News and Headlines: In The News, Immigration, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Trump backs push for Bible classes in schools
“Numerous states introducing Bible Literacy classes, giving students the option of studying the Bible. Starting to make a turn back? Great!” Mr. Trump tweeted Monday morning after “Fox and Friends” ran a segment on the topic.
Christian lawmakers in six Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country are pushing for legislation that would allow public schools to offer elective classes on the New and Old Testaments.
The push by conservative legislators in Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Virginia and West Virginia has stirred some controversy.
Critics of the proposals, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argue that public school classes on the Bible would jeopardize the separation of church and state enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution.
Alabama, Iowa and West Virginia have also considered Bible literacy bills, but all of the measures were voted down, according to the Fox News report.
FLORIDA MAN ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY SPITTING ON A MAN AND SLAPPING HIS MAGA HAT: ‘I DON’T EVEN CARE I’M GOING TO JAIL’
Matthias Ajple, 43, approached MAGA hat-wearing Robert Youngblood, 67, at a restaurant in the city of Vero Beach on Friday evening, according to an arrest affidavit.
Youngblood told an Indian River County Sheriff’s Office deputy he was sitting at the bar of Hurricane Grill on 943 15th Place with two friends, when Ajple walked over and said: “You should go back to Russia you f*cking communist.”
Ajple then slapped the brill of Youngblood’s hat, before leaning over a gate and spitting on him, the victim claimed. The suspect then left the scene.
Hydrogen Hyundai semitruck looks like a streamliner train
The automaker unveiled a hydrogen-powered, electric-drive semi concept with a design inspired by an Art Deco streamliner train.
The HD-6 Neptune is envisioned to use a fuel cell drivetrain based on the one in the Hyundai Nexo SUV that’s currently on sale in California for $59,395.
Fuel cells combine stored hydrogen with atmospheric oxygen to generate electricity and promise quicker fill-ups than are possible with current electric car tech.
Coast Guard offloads $377 million worth of cocaine, marijuana in South Florida
In total, there were 27,300 pounds of cocaine, and 11,000 pounds of marijuana, according to the Coast Guard.
The drugs were rounded up during 18 interdictions over a two-month period throughout the Caribbean Basin and the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, and Central and South America, Tampa Bay’s Fox 13 reported.
During a Monday press conference, Coast Guard officials thanked their international partners for helping make the bust, WSVN-TV reported.
Maryland man awarded $800K over fight with Six Flags guards
The verdict, which came after a four-day jury trial, has left Nicholaus Mims and his wife Antoinette Mims both relieved and vindicated, his attorney Governor Jackson III told FOX Business.
Mims filed a lawsuit in August seeking $10 million in compensatory damages, plus an additional $15 million in punitive damages.
“It was hard to sit in a trial and listen to the security officers tell a different truth under oath than what I know happened. Fortunately, the jury saw through it,” Mims told FOX Business.
“I think about all of the people that have been in that situation and didn’t speak up for themselves. I’m fortunate I had the lawyers I did.”
Deadline extended for California fire victims to seek compensation
Lawyers for the utility on Monday said PG&E had received approximately 70,000 claims and processed 45,000, with another 20,000 to 25,000 claims waiting to be processed.
“I think we ought to be able to do 90% or more,” U.S. District Judge James Donato said in a court hearing on Monday. “I think that should be realistic in a case like this.”
At a hearing last week, lawyers for victims said that less than half of those eligible had filed claims, prompting criticism that PG&E has done too little to reach out to victims.
Some said they thought they couldn’t pursue a claim due to PG&E’s bankruptcy, or that they were not eligible as they already received money from their insurance company. Others thought they needed a lawyer.
Woman claims she escaped from Kuwaiti family holding her captive in Cleveland apartment
Just before 11 p.m. on Oct. 15, Cleveland police were called to the corner of East 12th Street and Superior Avenue downtown. They were met by a terrified 31-year-old woman who told them she just escaped from an apartment in the Reserve Square Apartment building.
According to a police report, the woman told officers she is from The Gambia in Africa, and was sold to a family in Kuwait, where she spent the last four years, “as a laborer to take care of an elderly sick woman.”
She said on Aug. 12th, the family brought her with them to Cleveland so the grandmother could get treatment at the Cleveland Clinic for an unknown medical condition.
The woman said she never had a chance to escape because, “the family locks her in the bedroom.”
A Mississippi woman missing for days is found after she spelled out S.O.S. with rocks
Mary Joanna Gomez, 56, was found alive and safe in Sequoia National Park after her disappearance sparked a major search operation, the release said.
Gomez was in California’s Bay Area from Mississippi on assignment as a traveling nurse.
On October 23, her day off, she visited Kings Canyon National Park, and the next day she texted her daughter pictures of the scenery, the release said.
But she missed her shift Friday, prompting her family to report her missing to the San Francisco Police Department.
Grandfather charged in death of toddler on cruise ship
Salvatore “Sal” Anello was playing with the girl, Chloe Wiegand, on the 11th floor near a window while the ship was docked in Puerto Rico.
An attorney for the Indiana family has said Anello sat the girl on rails near the open window, thinking it was closed.
Prosecutors allege that Anello “negligently exposed [his granddaughter] through one of the windows,” according to a statement from the Puerto Rican Department of Justice.
The San Juan judge “found cause for arrest against the accused, and imposed a bail of $80,000,” the governor’s office said.
Police: Man slams into Bridgeport police cruiser with stolen car after brief pursuit
Police say around 10 p.m. Tuesday, they ran plates of an Acura TL they suspected was stolen.
After running the plates, police confirmed the car was stolen. Police then tried to stop the car that John was driving, and had five passengers inside.
According to police, John refused to stop, leading them on a brief pursuit. The pursuit ended when police say John crashed into the side of a police cruiser on Laurel Avenue.
Police say John ran from the car, leaving the passenger behind.
Pennsylvania lawmaker’s apology for harassing teen girls praying outside abortion clinic ‘disappoints’ parents
Parents Joe and Ashley Garecht told Fox News they had already forgiven him months ago but were “disappointed” in his private apology sent to them over the weekend.
But beyond Sims, the couple is upset with their elected officials for not publicly rebuking the Democratic lawmaker to prevent “similar harassment” toward other citizens.
“Rank and file Republicans in the legislature wanted to censure Rep. Sims, but the leadership prevented it,” Joe Garecht added.
“Instead of insisting on public accountability for Mr. Sims, House Speaker Mike Turzai and House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler refused to bring the resolution to the floor for a vote.
They did this for political reasons… shameful actions for leaders from our own party who proudly proclaim that they are pro-life.”
Federal judge blocks Alabama’s near-total abortion ban
U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson, a Jimmy Carter appointee, issued a preliminary injunction he said “shall remain in effect until this court resolves the case in full.”
The law, enacted in May, was due to take effect on Nov. 15.
The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood had sued the state, arguing that the law violated Roe vs. Wade’s prohibition on banning abortions prior to fetal viability, which occurs around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Lower courts have blocked all of these new bans from taking effect, but the Supreme Court this month signaled it may be open to redefining abortion rights by agreeing to review Louisiana’s restrictions on abortion clinics.
Immigration:
CBP sounds alarm over surge of hard drugs, weapons, gang members at border despite recent gains
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan and Deputy Commissioner Robert Perez spoke in El Paso, Texas, with border agents and a section of newly constructed border wall behind them.
He said the eye-popping interdiction numbers stand as a testament to the hard work of law enforcement on the ground, but also a sign of congressional inaction.
“They accomplished what I’m about to tell you when Congress refused to get off the sidelines, refused to do their job, refused to pass meaningful legislation to protect this country and address the loopholes in our current legal framework,” he said.
“It’s not just a humanitarian crisis, it’s a national security crisis,” Morgan said.
