
2. Safety – One of the most frequent questions I get as a college president is "Will my child be safe?" Nearly 70% of college students worry about safety-related situations. Thanks to the Clery Act, colleges must publicly report how they address crimes on their campuses. Nevertheless, as a parent, you can help your student realize the significance of practicing safety.
Remind them to always be alert and aware of their surroundings, memorize their campus map and never walk alone at night. Like most colleges, Southeastern University (where I serve as president) has security officers on campus 24/7. Students can also call for a member of our security team to escort them if they get out of class after dark. Help is accessible if they need it – they just have to know how to call for it.
3. Drinking – Although your student may be under the legal drinking age, that won’t necessarily stop them from drinking. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), close to 53% of full-time college students (aged 18 to 22) drank alcohol in the past month. The harm and damage done by underage drinking is staggering. Nearly 700,000 students aged 18 to 22 are assaulted each year by another student who has been drinking.
Be vulnerable when talking with your student about drinking. Don’t be afraid to share stories that can help you relate to their situations. However, remind them that their actions will have consequences. In that same study by the NIAAA, one in four students reported experiencing academic difficulties due to drinking. The decisions they make can affect the rest of their academic journeys.
4. Mental Health – The pandemic has brought on a new level of mental health issues for college-aged students. A study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that 71% of students experienced an increase in stress and anxiety due to COVID-19. To assist students, many colleges offer free Telehealth services. At Southeastern University, we offer 24/7 mental health support where students can talk to a mental health professional or a licensed counselor for free.
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From keeping up in classes to learning personal responsibility, all of these changes may be overwhelming for your student. Encourage your student to prioritize taking breaks – getting outside for fresh air, taking a walk or doing something spontaneous and fun. If they feel overwhelmed, stressed or anxious, let them know that it is OK to ask for help and share resources with them.
5. Finances – Going off to college can be one of your student’s first steps to financial independence. By now, you most likely have had a conversation about who is going to pay the bill. A study by PR Newswire found that 69% of parents expect their children to contribute to their college bills. Let your child know upfront what his or her financial responsibility will be. Do you expect them to cover the bill? Do you want them to get a job? These are conversations and questions you need to discuss before they leave.
As a parent, you can help your child determine a budget for their first year of college. Many parents and students find that college can end up costing more than they expected, so don’t forget to consider unexpected costs.
Finally, enjoy this season as your child moves into adulthood. This is, after all, a huge milestone in his or her life. You’ve spent nearly two decades pouring knowledge into your child. Believe it or not, they will remember a lot more than you think they will.
Don’t forget to remind them that you are always there for them. Communication lines must continue to stay open. But, you also need to give them space to grow on their own.
Houston police Commander Ron Borza said Friday during a news conference that even though officials have had "no luck" finding the tiger, he believes it has not been transported out of the city yet.
"I believe since Monday that tiger’s probably been passed around six, seven, eight times to different locations here in Houston," Borza said. "I don’t think it’s out of Houston yet. Maybe out of the county, but I don’t think so. I think it’s still here in Houston."
Borza said police have handled between 200 and 300 phone calls about the tiger, who is a 9-month-old male named India, and so has the local animal shelter, BARC. However, none of the tips have panned out.
"We’ve gone to a few locations here in Houston and we have not had any luck finding the tiger yet," Borza said.
Officials have also visited everyone who is known to be involved in the exotic animal trade in Houston, Borza said. Those visits have also revealed nothing so far.
On Friday, the man last seen with the tiger, Victor Hugo Cuevas, was taken back into custody on a murder charge unrelated to the incident with the tiger, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Cuevas, the cat’s alleged caretaker, was taken into custody on Monday in relation to the missing tiger but was released on Wednesday after posting bond. Cuevas -- who was allegedly seen putting the tiger into an SUV and driving away -- is facing charges of evading police related to the tiger incident.
The tiger, a 9-month-old male named India, was seen roaming a Houston neighborhood this week.
(José Antonio Ramos)
However, Cuevas was taken into custody again on Friday for an unrelated murder charge. A judge in Fort Bend County revoked Cuevas’ bond for that charge and raised it to $300,000, according to the Chronicle.
On Friday, during the news conference and ahead of Cuevas’ bond hearing, Borza said Cuevas has been "uncooperative" in the search for the tiger.
"He and his lawyer are uncooperative right now," Borza said. "He is in a bond hearing this morning in Fort Bend County to revoke his murder bond. So I’m hoping that that occurs and maybe if he goes to jail, he’d be more cooperative with us. We’ll see how that goes."
Cuevas’ lawyer, Michael W. Elliott, spoke with Fox News earlier this week. According to him, locating the tiger and getting him to a good preserve, zoo or sanctuary is one of his main concerns right now.
Cuevas has denied being the cat’s owner, and his lawyer told Fox News that Cuevas is not necessarily the man who put the tiger into the SUV and drove away.
Fox News’ Michael Hollan contributed to this report.
Kristen Clarke, President Biden's nominee to the assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Justice Department, walked back her past criticism of multiple moderate senators and Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a Judiciary Committee questionnaire submitted late last month.
Clarke's nomination was advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote Thursday after a contentious hearing in April. But her nomination still hangs in the balance as four key swing-vote senators swill haven't publicly announced whether they'll vote to confirm her. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., all have yet to announce whether they will support Clarke.
After her hearing, Clarke submitted a 66-page document responding to several senators' "Questions for the Record," on April 26. She responded to queries on a broad range of topics from religious freedom to anti-racism.
Among those answers, Clarke, whose controversial past writings and polemic social media history have come under scrutiny during her confirmation, walked back a handful of her past statements, including attacks on some of the senators she may need for her confirmation.
Kristen Clarke delivers remarks after being nominated to be civil rights division assistant attorney general by President-elect Joe Biden at The Queen theater January 07, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. Clarke's nomination was advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
( Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., asked Clarke a series of questions about her past comments about Murkowski and Manchin.
"In March, after a news article pointed out that you had called Senator Murkowski ‘disgraceful’ and accused Senator Manchin of ‘hollow words’ when he praised Martin Luther King, you set your Twitter account to ‘private,’ cutting off the public and the news media from being able to review your past public statements," Cotton wrote.
He continued to ask, "Do you still believe that Senator Murkowski is ‘disgraceful?,’" and "Do you still believe that Senator Manchin's praise for Martin Luther King, Jr. was nothing more than ‘hollow words?’"
"I have used my platform as the leader of a national civil rights organization to bring attention to legal and policy issues that I deem important to achieving equal justice for all," Clarke responded. "In retrospect, I regret the tone I occasionally took. I welcome the opportunity, as President Biden and Judge Garland have emphasized, to turn down the volume and lower the temperature."
