News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World news, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
3 arrested in Burnsville teen’s killing outside Target in Savage
The boy — identified Wednesday as Samuel Alvin Keezer of Burnsville — died Saturday at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, a day after he was found semiconscious and lying in the Target parking lot suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.
Police on Tuesday arrested Taran Cortez Miller, 44, and a 16-year-old juvenile — both of Prior Lake — on suspicion of second-degree murder.
Tanya Marie Esthell Miller, 43, also of Prior Lake, was booked at Scott County jail on suspicion of aiding second-degree murder.
U.S. Defense linguist charged with transmitting classified intelligence
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government said on Wednesday it had charged a Defense Department linguist with transmitting classified intelligence to a foreign national linked to the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah, saying she revealed the names of key American assets and put their lives at risk.
Mariam Taha Thompson, 61, formerly of Rochester, Minnesota, was arrested by FBI agents at an overseas military base in Irbil, Iraq, on Feb. 27.
“While in a war zone, the defendant allegedly gave sensitive national defense information, including the names of individuals helping the United States, to a Lebanese national located overseas,” John Demers, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for national security, said in a statement.
DEA Will Return $82K Life Savings It Seized From an Elderly Pittsburgh Man and His Daughter
The Institute for Justice, the libertarian-leaning public interest law firm that filed the lawsuit, announced today that the DEA will return $82,373 that it seized from Rebecca Brown six months ago at a Pittsburgh airport.
The money was the life savings of her father, Terry Rolin, a 79-year-old retired railroad engineer. She says she intended to deposit the money in a bank but ran out of time before her flight.
After the seizure, the DEA notified Brown that it was seeking to permanently forfeit Rolin’s life savings. Neither Rolin or Brown were charged with a crime.
In 2016, a USA Today investigation found the DEA seized more than $209 million from at least 5,200 travelers in 15 major airports over the previous decade.
Fifth Circuit Hears Challenge to Men-Only Military Draft
Marc Angelucci, representing the National Coalition for Men and two men challenging the male-only draft, said a 2015 decision by the military to send women into combat roles should encourage the three-judge appeals court panel to rule that the draft should apply to women too.
This hearing came in advance of a report expected later this month on the draft. On March 25, a federal commission is expected to release its final report and recommendations, addressing issues such as whether a draft is still necessary and if women should be required to register for it.
Former Republican Congressman Joe Heck of Nevada, who heads the commission, has publicly said he is in favor of requiring women to register for the draft.
San Francisco to Pay $369,000 for Police Raid of Journalist’s Home
Police barreled through the front door of freelance reporter Bryan Carmody’s home with a sledgehammer and guns drawn on May 10 to find the source of a leaked police report about the death of late San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi.
Carmody obtained the report from an anonymous source inside the police department.
Police also raided Carmody’s office and seized his computer, tablets, cellphone and other equipment.
Additionally, they used warrants to obtain phone records revealing logs of calls and text messages Carmody exchanged with two San Francisco police officers.
More than 300 illegal Chinese immigrants busted on southern border
Some 328 illegal immigrants from China have been nabbed jumping the U.S.-Mexico border so far this year, according to Homeland Security data that raises the prospect a coronavirus carrier could sneak into the country via the border.
All told, more than 1,000 illegal immigrants a day are caught attempting to sneak in from Mexico, which detected its first case last week, and since has identified five others.
Mr. Wolf also said the spread of the virus in Mexico creates new complications, after the U.S. has forced tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to wait in that country while their cases are proceeding in American immigration courts.
Late last week a federal court issued a ruling that could result in thousands of them being admitted immediately.
ICE Catches Illegal Alien Accused Of Child Rape After NYC Authorities Released Him From Custody
Ajqui-Ajtzalam was previously in New York Police Department custody for allegedly raping a person under 14 years of age, but local authorities did not honor the ICE detainer lodged against him, and chose instead to release him back into the community.
