News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Ex-marine in bloodstained shirt confesses to killing parents, family dogs, police say
Jacob Daniel Price, 30, walked into the lobby of the Crestview Police Department around 4 a.m. Wednesday and confessed his crimes, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
Deputies went to the family’s home near Crestview, Fla. and found Price’s parents, 51-year-old Jolene Price, and 56-year-old Robert Price, dead inside the master bedroom.
They both appeared to have sustained gunshot wounds to the head, according to an arrest report cited by the Northwest Florida Daily News.
Two dead dogs were also found with gunshot wounds inside the home.
Missouri high school football coach, team under for fire for ‘illegal’ prayer
The Freedom from Religion Foundation has filed a complaint against a high school football coach for holding a post-game prayer; former NFL player and Utah Republican congressional candidate Burgess Owens weighs in.
Authorities hold a news conference on California high school shooting
A female student was dead and several other people were injured Thursday when a 15-year-old suspect — who’s now in custody — opened fire at Saugus High School in California, officials said.
CBP chief warns Mexican ‘super labs’ flooding US with meth, as seizures nearly double
Acting CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan sounded the alarm while talking to reporters about the October border numbers, which showed that while apprehensions of migrants at the border continue to drop, the agency still faces a crisis — particularly when it comes to narcotics.
“As we’ve had to navigate unprecedented judicial activism from lower courts and congressional inaction…the numbers show this administration has and continues to take bold action to address this crisis, and the numbers show it’s working,” he said.
He offered grim statistics: In October, CBP seized over 9,700 pounds of meth, up over 90 percent from the same time last year. CBP also seized 284 pounds of fentanyl, an 84 percent increase over this time last year.
Morgan said that cartels and smuggling organizations are able to exploit not only the immigration system, but enforcement gaps as agents are pulled off the front line to deal with the humanitarian crisis.
He also warned that the crisis affects every town and state in America, even those far away from the border.
1 dead in California school shooting, suspect in custody
Law enforcement officials responded to a shooting at Saugus High School in the city of Santa Clarita, California.
Politics:
California Sued Over Law Requiring Corporations To Adopt Woman Quotas
Come 2022, companies with five-member boards will need to have at least two female directors. Firms with six or more directors will need at least three women on their board.
Failing to fulfill the law’s gender quota or to properly report the composition of their boards to the state can net companies fines of $100,000 for the first violation, and $300,000 for each subsequent violation.
Each board position required to be occupied by a woman, but isn’t, counts as a separate violation.
Whatever the intentions behind the law, its means are both unconstitutional and counter-productive, says Anastasia Boden, an attorney with the PLF.
“Equality is meant to allow people to be more than their immutable traits,” Boden tells Reason. “This law reduces women to their immutable traits.”
Rand Paul Might Force Vote To Bring Hunter Biden In As Impeachment Witness
“I believe very strongly the president should be able to call his own witnesses,” Paul told reporters on Thursday, Politico reported.
“The rules that are put forward will be amendable, so yes I will consider strongly that the president should get his full due process, which to me means bringing in his own witnesses.”
‘He’s a Phony, He’s a Fake, and He’s a Liar’: Congressional Colleague Sounds Off on Adam Schiff
This morning, Congressman Jason Smith (R-Mo) spoke to St. Louis radio host Marc Cox and shared his thoughts on the impeachment proceedings thus far.
Smith, a lawyer and small businessman who has represented Missouri’s 8th Congressional District since 2013, pulled no punches in giving his assessment. Particularly when it comes to impeachment ring leader Adam Schiff.
When asked about Schiff’s denial that he met with the whistleblower or knows who the whistleblower is, Smith had this to say:
Democrat Rep. Van Drew Says Impeachment Testimony Is ‘Hearsay’
Van Drew and Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) were the two Democratic congress members to vote against a resolution that formalized the impeachment inquiry.
“Frankly the aid did flow, so that really isn’t an issue at the end of the day,” he said, referring to the U.S. military aid that was ultimately given to Kyiv. “The aid flowed, and everything resolved.”