Clarke referred to the same statement when asked about comments she made labeling former President Donald Trump's judicial nominees as ""white male extremists."
The DOJ nominee also walked back a previous statement she made about another Trump-appointed judge – Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pointed out that Clarke had previously tweeted that, "As a civil rights lawyer with matters that regularly go before the Supreme Court, I can’t underscore how dangerous it will be to have [then-Judge Brett] Kavanaugh on the Court, a man who harbors such bias, rage, fury and is so easily unhinged. We should expect a spike in recusal motions for sure."
Grassley asked whether Clarke still stands by that statement, whether she believes Kavanaugh will be fair to the Justice Department if she is confirmed and whether the DOJ should seek Kavanaugh's recusal in civil rights cases.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, speaks during the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee business meeting to vote on sending the nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland, D-N.M., to be Interior Secretary, to the Senate floor in Washington on Thursday, March 4, 2021. Asked about her past comment that Murkowski is "disgraceful," Biden Department of Justice nominee Kristen Clarke said that she wishes she regretted her tone. (Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"In my opinion, Justice Kavanaugh as a Justice of the Supreme Court has demonstrated a judicial demeanor consistent with what members of the public expect of Supreme Court Justices," Clarke responded.
Clarke was also asked about a tweet she sent describing Manchin's vote to confirm Kavanaugh as "unreal."
"After a review of then Judge Kavanaugh’s record, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law decided not to support his nomination to the Supreme Court; while we found him qualified, we did not find that his record, at that time, reflected a strong commitment to civil rights," she said. "This tweet reflected that position."
Clarke also declined to call for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is mired in a massive sexual harassment scandal – as well as several others – to resign.
"Generally speaking, I believe credible allegations of harassment and inappropriate behavior should be investigated by the appropriate authorities," Clarke said. "I have not formed an opinion about the allegations against Governor Cuomo and understand that these allegations are currently being investigated by the Office of the State Attorney General."
Clarke's response is similar to what others in the Biden administration have said of the scandals against Cuomo, including Biden himself. But the Biden administration is one of very few enclaves in Democratic politics where Cuomo has yet to face calls to resign.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., have each said Cuomo should step down. So have numerous state-level Democrats in New York and much of the New York U.S. House delegation. In addition to an investigation by the New York Attorney General Letitia James, the New York legislature is pursuing an impeachment probe against Cuomo.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., meanwhile, pushed Clarke on when it may or may not be called for to require people to present photo identification, likely aiming to get at the Biden administration's opposition to the recently enacted Georgia law which requires photo ID for absentee voters.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., speaks to members of the media prior to his meeting with CIA Director Nominee Gina Haspel, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, May 7, 2018. Manchin voted to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh, a move Biden DOJ nominee Kristen Clarke called "unreal."
(AP/File)
Blackburn asked Clarke about when photo ID requirements may contradict federal law, which Clarke said would have to be evaluated "on a case-by-case basis," depending on a law's purpose. Blackburn then asked Clarke about photo IDs for boarding planes, picking up tickets at will-call windows, picking up prescriptions, purchasing alcohol and more.
"There are many valid reasons to adopt a law or policy requiring a photo ID," Clarke responded to each of the queries. "Whether a particular law or policy violates federal civil rights laws can only be determined on a case-by-case basis after a review of the facts and the law, including but not limited to the reason the identification requirement was adopted, the nature of the right at stake, and whether it is consistently applied to all people."
Contacted by Fox News multiple times Thursday and Friday, offices for Manchin, Collins, Sinema and Murkowski did not confirm whether the senators planned to vote one way or another on Clarke's nomination.
To be confirmed, Clarke will likely only need votes from two of those four senators, which assuming all other senators vote with their parties, would lead to a 50-50 tie that Vice President Harris could break.
Democrats have lauded Clarke as a person who is uniquely qualified to lead the DOJ's civil rights division.
"Ms. Clarke has the breadth and depth of civil rights experience needed to revitalize the Civil Rights Division at this critical time," committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Thursday.
Schumer, meanwhile, called Clarke "an extremely well-qualified and capable civil rights attorney who would be the first Black woman to ever fill her position at the Justice Department."
Republicans, however, have hammered Clarke over her past writings, including a 2020 Newsweek article that said, "We must invest less in police" three separate times.
Sen. Ted Cruz. R-Texas, said Thursday that Clarke is among "the most radical nominees that have ever been put forward to any position in the federal government."
The water crisis along the California-Oregon border went from dire to catastrophic this week as federal regulators shut off irrigation water to farmers from a critical reservoir and said they would not send extra water to dying salmon downstream or to a half-dozen wildlife refuges that harbor millions of migrating birds each year.
In what is shaping up to be the worst water crisis in generations, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said it will not release water this season into the main canal that feeds the bulk of the massive Klamath Reclamation Project, marking a first for the 114-year-old irrigation system. The agency announced last month that hundreds of irrigators would get dramatically less water than usual, but a worsening drought picture means water will be completely shut off instead.
The entire region is in extreme or exceptional drought, according to federal monitoring reports, and Oregon’s Klamath County is experiencing its driest year in 127 years.
In this April 8, 2015, file photo, a tractor works a parcel of farm land in the Klamath Basin near Klamath Falls, Ore. A severe drought is creating a water crisis not seen in more than a century for farmers, tribes and federally protected fish along the Oregon-California border. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation says it won't release water into the main canal that feeds the massive Klamath Project irrigation system for the first time in 114 years, leaving many farmers and ranchers with no water at all. (Dave Martinez/The Herald And News via AP, File)
"This year’s drought conditions are bringing unprecedented hardship to the communities of the Klamath Basin," said Reclamation Deputy Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton, calling the decision one of "historic consequence." "Reclamation is dedicated to working with our water users, tribes and partners to get through this difficult year and developing long-term solutions for the basin."
The canal, a major component of the federally operated Klamath Reclamation Project, funnels Klamath River water from the Upper Klamath Lake just north of the Oregon-California border to more than 130,000 acres (52,600 hectares), where generations of ranchers and farmers have grown hay, alfalfa and potatoes and grazed cattle.
Only one irrigation district within the 200,000-acre (80,940-hectare) project will receive any water from the Klamath River system this growing season, and it will have a severely limited supply, the Klamath Water Users Association said in a statement. Some other farmers rely on water from a different river, and they will also have a limited supply.
"This just couldn’t be worse," said Klamath Irrigation District president Ty Kliewer. "The impacts to our family farms and these rural communities will be off the scale."