“It’s inconceivable that a individual who was arrested for local charges of rape and sexual abuse of a child, would be released back into the community instead of being transferred to ICE who had a detainer in place,” ICE spokesman Thomas Decker said in a statement released Tuesday.
“It’s frightening that our detainer was ignored and he was released onto New York City streets to possibly re-offend,” he continued. “The safety of city residents, especially the more vulnerable, continues to be a priority for ICE enforcement.”
Trial Begins For Chicago Man Accused Of Killing Police Officer
(Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool)
A trial is underway for the man accused of killing Chicago Police Commander Paul Bauer. In February of 2018, Bauer responded to a radio call for a fleeing suspect near City Hall.
Bauer, being in the area at the time of the call, then spotted four-time convicted felon Shomari Legghette notably while wearing his full uniform. Legghette took off running while officer Bauer chased him into a stairwell. That’s when officer Bauer was allegedly shot seven times.
In opening statements held Tuesday, Cook County assistant state’s attorney Risa Lanier claimed the suspect’s actions were a “desperate attempt to avoid the police.”
Florida pair arrested after 118 dogs rescued from ‘worst case of animal hoarding, neglect’ ever seen
(Suwannee Country Sheriff’s Office)
“Most of the dogs were in need of veterinary care for a variety of conditions, as a result of the neglect,” officials said.
“All of the dogs rescued from the property were surrendered to the Suwannee County Sherriff’s Office by the owners, which allows the dogs to be immediately adopted out to loving homes once they are medically cleared.”
The dogs’ owners – Cherly Grau Articas, 53, and William Richard Grau, 78, both of Live Oak, Fla. – were arrested and charged with 118 counts of felony animal cruelty.
California man rams SUV into teens in case of mistaken identity after poop ‘prank’
Two of the teens were seriously hurt, and two others suffered moderate injuries, police told the Mercury News.
The driver, 18-year-old Omeed Adibi, of San Mateo, was arrested.
Lt. Laura Terada told the newspaper that Adibi targeted the teenagers after allegedly believing they had tampered with his car. She said he wanted to get back at them.
However, the investigation later showed that it was a group of his own friends who had placed dog poop in his car as a prank on him, KPIX reported.
Los Angeles County declares emergency on the heels of 6 new coronavirus cases
Health officials discovered the new cases of COVIID-19 this week, bringing the state’s total to 35, which, according to CNBC, is more than any other state in the U.S. at the time of this writing.
Washington state has at least 27 confirmed cases of coronavirus. At least nine people have died as a result of the virus at the time of this writing.
County Supervisor Hilda Solis said that misinformation about the virus is unacceptable.
“There’s been too much misinformation spreading around,” Solis said. “As we expected, it’s cultivating fears and leading to racial profiling.”
The Times reported that health officials in Pasadena and Long Beach are also planning to declare emergencies.
Man claims he is victim after N-word, ‘Trump’ painted on vehicles. Then police arrested him.
In early February, WREG-TV reported that Southaven, Mississippi, police and the FBI were investigating after Trumaine Foster reported his vehicles had been spray-painted with racist slurs. His pickup truck had the N-word painted on it, while a car had the phrase “Leave n*” and “Trump” painted on it.
In a turn of events, police arrested Foster last Friday, charging him with insurance fraud and tampering with evidence.
As far as a potential motive for the crimes, WREG discovered that Foster owns a body shop that primarily specializes in painting cars.
Politics:
Senator Schumer says Trump court appointees ‘won’t know what hit’ them
Schumer’s remarks, made during an abortion rights rally held while the nine-member court heard arguments in a major abortion case from Louisiana, were criticized by conservative allies of Trump.
“Did Senate Democrat leader Schumer just threaten two conservative justices? Where is the media?” Republican Representative Mark Meadows asked on Twitter.
In his speech, Schumer noted that this was the Supreme Court’s first major abortion case since Trump appointed Kavanaugh in 2018 and Gorsuch in 2017. The crowd jeered when Schumer mentioned the names of the two conservative justices.
