News and Headlines. In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Tessa Majors killing: Teen charged as juvenile sentenced to 18 months
Majors, 18, was stabbed to death on Dec. 11 in upper Manhattan’s Morningside Park, just off the campus of Columbia University, as three teenagers tried to rob her.
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said Majors’ last words were, “Help me! I’m being robbed.”
The other two teenage boys arrested, Rashaun Weaver and Luchiano Lewis, were both 14 at the time and were charged as adults.
California’s ‘sanctuary’ cities rules stay in place after Supreme Court rejects Trump’s challenge
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear the Trump administration’s challenge to a California “sanctuary” law, leaving intact rules that prohibit law enforcement officials from aiding federal agents in taking custody of immigrants as they are released from jail.
Only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. voted to hear the administration’s appeal.
The court’s action is a major victory for California in its long-running battle with President Trump.
Harvard Prof: Defunding the Police Could Cost Thousands of Black Lives
Fryer’s new paper, which is titled “Policing the Police: The Impact of “Pattern-or-Practice Investigations on Crime,” provides some insights on the relationship between police and their local communities in the United States.
The report revealed that homicides skyrocketed in the aftermath of viral police incidents. In other words, police were less likely to be an active presence in certain neighborhoods during periods in which they were facing scrutiny over viral incidents.
“Our estimates suggest that investigating police departments after viral incidents of police violence is responsible for approximately 450 excess homicides per year” a draft of the paper reads.
“This is 2x the loss of life in the line of duty for the US Military in a year, 12.6x the annual loss of life due to school shootings, and 3x the loss of life due to lynchings between 1882 and 1901 – the most gruesome years.”
St. Louis Police: Second Man Charged in Murder of David Dorn
The charges were confirmed by a spokesperson for St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on Monday.
Stephan Cannon, 24, the suspected shooter, was earlier charged with first-degree murder, robbery, and other crimes. Both men are jailed without bond. Jackson does not have a listed attorney.
The 77-year-old Dorn, who was black, was slain June 2 outside Lee’s Pawn and Jewelry during a looting episode.
Dorn’s last moments were caught on video and apparently posted on Facebook Live, though the video has since been taken down.
Supreme Court turns down cases on ‘qualified immunity’ for police
The Supreme Court passed up at least seven cases Monday that would have allowed it to reconsider aspects of a legal doctrine that torpedoes many lawsuits in which citizens allege abuse by the police.
The theory of “qualified immunity” has come under increasing criticism by voices on the left and the right in recent months, but those calls proved insufficient to interest the justices in any of the cases turned down Monday.
Under “qualified immunity,” police and other officials are immune from federal civil lawsuits unless their actions violated clearly established legal precedents at the time.
Two Nigerian Nationals Charged with Defrauding Victims Using Online Scams
BOSTON – Two Nigerian nationals were arrested on Friday, June 12, 2020 and charged in connection with defrauding victims using various online scams during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nosayamen Iyalekhue, 33, and Esogie Osawaru, 27, were charged by criminal complaint with one count of wire fraud. The defendants were detained following an initial appearance.
According to the criminal complaint, Iyalekhue and Osawaru participated in a series of romance, pandemic unemployment insurance, and other online scams designed to defraud victims by convincing them to send money to accounts controlled by the defendants.
Six Former eBay Employees Charged with Aggressive Cyberstalking Campaign Targeting Natick Couple
BOSTON – Six former employees of eBay, Inc. have been charged with leading a cyberstalking campaign targeting the editor and publisher of a newsletter that eBay executives viewed as critical of the company.
The alleged harassment included sending the couple anonymous, threatening messages, disturbing deliveries – including a box of live cockroaches, a funeral wreath and a bloody pig mask – and conducting covert surveillance of the victims.
James Baugh, 45, of San Jose, Calif., eBay’s former Senior Director of Safety & Security, was arrested today and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with witnesses.
Armed South Philly residents guard Columbus statue from vandalism — and leftist mayor, district attorney call them vigilantes, ‘criminal bullies’
You might recall about 100 residents of the city’s Fishtown neighborhood patrolled their streets with baseball bats, hammers, and shovels as nationwide George Floyd rioting hit a fever pitch earlier this month.
Well, another 100 or so in south Philadelphia — a legendary Italian-American stronghold that’s home to “Rocky” lore and arguably the best cheesesteaks around — took it upon themselves to guard the Christopher Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza from potential vandalism over the weekend.
And some of them used bats, golf clubs, sticks — and guns — to convince those who might hold opposite opinions to stay away, PhillyVoice reported.
Study: Ending Wisconsin’s Safer at Home order did not lead to coronavirus spike
The new study, titled Did the Wisconsin Supreme Court Restart a COVID-19 Epidemic?, looks at the numbers from May 3 through May 24 to see if more people were hospitalized because of the virus during that time period.
The study was conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, Mass.
Not only did the five researchers working on the study find no spike in coronavirus cases, the team found only a tiny spike in the number of people who changed their behavior once the order was lifted.
There could be more than 30 alien civilizations in the Milky Way, shocking study says
A new study from researchers at the U.K.’s University of Nottingham suggests there are 36 planets in the Milky Way galaxy, a calculation the experts have dubbed “the Astrobiological Copernican Limit.”
“The classic method for estimating the number of intelligent civilizations relies on making guesses of values relating to life, whereby opinions about such matters vary quite substantially,” the study’s lead author, Tom Westby, said in a statement.
“Our new study simplifies these assumptions using new data, giving us a solid estimate of the number of civilizations in our Galaxy.”
Grand Canyon’s North Rim closed due to Arizona wildfire as separate blaze near Tucson grows
The North Rim of the Grand Canyon has been closed since Friday after the blaze dubbed the Magnum Fire has consumed some 20,000 acres.
Officials said the fire is burning within the Kaibab National Forest, moving northeast, and not within the national park.
According to information made available by fire officials on Inciweb, the Magnum Fire has burned 24,000 acres of land as of Monday morning and it only 2 percent contained.
Elderly Indiana couple reunited after 5-week coronavirus separation
Joyce Hoffman, 90, emerged from the COVID-19 unit at Hooverwood Living in Indianapolis last Thursday to cheering from its staff before meeting her husband Don, who was holding a bouquet of flowers.
“I have to cry from happiness. I have to cry!” Don, who is also 90, is heard saying in an emotional video released by the facility. “You look so wonderful! You look so beautiful!”
“How can you be so cute?” Joyce responds.
Removal of Jefferson Davis statue in Kentucky reveals surprise bourbon discovery
After hoisting the 15-foot marble statue from the pedestal where it stood for decades in Frankfort’s Capitol Rotunda, workers made a shocking find.
Hidden in the base was an empty bottle of Glenmore Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and newspaper front page dated Oct. 20, 1936 — the same day the figure was erected, the New York Post reports.
24 Hour Fitness files for bankruptcy, closes over 130 gyms amid coronavirus pandemic
“If it were not for COVID-19 and its devastating effects, we would not be filing for Chapter 11. With that said, we intend to use the process to strengthen the future of 24 Hour Fitness for our team and club members, as well as our stakeholders,” Chief Executive Officer Tony Ueber said in a statement.
Once approved in court, the company expects to secure approximately $250 million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, which along with its cash from operations, will allow 24 Hour Fitness to continue operations and reopen its remaining clubs.
24 Hour Fitness, an industry leader for more than 30 years, said Sunday it’s permanently closing more than 130 clubs.
Dr. Siegel on COVID-19 spike: ‘It’s not a second wave, let me explain’
FOX NEW Video: ‘I’m calling it a migratory virus because new states are being infected,’ says Dr. Marc Siegel addressing the recent increase in coronavirus cases in some states.
Sgt. Rob Pride on Rayshard Brooks shooting: Atlanta officer appears justified in using force
Pride said he watched the video “several times” and has spoken with officers from around the country, including experts on “use of force” by officers.
“With the current training that we have, and I can say for across the country, most agencies, this would be a deadly force encounter because of the incapacitating capabilities of the Taser,” he said.
“We can look through history and see how many officers in policing history have been killed when they were disarmed of their own firearm and when a Taser is used against officers, it has that capability,” Pride noted.
Thomas, Kavanaugh lament ‘decade-long failure to protect the Second Amendment’
The last major Supreme Court cases to decide gun rights issues were McDonald v. Chicago and D.C. v. Heller, both of which came out more than a decade ago.
Kavanaugh and Thomas, in the case of an ATM service worker who takes care of machines in “high-crime areas” but was told by New Jersey that is not a good enough reason for him to have a permit to carry a handgun, accused their fellow justices of ambivalence to potential violations of Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.
“This Court would almost certainly review the constitutionality of a law requiring citizens to establish a justifiable need before exercising their free speech rights.
And it seems highly unlikely that the Court would allow a State to enforce a law requiring a woman to provide a justifiable need before seeking an abortion,” Thomas wrote, in an opinion joined by Kavanaugh.
“But today, faced with a petition challenging just such a restriction on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, the Court simply looks the other way.”
California man accused of trying to rape woman he met on Tinder
Fabian Ornelas, 30, was arrested at his home in Fresno early Saturday by detectives with the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office.
“In this particular case, Fabian used the social media dating site Tinder to entice a woman into meeting up with him. Fabian is known to use the profile name ‘Dominick,’” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“After making a match with the woman online, Fabian arranged to meet with her in person,” the news release said. “After spending some time together, the victim attempted to leave, but Fabian forced himself on her and attempted to rape her.”
2 missing George Floyd protesters found murdered in Florida; suspect arrested
Tallahassee police found the bodies of Oluwatoyin Salau, 19, and Victoria Sims, 75, on Saturday in the vicinity of the home of Aaron Glee, according to reports.
That afternoon she tweeted that a man molested her that morning after offering to give her a ride back to a church where she had “refuged” for a couple of days “to escape unjust living conditions.”
Glee had previously been arrested on May 29 after a Tallahassee officer saw him kicking a woman in the stomach, the Democrat reported, citing police reports.
Glee was charged with misdemeanor assault and online court records show he was released on bail on June 1.
Leftist Protesters Topple Thomas Jefferson Statue In Portland
Black Lives Matter protesters tied ropes around the statue of Thomas Jefferson that sits out front of Jefferson High School, in Portland, and pulled the statue to the ground, after spray painting “Slave Owner” and “George Floyd 846” on the pedestal.
They then smashed the statue with what appears to be a sledgehammer or an axe.
The incident, which featured both black and white people, was captured on video.
Scientists Lose Jobs Amid Probe Into Foreign Ties | Declassified | Gina Shakespeare
The numbers were revealed on June 12 in a presentation by Michael Lauer, the NIH deputy director for extramural research.
The NIH’s effort dates back to August 2018, when the organization warned universities across the nation that some foreign entities have been systematically targeting NIH researchers to divert intellectual property and obtain confidential information.
The NIH effort is part of a larger U.S. government campaign to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) infiltration of American academia.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the FBI have made arrests and reached settlements in several cases involving researchers as part of its broader China Initiative launched in November 2018.
Landmark SCOTUS ruling protects LGBTQ employees from job discrimination
Commentary/Opinion:
Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano breaks down the ruling.
Floridians mark Trump’s birthday with flotillas, caravans
Trump supporters in Florida were celebrating the president’s birthday Sunday with caravans, flotillas and parades throughout his adopted homestate.
In Palm Beach County — home of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort — separate caravans of trucks, motorcycles and boats were riding along highways and the intercoastal waterway at various times in the morning.
The organizers were part of the president’s Florida re-election effort.
Full Measure: June 14, 2020
Commentary/Opinion:
This week on Full Measure, a remarkable story of how the lives of two Army vets intersected… to expose allegations of stunning failures at the V-A.
Also, James Rosen gives us a fascinating look at the controversy surrounding Trump’s impeachment and how it all began.
And, Scott Thuman takes us to Casablanca…to see where culture, cuisine, and history collide.
Politics:
Cuomo says he’ll sign three bills that reform police practices
The new laws state that any officer must report when they fire a weapon within six hours of the incident, require police departments and court systems to track arrests for racial and demographic data, and mandate that officers tend to the physical or mental health needs of anyone they arrest or have in custody who requests those services.
Monday’s announcement follows a ceremony Cuomo held Friday where he signed bills into law that were part of his “Say Their Name” reform agenda.
Those bills gave transparency to police disciplinary records, banned the use of chokeholds in restraining suspects, appointed the state Attorney General’s office as the prosecutor for cases when people are killed during law enforcement encounters, and criminalizes false 9-1-1 calls based on race.
Cuomo also signed an order calling on cities and counties in the state to codify their own law enforcement reforms by April 1 or face losing state funds.
Dems use Kavanaugh dissent in gay rights case to renew criticism of Sen. Collins
Collins has historically been supportive of gay rights, and lauded Monday’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County as “a major advancement for LGBTQ rights.”
She also pressed Congress, in a separate tweet, to “pass the Equality Act & amend the Civil Rights Act to expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation & gender identity.”
But despite Collins’ personal comments on the ruling, liberal court-watchers used the fact Collins voted to confirm Kavanaugh as a battering ram against the senator, who is up for reelection this year.
“Susan Collins voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who just voted to allow companies to fire employees for being LGBT. She is a right-wing hack and needs to go,” Zac Petkanas, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton, said.
Seattle autonomous zone renamed ‘Capitol Hill Organized Protest” or ‘CHOP’
FOX News Video: Q13 Fox News reporter Brandi Kruse weighs in on relationship between protesters and local leadership.
House Judiciary Republicans call for review of alleged Chinese abuse of EB-5 visa program
“Although the EB-5 program’s goal of stimulating capital investment and job creation in the United States is laudable, it has become clear in recent years that the CCP may be abusing the program to gain access to U.S. permanent residency for their members,” Ranking Member Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., said in a letter to Gene Dodaro, the head of the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
The letter, obtained by Fox News, cites statistics that show that between 2012 and 2018 nearly 80 percent of the nearly 10,000 EB-5 visas available each year went to Chinese-born investors and the majority of investors in the backlog are also Chinese.
Jordan and Reschenthaler say the request for a review is in line with President Trump’s toughened approach to China in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which aims to “protect the American people, homeland and way of life.”