In October, he said that the impeachment inquiry has divided the country.
“This is going to make it worse,” he told Fox News in September, days after Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced the inquiry would begin.
Lindsey Graham tears into Erdogan in tense White House meeting
Having senators in an Oval Office meeting between the president and a foreign leader is highly unusual.
Congressional aides said that the White House wanted Erdogan to hear directly from the senators about their concerns.
It was described as a “good cop, bad cop” scenario, where Trump played the part of the “neutral” cop, while senators got into it with Erdogan. One aide said that “Graham was the worst cop of all.”
The details of the Oval Office meeting were first reported by Axios. Fox News has confirmed Erdogan pulled out his iPad to show the senators a propaganda video depicting the Kurds as terrorists.
Trump campaign raises $3.1M on first day of impeachment hearings
Even before the public hearings began, Trump fundraisers reported seeing a surge in donations in response to impeachment talk.
Parscale tweeted in September that donors gave $5 million in the 24 hours after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry.
Other pro-Trump groups also saw a spike in donations. Linda McMahon, chair of the America First Action PAC board of directors, previously told FOX Business’ Neil Cavuto that the group had raised about $1 million each day in the week after Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry.
“That speaks, I think, volumes to how people are rallying around the president,” she said.
Barr: IG Report on Alleged FISA Abuses Is ‘Imminent’
Attorney General William Barr said the release of an internal watchdog investigation into whether the FBI followed its own policies and the law when it applied for a warrant to surveil President Trump’s campaign starting in 2016 is “imminent.”
Tucker: Democrats have no actual plan for impeachment
Commentary/Opinion: First public impeachment hearings take place.
World News:
Two more rockets fired from Gaza into Israel hours after ‘cease-fire’ declaration
IDF tweeted Thursday night: “2 rockets were just launched from Gaza at towns & cities in southern Israel. Thankfully, the Iron Dome Aerial Defense System intercepted both rockets.”
Thursday night’s rockets were seen as the fourth Palestinian violation of the cease-fire agreement announced earlier in the day, The Times of Israel reported.
There were no reports of injuries or damage caused by shrapnel from the intercepted rockets, according to the news outlet.
Iran imposes fuel rationing, increases prices
IRNA’s report early Friday said every private car will have a 60-liter monthly quota at about 13 cents per liter, up from 9 cents.
Taxis and ambulances have a quota of up to 500 liters at 13 cents. Beyond that, the price is 26 cents per liter.
In 2015, Iran stopped fuel rationing that had been in place since 2007.
President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday Iran in recent months has faced its “the most difficult” time in decades.
What the hell is REALLY happening in Israel at the moment?
Commentary/Opinion: Israel is currently under attack, but I doubt you’ll hear much about what’s really happening from the mainstream media, until Israel responds with force.
Al-Ata is the Bin Laden or al-Baghdadi of Palestine.
His targeted assassination is as important as those were and should be celebrated as a win for freedom just the same. He’s the leader of Islamic Jihad, for god’s sake.
Since the Al-Ata operation two days ago, Islamic Jihad has fired approximately 500 missiles at civilian targets in Israel.
In an attempt to defeat the terror attacks, the Israeli airforce has stepped up their operations in Gaza Strip with more precise missions which have so far targeted and killed at least 20 Islamic Jihad terrorists.
Commentary/Opinion:
AOC Just Accidentally Admitted The Dems’ REAL Impeachment Plan | 481
The impeachment hearings are so boring! Sorry — it’s the truth! So there won’t be a play-by-play on this show.
Instead, Miller looks at all of the attempts the Democrats have made and looks at the one thing they all have in common:
They’re bogus! AOC even admits it on CNN. Then, President Trump promised to stop endless wars.
Our congressional correspondent Nate Madden spoke to Navy vet Tyler Lindholm, the co-founder of the “Bring Our Troops Home” group, who is in D.C. to push Congress to do just that.