News and Headlines. In The News, Immigration, Tech Watch, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
US economy grew at 2.6% rate in fourth quarter
It also bested GDPNow Opens a New Window. , a real-time tracker monitored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which lowered its estimate to 1.8 percent earlier this week, largely because of a grim outlook for retail sales, which took a hit, in part, due to the shutdown.
“Overall, with expectations fairly low going into this report, this was a positive surprise that should reinforce the overall health of the U.S. economy for investors,” said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Alliance Investment Management.
SpaceX’s first NASA Commercial Crew launch: Everything you need to know about Demo-1
SpaceX is set to launch its astronaut capsule to space for the first time in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Called Demo-1, the mission is a key test flight to prove to NASA that the agency’s astronauts will be safe on future flights.
There are no crew aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule for this launch, which will use a Falcon 9 rocket. But Elon Musk’s company has included a “dummy” on board, clad in a SpaceX flight suit – much like the “Starman” that was launched in a Tesla Roadster for last year’s maiden Falcon Heavy launch.
Dashcam Shows Officer Fatally Shooting Driver After Police Chase in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **
Newly released videos capture an Oak Ridge police officer fatally shooting a man wanted on several warrants after a brief chase in October, firing three shots as the driver swung around and then bumped him in a public parking lot, videos of the encounter show.
Officer Nathan Gibson followed policy and the law when he fatally shot Isaiah Ramirez, 36, of Clinton, the night of Oct. 8, authorities said earlier this month.
Permitless carry law to go into effect on Nov. 1 in Oklahoma
House Bill 2597 was the first bill Stitt has signed into law since he was elected Oklahoma’s 28th governor. He signed the bill a couple hours after the state Senate passed it.
House Bill 2597, also known as the “constitutional carry” bill and was authored by Senate Major Leader Kim David and Rep. Jon Echols, passed Wednesday with a 40-6 vote.
The bill would permit Oklahomans age 21 and older to carry a firearm without a permit.
WATCH: Planned Parenthood Doc Said She Would “Break the Baby’s Neck” if Born Alive After Abortion
According to a former patient, the abortionist admitted that she would “break the baby’s neck” if he was born alive after a botched abortion.
The unnamed patient shared her horrifying experience with Pro-Life Action Ministries. She was 22 weeks pregnant when she went to a Planned Parenthood in St. Paul, Minnesota for an abortion in 2017, but she said she chose life after hearing what the abortionists would do to her son.
California parents put baby’s body in suitcase, threw it in dumpster: authorities
Adam Manson, 34, and Kiana Williams, 32, were both charged with child abuse resulting in death following the passing of their son, Jacsun, who was under a year old, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The situation unfolded on New Year’s Eve last year when the pair was with their son at a motel room in South Los Angeles, according to authorities.
“They were allegedly doing drugs and later found their child was dead,” the news release said.
Kentucky Prosecutor Close to Filing Charges against Leftists who Threatened Covington Kids
Amid the initial media firestorm, officials at the high school and the Covington Archdiocese condemned the boys, but after an independent investigation found that they had done nothing wrong, the school and the diocese reversed their decision.
Meanwhile, lawyers for the Sandmann family launched a $250,000 lawsuit against the Washington Post and said more lawsuits are likely on the way.
Sanders told WLWT5 Tuesday that the first of these cases could come before a grand jury in the next two to three weeks.
High School Reportedly Bans MAGA Hat Because It Might Make Kids Feel ‘Unsafe’
According to an article in Your Central Valley, Maddie Mueller is a member of a group called Valley Patriots. The group had reportedly planned to wear the hats to school last Wednesday, only for the school to tell them that they were not allowed.
Clovis Unified School District spokesperson Kelly Avants told the news source that the purpose of the school’s dress code was “for kids to feel safe at school, to feel supported at school, and to be free of distractions so they can focus on learning.”
In an interview, legal analyst Oliver Wanger added that a student wearing a MAGA hat would be “closer to shouting fire in a crowded theater.”
Potential juror yells ‘He is guilty!’ and winds up jailed
The court was about to begin jury selection when lawyers alerted Judge Edward Kubo that a potential juror was creating a disturbance outside.
Kubo declared a mistrial, finding the man’s disturbance had affected the 44 other potential jurors, according to the judge’s order.
The judge ordered Maldonado’s arrest on a contempt charge and set a $10,000 cash bail. Maldonado spent the night in jail and appeared before Kubo on Wednesday morning.
Tomi Lahren Sits Down With Family of US Tourist Murdered in Mexico
In November 2018, 27-year-old Taylor Meyer was found stabbed to death in a park near the famed beaches of Playa del Carmen. He was visiting the resort town with friends to celebrate a birthday.
There were conflicting reports from the Mexican media about how and why he was killed, so Tomi spoke to his family to find out what really happened.
“Witnesses saw three people attack him,” his father, Kris Meyer, said. “They stabbed him, took his wallet, his iPhone, his watch and his shoes.”
Immigration:
Poll: Majority of Americans Favor a Border Wall over a Green New Deal
Fifty-one percent of Americans say that they would rather have a border wall on America’s southern border, compared to 31 percent who say that they want a Green New Deal, according to a poll released by Remington Research Group.
Republicans said that they would prefer a border wall by a 68-point margin, while Independents said that they would prefer a border wall by a two-to-one margin.
Illegal Alien Accused of Beating Newborn Son to Potential Death
Illegal alien Luis Pacheco, 27, has been accused of beating his two-week-old son in the head, stomach, and groin region, leaving permanent brain damage that is likely to lead to the child’s death, officials said in court.
Initially, Pacheco allegedly told police he called 911 hours after the child could barely breathe from him dropping the newborn baby on his head during a diaper change.
Nearly 200 illegal immigrants apprehended crossing border in New Mexico
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the group – like many they have seen in recent months – was comprised primarily of Central American families and unaccompanied minors.
They were detained near Sunland Park, New Mexico.
The agency said the Sunland Park Emergency Medical Service responded to the scene to provide medical attention to some of the people apprehended. An undisclosed number were transported to a local hospital for additional medical attention.
Tech Watch:
Facebook Confirms “deboosting;” Calls Investigative Journalism a STUNT!
Bokhari: Facebook – The Web’s Biggest Shadowbanner
The leak, which includes a company presentation on tackling “trolls” on Facebook, reveals a host of covert tactics that the social network proposes to use as means of censoring undesirable users without alerting them to the fact that they’ve been censored.
The presentation proposes the use of forced glitches like frequent “auto-logout[s]” and the failed upload of comments.
These “special features” would be *triggered “leading up to important elections.”
New York requests documents from Facebook, apps on data sharing
A New York regulator is ramping up a promised investigation of how Facebook Inc.gathered sensitive personal information from popular smartphone applications after a report by The Wall Street Journal revealed that many such apps were sending the social-media giant data, including users’ body weight and menstrual cycles.
The state’s Department of Financial Services on Wednesday sent a series of letters seeking information and documents from Facebook and the developers behind the 11 apps mentioned in the Journal’s reporting, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
50-person Facebook team plans cryptocurrency payment tech, report says
Ready to send some virtual money to your Facebook friends or WhatsApp contacts so you can split the restaurant bill? Maybe someday you’ll be using a cryptocurrency to do so.
For many in the tech world have soured on cryptocurrencies and their accounting underpinnings, called blockchain.
But Facebook remains interested, with a 50-person project underway to build a technology that’ll let members send each other digital money, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Politics:
Payments to Ocasio-Cortez boyfriend spur FEC complaint from Republican group
“It’s not illegal for [Ocasio-Cortez] to pay her boyfriend, but it appears that they created some sort of scheme to avoid claiming the money [as a campaign expense],” Dan Backer, a D.C.-based attorney who filed the complaint on behalf of the foundation, told Fox News.
“What exactly did he do for that money?”
It was first reported last week that the Brand New Congress PAC paid Roberts during the early days of the Ocasio-Cortez campaign.
According to FEC records, the PAC made two payments to Roberts – one in August 2017 and one in September 2017 – both for $3,000.
Tom Cotton Introduces Bill to Bar Gang Members From US
The bill is named Singh’s Law, in honor of slain California police officer Ronil Singh. An illegal immigrant allegedly gunned him down during a routine traffic stop.
According to the Free Beacon, the law would prevent people associated with criminal gangs and previously convicted of a crime from coming into the U.S. Illegal immigrants associated with gangs would also be barred from receiving asylum.
“This bill is our attempt to honor Corporal Singh’s vast sacrifice and ensure our communities are better protected from illegal-alien gang members,” Cotton said Thursday.
‘Pawn Stars’ host Rick Harrison compares socialism to heroin: ‘The first shot is great… then life is hell
Harrison, the star of the History channel show and an outspoken conservative, delivered his speech on ‘the stupidity of socialism’ at one of the largest annual gatherings of conservatives just outside Washington, D.C.
“The majority [of] people in this room know that socialism is just stupid,” he said.
“It’s literally like heroin. The first shot is great. For a little bit it’s wonderful, but then the rest of your life is a living hell. And that’s literally what the socialists are doing.”
He continued later in the speech: “Once you give someone something it’s hard to take it away… then you get Venezuela.”
LINDSEY GRAHAM: ‘I THINK PRESIDENT TRUMP RATTLED NORTH KOREA’
Responding to Hannity’s contention that we were just “one, two, or three rockets away” from a “major escalation” between the two countries, Graham summed up his own conversations with the president throughout the process.
“The fire and fury rhetoric was sincere,” said the South Carolina senator.
“The North Koreans believed that if they fired another missile they were going to get attacked. They were going to get attacked.
And here’s what I would say. The president’s giving them a chance to maintain their security, increase their prosperity, and in return he wants them to give up their nukes.
World News:
Israeli attorney general announces Benjamin Netanyahu to be indicted for corruption
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced on Thursday his intention to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges, pending a final hearing.
The announcement comes after three years of investigations and involves three separate casesand allege that Netanyahu engaged in bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
Netanyahu has an opportunity to challenge the charges at hearing, though that process could take up to a year.
Fabien Clain, jihadists’ voice in 2015 Paris attacks, killed
In a recording released the day after those Paris attacks, it was Clain who announced to France that the Islamic State group was responsible for the worst terrorist violence in France’s modern history.
Clain, one of Europe’s most-wanted members of the extremist group, was killed in a strike by the U.S.-led military coalition in Syria, the coalition announced Thursday in a tweet.
Coalition spokesman Col. Sean Ryan said the strike on Baghouz occurred Feb. 20, but released no further information on how Clain was killed or how his remains were identified.
Macron says EU may block UK’s Brexit plan: ‘The time has come for the British to make choices’
“The time has come for the British to make choices,” Macron said alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to Politico.
“We could examine a request for an extension, if it is justified by new choices by the British. But under no circumstances would we accept an extension without a clear perspective” on the way forward.
“We don’t need time, we need decisions,” he said.
‘Drunk’ Russian sailor crashes massive cargo ship into South Korean bridge
No injuries were caused during the bizarre crash, but sections of the Gwangan Bridge in Busan were closed for precautionary purposes.
It’s not illegal to consume alcohol while aboard a ship, but it is illegal to sail a ship while intoxicated.
Although it is unclear if the captain was at the helm of the Seagrand vessel during the time of the crash, the ship was going the opposite direction of its planned course, and the captain had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, according to South Korean news outlet Yonhap.
Commentary/Opinion:
Tucker: Democrats’ critiques of Trump are projection
Democrats have been trying to weaken freedom of speech for years with ‘hate speech exemptions.’
The Protected Class of Celebrities and Politicians Want You Disarmed and Vulnerable
“In the eyes of America’s socialist leaders they, and they alone, are the protected class.
It’s why Nancy Pelosi can in the morning, say that a border wall is immoral and tell law-abiding Americans that you shouldn’t own guns.
And then at night, sleep soundly in a home protected by walls and, of course, secret service agents with guns. Because for Nancy Pelosi, she is the protected class. And we are not.” —Grant Stinchfield