News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Pregnant Woman Killed While on Phone with Boyfriend Months After Testifying at Cousin’s Murder Trial
In court last week, Cook County prosecutors alleged that Kavarian Rogers, 21, accepted $5,000 to “execute” Kelley and keep her silent, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
On his Facebook page, Rogers posted videos after the shooting in which he displayed expensive shoes and used $100 bills to fan himself, reports the Associated Press.
He allegedly told others he’d earned the money for “nailing a girl who testified against somebody,” according to a statement prosecutors read in court, according to ABC7 Chicago.
Brianna Williams pleads not guilty to abusing 5-year-old Taylor
Court documents suggest that Brianna Williams tortured, maliciously punished or caged Taylor sometime between the last time the girl was seen alive in April and Nov. 6 — when Williams reported her missing.
According to evidence released in the case, investigators found possible bloodstains in six locations in the apartment, including inside a closet.
Prosecutors have charged Williams with tampering with evidence because investigators believe she dumped Taylor’s remains in Alabama before saying the girl had disappeared.
A serial rapist who attacked strangers in Davis County will spend the rest of his life in prison
Authorities say that two decades ago Burns sexually assaulted at least eight women in Davis County alone.
DNA evidence has linked him to other assaults in Wyoming, and he’s the suspect in a cold-case murder in Evanston.
Just before he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison Monday, Burns was apologetic. He got emotional as he expressed remorse while sitting in a cramped jail cell, speaking through a video feed.
Mother’s body recovered in Kennedy family canoe accident, son missing
The body of Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 40, was located by Charles County Dive and Rescue and recovered about 2.5 miles south of her mother’s residence in Shady Side, Maryland, where the canoe was launched, Maryland Natural Resources Police said.
The recovery came after a days-long search that involved aviation and underwater imaging sonar technology.
Authorities say they will resume searching Tuesday for her son, 8-year-old Gideon McKean.
The search started Thursday after authorities responded to a report of two people on a canoe in the Chesapeake Bay who appeared to be overtaken by strong winds.
Navy secretary resigns after calling fired captain ‘stupid’
On Sunday, Modly flew to Guam to address sailors on the aircraft carrier who had cheered their support of Crozier as he departed the ship on Friday. He reprimanded them, saying they were overlooking their most basic duty to defend U.S. interests.
Late Monday, Modly backtracked.
“I apologize for any confusion this choice of words may have caused,” he wrote, referring to his speech aboard the Roosevelt on Sunday. “I also want to apologize directly to Captain Crozier, his family, and the entire crew of the Theodore Roosevelt for any pain my remarks may have caused.”
After an unofficial transcript of Modly’s remarks and an audio recording circulated widely on the internet Monday, at least one member of Congress urged that he be fired, and others blasted his words as inappropriate.
Appeals court lifts injunction on federal executions
The last federal execution was that of Gulf War veteran Louis Jones Jr. in March 2003 for the rape and murder of a fellow soldier, Pvt. Tracie McBride in 1995.
Jones admitted kidnapping the young female recruit at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, but his lawyer sought clemency by arguing Jones suffered behavior-altering brain damage from exposure to nerve gas during the Gulf War that gave him uncontrollable, violent urges.
Jones’ was the third federal execution in 40 years.
Jobless Americans to see extra payments as soon as this week
It could take several weeks for that money to filter through federal and state bureaucracies into the bank accounts of many of the millions of Americans who have been thrown out of work.
Qualifying New York residents will see the additional benefit payments this week, said Deanna Cohen, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor.
In Missouri, payments will start going out as early as the week of April 12, according to the state Labor Department.
Officials in Maine and California said they have not yet figured out when they will be able to distribute the money.
3 fatally stabbed, suspect killed by deputy at rest stop
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call at the Pilot Travel Center off Interstate 40 to find a person with stab wounds outside the store and a man armed with a knife in the parking lot, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
Witnesses identified the man as the suspect and he refused deputies’ demands to drop the weapon, the bureau said.
As some point during the encounter, a deputy fired, striking and killing the suspect, the statement said.
The Front Line | Full Measure
There’s important coronavirus news. Scientists at Stanford University in California are now beginning a landmark study.
They’re using new antibody tests to identify people who already had coronavirus but never knew it because they had no major symptoms.
They could be immune and able to get back to business. The tests may also help calculate an accurate fatality rate for coronavirus which so far has been impossible.
As the search for treatment and cures escalates, we get an inside look at one frontline: Ft. Detrick, Maryland. Our guide is Colonel Darrin Cox, Commander at U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, they call it USAMRIID.
Calling All Robots: Businesses Automate the Battle Against Coronavirus
A survey conducted globally this week by Pulse, an online research hub for chief information officers at large companies, found that half of roughly 50 businesses in its network are using some form of robotics or automation to help front-line workers cope with the pandemic.
Some companies are accelerating the deployment of physical robots to tackle logistical challenges created by the crisis.
Shane Herlet, chief operating officer of Westport, Conn.-based Maplewood Senior Living, said the outbreak prompted the senior-care facility operator to fast-track a project to introduce robots at its 14 old-age homes.
Robot Nurse Helps Keep Doctors In Italy Safe From Coronavirus
Tommy is one of six new robots helping flesh-and-blood doctors and nurses care for coronavirus patients at the Circolo Hospital in Varese, a city in the northern Lombardy region that is the epicentre of the outbreak in Italy.