At the same time, the agency said it would not release any so-called "flushing flows" from the same dam on the Upper Klamath Lake to bolster water levels downstream in the lower Klamath River. The river is key to the survival of coho salmon, which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In better water years the pulses of water help keep the river cool and turbulent — conditions that help the fragile species. The fish are central to the diet and culture of the Yurok Tribe, California’s largest federally recognized tribe
The tribe said this week that low flows from drought and from previous mismanagement of the river by the federal agency was causing a die-off of juvenile salmon from a bacterial disease that flourishes when water levels are low. Yurok fish biologists who have been testing the baby salmon in the lower Klamath River are finding that 70% of the fish are already dead in the traps used to collect them and 97% are infected by the bacteria known as C. shasta.
"Right now, the Klamath River is full of dead and dying fish on the Yurok Reservation," said Frankie Myers, vice chairman of the Yurok Tribe. "This disease will kill most of the baby salmon in the Klamath, which will impact fish runs for many years to come. For salmon people, a juvenile fish kill is an absolute worst-case scenario."
In this March 5, 2020, file photo, Hunter Maltz, a fish technician for the Yurok tribe, pushes a jet boat into the Klamath River at the confluence of the Klamath River and Blue Creek as Keith Parker, a Yurok tribal fisheries biologist, watches near Klamath, Calif. A severe drought is creating a water crisis not seen in more than a century for farmers, tribes and federally protected fish along the Oregon-California border as federal authorities cut off releases from a dam that provides critical sustenance for a massive irrigation project and bolsters downstream water levels for dangerously diminished salmon populations. (AP Photo/Gillian Flaccus, File)
Irrigators, meanwhile, reacted with disbelief as the news of a water shut-off in the canals spread. A newsletter published by the Klamath Water Users Association, which represents many of the region’s farmers, blared the headline, "Worst Day in the History of the Klamath Project." Farmers reported already seeing dust storms that obscured vision for 100 yards (91 meters), and they worried about their wells running dry.
About 30 protesters showed up Thursday at the head gates of the main dam to protest the shut-off and ask the irrigation district to defy federal orders and divert the water. The Herald and News reported that they were with a group called People’s Rights, a far-right organization founded by anti-government activist Ammon Bundy.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, have declared drought emergencies in the region, and the Bureau of Reclamation has set aside $15 million in immediate aid for irrigators. Another $10 million will be available for drought assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Ben DuVal, president of the Klamath Water Users Association, urged his members to remain peaceful and not let the water crisis "be hijacked for other causes."
The seasonal allocations are the region’s most dramatic development since irrigation water was all but cut off to hundreds of farmers in 2001 amid another severe drought — the first time farmers’ interests took a backseat to fish and tribes.
The crisis made the rural farming region hundreds of miles from any major city a national political flashpoint and became a touchstone for Republicans who used the crisis to take aim at the Endangered Species Act, with one GOP lawmaker calling the irrigation shutoff a "poster child" for why changes were needed. A "bucket brigade" protest attracted 15,000 people who scooped water from the Klamath River and passed it, hand over hand, to a parched irrigation canal.
The situation in the Klamath Basin was set in motion more than a century ago, when the U.S. government began draining a network of shallow lakes and marshlands, redirecting the natural flow of water and constructing hundreds of miles of canals and drainage channels to create farmland. Homesteads were offered by lottery to World War II veterans.
The project turned the region into an agricultural powerhouse — some of its potato farmers supply In ’N Out burger — but permanently altered an intricate water system that spans hundreds of miles and from southern Oregon to Northern California.
In 1988, two species of sucker fish were listed as endangered under federal law. Less than a decade later, coho salmon that spawn downstream from the reclamation project, in the lower Klamath River, were listed as threatened.
The water necessary to sustain the coho salmon downstream comes from Upper Klamath Lake — the main holding tank for the farmers’ irrigation system. At the same time, the sucker fish in the lake need at least 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) of water covering the gravel beds they use as spawning grounds.
The drought also means farmers this summer will not flush irrigation water into a network of six national wildlife refuges that are collectively called the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The refuges, nicknamed the Everglades of the West, support up to 80% of the birds that migrate on the Pacific Flyway. The refuges also support the largest concentrations of wintering Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states.
American police or sheriff’s patrol officers make anywhere from just under $19,000 up to $131,000, with salaries varying significantly by region and the department level, statistics analyzed by Fox news show.
A police or sheriff’s patrol officer makes a mean hourly wage of $33.66 and an average yearly salary of $70,000, but their annual pay varies significantly by region and jurisdiction, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) most recent data for May 2020 shows.
Broken down by state, officers in California make the highest yearly salary, with $107,440, while those in Mississippi make the lowest, at $37,210 per year, statistics show.
Meanwhile, looking at the more local level by examining the salaries of officers employed in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, BLS data shows mean yearly pay ranges from under $19,000 in some places and more than $131,000 in others.
"We have tens of thousands of police departments across the nation, which is probably the most inefficient and ineffective policing model in the free world," said Miami Police Chief Art Acevedo, who also serves as president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association.
"Consequently, what happens [is] you have departments where officers are fairly compensated and you have departments where officers across the country, they don't qualify for [Aid to Families with Dependent Children], AFDC, food stamps. They're close to it, and they have to work more than one job to actually make ends meet."
Officers in Aguadilla-Isabela, Puerto Rico, for example, make $18,980 on average per year. In Guayama, Puerto Rico, they make a mean salary of $21,370, to name two areas in the commonwealth, according to data.
Other areas of the country where officers make an average annual salary of under $40,000 include parts of Arkansas and Mississippi, as well as Central Louisiana, Macon, Georgia; East Georgia’s nonmetropolitan area, Northeast South Carolina and South-Central Kentucky, figures show.
"You look across the country, there are a lot of departments where officers are underpaid, which is a recruitment issue, a retention issue, and not to mention a quality of the candidate you're going to get in the first place issue," Acevedo told Fox News.
Meanwhile, officers in Sunnyvale, San Jose and Santa Clara, California, are paid, on average, $131,090 per year, marking the highest mean annual salary of the country's metropolitan areas. Second-highest are the San Francisco, Oakland and Hayward, California, areas, with a mean annual salary of $122,570, BLS figures show. All 10 of the top-paid police departments in metropolitan regions are located in California.
Top-paying non-metropolitan areas include the North Valley, Eastern Sierra and North Coast regions of California, which range in mean annual pay from $82,740 to $93,570, as well as Hawaii and its Kauai area, with $84,370, and Alaska’s non-metropolitan jurisdiction, with $79,230, BLS statistics show.