More than 16,000 criminal illegal aliens also were caught, including what officials said are thousands with convictions ranging from sex crimes to homicide and drug trafficking. CBP also picked up 1,700 inbound weapons — a more than 300 percent increase from fiscal 2018. They also nabbed 1,200 gang members, up 20 percent from the previous year.
Acting ICE director: Chicago politicians must ‘wake up,’ realize sanctuary policy is ‘public safety risk’
Chicago is a sanctuary city where local authorities do not cooperate with federal immigration officials, denying information that would help them deport people living in the U.S. illegally.
Proponents say Chicago’s efforts encourage cooperation between local police and immigrant communities.
Albence said that the recidivism rates among certain groups of criminal illegal immigrants are as high as 70 percent.
“These are individuals who are not one-time criminals. These are recidivist criminals, many violent. Many have been here illegally and deported previously, yet they [Chicago officials] do nothing to help get them off the street,” he said.
Politics:
House Democrat Jeff Van Drew Signals He’s Not Voting for Pelosi’s Impeachment Bill
Asked by NBC News reporter Alex Moe if he supports the measure, Van Drew replied: “I would imagine that I’m not voting for it.”
The House announced Monday that it will move Thursday to determine whether to establish impeachment inquiry procedures into President Trump.
The text of the resolution was not immediately released, but House Rule Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) said it would “provide a clear path forward” on the impeachment inquiry.
However, even before Van Drew’s comments, House Majority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) had already poured some cold water on plans to vote for the measure Thursday, telling reporters on Capitol Hill: “We’re going to have to consider whether or not it’s ready to go on Thursday. I hope that’s the case.”
Report: Head of Joe Biden Super PAC Is Registered Foreign Agent
The revelation that Biden’s super PAC is run by a foreign agent also bolsters concerns raised by Republicans about the former vice president allegedly using his office to sell influence, as his son Hunter enjoyed lucrative business ties in Ukraine, China, and elsewhere, seemingly without any other notably business qualifications or experience.
Records filed with the Department of Justice show that Rasky is also a registered foreign agent lobbying on behalf of the government of Azerbaijan.
The records, which were filed pursuant to the Foreign Agent Registration Act, show that Rasky was hired by the Azerbaijani government on April 23, 2019. Federal documents signed by Rasky show that he reports directly to Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the United States.
Azerbaijan is not the only foreign entity that Rasky has recently represented. He and his firm also lobbied on behalf of a Bangladeshi political party through January of 2019.
Second Democrat Staffer Sentenced for Role in Doxing Republicans
The aide, Samantha DeForest-Davis, is the second Hassan staffer to be sentenced in the burglary-and-doxing case.
Her collaborator, Jackson Cosko, pleaded guilty to five federal offenses in June after hacking Senate computers to obtain similar information on Republicans, an act he said was spurred by anger at the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings. He was sentenced to four years in prison.
Court House News reported that the sentence showed “leniency” from the federal judge who imposed it.
DeForest-Davis initially lied to the police, telling them that she knew nothing about Cosko’s actions.
Republican Rep. John Shimkus reconsidering retirement
“It’s true, I am at least reconsidering,” Shimkus told reporters on Tuesday, saying lawmakers on the Hill and back in his southeastern Illinois district have asked him to stick around.
Shimkus, a close ally of leadership and roommate of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), said a key factor in his reconsideration is Rep. Greg Walden’s (R-Ore.) retirement Monday, which opens the chance for the veteran Illinois Republican to seek the top GOP slot on the Energy and Commerce Committee. Walden beat Shimkus in 2016 for that position.
Shimkus is the most senior Republican on the Energy and Commerce Committee after Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), who is term-limited from seeking the top Republican spot on the powerful panel with jurisdiction over energy, climate change, healthcare, Internet and product safety issues.
Maine Democratic Party failed to release illegal contributions from Collins challenger, group claims
Gideon, who is running to replace Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, received reimbursements from her Gideon Leadership PAC after she donated thousands of dollars to both the state’s Democratic Party and a congressional campaign — indicating she violated campaign finance law by serving as a proxy for a PAC’s contribution.
According to the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), the campaign and the party both created additional violations when they failed “refund or disgorge” the contributions within 30 days of learning about them.
“Considering the substantial involvement of these two organizations with the donor it is both appropriate and necessary that they be investigated and penalized accordingly.”
House Democrats release Trump impeachment inquiry guidelines
Resolution provides rules for open hearings in the House Intelligence Committee and authorizes the public release of transcripts; insight from Chad Pergram,
Fox News senior producer for Capitol Hill.
Dem rep’s campaign hits back at ‘Squad’ endorsements for primary challenger
After freshman Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., endorsed Cisneros Tuesday, Cuellar campaign spokesman Colin Strother said in a statement to Fox News that his challenger is focused on “out of state endorsements from PACs and celebrities, while we are focused on continuing to build support within the district.
“This is the Border, not the Bronx and not Boston,” Strother said.
“We believe the congressman’s more conservative values and proven record of building consensus to get things done is more in line with the values and priorities of the district. We look forward to the opportunity to compare our record with that of our opponent.”
Pressley’s endorsement of the 26-year-old challenger comes just a week after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also backed Cisneros, praising the former Cuellar intern’s progressive chops.
California Chaos: Gov. Gavin Newsom grapples with wildfires, blackouts and more
Despite coming into office with a budget surplus of around $36 billion and enjoying favorable approval ratings, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s first year in office has been anything but tranquil.
Newsom, who spent the previous eight years as lieutenant governor to Democrat Jerry Brown, has in the first 10 months of his term had to take the helm in dealing with a slew of pressing issues from a massive homelessness crisis and rising housing costs to sky-high gas prices and decaying roads.
Adding to Californians’ frustration was PG&E beginning another round of fire-prevention blackouts that are expected to affect nearly 600,000 customers in 29 counties, or about 1.5 million people, and leave them without power for possibly five days or more.
PG&E’s move comes as the company admitted that a PG&E transformer malfunction and one of its power poles falling over may have been responsible for two smaller fires that broke out in the San Francisco Bay Area over the weekend.
California Democrats waste billions on useless climate alarmist schemes while the state burns uncontrollably
Commentary/Opinion: “State law mandates that utilities obtain 33% of electric generation from renewables such as wind and solar by 2020 and 60% by 2030.
Utilities must spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year to reduce the cost of green energy for low-income households. PG&E has prioritized political obeisance over safety.
All of this has been part of a Democratic political strategy to use PG&E to advance their climate agenda without raising taxes.
But Californians have instead paid through higher electric rates —PG&E rates are twice as high as in Oregon and Washington—while utilities have had to redirect capital and ratepayer revenue away from fortifying the grid and tree-trimming.”
“PG&E has prioritized serving its political overlords above all else. California’s return to the dark ages is a direct result of the Democratic political monopoly in Sacramento.”
Democratic Party politicians in Sacramento have created this colossal wildfire debacle mess by their hugely misguided, monumentally incompetent and totally useless climate alarmist policy priorities wasting tens of billions of dollars on globally meaningless actions while ignoring the disastrous failures of the state to deal with its forest management responsibilities.
No doubt the states Democrats will hide their mind-boggling failures and try to shift blame and responsibility elsewhere most likely with the full support of the states corrupt media.
Tucker: A generation of Americans enslaved to debt
Commentary/Opinion: Is it any wonder that many young people are embracing political extremism?
Tucker on college debt pushing young Americans toward socialism
Debt-ridden Americans blame capitalism.
World News:
Masked gunmen attack protesters in Iraq holy city; 18 killed
The overnight attack came as Iraqis took to the streets for a fifth straight day after a hiatus in the demonstrations that began earlier this month to protest government corruption, a lack of jobs and municipal services, and other grievances.
The earlier protests also saw violence against protesters, and a total of 240 people have been killed since the unrest began.
Similar anti-government protests are underway in Lebanon, where supporters of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah stormed the main protest camp and Prime Minister Saad Hariri said he would resign after hitting a “dead end” in trying to resolve the crisis.
The protests in both countries are directed at governments and armed political factions that are close to Iran, raising fears of a violent backlash.
Facebook Sues Israel’s NSO Group Over Alleged WhatsApp Hack
The hacking spree targeted journalists, diplomats, human rights activists, political dissidents, senior government officials and others, Facebook said in its lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
Facebook is seeking to have NSO barred from accessing or attempting to access WhatsApp and Facebook’s services and is seeking unspecified damages.
WhatsApp said the attack exploited its video calling system in order to send malware to the mobile devices of a number of users. It said it believed 1,400 users were targeted.
The malware would then allow NSO’s clients – said to be governments and intelligence organizations – to secretly spy on a phone’s owner, opening their digital lives up to official scrutiny.
Aftermath Videos: US blew up Baghdadi’s house so it wouldn’t become a terrorist shrine
Aerial footage posted by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty appears to show the rubble of Baghdadi’s compound, located in the village of Barisha, which is in the northern Syrian province of Idlib.
In further footage obtained by Voice of America News, the destruction of the compound can be seen close up, while bystanders gathered around the rubble taking pictures and assessing the site.
The Delta Forces team reportedly snuck up on Baghdadi’s Syrian compound by flying low over 70 miles from a U.S. airfield in Erbil, Iraq.
During the attack, supporting Apache helicopter gunships and other U.S. aircraft provided aerial covering fire, which damaged the building even before Delta Force members landed and carried out their raid against Baghdadi.
Australian who murdered Arab Israeli exchange student in ‘savage attack’ sentenced
During the court hearing, prosecutors said Maasarwe had called her sister because she did not feel safe walking home at night.
Her sister Ruba said she heard her sister scream in Arabic, “You piece of s—,” followed by the sound of something or someone being hit four times.
Herrmann was arrested two days later. He pleaded guilty in July to brutally beating Maasarwe over the head with a metal pole at least 13 times, raping her and setting her body and clothes on fire.
Massarwe’s death — the second such murder in a six-month period in Melbourne — sparked a wave of anger about violence toward women in Australia.
Brazilian teen cut out pregnant sister’s baby to give to other woman: police
Police in Porto Velho said the unidentified teenager confessed to bludgeoning her older sister Fabiana Pires Santana, 23, with an iron bar before stabbing her multiple times.
Santana was 8 months pregnant when the girl attacked her.
The teenager is also accused of drowning Santana’s 7-year-old son, Gustavo, who allegedly attempted to save his mother’s life, FocusOn News (via the Sun) reported this week.
Rights Groups Attack Greece On Asylum Plan, PM Says Burden Is Heavy
Athens is currently struggling with the biggest resurgence in refugee arrivals since 2015, when more than a million people crossed into Europe from Turkey via Greece.
“One country alone cannot carry the problems of three continents on its shoulders,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told a conference in Athens.
“I’ll be frank. My country is, particularly in the past few months, experiencing an influx of refugees disproportionate to its size.”
Iraqi Protesters Pack Baghdad Square As Anti-Government Movement Gathers Momentum
REUTERS/Abdullah Dhiaa al-Deen
It was the largest gathering in the capital since a second wave of demonstrations against Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi’s government and the ruling elite resumed on Friday.
The latest demonstration took place after a night of violence in the Shi’ite holy city of Kerbala, where, according to medical and security sources, Iraqi security forces opened fire on protesters and killed at least 14 people.
At least 865 people were wounded, the sources said.
Commentary/Opinion:
Trump’s Bad-Ass Baghdadi Announcement
Piers Morgan on Democrats hating Trump more than al Baghdadi
Piers Morgan on Democrats hating Trump more than al-Baghdadi.
Dailymail.com editor-at-large Piers Morgan on Democratic reaction to the death of ISIS leader.