Shahid Buttar, democratic socialist, set to challenge Pelosi after placing second in primary
“We did it!!” Mr. Buttar’s campaign said on Twitter late Tuesday.
“For 30+ yrs, Pelosi’s corporate fundraising machine protected her from a Democratic challenger. Tonight, WE changed that.”
“We’re looking forward to giving San Francisco a new voice in Congress!” the campaign said in a separate tweet.
Republican nominee for Mark Meadows seat to be decided in May runoff
The 11th District seat is currently occupied by the retiring Rep. Mark Meadows, a Republican, prominent member of the House Freedom Caucus, and close ally of Trump.
Meadows, 60, announced in December he would not seek reelection, after first winning the seat in 2012.
The district is still solidly red. In 2016, Trump won Meadows’s district with a 29.2% wide margin.
Meadows threw his support behind Haywood County Republican Party Chairwoman Lynda Bennett, one of the two top candidates in the primary who will participate in a primary runoff for the seat.
Bennett received 22.7% of the primary vote.
Bloomberg is out. Here’s how much he spent on Facebook ads.
On Wednesday, following a Super Tuesday in which Bloomberg’s astronomical self-funded campaign spending failed to buy him voters, the campaign announced that it would suspend Bloomberg’s presidential campaign.
According to Facebook’s Ad Library, the social media giant earned $8 million from Bloomberg in the past week alone, and has raked in over $63 million in ads from Bloomberg’s page since 2018.
The Bloomberg campaign’s most recent Federal Election Commission filings show that Bloomberg spent over $409 million through January 2020. Additional reports move that figure to more than $500 million through February, until Super Tuesday on March 3.
Congressional negotiators agree on $8.3 billion for coronavirus
(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The deal still must pass the House and Senate but tamps down concerns about a standoff between the House Republicans and Democrats over the cost of vaccines.
That disagreement was settled overnight, and the spending package is now apparently ready for floor votes.
The bill is expected to easily pass through both chambers.
Trump refusing to rubber stamp FISA renewal, demands post-Russia surveillance reforms
The White House
The surveillance provisions are set to expire on March 15, and the White House indicated to Republican leaders Tuesday that it would support only a temporary, 30-day extension to allow Congress to iron out the reforms.
“Just got back from the White House. @realDonaldTrump made it abundantly clear that he will NOT accept a clean reauthorization of the Patriot Act without significant FISA reform! I agree with him!” Kentucky GOP Sen Rand Paul tweeted Tuesday.
Paul instead suggests that intelligence gatherers be required to get approval from a “Constitutional, Article 3 court” to surveil American citizens.
“This would protect Americans from the abuses that happened to the Trump campaign,”
The Marxist vs The Moron
Commentary/Opinion: Blue Collar Logic.
Super Tuesday has made it clear. The Democratic Nomination is between the Marxist & the Moron.
Who do you want to win?
World News:
Battles in Syria intensify; Israel-U.S. launch joint military drill – TV7 Israel News 04.03.20
1) With a final and formal outcome of Israel’s national elections imminent, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right wing-Ultra Orthodox bloc drops one mandate in favor of main political rival, Blue and White Chairperson Benny Gantz.
2) Fierce battles continue to plague the war-torn northwestern Idlib region, the Turkish military is backing Jihadist Sunni-Muslim militants in efforts to repel an advance by the Syrian army, which is backed by Shi’ite-Muslim Iranian proxies and Russian aerial support.
3) Greece warns that the current migrant crisis “is no longer a refugee problem,” but rather “a blatant attempt by Turkey to use desperate people to promote its geopolitical agenda and to divert attention from the horrible situation in Syria.”
Coronavirus: Italy to close all schools as deaths rise
A total of 107 people have now been killed by the coronavirus in Italy, which has the most serious outbreak in Europe.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the country’s health service risked being overwhelmed.
Most of the more than 3,000 cases are in the north but others have been confirmed in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions.