News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Man indicted for alleged death threat against Adam Schiff
Recently released court documents revealed that Jan Peter Meister was indicted on Oct. 23, 2019, after allegedly leaving an expletive-laden message for Schiff saying, “I’m gonna f—– blow your brains out you f—– piece of s—.”
Meister, a convicted felon, told investigators that “he watches Fox News and likely was upset at something that he saw on the news,” according to a summary of a pre-arrest interview with law enforcement described in a court filing.
Authorities say the man then googled the phone number for Schiff’s D.C. office to make the call.
Phony Walgreens pharmacist filed 745,000 prescriptions
Kim Thien Le has pleaded not guilty to felony impersonation charges.
Prosecutors said that from late 2006 through 2017, Le used the license numbers of registered pharmacists in order to impersonate them and dispense prescriptions at Walgreens stores in Santa Clara and Alameda counties.
The prescriptions allegedly included more than 100,000 for opioids such as fentanyl, morphine and codeine. Le worked at three different Bay Area Walgreens’ locations.
Le herself didn’t have a pharmacist license, prosecutors said. The district attorneys in both counties filed a consumer protection action complaint against Walgreens.
Prosecutors this week announced that the pharmacy giant agreed to settle.
‘I’m gonna f*** you up’: Antifa thug gets in face of GOP candidate running against Nancy Pelosi, says he wants him ‘dead’
In the video we see in the dark jacket John Dennis — chairman of the San Francisco Republican Party and congressional candidate who’s running against Democrat Nancy Pelosi this fall — conversing with bearded guy in a yellow shirt whom Dennis identified as an Antifa member.
The Antifa agitator wasn’t exactly civil.
In fact, he told Dennis — who was there helping a street cleanup effort — “Bruh, I’ma gonna catch you when all the cameras aren’t around, and I’m gonna f*** you up.” And that’s just for starters.
Tennessee inmate indicted in death of prisons administrator
The indictment obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday charges Curtis Ray Watson on 15 counts in the Aug. 7 killing of Tennessee Department of Corrections Administrator Debra Johnson.
Watson, 44, was on regular lawn care duties at West Tennessee State Penitentiary near Henning when he sexually assaulted and killed corrections administrator Debra Johnson, 64, at her home on the prison grounds that morning, authorities said.
Watson has been serving a 15-year sentence for especially aggravated kidnapping. He also had been previously convicted of aggravated child abuse.
Florida man arrested after hanging Navy vet’s service dog with electrical cord, punching his son, 16: reports
Robert Leroy Edwards, 38, was charged with torture inflicting pain/serious physical injury resulting in death after police say he killed Richard Hunt’s black lab by wrapping an electrical cord around the dog’s neck because it was barking, WFLA reported.
According to inmate records, Edwards also was charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, simple battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor in addition to the animal abuse charge.
He is currently being held in the Manatee County Jail on a $62,000 bond.
Shannen Doherty reveals stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis
Her announcement comes amid an ongoing lawsuit with State Farm insurance. Doherty is suing the company for damage done to her home during the 2018 California wildfires.
She claims that she was forced to pay out of pocket for losses that should have been covered by her policy.
Doherty said she wanted to announce her diagnosis ahead of the trial, should details about her health come out during the case.
“I’d rather people hear it from me. I don’t want it to be twisted. I don’t want it to be a court document.
I want it to be real and authentic,” Doherty said. “And I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me, I just didn’t want them to know yet.”
Hamden PD: New hire steals over $17k in items & his employment folder. Now they don’t remember his name
Officers were called on the report of a larceny. Police were reportedly told by the store owner that the suspect was a “new overnight employee” at the store.
During the employee’s first solo shift, the store owner used an app on his phone to see the security cameras, according to police.
When he looked, the police said the store owner realized the employee had left. He quickly went down to the store and learned that the employee had reportedly stolen lottery tickets, 89 boxes of cigarettes, and money.
Police ask anyone with information on the suspect to call Officer Jay Bunnell of the Hamden Police Department Patrol Division at 203-230-4030.
Florida troopers find narcotics in bag labeled ‘Bag Full of Drugs’
The men were pulled over Saturday for speeding on I-10 in the Florida Panhandle.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the vehicle search, which turned up methamphetamine, GHB (also known as the “date rape” drug), cocaine, MDMA and fentanyl.
“Note to self: Do not traffic your illegal narcotics in bags labeled ‘Bag Full Of Drugs.’ Our K-9’s can read,” the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office posted Monday night on social media.
Deborah Batts, the nation’s first openly gay federal judge, dies at 72
Batts was sworn in as a judge on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in 1994, after President Bill Clinton nominated her to the bench.
She breezed through her Senate confirmation hearings and her sexual orientation did not come up during the process, according to the ABA Journal.