Wisconsin National Guard to work polling places
Guard commanders on Monday said 2,400 troops have been trained to fill in for volunteers at election sites across the state. While troops will be working the polls, they will not be dressed in their uniforms.
“Serving our state and civil authorities during times of need is one of our core missions,” Wisconsin adjutant general Maj. Gen. Paul Knapp said.
Knapp called-up the troops to help supplement local election volunteers should they be needed.
Politics:
Liberal Groups Spend More Than $20 Million Attacking Trump, GOP on Coronavirus
The multimillion-dollar efforts are fueled by groups bankrolled by some of the party’s top donors, including billionaires Donald Sussman and George Soros.
Protect Our Care, a dark money group established to protect the Affordable Care Act, is the latest to attack Trump’s response to the outbreak.
The group put five figures into television and digital ad buys late last week in battleground states. The ads will continue to run throughout this week.
Establishment players such as Priorities USA, the largest outside Democratic super PAC, have been some of the biggest spenders to date.
McConnell planning on Thursday vote for additional aid to small businesses
“It is quickly becoming clear that Congress will need to provide more funding or this crucial program may run dry,” McConnell said Tuesday. “That cannot happen.”
The $2.2 trillion stimulus package that Congress passed last month included $350 billion for small business relief under the Paycheck Protection Program.
Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, chairman of the Small Business Committee, estimated that the additional package will cost $200 billion to $250 billion.
Trump hints at cutting WHO funding over coronavirus handling, says they ‘really blew it’
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also called for accountability for the WHO on its handling of the coronavirus — calling for an investigation and hearing into the WHO, questioning whether it is deserving of American taxpayer money
“When it comes to Coronavirus, the WHO failed. They need to be held accountable for their role in promoting misinformation and helping Communist China cover up a global pandemic,” Scott said last week.
“We know Communist China is lying about how many cases and deaths they have, what they knew and when they knew it – and the WHO never bothered to investigate further.”
A Tale Of Two Governors
Commentary/Opinion:
California and New York are pretty much getting the same kind of assistance from the federal government.
So why does only one governor praise Donald Trump?
Here’s the Simple Truth.
World News:
Covid-19: Europe toll passes 50,000 as Japan declares emergency
While Denmark and Norway announced plans to lift some of their physical distancing measures on Tuesday, the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, declared a month-long state of emergency in major population centres, including Tokyo, where the number of cases has more than doubled this week to 1,116.
The measure gives Japanese governors the authority to urge people to stay at home and businesses to close or shorten their opening hours.
Unlike many other countries, there are no punishments for those who defy the request and enforcement will rely largely on peer pressure and respect for authority.
‘Violent, ruthless’ al-Shabaab leader killed by U.S. strike in Somalia
(Tech. Sgt. Christopher Ruano/ U.S. Air Force)
The leader, Yusuf Jiis, was one of three enemy fighters killed in a joint, April 2 strike with the Federal Government of Somalia.
The strike took place near Bush Madina, about 135 miles west of the capital city of Mogadishu.
Jiis was a foundational member of al-Shabaab and held key positions within the group, according to AFRICOM.
Another AFRICOM official, Army Maj. Gen. William Gayler, said that the terrorist, fundamentalist jihadi group continues to present a significant threat to peace in the region.
Israel on total lockdown ahead of Passover; Iran attempts to hack WHO – TV7 Israel News 07.04.20
1) In light of the ongoing battle against the corona contagion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a series of new government enacted measures, ahead of the Biblical holiday of Passover; including a nation-wide lockdown.
2) Iran’s Deputy Health Minister Iraj Harirchi once again rejected an offer by the United States to grant Iran humanitarian assistance; Instead, urging Washington to lift its sanctions on the regime-controlled institutions and assets.
3) Reports reveal that hackers working in the interests of the Iranian government have attempted to break into the personal email accounts of staff at the World Health Organization during the coronavirus outbreak.
Popular tourist attraction in China mobbed by visitors after coronavirus restrictions ease
The Huangshan Mountain range was one of 29 sites within Anhui to begin offering free entry on Saturday after China relaxed some of its coronavirus-prompted closures, though authorities may have underestimated interest.
On Sunday, April 5, which also fell within China’s three-day Qingming (or Ching Ming) festival observances, the site reached capacity, and park officials were forced to direct throngs of visitors to other sites, the South China Morning Post reported.
Some users on China’s Weibo social-networking platform, however, were critical of th
Commentary/Opinion:
[CCP Virus] US Law Firm Sues China’s Regime for Covid 19 Coverup—Berman Law Group
Should the Chinese regime be compelled to pay legal damages for mishandling and deliberately covering up the CCP virus, or coronavirus, outbreak?
In practice, how could the Chinese regime actually be held accountable? What precedents are there? What could be used as leverage?
In this episode, we sit down with Jeremy Alters, the Chief Strategist and (non-attorney) spokesperson of Berman Law Group, which is filing a class-action lawsuit against the People’s Republic of China, for how it handled the CCP virus, or Covid 19 outbreak.
Alters previously launched and won a major class action lawsuit against Chinese manufacturers of defective drywall.
In his legal career, Alters has settled cases and achieved verdicts totaling over $4.5 billion dollars.