News and Headlines: In The News, Immigration, Politics, World News, Tech Watch/Censorship, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Military identifies 2 soldiers killed in Afghanistan this week
Riley, 32, was born in Heilbronn, Germany, and was on his sixth deployment to Afghanistan. Johnston, 24, was born in Trumansburg, New York, and joined the military in 2013.
Riley earned a Bronze Star Medal and a Meritorious Service Medal, among a long list of other awards and decorations from his service.
Johnston also earned a Bronze Star Medal, a Purple Heart and many other awards and decorations.
These deaths, for which the Taliban has taken credit, come as the Trump administration is trying to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Afghanistan Tuesday as part of his recent trip to the Middle East.
St. Louis Park City Council Eliminates Pledge Of Allegiance For Meetings
“In order to create a more welcoming environment to a diverse community, we are going to forgo saying the Pledge of Allegiance before every meeting,” said Council Member Tim Brausen.
At the meeting, Brausen said members might recite it in the future if there’s an appropriate opportunity, like if Boy Scouts are there.
The change was approved unanimously by city council in a 5 to 0 vote. It will take effect on July 15.
Mayor Jake Spano wasn’t at the meeting when this change was approved. He says getting rid of the pledge wasn’t a big priority for him.
Killer whale filmed stealing fisherman’s salmon right off the line
The crew of a chartered fishing trip in British Columbia, Canada, managed to film a killer whale heading straight for the boat — right after it snagged a massive salmon off a fisherman’s line.
Footage shared to Facebook shows a fisherman rushing to reel in a large Chinook salmon on the waters off Prince Rupert, just as the orca breaches in the distance.
“Reel, Norm!” one of the men shouts at the fisherman.
Ohio woman, 94, goes down giant slip n’ slide on inflatable duck
According to officials at the Zanesville facility, the idea for the giant slip n’ slide came from Millie herself.
“She’s always looking for opportunities to get outdoors and try new things,” the center’s executive director Jackie Altier told Fox 26.
The Oaks at NorthPointe, a senior living home in Ohio posted a Facebook video earlier this month showing one of its residents, Millie, on an inflatable rubber duck going down a giant tarp with the help of some staff members
Colorado man visiting Dominican Republic dies, removed from flight home after falling ill
Khalid Adkins, who was staying in Punta Cana, tried to return home Tuesday, relatives told a Colorado Fox affiliate, but the crew on the flight removed him after seeing how ill he was.
“We found out this morning that he passed away last night!
I’m at a loss for words, we have no explanation of what happened, all they will say is he got sick,” the family wrote Wednesday on a GoFundMe page they set up to raise funds to rush his body’s return to the United States.
American woman who helped ISIS will only serve 18 months of 4-year prison sentence
Prosecutor Ian Richardson told Weinstein that Caesar’s sentencing was “exceeding low” after prosecutors recognized her untrustworthiness.
Prosecutors uncovered in 2018 she had contacted her Islamic state associates while out on bail despite signing a cooperation agreement with the FBI.
Prosecutors argued 30 to 50 years would be more suitable for Ceasar, whom they believe still poses a threat to national security.
Weinstein, a liberal judge, told prosecutors he found evidence regarding Caesar’s troubled past of sexual abuse and childhood trauma convincing enough for him to grant her another chance.
Officers To Mourn Slain Officer Who Was Ambushed During Domestic Violence Call
O’Sullivan had been on the force for only six months. Sacramento has not lost a police officer in the line of duty for around 20 years.
The service will include at least 500 police vehicles traveling a 30-mile procession through Sacramento to a funeral home.
“We know that this police department provided the best training for Tara. For that we are always grateful,” O’Sullivan’s father Denis told the AP.
Ford Asks Dealership To Take Down Viral Free Shotgun Ad
Contrary to the advertisement posted by Chatom Ford, no one was reportedly handed a shotgun with the keys to their car or truck — instead, a gift certificate valued at $200 to a sporting goods store (enough to purchase a shotgun) was included with the Bible and flag, the Ford exec told the DCNF.
Nevertheless, Ford requested the ad be removed and Colin Ward, general manager of Chatom Ford, complied, the exec said.
Another ad is posted on the dealership’s Facebook page that more clearly states the promotion includes a $200 gift card, not the scattergun.
Kentucky’s Permit-Free Concealed Carry Law Goes Into Effect
The law allows people to carry a gun inside a pocket or a purse without a permit if they are 21 and have obtained the gun legally, having passed the requisite background checks, WLWT5 reported.
The new law, which was signed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in March, removes the previous concealed carry requirements, which included a six-hour gun-safety course, background check and a $60 application fee, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
Those with felony convictions are still barred from owning guns, but the new law eliminates the exclusion for those convicted of alcohol or drug misdemeanors or who owed more than one year of child support.
Pregnant woman changes mind mid-abortion and did this to save her twins
At six weeks pregnant, she walked into A Preferred Women’s Health Center, a Charlotte abortion facility, to end the pregnancy.
“Oh, twins,” a technician performing an ultrasound told “Alexis,” a pseudonym used by Pregnancy Help News to protect her identity.
The words were enough. Alexis didn’t need to see the ultrasound.
She’d always dreamt of having twins, but she had already begun the process terminating her pregnancy, having swallowed the first “abortion pill” of RU-486 and handed the second to take within 48 hours.
In a daze, walking out of the abortion facility, she remembered something a sidewalk counselor told her: “It might not be too late for you—AbortionPillReversal.com—they can still help you save your baby.”
Pregnant woman shot, then indicted in fetus’ death
The person charged is 27-year-old Marshae Jones of Birmingham, and the victim was her 5-month-old fetus, reports Al.com.
Jones is not accused of firing the shots that killed her unborn girl, but police say she started the fight that culminated in the shooting. The details:
The shooting: By the police account, Jones went after Ebony Jemison, 23, outside a Dollar General store in Pleasant Grove, and Jemison eventually fired a gun to protect herself.
A bullet struck Jones in the stomach, and her fetus didn’t survive. Police initially charged Jemison in the December 2018 shooting, but those charges were dropped when a grand jury failed to indict her.
Police rationale: “Let’s not lose sight that the unborn baby is the victim here,’’ says police Lt. Danny Reid. The fetus was “dependent on its mother to try to keep it from harm, and she shouldn’t seek out unnecessary physical altercations.”
East Haven woman found guilty of murder in the deaths of her children sentenced to 120 years in prison
LeRoya Moore was sentenced Thursday, following her conviction in March of two counts of murder for killing her 6-year-old daughter, Aleisha, and her 7-year-old son, Daaron, at the family’s home in East Haven in 2015.
Her attorneys used an insanity defense, saying she was in a psychotic state at the time.
Autopsies showed the children died from antihistamine intoxication, but a defense psychiatrist said Moore told him she drowned them while trying to “baptize them” after God told her she had to kill them.
Immigration:
Migrant Father Was Warned About Crossing Rio Grande Before Drowning With His Daughter
Martínez on Sunday took his wife, 21-year-old Tania Vanessa Ávalos, and 23-month old daughter, Valeria, to the bank of the Rio Grande River in Matamoros.
The 25-year-old father first swam with his daughter across the river into Brownsville.
However, when he went back for his wife, the young girl leaped into the river after her dad. Martínez swam back to grab her, but both ended up getting caught in the river’s currents.
“I told him, ‘Son, don’t go. But if you do go, leave me the girl,’” Rosa Ramírez, the mother of Martínez, said to the AP. Martínez, however, insisted that his young daughter accompany him.
In an interview with the BBC published Thursday, Ramírez offered a message to people considering making the trek to the U.S.: “Don’t try this. I know that in this country, everything is very difficult, but our lives are more valuable.”
Alleged serial killer, illegal immigrant in Texas may be linked to 6 more deaths, lawsuits claim
Billy Chemirmir, 46, has been in custody since March 2018 when he was arrested for the death of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris in Dallas.
Last month, he was charged in the deaths of 11 other elderly women, ranging from 76 to 94 years old, according to Dallas County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Kim Leach.
Authorities said Chemirmir posed as a maintenance worker or health care provider, and he stole jewelry and other valuables from his victims.
In the six lawsuits filed Tuesday in Dallas County, independent living facility The Tradition-Prestonwood is accused of failing to keep residents safe and hiding suspicious circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Chemirmir, who overstayed his tourist visa and was never deported, remains at the Dallas County Jail.
ICE Arrests 52 Illegal Immigrants In Four-Day Operation In Texas, 35 Had Criminal Records
Agents arrested 46 men and six woman over the course of the four-day operation, the press release says.
The migrants arrested reportedly came from several different countries, 47 reportedly coming from Mexico, four from Honduras and one from Cuba, according to officials, KXAN reports.
Out of 52 arrested, 35 had previous criminal records according to ICE.
Charges include “assault, battery, domestic violence, traffic offenses, driving under the influence, drug possession, drug trafficking, larceny, illegal entry, illegal re-entry, resisting officers and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” My San Antonio reports.
Bank Of America Gets Woke, Nonsensically Injects Itself Into Border Debate
(AP Photo/Christian Torrez)
The Twitter account sharing the story is Sleep Giants, which is a leftist astroturf project that tries to pressure private companies into bowing before their political will.
They’ve literally got hundreds of people who just call up random companies they’d otherwise never patronize and pretend to be very upset customers.
Unfortunately, the tact works and it’s leading to a complete division within our society. Here’s some of the write up at Bloomberg.
“We have decided to exit the relationship’’ with companies that provide prison and immigration-detention services, Vice Chairman Anne Finucane said Wednesday in an interview. “We’ve done our due diligence that we said we would do at the annual meeting, and this is the decision we’ve made.”
The move followed a review by the bank’s environmental, social and governance, or ESG, committee, which included site visits and consultation with clients, civil rights leaders, criminal justice experts and academics. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based lender also met with its internal Hispanic and black leaders.
Ukrainian Suspect In New Hampshire Motorcycle Crash Could Be Deported
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requested details concerning the criminal history of Volodymyr Zhukovskyy, 23, who isallegedly responsible for the deaths of seven, and injury of three, motorcyclists in a New Hampshire highway accident last week, USA Today reports.
ICE has placed a detainer on Zhukovskyy as he awaits criminal trial in Coos County Jail, meaning that he could be deported once his trial is finished, according to USA Today.
His family moved to Massachusetts from Ukraine and he just recently obtained a permanent residence status, his father told the Boston Herald.
Politics:
Tensions flare on House floor as Republicans pressure Dems to pass bipartisan border bill
The Senate approved its bipartisan bill 84-8 on Wednesday, minutes after it rejected the more liberal House version 55-37.
But the bill faces significant hurdles in the House, particularly among the left-wing faction of the Democratic caucus, who fear it doesn’t do enough to prevent money from going to immigration enforcement.
In an astonishing spectacle, dozens of Republicans lined up in the aisles to submit unanimous consent requests to take up the bill — with each one being shut down each time by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, DTexas.
Pressure was increasing on lawmakers amid continued reports of poor and unsanitary conditions at detention centers. The publication of an image of a migrant and his daughter found drowned in the Rio Grande has only fueled the debate nationally.
California Infringes Further on 2nd Amendment, Requires Background Checks for Ammo Purchases
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday. “A gun requires a dangerous component and that’s ammunition.”
“The reality is, if we’re only monitoring gun sales, we’re only looking at part of the problem and part of the equation,” Newsom’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra said.
Gun owners have reportedly been stocking up on ammo in anticipation for the new infringement to come into effect. Sales have spiked a stunning 300 percent in recent weeks, according to a gun shop owner.
Dem Congressman Hit With Ethics Complaint For Allegedly Hiding Gift From Foreign Regime Known For Bribery
The Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust, a nonprofit government ethics watchdog that leans conservative but has routinely slammed members of both parties when they fail to comply with rules and laws, submitted the complaint Thursday to the Office of Congressional Ethics.
The complaint cites reporting by the Daily Caller News Foundation, which reported the failure of two members to disclose the trips on June 21.
In that story — despite Democrats’ expressed concern about foreign influence in our politics — Norcross’ spokeswoman Ally Kehoe stated, “My office is aware of this oversight and we will be filing an amendment.”
Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jim Himes is on the House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence and is chair of its Strategic Technologies and Advanced Research Subcommittee.
His office has ignored questions about his failure to disclose the trip.
Qatar is a nation that is frequently considered to have a culture of bribery in order to get special treatment and a desire to influence other countries.
Real News Insights w/ John Fredricks
The Fake News Media is working overtime to damage me and our Make America Great Again agenda. That’s all they want to do – they don’t care about the TRUTH!
World News:
Dramatic video captures teen saving 2-year-old girl who fell from window
Algerian immigrant Feuzi Zabaat noticed Doha Muhammed was about to fall from her home in Istanbul, Reuters news agency reported.
Zabbatt, who works on the same street where Muhammed lives, rushed to position himself underneath to grab her.
In a matter of seconds, Zabbat is shown extending his arms and catching the girl before she hit the ground.
Muhammed suffered no injuries thanks to Zabaat’s quick-thinking.
It’s so hot in Spain that manure self-ignited, sparking a 10,000-acre wildfire
Around 10,000 acres of forest and other vegetation were affected by the blaze near Tarragona in the country’s northeast, according to the Catalan regional government.
Authorities said the fire likely began when an “improperly managed” pile of manure self-combusted in the heat, causing sparks.
Locals were advised to stay indoors and keep their windows shut to avoid inhaling smoke.
The firefighters said the blaze is one of the worst in Catalonia in the last 20 years. They warned it could spread to as much as two times its current area because of the harsh weather conditions and tough local terrain, which includes steep slopes
President Trump Participates in a Working Dinner with the Prime Minister of Australia
Hong Kong protesters continue to demonstrate as leader hides from public
A few hundred people organized the sit-in, demanding Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah retract the now-suspended extradition bill and drop charges against protesters who took part in the chaotic June 12 demonstration.
“Withdraw the evil bill,” protest leader Joshua Wong said to his crowd. “Release the protestors. There were no riots, only a tyrannical government.”
During the demonstration, police attempted to push the crowd back onto the sidewalk before yielding and allowing them to occupy the road. Some protestors even directed traffic around the gathering.
Tech Watch/Censorship:
Rep. Debbie Lesko: Google is Restricting PragerU Videos
Rep. Debbie Lesko calls Google out for restricting PragerU videos.
Currently, over 100 PragerU videos are in restricted mode, making it difficult for young people to access them.
Trump officials weigh encryption crackdown
The encryption challenge, which the government calls “going dark,” was the focus of a National Security Council meeting Wednesday morning that included the No. 2 officials from several key agencies, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Senior officials debated whether to ask Congress to effectively outlaw end-to-end encryption, which scrambles data so that only its sender and recipient can read it, these people told POLITICO.
Tech companies like Apple, Google and Facebook have increasingly built end-to-end encryption into their products and software in recent years — billing it as a privacy and security feature but frustrating authorities investigating terrorism, drug trafficking and child pornography.
Twitter to start publicly flagging politicians’ abusive tweets
Here’s how it will work: When a politician tweets something that would normally get pulled for violating Twitter’s rules, the company will now mark the tweet with a label explaining why it deems the content problematic.
Twitter will also, among other steps, keep the tweet in question out of its algorithmically controlled Top Tweets timeline in an effort to reduce its spread.
Importantly, at least in this case, there’s no need to worry about the long arm of Jack Dorsey suddenly reaching out to censor your High Quality Content™.
According to the announcement, this new process only applies to a unique subset of Twitter users.
Specifically, that means accounts that are verified, have more than 100,000 followers, and belong to a government official, a person running for public office, or a person being considered for a government position.
Commentary/Opinion:
The Dangers of Google, As Revealed By Project Veritas, and Unsecure Borders—Rep. Louie Gohmert
What’s the significance of the recent Project Veritas undercover video featuring a Google executive, through the eyes of Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert?
Have the social media giants become virtual monopolies that need to be broken up?
And how do mere mentions of amnesty, DACA, or legalization, affect the crisis on the southern border?
Today we sit down with Congressman Louie Gohmert, who is representing the 1st district of Texas, now in his eighth term.
We explore tech giant bias and compromised border security, two key issues the congressman believes need to be addressed to preserve the American republic.
More ATL insights into the border, immigration, and human trafficking:
The media needs to stop getting the Republican tax cuts wrong
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was one of the most comprehensive tax overhauls ever enacted, a 185-page bill of individual, business, and international tax reforms.
Yet as far as the media is concerned, the bill only slashed taxes for corporations and the wealthy.
For the past two years, the media has written story after story misrepresenting the tax cuts, repeatedly labeling them as “tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy.”
This characterization of the bill is false and misleading, yet it is an assertion endlessly reported by reporters and pundits in the national media, as well as Democrats.
Simple math shows that 77.4% of the tax cuts goes to individuals, and only 22.6% goes to corporations.