News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
4 People in New York State Isolated as CDC Tests for Coronavirus
Tests for three of the patients are pending while one case already tested negative.
Cuomo’s office said the risk for New York is currently low.
“As we learn about the first confirmed cases of this novel coronavirus in the United States and potentially in New York, I want to assure New Yorkers that we are prepared,” the governor said in a statement.
“People who have traveled abroad recently and have symptoms that mimic the flu should see their doctor,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement.
Symptoms of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus, also known as the Wuhan coronavirus, include a runny nose, a headache, coughing, a sore throat, and a fever.
PV Releases Deposition Tapes Showing American Federation of Teachers Wants to Bleed Us Dry
Project Veritas releases deposition tapes showing that American Federation of Teachers – National wants to bleed Project Veritas dry.
In response, @Project_Veritas has just issued a subpoena for @AFTUnion President @rweingarten.
The Coronavirus: Dr. Nesheiwat Talks Protection, Prevention, and Government Intervention
Daily Caller Video Columnist Maranda Finney interviews Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a family medicine doctor, on the coronavirus.
Dr. Nesheiwat discusses with Maranda the necessary precautions one must take to maintain a healthy immune system in order to best prevent yourself from getting the potentially deadly coronavirus.
They also discuss where the disease may have originally come from and the efficacy of the Chinese government’s actions to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Twitter Attaches Warning to Trump Campaign’s Pro-Life Video
Twitter attached a warning reserved for graphic, gory, or violent content to a pro-life video from the Trump campaign, prompting accusations of censorship against the social media giant.
The video was flagged as containing “sensitive material,” despite showing no sexual, violent, or hateful imagery.
Such warnings are reserved for graphic or hateful content.
The Trump campaign said Twitter’s content warning amounted to “censorship” and an attempt to hinder pro-life messages on the site.
Journalist Shares Stunning Photos of Baby Born at 31 Weeks: ‘Hard to Believe Abortion Is Still Legal’
Kelsey Bolar, a senior writer for The Daily Signal, the journalistic arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, posted a then-and-now photo of her infant daughter, who was born last September at 31 weeks.
Bolar shared details of her time in the neonatal intensive care unit in an article published last month by The Federalist.
Though she said she would never wish a NICU experience on anyone, she and her husband are grateful for the “bonus time” they were able to spend with their daughter, Scarlett Payton.
She’s also thankful for the medical and technological advancements that made her daughter’s survival possible:
‘The Ruthlessness’: Migrant Woman Spit In Child’s Mouth To Trick DNA Tests
The chief of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), giving an example of how far migrants will go to deceive U.S. authorities, said one migrant woman was caught spitting into the mouth of a baby that was not related to her.
Matthew Albance, the acting director of ICE, held a press conference Thursday to highlight several issues the agency is currently tackling, such as a lack of cooperation by sanctuary jurisdictions and the administration’s new guidelines for pregnant foreign visitors.
The ICE chief also touched on a major problem for the officers: immigration fraud.
‘Show up to court with a toothbrush’: ICE says sanctuary city officials should expect jail time if they ignore subpoenas
“We expect them to comply” with subpoenas for the information, said acting ICE Director Matt Albence at a press conference in Washington on Thursday.
“If they don’t comply, we’ll be working with DOJ to go to district court to force them to comply with the requirements,” Albence said, noting the rule in the U.S. Code that he said justified the move.
“The individuals that fail to comply can be held in contempt,” he said.
“They can show up to court with a toothbrush because they might not be going home that night.
Because they could be jailed for failure to comply with a lawful order from a judge.
That’s the route we’re going.”
Houston explosion at manufacturing plant leaves 2 dead, rattles homes miles away
The blast rattled houses miles away, the station reported. One homeowner was hospitalized.
“This is a disaster area right now,” Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said at a news briefing Friday morning. He said anyone caught looting would be arrested and prosecuted.
The force of the explosion knocked some homes off their foundation, officials said. One resident recorded the explosion and posted it on Twitter.
Alabama teen accused of killing mother and 2 brothers before going to school
The bodies of 36-year-old Holli Durham and 13-year-old twins Branson and Baron Durham were found late Tuesday in Munford, Ala., according to reports.
Landon Durham was driving in a car Wednesday morning when he was arrested and charged as an adult with capital murder. He was due in court Friday.
Branson, his brother and their mother were believed stabbed to death around 3 a.m. Tuesday, Al.com reported.
Iranian missile attack on US base in Iraq left 34 soldiers with concussions, Pentagon says
The announcement Friday comes after U.S. Central Command said last week that only 11 soldiers were flown out of Al Assad Air Base for treatment of concussion symptoms.
Eight U.S. troops have since returned to the U.S. for additional treatment, Jonathan Hoffman, the chief spokesman for the Department of Defense, said Friday.
Half of the 34 injured troops have returned to duty in Iraq, he added.
ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos cuts short Trump lawyer Q&A with throat-slash gesture
Stephanopoulos, a former President Clinton staffer, was presumably signaling to producers to scrap Sekulow’s thoughts on the impeachment trial.
ABC aired a few minutes of Sekulow updating reporters on his plans. After explaining that Trump’s legal team will call witnesses who don’t think alleged actions are impeachable, the camera cut back to Stephanopoulos, who was making the throat-slash gesture.
Stephanopoulos then smirked, appearing to realize his gesture was caught on live television.
“And that is Jay Sekulow right there,” Stephanopoulos told viewers before quickly moving along to a panel discussion.
Trump speaks at March for Life, the first sitting US president to do so
The president, who for years was pro-choice, has since embraced a pro-life position and made clear on Friday that he plans to continue that agenda as he seeks reelection.
Underscoring Trump’s stance, his administration hours earlier moved to challenge California over a rule that mandates insurance plans cover elective abortion.
“It is my profound honor to be the first president in history to attend the March for Life,” Trump told the crowd in Washington.
“Unborn children have never had a stronger defender in the White House. … Every life brings love into this world. Every child brings joy to a family. Every person is worth protecting.”
Politics:
‘Overbearing government’: Trump administration takes action against California for requiring abortion coverage
California has 30 days to go along with the order, said Roger Severino, the director of the Office for Civil Rights within the Trump administration’s health agency.
“They have every opportunity to do the right thing to be in compliance with the law,” he said.
The announcement was made Friday on the day of the March for Life, an annual anti-abortion rally. President Trump is set to be the first president in history to speak at the march in person.
Trump has kept his promises to the anti-abortion movement, and they rank his reelection as their top priority this year.
Severino warned states with similar laws would face similar actions, but he didn’t cite examples.
Oregon, New York, and Washington state have similar laws obligating private insurers to pay for abortions.
Impeachment Fatigue. Burned Out!
Commentary/Opinion:
I have a serious case of impeachment fatigue. Is it just me?
Sen. Susan Collins ‘Stunned’ by House Manager’s ‘Cover-Up’ Accusation
“It reminded me that if we were in a normal debate in the Senate, that the rule would be invoked to strike the words of the senator for impugning another senator,” she told Politico.
“So, I did write a note raising the issue of whether there’d been a violation of the rules.”
“I’m going to cast my vote regardless of the congressman’s performance,” Collins said. “His negative comments about the Senate will not have any impact.”
Before the trial, Collins said she would be willing to vote to call up witnesses in the trial.
However, she said she wanted to follow the trial layout that was proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had pushed to follow the precedent set during the 1999 impeachment trial of then-President Bill Clinton.
Virginia House Committee Passes Gun Control Measures
A Democrat-led Virginia House Committee on Jan. 24 voted to advance a raft of tighter gun control measures, including a “red flag” bill and universal background checks, just days after a gun-rights rally opposing such legislation drew at least 22,000 Second Amendment advocates.
“Today, the House Public Safety committee shamefully rubber-stamped the Bloomberg-Northam gun control scheme,” NRA spokesperson Catherine Mortensen told The Epoch Times via email.
Mortenson said the committee blocked legislator’s questions and prevented constituents from speaking, describing it as a “disgrace to the democratic process.”
MEET THE 26-YEAR-OLD SOCIALIST TRUCKER RUNNING FOR CONGRESS ON TIKTOK
Collins launched his campaign in April after watching Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) triumphant 2018 primary and deciding anything was possible.
He had just turned 25, even younger than AOC and skirting the edge of the minimum age for House members to be sworn in.
The TikTok memes don’t exaggerate his policies by much. Collins is a socialist.
It’s how he introduces himself to voters and what he types into his social media bios.
This puts him leaps and bounds further to the left than the mainstream Democratic Party under which he’s running.
He wants to abolish not just Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) but also the CIA.
He supports Medicare for All, but he also wants to cancel all medical debt and make all prescription medication free.
House Democrats eye new earmarks plan — spooking endangered freshmen
There’s a growing concern among the political staff to some swing-seat members that this could hurt them in November and undercut their campaign promises of fiscal responsibility.
And it comes after the Democratic-led House unsuccessfully attempted to secure a congressional pay raise last year — another vote which freshmen deemed politically risky.
“We’re not going to have a majority if we bring back earmarks,” said a top aide to a freshman Democrat who flipped a GOP-held seat in 2018. “This is not what we came to Congress to do.
Voters made it clear years ago that they were tired of pork and special interest spending in Washington and sweetheart deals.”
The political environment for swing-seat freshmen has grown even more fraught after the House voted to impeach Trump.
World News:
France Confirms Two Cases of Coronavirus, the First in Europe
(Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
“We have two cases,” French Health Minister Agnes Buzyn told reporters in Paris. “We will probably have other cases.”
The minister said she believes that one reason why France is the first European country to have confirmed cases is that it has developed a test allowing medics to rapidly diagnose the sickened.
One of people sickened, a 48-year-old man, passed through Wuhan, the epicenter in China for the virus, before traveling to France on Wednesday, the minister said.
That person is hospitalized in the southwestern city of Bordeaux. The other person is hospitalized in Paris.
The minister said that that person also traveled to China but that she has little other information about the case. It was confirmed shortly before she spoke at a news conference.
Strong 6.7 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Eastern Turkey, 14 Dead
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu described it as “serious tremor” and said four to five buildings collapsed in Sivrice, The Associated Press reported.
The local Disaster and Emergency Management Authority has since updated the death toll to 14, The Independent reported.
“Search and rescue teams were sent to the region, and further information is yet to come,” Soylu said, reported state media
The tremblor hit about 2 miles east-northeast of Doganyol, located about 100 miles north of the Syrian border.
The USGS said the quake hit at a depth of about 6 miles (10 kilometers).
London police to deploy facial recognition cameras across the city
Live facial recognition cameras will be deployed across London, with the city’s Metropolitan Police announcing today that the technology has moved past the trial stage and is ready to be permanently integrated into everyday policing.
The cameras will be placed in locations popular with shoppers and tourists, like Stratford’s Westfield shopping center and the West End, reports BBC News.
Each camera will scan for faces contained in “bespoke” watch lists, which the Met says will predominantly contain individuals “wanted for serious and violent offences.”
Mexico indigenous group recruits children as police after attack
Local media said the move was aimed at sending a message to Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador about the lack of security forces in the area.
The president has opted for a non-confrontational approach to the cartels, focusing instead on tackling inequality under a policy dubbed “abrazos, no balazos” – hugs not bullets.
Guerrero is one of Mexico’s most violent states, where drug gangs fight for control of trafficking routes to the Pacific and other parts of the country.
In many rural parts of Mexico, locals create vigilante groups who patrol the area in an attempt to keep the criminal gangs at bay.
Mexican police push back hundreds of US-bound migrants
Police in southern Mexico have forced back a group of around 1,000 migrants, mainly from Central America, trying to enter the country from Guatemala.
Officers with shields and batons pushed the group that left Honduras last week hoping to reach the US border and, eventually, seek asylum. This was their third attempt to cross into Mexico.
The Mexican government is under huge economic and diplomatic pressure from the Trump administration to stop migrants from reaching the US southern border. Hundreds of people have already been deported back to Honduras.
Commentary/Opinion:
Can America Stop Huawei’s Global Takeover? | Opinion
As we’ve covered before, the China-based company is the biggest network equipment and phone infrastructure provider on earth.
Its equipment is at the very heart of communications systems in countries across Europe and Asia, as well as in several Western states in America.
Unfortunately, as many are aware, Huawei gear itself is the infection, compromising networks and phone systems with built-in spyware.
In medical terms, the “Huawei virus” undermines nations’ immune system, lowers its ability to defend itself in a variety of critical areas, including trade and foreign policy.
Comedian: Is There Any Way To Fight Big Tech? (Pt. 3) | Bridget Phetasy | COMEDY | Rubin Report
Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report talks to Bridget Phetasy (comedian) about self censorship, being raised to think Republicans were evil, big tech and much more.
Bridget discusses the difficulty of being a small creator having to deal with Big Tech platforms like Twitter and YouTube.
She shares how she was affected when Dave and Jordan Peterson left Patreon and the fall out of some of her fans quitting Patreon entirely.
She also shares the next step she is taking to regain some control of her content and connections with her fans with a big announcement.