Ketchikan police and emergency response personnel deliver evacuation warnings to residents within a flood evacuation area that borders Ketchikan Creek, Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, in Ketchikan, Alaska. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)
Retired police Sgt. Betsy Brantner-Smith, National Police Association spokesperson, noted how much police compensation varied so regionally, such as in Mississippi, where, looking at the state as a whole, the average hourly wage for officers is $17.89, according to BLS numbers.
"I made a lot more than that in the Chicago metro area," she told Fox News. "There is no real standard -- it has to reflect where you live. So, I was a cop in the Chicago suburbs. It's pretty expensive to live there, but not as expensive as Los Angeles. And so it does need to reflect the area."
In Illinois, it’s $37.72, and in California, it’s $51.65, statewide BLA stats show.
Brantner-Smith highlighted the range of training and "specialty" information officers need to have to respond to the litany of police calls.
"As a police officer for 29 years, I did everything from, dealt with mentally ill people … to negotiating people into letting their hostages go and talking to people out of killing themselves and delivering a baby, and tasering somebody 30 years younger than me through a neighborhood who just committed a burglary, and everything in between," she said.
"In today's atmosphere, [there is] the expectation that police officers are going to have so much more specialty training, especially when we're talking about mental illness and and utilization of various different kinds of weapons and making sure that we're always exactly within policy and things like that."
Investigators at the scene of a police-involved shooting on Wednesday, July 6, 2016, in Falcon Heights, Minn.
(Associated Press)
As of May 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated there were 654,000 police and sheriff's patrol officers employed throughout the country at the non-executive or non-supervisor levels.
Dr. John DeCarlo, an associate professor at the University of New Haven’s Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, estimated that about $304 dollars are spent on police protection per person in the United States. DeCarlo told Fox News there are approximately 18,500 police departments throughout the country, which are funded by local tax dollars.
When asked about police officer retention rates and the impact of police salaries on such figures, Acevedo said it’s one of a combination of factors affecting cops’ decision to stay or leave the job.
"I think that having competitive salaries is important and in a lot of places, police officers are not paid well," Acevedo said. He said mistrust of government was at a "historical, fever-pitch high" and police are "the most visible cog of government."
"The profession is under such scrutiny by a lot of folks that it's actually creating, not just, again, a recruitment problem, but it's also creating a retention problem. We're starting to see more officers retire as soon as they can," Acevedo added. "It's becoming more and more apparent of a challenge and a growing challenge for a lot of agencies across the country."
A statue of Jesus was smashed and an American flag burned outside a Catholic church in Brooklyn — in what cops are calling a possible hate crime.
The incident occurred around 10 p.m. Thursday when an unknown person hopped the fence at St. Athanasius Church on Bay Parkway at 61st Street in Bensonhurst, police said.
The vandal pushed over a statue of Jesus’s crucifixion, breaking it into pieces, and torched an American flag hanging outside the rectory, according to cops.
The church’s pastor, Msgr. David Cassato, noticed the act of vandalism around 8 a.m. Friday and reported it to the NYPD, the Diocese of Brooklyn said in a statement.
The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is looking into the incident.
"This was truly an act of hatred, and today is the saddest day of my twenty years here at this parish," Cassato said in the diocese release.
The crucifix was installed in 2010 to honor the memory of Cassato’s mother, the statement said.
"I went over and spoke to the students in the school about what happened, telling them that hate never wins," Cassato said. "We are, and must be, a community that continues to share the message of Easter, that which is of love, hope, and forgiveness."
Every third Saturday in May, America comes together to celebrate Armed Forces Day in honor of the brave men and women who serve in the U.S. military.
May 15, 2021 is the 71st anniversary of the establishment of Armed Forces Day. This commemorative holiday was established by President Harry Truman in 1950 following the passage of the National Security Act in 1947.
At the end of World War II and the onset of the Cold War, the United States Congress and the Truman administration recognized that an overhaul of our national security, intelligence, and defense apparatuses were needed for America to defeat the expanding threat of communism.
The National Security Act established the National Security Council, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Air Force. It also unified and restructured the U.S. military by moving the War Department, Navy Department, and Air Force under the direction of the new Department of Defense.
To recognize the unification of America’s forces under the National Security Act, the establishment of the joint Armed Forces Day was announced by Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson on August 31, 1949. President Truman issued a Presidential Proclamation on February 27, 1950 that created the first Armed Forces Day.
Truman’s Presidential Proclamation declared, "Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 20, 1950, marks the first combined demonstration by America's defense team of its progress, under the National Security Act, towards the goal of readiness for any eventuality. It is the first formal procession of preparedness by the unified forces of our land, sea, and air defense."
The establishment of Armed Forces Day marks the modernization of the command of the U.S. military – the greatest military force in the world. Since the Continental Army was formed in 1775, the U.S. military has significantly grown and evolved to meet modern challenges.
Over the past 246 years, the valiant men and women of the U.S. military have confronted the most dangerous threats to America, our freedoms, and our values. Our military men and women at home and abroad today carry on the legacy of the American heroes who won our independence from the British, defeated fascism in Europe, defied the expansion of communism, and confronted radical terrorism in the Middle East.
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It is because of the dedication, hard work, and commitment of the U.S. military that America stands ready to meet any challenge. With the establishment of the Space Force as the 7th military branch in 2019, the U.S. military is equipped to continue to defend against threats to the United States that may emerge in the 21st century and beyond.
The security of our freedom, democracy, and homeland are made possible through the selfless courage, patriotism, and sacrifice of the American heroes in the U.S. armed forces.
We invite you to join us in thanking the members of our U.S. military on this Armed Forces Day. May God continue to bless our American military heroes and their families.
To read, hear, and watch more commentary from Ambassador and Speaker Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com.
A Rikers Island inmate put the jail on lockdown Friday morning — after escaping through a hole in a fence, law enforcement sources told The New York Post.
The 20-year-old inmate, identified as Jorden Hewitt, slipped out of the recreation yard just before 9:45 a.m., according to sources.
Hewitt, who is in the lockup on gun charges from a December arrest, did not make it off the island and was back in custody Friday, sources said.
It was unclear how long correction officers were hunting for the inmate.
When asked for details, Department of Correction spokesman Jason Kersten said in a statement, "There has been no escape."
But the DOC did not answer a series of follow-up questions, including how the agency defined an escape.
About a year ago, Arthur L. Brown, 37, of Brooklyn climbed down from the exercise area on top of the George R. Vierno Center and made it into the water before being captured.