In 2012, Batts retired her position and assumed senior status, providing volunteer service to the courts.
Recently, she was set to oversee the trial of Michael Avenatti, who was charged in Manhattan with stealing about $300,000 of his ex-client Stormy Daniels’ book advance.
Politics:
Eight Democrats to boycott Trump State of the Union address
All eight Democrats — Reps. Al Green (Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Maxine Waters (Calif.), Steve Cohen (Tenn.), Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Hank Johnson (Ga.) and Frederica Wilson (Fla.) — have also opted against attending Trump’s past annual addresses to Congress in recent years as an expression of protest against his presidency.
Ocasio-Cortez and Pressley, who have been targets of Trump over the last year, both announced Tuesday that they will not be in the House chamber for the address.
“After much deliberation, I have decided that I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump’s lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a series of tweets. “None of this is normal, and I will not legitimize it.”
Collins will vote to acquit Trump
“I do not believe that the House has met its burden of showing that the president’s conduct, however flawed, warrants the extreme step of immediate removal from office,” Collins said from the Senate floor.
Collins, while saying she would vote to acquit, called Trump’s actions “improper” and said they “demonstrated very poor judgement.”
She added that there was “conflicting evidence” about why Trump asked Ukraine President Zelensky to help “look into” former Vice President Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
MSNBC analyst calls Iowa caucus ‘the perfect example of systemic racism’
Maxwell made the remarks while answering a question about whether or not Democrats ought to be concerned about a dip in turnout numbers among first-time caucus-goers.
She went on to hypothesize during her answer that the lower turnout numbers in Iowa were the result of a lower “sense of urgency” among white voters.
“The reason why you see a drop in turnout, I’m just speculating here, it could be perhaps that white children are not in the cages,” Maxwell said, in an apparent reference to the detention of illegal immigrant minors at the southern border.
“So when you’re talking about the tangible pain that black and brown people are feeling, they feel a sense of urgency because their kids are being put in cages, right?”
Healthcare a Major Issue for Voters at Iowa Democratic Caucus
An entrance poll by Edison Research indicated that healthcare was a top issue for 41 percent of caucus-goers. It found that 57 percent supported Medicare for All—replacing private health insurance with a single government plan for everyone.
Two major candidates, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have advocated for Medicare for All in their campaigns.
Edison Research’s entrance poll indicated that about 48 percent of youth (aged 17 to 29) supported Bernie Sanders, and 24 percent of all caucus-goers were in this age group.
Sanders also had the most support among the 30–44 demographic, at 33 percent.
Pete Buttgige was most popular among 45–64-year-olds, at 26 percent (Sanders only had 11 percent support in that demographic).
The 65+ crowd supported Biden, and Sanders was in last place for their favor with only 4 percent.
White House releases guest list for Trump’s SOTU address
The White House on Tuesday released the names of the guests President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have invited to attend the president’s third State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress.
“From brave military families to hardworking local leaders, this year’s guests come from many walks of life.
Each one represents the very best of America and people the world over,” the White House said in a statement.
Here’s the full roster of individuals who will be seated in the first lady’s viewing box during the president’s highly anticipated speech.
Hillary Campaign Veterans Run Firm That Built Disastrous Iowa Caucus Phone App
The Iowa Democratic Party, which said that it may have the results of the caucus available by Tuesday, had kept the identity of the app creator a secret in recent weeks as cyber security experts have questioned whether the technology was vulnerable to hackers….
Shadow Inc.’s website has scant information about the firm and its employees.
But a review of social media accounts shows that three of the Washington, D.C.-based firm’s top executives worked on the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign….
Rand Paul reads alleged whistleblower’s name on Senate floor
Chief Justice John Roberts denied the Kentucky Republican’s attempts to mention the person’s identity last week during the question-and-answer portion of Trump’s impeachment trial.
And Paul said he didn’t intend to out the alleged whistleblower or stoke reprisals against the person.
But he used the final deliberations of the impeachment trial to name the person, who has been identified in Trump-allied media as the alleged whistleblower.
“I’m going to ask that question again this morning because the Constitution does protect debate,” Paul said.
“I think they made a big mistake not allowing my question. My question did not talk about anybody who is a whistleblower,
Amid impeachment trial, President Trump gets highest job approval rating since taking office: Gallup
A post from Gallup’s Jeffrey Jones attributed the higher numbers to higher levels of approval among Republicans and independents and points to his 94% approval rating among Republicans, which is up 7 percentage points from early January.
His approval rating among independents is up 5 points to 42%, the poll found.
While reaction to the impeachment efforts against the president may be a factor in driving the numbers, Gallup also said that economic confidence, Trump’s recent victory on the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal, and his recent actions squaring off against Iran may have played a factor.