Warning: You Are Being Manipulated
Commentary/Opinion:
It’s going to be hard to fix the current situation, if we’re not even allowed to talk about what the problem actually is.
Here’s the Simple Truth.
Trump to announce executive order on police use of force
President Trump announces steps his administration will take to reduce racial inequalities and combat police brutality;
Chief White House correspondent John Roberts reports.
‘Red flags from the beginning’: Grenell says concerns about Trump-Russia investigation were concealed
Richard Grenell, who was previously the U.S. ambassador to Germany and the temporary director of national intelligence, told host Maria Bartiromo of Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures that problems were raised by numerous officials early on in the Crossfire Hurricane investigation were concealed from the public.
He specifically pointed to information he helped unearth through his own declassification reviews, including dozens of recently released witness interview transcripts from the House Intelligence Committee and formerly redacted footnotes from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuse, showed that problems with key parts of the Russia investigation were buried through over-classification.
“The Russian investigation had all sorts of red flags from the beginning, and when you look at the transcripts, when you look at the declassified footnotes from some of the investigations, it’s clear, Maria, that there were multiple people from multiple agencies that were raising red flags,” he said.
World News:
France backs off chokehold ban, adds stun guns for police
PARIS (AP) — Less than a week after France announced it would abandon police chokeholds, the government responded to growing officer discontent by announcing it would test stun guns for wider use, adding to the ranks of European law enforcement agencies that have recently adopted the weapons that many in the U.S. equate with excess police violence.
Then, on Monday, the government backed away from a complete chokehold ban, saying it would no longer teach the maneuver to recruits but allow its use until a better alternative emerges.
As Europe reopens, Beijing outbreak shows need for vigilance
European countries reopened borders Monday after a three-month coronavirus shutdown, although international visitors are still being kept away and there was uncertainty over whether many Europeans will quickly embrace travel outside their home countries.
Reopening continued in Mexico and Brazil despite cases climbing in the two largest nations in Latin America, where authorities struggled to handle the pandemic’s effect on already-weak medical systems.
The need for constant vigilance came into sharp focus as China, where COVID-19 first emerged late last year, rushed to contain an outbreak in the capital of Beijing.
Black protester carries white man through angry crowd to safety to ‘stop someone from being killed’
Patrick Hutchinson, who is black, and four other Black Lives Matter protesters said they witnessed an altercation break out at the top of the stairs by the Southbank Centre, near the Waterloo Station.
The five men then surrounded the white man who had fallen to the ground, forming a barrier in the crowd to prevent him from being trampled.
Hutchinson said he then “scooped him up into a fireman’s carry and marched him out with the guys around me, protecting me and shielding me and protecting this guy from getting any further punishment.”
Gulf Arab States pressure U.S.-Israel to forego plans of annexation – TV7 Israel News 15.06.20
1) With less than two weeks remaining until the declared target-date of July 1st, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had declaratively-scheduled for asserting Jerusalem’s sovereignty over approximately 33 percent of the West Bank.
2) Arab Gulf states are stepping-up efforts to pressure Washington and Jerusalem to abandon Israeli plans of annexation.
3) The Israeli Defense Establishment is actively preparing for a number of viable scenarios that may unfold in the near future, which may challenge Jerusalem’s Peace and Security.
Norway suspends virus-tracing app due to privacy concerns
Launched in April, the smartphone app Smittestopp (“infection stop”) was set up to collect movement data to help authorities trace the spread of Covid-19, and inform users if they had been exposed to someone carrying the virus.
On Friday, the data agency Datatilsynet issued a warning that it would stop the Norwegian Institute of Public Health from handling data collected via Smittestopp.
Datatilsynet said the restricted spread of coronavirus in Norway, as well as the app’s limited effectiveness due to the small number of people using it, meant the invasion of privacy resulting from its use was disproportionate.
Massive bribe to stop Ukraine probe of Burisma founder intercepted
Kholodnitsky and the head of the national anti-corruption bureau, Artem Sytnik, said the bribe was intended to encourage their offices to halt a probe of Mykola Zlochevsky, the head of Burisma and a former minister of ecology.
Zlochevsky was accused of using his ministerial position for personal enrichment.
Three people, including a high-ranking tax service official, have been detained in connection with the attempted bribe, officials said Saturday.
In a statement, Burisma claimed the company had nothing to do with any bribe attempt.
Commentary/Opinion:
Milo Yiannopoulos speech on FBI statistics and Black Murders
Milo Yiannopoulos gives a speech on statistics from an FBI report on deaths to black people.
Who’s More Radical: The Left or the Right?
What would America look like if the Left got everything it wanted? What would America look like if the Right got everything it wanted?
PragerU’s Will Witt fleshes out each of these scenarios in this provocative thought experiment.