In May 1979, Los Angeles pathologists blamed “massive intravascular sickling” in the death of Jerry Eugene Wright Jr., a 20-year-old Black man whom police officers had mistaken for a drug user. In fact, he had been the victim of a violent robbery; they handcuffed him, put him facedown on the ground and ignored bystanders who…
In a lifetime of working with horses, Gary Kidd, 73, had never adopted an untrained wild mustang before. But when the federal government started paying people $1,000 a horse to adopt them, he signed up for as many as he could get. So did his wife, two grown daughters and a son-in-law.
In 1988, when James Zogby, the founder of the Arab American Institute, pushed Democrats to include a mention of Palestinian sovereignty in their platform, party leaders responded with a clear warning, he recalled: “If the P-word is even in the platform, all hell will break loose.” Eager to stave off an angry confrontation at the…
Mr. Potato Head is under siege. So are the Muppets, baseball and Coca-Cola. Even a horse fell victim. “It was like a cancel culture kind of thing,” the trainer of Medina Spirit told Fox News after the Kentucky Derby-winning horse failed a drug test.
Mr. Sutherland had been taken to a mental health facility, Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health, but was arrested there on Jan. 4, the day before he died, after a fight broke out. Workers at the mental health center told responding officers that Mr. Sutherland had assaulted a staff member. He and another patient were arrested on…
Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma has been ousted from a commission set up to commemorate the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, just days after he signed legislation that commission members said would undermine their goal of teaching the state’s painful history of racial discrimination.
BOSTON — Before she entered the Daughters of St. Paul convent in 2010, Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble read a biography of the order’s founder, an Italian priest who was born in the 1880s. He kept a ceramic skull on his desk, as a reminder of the inevitability of death. Sister Aletheia, a punk fan as…
More than a year after federal health officials told Americans to cover their faces when venturing out in public, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that fully vaccinated people could start taking off their masks indoors.
“My phone has been going off every five minutes, asking me, are you all vaccinating?” said Bill Phillips, a hospital administrator with the University Health System, which is running the mall clinic. “The answer is yes, yes, yes, come on over.”
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — On a prairie hill on the rolling highway into Wyoming’s capital city looms a billboard with the beaming face of the state’s lone congressional representative, Liz Cheney. In huge letters it declares: “Thank you Rep. Cheney for defending the Constitution.”
MIAMI, Fla., May 15, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Legendary marijuana activist and ganjapreneur Ed “NJWeedman” Forchion is continuing his legacy of promoting ‘puff and paint’ cannabis creativity. The opening of his new marijuana lounge in Miami, The Joint of Miami in the Wynwood Art District, will be an extension of his legacy in support of ‘pot art.’
The Joint of Miami, alongside NJWeedman’s Joint in Trenton, NJ now both boast beautiful new outdoor wall murals painted by graffiti art master, Ayumi Chisolm aka SANOizm. In addition, NJWeedman is hosting an art themed pre-opening “Puff & Paint” event at his Miami location from May 14th, 10 a.m. ET to June 11th, 10 p.m. ET. “Puff & Paint” at The Joint of Miami is inviting artists to blaze and paint while creating artwork for the interior walls of the weed lounge! Professional artists who are looking to participate can send examples of their artwork to art director Jazz Tarver at [email protected] for consideration and invitation details. The Joint of Miami is located at 2010 NW Miami Ct. in Miami.
NJWeedman’s longstanding love for weed art dates back to his first marijuana dispensary, The Liberty Bell Temple, (see https://youtu.be/-jWnvGd-N4M ) located in Hollywood, CA. In 2008, Ayumi Chisolm aka SANOizm painted an interior canvas and mural covering the ceiling plus the front windows of that now mythical location. SANOizm (SimpleArtNiceOutlinez, StylesAllwayzNumberOne, SmokeAnotherNiceOne) is an award winning multi-disciplined urban artist originally from Cleveland, Ohio. He began doing graffiti art in 1983 and now travels the world creating community aerosol art murals, illustration and designs. His mark on now three of NJWeedman’s businesses are important contributions to the culture of cannabis creativity. Sano maintains a small art studio in Chinatown, Los Angeles where he prints his brand, Thieveland T-shirts.
“It was important for me to have Sano leave his artistic impression on both my Trenton and Miami locations. I consider his imprint a blessing to my businesses. He has artistically documented my marijuana legacy in a way that words could not capture. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the spirit of his images is worth 10,000 words. I think my favorite is his mural outside of NJWeedman’s Joint in Trenton. It’s called “The Battle of Trenton 2” and is an accurate depiction of how I won my fight against the prosecutor’s office in Trenton for unfair charges filed against me (see https://nj1015.com/nj-weedman-promises-to-give-prosecutor-legal-ass-whooping-after-major-bust.”)
“It’s no secret that marijuana and hip hop art are like first cousins,” adds Sano, an avid partaker of the herb. “It has been an amazing journey to illustrate the story of NJWeedman with my art. I deeply appreciate his patronage over the years and am excited to have my work adorn both locations in Trenton and now in Miami, particularly in the Wynwood Art District which is famous for Art Basel and street art. Our work is sometimes overlooked and underrated in the contemporary art world but is an important component of our culture.”
A cult figure in the marijuana legalization community, Forchion has since become one of the most vocal and controversial members of the pro-pot movement. He is the founder of the Legalize Marijuana Party of New Jersey and has run previous campaigns for Governor, U.S. Senate, Congress, the State Legislature, and the Burlington County Board of Freeholders. After decades of public persecution, Ed Forchion is finally being acknowledged for his decades of activism. He has spoken on virtual panels at Stockton and Princeton University, was featured on NBC News in New York and he is slated to appear on an upcoming segment of Vice TV and ABC-TV Nightline.
While NJWeedman’s Joint in Trenton, NJ is a bustling marijuana themed eatery and smoke shop with his partner, Debi Madaio, The Joint of Miami is an extension of the NJWeedman brand, offering a more inclusive cannabis experience. The Joint of Miami, located in the Wynwood Art District, will be an art and music marijuana lounge with ‘members only’ access. Slated to open midsummer, The Joint of Miami will be a franchise operation and NJWeedman is already fielding inquires in other cities.
SILVER SPRING, Md., May 12, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) is pleased to announce that Melissa D. Avery, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN will be the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the “Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health” (JMWH) starting January 1, 2022, succeeding Frances E. Likis, CNM, NP, DrPH, who has served as EIC since 2008.
“We look forward to Dr. Avery’s contributions to the Journal, building on its strong foundation and bringing new ideas, skills, and energy,” said ACNM Chief Executive Officer, Katrina H. Holland.