The Narrative vs The Truth: Health Care
Commentary/Opinion: In this episode of The Narrative vs The Truth, Jason takes on the left’s narratives on our Health care system.
World News:
Lesotho’s first lady to face murder charges after turning herself in, police say
(Samson Motikoe/AFP via Getty Images)
Maesaiah Thabane, 42, is set to be charged with murder in connection with the 2017 killing of the prime minister’s former wife, police said Tuesday.
An arrest warrant for the first lady was issued the day she fled the country after she refused to report to police for questioning in connection with the murder of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane’s former wife, Lipolelo.
The killing occurred two days before the prime minister’s inauguration for a second term, and two years after a court ruled that Lipolelo was the lawful first lady and entitled to benefits.
Potential Cure to Wuhan Coronavirus Discovered by Thai Doctors
Doctors in Thailand have seen successful results in treating severely-affected patients of the rapidly-spreading coronavirus with a triple-cocktail of anti-viral, flu, and HIV medication, according to a Reuters report.
Although in the early stages, it could be our first glimpse of a cure.
The patient who received this new treatment was an infected Chinese woman from Wuhan—the source of the coronavirus—who seemed to improve drastically, said Thailand’s health ministry on Sunday.
It took a mere 48 hours post-treatment for the 71-year-old Wuhan native to test negative, according to Dr. Kriangska Atipornwanich, who spoke at the ministry’s press briefing.
French teenager put under police protection after Instagram anti-Islam rant
The case of 16-year-old Mila – who has received a slew of death threats for calling Islam “a shitty religion” – has come just over five years after a group of French cartoonists from the Charlie Hebdo magazine were gunned down by jihadist gunmen after poking fun at the Prophet Mohammed.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced that the teen, whose full name has been withheld by French media, and her family had been put under police protection.
In a TV interview Monday, Mila said she did “not regret” her remarks and defended her right to “blaspheme”.
Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet declared the death threats received by Mila were “unacceptable in a democracy” but added her remarks about Islam were “clearly an infringement on freedom of conscience”.
Belloubet’s remarks caused an outcry from the opposition with the Republicans’ leader in the lower house of parliament Damien Abad fuming: “It’s called freedom of expression!”
German nurse suspected of drugging 5 infants with morphine is freed after testing mix-up
The nurse, who has not been publicly named, was detained Wednesday after investigators found a syringe containing what appeared to be breast milk in her locker at the University Hospital in the southwestern city of Ulm.
An initial test concluded that the liquid contained morphine.
However, subsequent testing showed the syringe in the nurse’s locker did not contain any morphine, Prosecutor Christof Lehr said Tuesday. He said he called the nurse Monday and expressed his “regret” that she was detained for four days.
As the investigation continues, the nurse remains a suspect in the case, along with two doctors and three other nurses who were on duty the night of the incident, AFP reported.
Israeli Navy seizes Hamas weapons smuggling vessel – TV7 Israel News 4.02.20
1) The Israeli Navy, in cooperation with the Israeli Security Agency, Shin Bet, thwarted a naval smuggling attempt, destined for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, off the coast of Egypt’s northern Sinai Peninsula.
2) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with the Chairman of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan; during which the two leaders agreed to begin cooperation with the aim of normalizing relation between Jerusalem and Khartoum.
3) EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell warns that unless all sides agree to U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “deal of the century”, peace would remain unattainable.
Syria war: Turkey will not let Syrian army advance in Idlib, says Erdogan
Mr Erdogan’s warning came after eight Turkish military personnel were killed.
Turkey’s defence ministry said seven soldiers and one civilian died in Idlib on Monday when they were shelled by the Syrian army despite being told of their position.
In response, Turkish forces “neutralised” 76 Syrian soldiers, it added.
Syrian state media said there were no casualties. But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, reported that at least 13 soldiers were killed by Turkish fire in Idlib and neighbouring Latakia and Hama provinces.
Commentary/Opinion:
Liberal White Women Are Hiring Saira Rao to Tell Them They’re Racist. The Cost? $2,500 Per Dinner.
Sadly, I’m not making this up. Amazingly, white women are paying.
According to a must-be-read-to-be-believed article in The Guardian, Rao and Jackson—who are Indian American and black, respectively—have already attended 15 “Race to Dinner” events in which they demand that attendees confess their racism and admit they are part of the problem.
“If you did this in a conference room, they’d leave,” Rao said. “But wealthy white women have been taught never to leave the dinner table.”
For someone who stylizes herself as an anti-racism activist, Rao engages in constant racial stereotyping.
Her Twitter feed reads like satire in the vein of Titania McGrath, a self-aware parody account (at least from what I can recall of it before she blocked me).
For Rao, everything and everyone is racist—especially white women, whom she does not like one bit. Some highlights: