News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Florida man sentenced to 20 years after bringing condoms, pink dress to child-sex sting
(Marion County Sheriff’s Office)
Frederick M Pohl, Jr., 41, from Clermont, was arrested after he arrived at an Orlando hotel with condoms and a pink dress, following ongoing conversations with an undercover federal agent in Detroit that involved his desire to rape an 8-year-old girl.
Pohl, who pled guilty to the charges on Aug. 6., allegedly sent lewd photos of himself during the graphic online communication.
He assumed he was chatting for months with the child and her father but had actually been in contact with an agent from Homeland Security Investigations.
1 shot dead at plant near Atlanta; suspect caught in Alabama
Georgia officials say Cameron Golden shot and killed Taurus Andrews during a shift change Friday morning at a container factory in the Atlanta suburb of Conyers.
They say Golden then fled to Birmingham, Alabama, where he was arrested at a bus station.
The families of the victims killed in the Miramar police shootout have hired lawyers
The FBI took over the investigation and hasn’t released any information to clarify whose bullets killed the two men — the two robbers or the more than a dozen police officers who fired a hail of bullets in stopped traffic and used trapped cars as shields.
At the funeral for 27-year-old Frank Ordonez, a UPS truck driver who was hijacked and held hostage as the robbers fled the Coral Gables jewelry store, his mother said police had told her “nothing” since her son’s death.
Her family has been loudly calling for accountability and openly questioning the police response.
On Friday, the relatives of 70-year-old union representative Richard “Rick” Cutshaw broke their silence with news they too had hired a lawyer.
Horowitz report spotlights little-known FBI agent’s role in Russia probe, Flynn case
Specifically, Horowitz’s report states that “SSA 1” was one of the FBI agents to interview Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017, in a seemingly casual conversation that would later form the basis for his criminal prosecution.
It was previously reported that the interviewing agents were Peter Strzok, who was later fired by the FBI for misconduct and anti-Trump bias, and Pientka, whom Strzok previously identified as his notetaker for the Flynn interview.
Flynn’s attorney has also mentioned Pientka’s role during past court proceedings.
Of the two agents, only Strzok is openly named in the Horowitz report, which strongly indicates that the other is Pientka.
With Strzok’s termination from the FBI, Pientka is perhaps the only remaining FBI witness against Flynn.
Pientka is hardly the only bureau employee to come under scrutiny. Prior to the FBI’s warrant application to monitor Page, the FBI reached out to the CIA and other intelligence agencies for information on Page, Horowitz discovered.
Over 1.3 million sign petition demanding Netflix remove comedy special featuring gay Jesus character
Titled “The First Temptation of Christ” (presumably alluding to the controversial 1988 film “The Last Temptation of Christ”), the satirical special was created by a Brazilian comedy group known as Porta Does Fundos. It premiered on Dec. 3.
“Jesus, who’s hitting the big 3-0, brings a surprise guest to meet the family.
A Christmas special so wrong, it must be from comedians Porta dos Fundos,” reads its description on Netflix.
The satirical film has stirred up a good deal of controversy in Brazil, where many conservative Christians and churches have denounced the comedy special.
A ‘gruesome’ hit-and-run is captured on video. LAPD is offering $50K to help find the man’s killer.
The pedestrian, later identified as 47-year-old Rufino Miranda, was taken to a hospital and died of his injuries, LAPD said in a news alert on Dec. 4.
Police are now offering a $50,000 reward for information that might lead to the suspect who hit and killed Miranda as he was crossing the street in South Los Angeles around 9:30 p.m.
Video of the incident LAPD described as “gruesome” was captured by a nearby security camera.
13-year-old boy arrested in killing of Tessa Majors, 18, Barnard student
In his statements to police, the boy, who lives in Harlem and is 5 feet, 5 inches tall, had implicated himself in the attack but had not confessed, the official said.
Investigators suspected that the boy was part of a group that attacked Majors on Wednesday night as she was walking through Morningside Park in Manhattan.
Detectives believe two other people participated in the stabbing, the official said.