Dr. Avery is a Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota. Her recent research has examined prenatal care practices to enhance maternal confidence for physiologic labor and birth. She is Co-Principal Investigator on a nationally funded project to develop and implement an interprofessional education curriculum for graduate midwifery students and obstetrics-gynecology residents. Dr. Avery is a past ACNM president and is a Fellow of ACNM and the American Academy of Nursing (AAN).
Dr. Avery received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northern Illinois University, her Master of Science in Nursing with midwifery specialization from University of Kentucky, and the Doctor of Philosophy with a major in Nursing from the University of Minnesota. She has authored and co-authored a variety of articles for JMWH and received JMWH’s Best Paper of the Year Award in 2003 as a co-author of “Vaginal birth after cesarean birth: A national survey of U.S. midwifery practice.” She has been a JMWH peer reviewer since 1992, contributing editor from 2012-2014, education consulting editor from 2019-2020, and associate editor since 2020.
Dr. Avery looks forward to continuing the tradition of excellence the JMWH has maintained in its 66 years of publication. To learn more about JMWH, visit http://jmwh.org.
About ACNM
With over 6,500 members, ACNM is the professional association that represents certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) in the United States. ACNM promotes excellence in midwifery education, clinical practice, and research. With roots dating to 1929, our members are primary care providers for women throughout the lifespan, with a special emphasis on pregnancy, childbirth, and gynecologic and reproductive health. ACNM provides research, administers, and promotes continuing education programs, establishes education and clinical practice standards, and creates liaisons with state and federal agencies and members of Congress to increase the visibility and recognition of midwifery care. Learn more at https://www.midwife.org/.
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y., May 12, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Executive Producers Eric Conte and Dan Weinreich of Content.23 Media, Inc. return to produce the global media industry event, the IAB 2021 Podcast Upfront, right on the heels of last week’s IAB 2021 NewFronts.
In producing this year’s Podcast Upfront, Content.23 Media will leverage its best-in-class live production skills and industry-leading live video production technology to deliver an amazing three-day live event.
The IAB 2021 Podcast Upfront will be held virtually May 11-13; three days of digital audio content from over two dozen of the biggest names in the industry. This global event is designed for advertisers and buyers to preview the latest in podcast programming with the theme, “Listen Up!”
All the presentations will focus on future creative opportunities, and digital audio insights that will define the podcast landscape for the year ahead.
“We are honored to return as the exclusive production partner for the IAB 2021 Podcast Upfront, and partner with such amazing brands for this global event to help shape the future of the podcast business,” says President and Executive Producer, Eric Conte.
Content.23 Media, Inc. just wrapped production of the IAB 2021 NewFronts, a four-day live stream event, which took place May 3-6. The event is the world’s biggest digital video marketplace attended by thousands of media buyers and marketers.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Content.23 Media, Inc. has successfully pivoted to virtual events, pioneering multiple industry-leading techniques for innovative content. This includes creating new formats and helping to raise millions of dollars for those impacted by the pandemic.
Content.23 will continue to follow local and CDC guidance, all while delivering best-in-class production services. Content.23 Media, Inc. was nominated in the Livestream Event category at the Vimeo Festival & Awards for the 2020 IAB NewFronts.
About Content.23 Media, Inc.
Founded by Eric Conte and Dan Weinreich in 2012, Content.23 Media, Inc. is a full-service production company specializing in digital media, live streams, branded content, music specials, and award shows. Content.23 Media, Inc. is proud to have delivered groundbreaking projects for many Fortune 500 companies.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership comprises more than 650 leading media companies, brands, and the technology firms responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital ad marketing campaigns. The trade group fields critical research on interactive advertising, while also educating brands, agencies, and the wider business community on the importance of digital marketing. In affiliation with the IAB Tech Lab, IAB develops technical standards and solutions. IAB is committed to professional development and elevating the knowledge, skills, expertise, and diversity of the workforce across the industry. Through the work of its public policy office in Washington, D.C., the trade association advocates for its members and promotes the value of the interactive advertising industry to legislators and policymakers. Founded in 1996, IAB is headquartered in New York City.
NEW YORK, N.Y., May 11, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — RE:ARTISTE International Art Organization and The Espejo Organization for the Arts are pleased to present “GROUNDED,” an art exhibition juried by award-winning visual artist Mensur Bojda that will be hosted at the SLEEPCENTER Gallery from May 10th to May 20, 2021.
PHOTO CAPTION: Igor Kovalov. Untitled 1. 23×30 inches. Digital painting.
“The word ‘grounded’ means ‘well-balanced’ and ‘sensible,’ while it also means ‘prohibited from doing certain things.’ During the past year, we have been forced indoors by the pandemic and the quarantine measures. But what happened to artists’ mental and emotional stability and confidence? Did they feel grounded and if so, in what way?” explain curators Natalie Burtluskaya and Kika Espejo about the concept behind the art show.
“We selected artworks that appeared recently in a process of self-reflection and introspection. The artists were encouraged to submit pieces that inspect the feelings on a threshold of imbalance and sensibility. Having taken history, literature, theater, politics, science, and arts as inspiration, the artists kept creating art, and it helped them stay afloat during the unprecedented year of the limited opportunities to work, travel, or feel safe,” explains Mensur Bojda, the juror of the show.
The list of selected international artists includes Jeremie Queyras, Igor Kovalov, Hildos, Aida Miro, Maksym Kazarin, Amaia Marzabal, and Kuldeep Singh.
The opening event will take place on May 13, 2021, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will follow all COVID-19 CDC guidelines. The exhibition will also be open by appointment between May 10 and May 20.
SKOKIE, Ill., May 5, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Music Theater Works presents “Legends Of The 50s And 60s: Greatest Hits” at North Shore Center For The Performing Arts (9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60076) from June 18, 2021 through June 27, 2021 as the first production of the 2021 season.
About The Show
Join Music Theater Works for an evening filled with beloved hits from the 50s and 60s. This flashback performance features the songs made famous by iconic names like Buddy Holly, Doris Day, Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, The Temptations, Elvis, and many others. This concert is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and help you remember your favorite memories from the past and introduce these hits to a new generation.
This is an outdoor, socially-distanced performance.
Production Details
WHO:
Music Theater Works
WHAT:
– “Legends Of The 50s And 60s: Greatest Hits”
– Music by Hit Artists of the 1950s and 1960s
– Directed by Kyle Dougan and Martin L. Woods
_ Music Director and Conducted by Jermaine Hill
CAST:
– Adia Bell
– Curtis Bannister
– Dawn Bless
– Evan Tyrone Martin
– Gilbert Domally
– Justin Brill
– Lydia Burke
WHEN:
– Group Performance: Friday, June 18, 2021 @ 1:00 PM
– Press Performance: Saturday, June 19, 2021 @ 2:00 PM
– Sunday, June 20, 2021 @ 2:00 PM
– Wednesday, June 23, 2021 @ 1:00 PM
– Thursday, June 24, 2021 @ 1:00 PM
– Friday, June 25, 2021 @ 8:00 PM
– Saturday, June 26, 2021 @ 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM
– Sunday, June 27, 2021 @ 2:00 PM
WHERE:
North Shore Center For The Performing Arts 9501 Skokie Blvd. Skokie, IL 60077
TICKETS:
Tickets start at $39 for Standard Seating and tickets start at $48 for Preferred Seating. Tickets for those ages 25 and under are half-price.
Health safety guidelines imposed by North Shore Center For The Performing Arts have been followed in the staging of this event. For more information about measures being taken please visit the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts website at NorthShoreCenter.org.
UPCOMING SHOWS
The 2021 season will feature MAMMA MIA! (Aug 19th – Aug 29th), RAGTIME (Oct 28th – Nov 7th), and BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL (Dec 23rd – Jan 2, 2022).
The 2021 season has been proudly sponsored by Joyce Saxon.
ABOUT MUSIC THEATER WORKS
Music Theater Works is a professional non-profit theater company based in Wilmette, Illinois featuring a colorful repertoire including operetta, the Golden Age of Broadway, the Great American Songbook, and modern classics since 1980.
As of 2021, Music Theater Works has become a resident theater company at the North Shore Center For The Performing Arts (9501 Skokie Blvd, Skokie, IL 60076).
The mission of Music Theater Works is to produce and present musical theater from a variety of world traditions and to engage the local community through educational and outreach programs.
MEDIA CONTACT Aaron Ozee Director of Marketing Music Theater Works Phone: (847) 920-5360 ext. 7 Email: [email protected]
PORTLAND, Maine, May 4, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Zootility, a design-driven U.S. manufacturing company, proudly announces the next great innovation in recreational games – a wall-hung beer pong game. Free Pong is quick to pick up and play and easily converts into minimal home décor when not being played.
PHOTO CAPTION: Zootility introduces a wall-hung beer pong game that easily converts into minimal home decor when not being played.
The Free Pong design team recognized that traditional beer pong takes a lot of space to play, cups can get knocked over and spilled, and it’s not a fit for most social gatherings. Free Pong is a vertical take on a classic drinking game that allows the game to be played quickly, cleanly, and in any home living space. It uses patent-pending Tension Grip Technology™ that locks brackets in place. The brackets or cups won’t fall out even when struck by hard shots. The light design allows it to mount on any surface. When brackets are removed, Free Pong fits seamlessly into the living space as a piece of decorative wall art showcasing engraved mountain peak details.
Free Pong game play follows the same basic principles of beer pong. Alternating turns, the goal is to eliminate cups by landing shots in cups before your opponent. A two-board game of Free Pong can be played in teams, the first team to clear their board wins.
“Our company has always had an affinity for recreational games. During our Friday social hour, we started chatting about our own ‘Zootility twist’ on beer pong. We applied the idea to our laser cutting technology and Free Pong was born,” says Nate Barr, Founder of Zootility.
Zootility designs, launches, and manufactures exciting functional everyday products that solve interesting problems using clever solutions, quality materials, and futuristic technology. For more information on Zootility, please visit https://zootility.com/.
GYMPIE, Australia, April 30, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — ArtistScope, a leading developer of copy protection for more than 20 years, has released a new version of CopySafe Video Protection. This new version is especially designed for professional video publishers and includes desirable features that enable them to distribute the highest quality video with the most effective protection from all avenues of piracy and exploit. In essence, it protects their livelihood.
Enhancements include a new video encryption algorithm that increases the file size after encryption by no more than a few KB, even on extremely large files. No compression is used to achieve that, so there is absolutely no loss of quality. When compared to the original, nothing is changed. With this new encryption algorithm, decryption by the client is almost immediate and consumes no computer resources, enabling authors to distribute video files of one GB and more.
Another unique feature of CopySafe Video Protection is that it can be viewed from different sources – desktops and online from web pages. In fact, there’s no other solution that can effectively display copy-protected video on web pages. Typically, viewing encrypted video online requires that the file complete downloading before it can be decrypted for viewing. CopySafe Video Protection has special buffering so huge video files can start playing online almost immediately.
While CopySafe Video is impossible to screen record when played on a desktop and online, optional watermarking is included to prevent the recording of screens using video recording cameras. When DRM is applied, the user’s name, account number and date can be displayed on the video, providing a powerful deterrent for copy and redistribution. When displayed from a website, the watermark will show the same user details as if logged on, otherwise their IP address and date will be displayed.
Publishers can distribute CopySafe Video with embedded protection via shared passwords, or they can distribute with DRM that locks each user’s access to the video to their computer. This makes it impossible to share the video, even when sharing passwords.
“CopySafe DRM is most unique in that it can provide DRM for both online and offline viewing,” says ArtistScope founder and CEO, William Kent. “For offline, the user can collect DRM tokens after logging into their DRM account. Online DRM is a live, call-to-home validation request that gives publishers ‘total control’ over all aspects, with immediate effect on any changes made, even to video files already saved to the user’s computer or still out in the wild on disk.”
Publishers can also manage DRM from an online control panel that’s provided with every CopySafe Video Encoder software license. Such DRM accounts are unlimited in the number of videos, subscribers and groups that can be managed and DRM accounts are free forever. Free support and upgrades are also included for life with the one-time purchase of US$295.
The CopySafe Video Encoder will encrypt single video files or in batches by folder selection, catering to all types of video file formats including ASF, AVI, MKV, MP4 and WMV.
CopySafe Video Protection requires a Windows computer; however, the encoder and player are supported on all versions of Windows including XP.
The bottom line: CopySafe solutions provides the most secure and robust media copy protection.
BELLFLOWER, Calif., April 28, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Meet Musically Gifted Artist Romeo Dale Ross, the Next Great Talent of His Generation. Romeo Dale Ross is an R&B soul artist, born in Los Angeles, California. He has built a reputation for being musically gifted, free styling on the open mic circuit or just performing acappella for music-lovers in clubs and at various venues.
Since playing the piano at the age of 3-years-old, Romeo has been known as an ‘old soul.’ Deeply inspired by the R&B/Soul sound of the 70’s and 80’s, the 26-year-old multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer, producer and writer is considered to be one of the next great young talents of his generation. Growing up in a musical family added to Romeo’s love of music. His father Ray Ross is an established and respected artist, pianist and songwriter.
Romeo was influenced by R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and gospel influences which can be heard in his songs. Romeo recently released 2 well-received instrumental projects: “Soulifa Magnus,” “Moments in Time,” and a debut EP, “Rhodes to Love” which is currently receiving a tremendous amount of buzz in the music industry and on the Internet.
When asked, how would he label his creative sound, Ross is quick to say, “I am not about placing labels on my style of music, per se. As I learned to play music and developed as a musician, I created and create music that moves me based on my musical inspirations.” He adds, “I am inspired by all genres of music.”
Take a listen and download the music of Romeo Dale Ross, now streaming on Spotify and streaming platforms.
PORTLAND, Maine, April 28, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Zootility, a design-driven US manufacturing company, announced the launch of wearable Vaccinated Tags, in response to the U.S. officials easing face mask guidance for COVID-19 vaccinated people.
Zootility’s easily readable “Vaccinated” pendants and tags allow others to be aware of the individual’s vaccination status.
The bar shaped pendants have a bold, easily readable “Vaccinated” message that allows others to be aware of the individual’s vaccination status. The subtle size and minimalist style make it versatile and easy to wear, yet instantly recognizable. The pendants are made from 3mm sheets of stainless steel or solid brass, materials that are easy to care for and are durable.
This distinctive jewelry is laser cut in small batches and demonstrates the attention to detail and uniqueness of the product. Being a made-in-USA product, it supports jobs locally, assures quality, and ensures confidence in timely fulfillment.
“The most recent CDC guidelines lifted the outdoor mask-wearing mandate, both in recognition of the lower risk and to provide an incentive to get shots. With vaccinated people not needing to wear masks outdoors when knowing the vaccination status of others, social interactions in public or with friends, neighbors, coworkers, or classmates may create a lot of questions regarding vaccination status. With global vaccination efforts continuing to be strong, but with many still hesitant, we thought this jewelry would help start, or even avoid, potentially awkward conversations,” says Nate Barr, Founder of Zootility.
Visit Zootility’s website at http://vaccinatedtag.com/ to order a vaccinated tag or pendant for yourself or gift it to a loved one.
Zootility designs, launches, and manufactures exciting functional everyday products that solve interesting problems, using clever solutions, quality materials, and futuristic technology. For more information on Zootility, please visit http://www.zootility.com/.
AUGUSTA, Ga. and PLANO, Texas, April 28, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Stack Sports, the largest and fastest-growing provider of sports technology, today announced that they will partner with Augusta Sportswear to simplify the uniform ordering and fulfillment process for millions of sports families.
Today Stack Sports serves about 1 in 3 athletes playing sports in the United States through one of their core technologies and this unparalleled reach combined with the quality products of Augusta will allow them to bring a new, simpler approach to buying uniforms for parents.
“Especially during this period where sports can play such a key role in reconnecting all of us, we are excited to partner with Stack Sports to create better youth sports experiences and deliver on our mission of inspiring physically fit lifestyles, healthy families, and connected communities,” said Dave Elliott, CEO of Augusta Sportswear Brands.
Augusta Sportswear Brands is best known for its leading brands such as Russell Athletic, Holloway, Augusta Sportswear, High Five, and Pacific Headwear. With a portfolio that offers over 75,000 SKUs across over 20 sports, Augusta Sportswear Brands is the largest youth sports apparel company in the U.S.
“Stack Sports is excited to partner with Augusta Sportswear to transform how teams find uniforms. Both Stack Sports and Augusta share a passion for making life easier for volunteers, coaches and administrators. It is that commitment and Augusta’s commitment to quality apparel that will lead to solving real challenges for clubs and leagues,” said Jeff Brunsberg, Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer, Stack Sports.
As the youth sports industry continues to recover from COVID-19, this collaboration represents a steep change in the way team apparel is ordered. Building Augusta Sportswear into the registration technology as a part of this partnership will create significant time savings that allow those organizations to focus on what matters most- great youth sports experiences.
About Augusta Sportswear
Augusta Sportswear Brands is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of high-performance uniforms, training apparel and fan wear for teams, coaches, athletes, and fans. Made up of five brands, Augusta Sportswear, Holloway, Russell Athletic, Pacific Headwear and High Five, all driven by a simple mission to inspire a physically fit lifestyle, creating more healthy families and connected communities everywhere they operate.
About Stack Sports
With nearly 50 million users in 35 countries, Stack Sports is a global technology leader in SaaS platform offerings for the sports industry. The company provides world-class software and services to support national governing bodies, youth sports associations, leagues, clubs, parents, coaches, and athletes. Some of the largest and most prominent sports organizations, including the U.S. Soccer Federation, Little League Baseball and Softball, and Pop Warner Little Scholars, rely on Stack Sports technology to run and manage their organizations. Stack Sports is headquartered in Dallas and is leading the industry one team at a time focusing on three key pillars — Play, Improve, and Engage.
To learn more about how Stack Sports is transforming the sports experience, please visit http://www.stacksports.com/.
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Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is pushing back again his Democrat colleagues who are calling for a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.
An adviser to President Trump confirmed his signature MAGA rallies are making a comeback in just a few weeks. That's according to The Hill Monday, which also reported two events are set to be held in June and one in early July.
A series of mass protests are being orchestrated by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and are expected to lead to even more violence among the region.
A video resurfaced of one of the co-founders of Black Lives Matter optimistically promoting a book she compared to infamous Chinese leader Mao Zedong's communist red book.
Former top Pentagon officials and current lawmakers are calling for the government to release their latest information on UFO's.
Afghani President Ashraf Ghani said his country is preparing for the worst in the wake of a delayed and disorienting withdrawal of U.S. troops. On Monday, he told reporters that after the years he has spent working to restore the government, he would not give into to Taliban demands.
Israel's Navy said it thwarted an attack by a militant wing of Hamas who attempted to use a remote-controlled submarine to disable an Israeli vessel.
The Biden administration is sending an additional 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses overseas. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced the decision during Monday's briefing.
The U.S. Treasury Department is cracking down on people and businesses funneling money to ISIS. On Monday, the agency slapped sanctions on three individuals and one entity who were found to have contributed money as well as services to help Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Turkey.
The director of the Ohio Lottery Commission, Pat McDonald, has been telling residents how to enter the statewide Vax-a-Million contest. On Monday, he explained how residents can register in order to be eligible for one of five $1 million cash prizes.