Politics:
Iowa Warren Backer Praised ‘Immortal Leader’ Arafat, Slammed ‘Puppet’ Pro-Israel Politicians
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D., Mass.) presidential campaign promoted the endorsement of an Iowan who has called pro-Israel politicians “puppets” and heads an extreme anti-Israel organization that has lavished praise on Palestinian terrorist Yasser Arafat.
John Dabeet, the leader of Americans and Palestinians for Peace (AMPAL) and a school board member from Muscatine, Iowa, endorsed Warren in November, praising her for standing up for Palestinians.
Dabeet has also called for a boycott of Israel and tweeted support of Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), who support the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.
New Kentucky Governor Restores Voting Rights to 140,000 Nonviolent Felons
Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who defeated incumbent Republican Matt Bevin in November, signed an executive order Thursday restoring the voting rights of felons who had committed nonviolent felonies within the state and had permanently lost the right to vote under Kentucky’s extremely strict laws.
Bevin, meanwhile, engaged in some last-minute mercy that has stirred outrage rather than celebration.
In his final days in office, Bevin issued 428 pardons, but some of his choices seem utterly baffling and have left many angry. He pardoned a man sentenced to 23 years in prison for raping a 9-year-old child.
Congressman Suggests National Guard Could Enforce Gun Laws in Virginia
As reported by WCYB, a local station, Virginia’s Wise County is the latest to make the Second Amendment sanctuary declaration on Thursday.
More than 70 cities and counties have said they would oppose any state legislation they think would infringe on gun rights.
Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.) suggested cutting off state funds to counties that don’t comply with any gun control measures that pass in the state capitol.
“They certainly risk funding, because if the sheriff’s department is not going to enforce the law, they’re going to lose money.
The counties’ attorneys offices are not going to have the money to prosecute because their prosecutions are going to go down,” he told the Washington Examiner.
But also in the interview, he went a step further and floated the idea that Northham, also a Democrat, could call in the National Guard to enforce such measures.
Sarah Sanders accuses House Dems of abusing their power
Commentary/Opinion: Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders weighs in on House Democrats’ impeachment push, and Senator Mitch McConnell’s exclusive interview on ‘Hannity’ Thursday night.
Varney: Boris Johnson’s win should send a message to AOC, Warren and Sanders
Commentary/Opinion: “It was a crushing defeat for the socialists both over there and over here. … It’s a shot in the arm for the conservative movement worldwide,” Varney told “Fox & Friends.”
“The collectivists were thoroughly beaten, they were routed. There’s a message in America for AOC, Senator Warren and [Bernie] Sanders.”
Varney believes President Trump will have a similarly large victory in 2020 if the Democrats continue to move toward socialism.
“This election means that getting Brexit done is now the irrefutable, irresistible, unarguable decision of the British people. With this election, I think we put an end to all those miserable threats of a second referendum,” Johnson told supporters.
Varney said the win “paves the way for the Brits to get out of socialist Europe, and it paves the way for a really good trade deal with Trump for the United States.”
Carter Page Vows to take Lawsuits “Right up to the Supreme Court”
Page told Bartiromo that the entire FBI spying scandal has cast a “dark cloud” over the American justice system.
“I think it’s a long road to renewal and restoration of our surveillance state and our entire judicial system,” he said. “There’s such a dark cloud.
There was once a dark cloud over myself and the Trump campaign and all the people associated with it, including then-candidate Trump.
But now there’s this dark cloud over both justice system as well as the U.S. court system.”
“There’s a lot that needs to be done to get to the bottom of it.”
Page also said that more damning information will be coming about about the FBI’s surveillance tactics.
“The things that were in [the IG report] there is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
World News:
Woman arrested after Brandon police officer stabbed in head with needle
A 25-year-old woman was arrested in Brandon, Man., Thursday night after allegedly stabbing a police officer in the head with a “needle loaded with an unknown substance,” the Brandon Police Service said Friday.
Police responded to a disturbance at a residence just after 8 p.m. Police say the first officer to arrive on scene was confronted by a woman wielding a needle, who then attacked the officer.
During the struggle, the woman said she wanted to kill the officer and tried getting other people in the residence to help her do so, according to police.
Turkey, Russia ‘Very Close’ to Second Missile Defense Deal
ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey could finalize terms for delivery of a second consignment of S-400 advanced missile defenses from Russia by April when the first batch will be ready to operate, Ankara’s defense industry chief said on Friday.
Turkey has already agreed to buy two consignments of S-400s, triggering a crisis with the United States and possible U.S. sanctions, but Ankara is discussing technology transfer and joint production with Moscow for the second batch, he said.
Europe reacts: Time frame for post-Brexit trade deal ‘is challenging’, says EU chief
Boris Johnson’s resounding victory means the Withdrawal Agreement should be passed by the House of Commons quickly.…
Study: Venezuela’s Refugee Crisis to Surpass Syria, ‘Largest in Modern History’
In one of the most authoritative studies on the issue, the institute found that a staggering 4.6 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015, equivalent to around 16 percent of the country’s population.
This figure is similar to that of Syria, where 4.8 million people had fled the country four years after the outbreak of the country’s civil war.
In 2019, that figure stands at 5.7 million, with the Assad regime managing to somewhat stem the flow as his troops steadily gain more ground and close in on fully retaking rebel territory.
The main reason for this is that, rather than trying to contain the problem, Nicolás Maduro’s regime continues to move ahead with its vision of turning Venezuela into a Cuban-style communist dictatorship.
What the study also notes is how the international response to the Syria crisis absolutely dwarfs that of Venezuela, with many people around the world unaware of its magnitude.
Trump: ‘We Have Agreed to a Very Large Phase One Deal With China’
“We have agreed to a very large Phase One Deal with China.
They have agreed to many structural changes and massive purchases of Agricultural Product, Energy, and Manufactured Goods, plus much more.,” Trump said on Friday.
The United States will maintain 25 percent tariffs on approximately $250 billion of Chinese imports, he said, adding that there would be 7.5 percent tariffs on about $120 billion of Chinese imports—marking a 50 percent reduction in those tariffs.
United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer confirmed the deal, writing in a statement:
“President Trump has focused on concluding a Phase One agreement that achieves meaningful, fully-enforceable structural changes and begins rebalancing the U.S.-China trade relationship.
This unprecedented agreement accomplishes those very significant goals and would not have been possible without the President’s strong leadership.”
UN Watchdog: UN To Condemn Israel 8 Times, Remains Silent On Venezuela, North Korea
“Last month, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group assaulted Israeli civilians with a barrage of 400 rockets — while the UN’s General Assembly and Human Rights Council stayed silent.
The world body now adds insult to injury by adopting eight lopsided condemnations, whose only purpose is to demonize the Jewish state.”
Last month, the General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee voted on the same eight resolutions against the Jewish State. Today’s vote serves as a formal ratification of the charges.
The body has voted against Israel 21 times this year. There were only six votes against other countries in 2019.
Commentary/Opinion:
Victor Davis Hanson: Spygate, Impeachment & the Assault on Trump For Undoing the Progressive Agenda
In the eyes of classicist Victor Davis Hanson, how does the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump evoke ancient Greek tragedy, notably the concepts of hubris and nemesis?
Why is IG Horowitz’ report on FISA abuse unlikely to satisfy those seeking more accountability for the Spygate scandal?
What is the Deep State, really?
How is Trump dismantling “the Progressive project,” and how does this explain the anti-Trump “Resistance”?
In this episode, we’ll sit down again with historian and political commentator Victor Davis Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
He is the author of The New York Times bestseller “The Case for Trump.”
Boris’ Big Brexit Breakthrough, Impeachment Drama, Kid Hospitalized for Supporting Trump
It’s the 500th episode! And impeachment drama continues, but ratings show people are tuning out.
Are the Democrats at all worried that they will lose their base?
Boris Johnson won a major victory in the battle to Brexit. Take that, socialism!
Also, a schoolboy was hospitalized after bullies targeted him on a bus for wearing a Trump 2020 hat.