News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Parents sue Newsom over school closures
One of the plaintiffs, Matthew Brach of Rancho Palos Verdes, has a 16-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter.
“His son is entering his senior year and will suffer academically as a result of the denial of personal interaction with teachers and positive academic role models,” the lawsuit says. “His son’s learning style requires him to be able to ask questions of and interact with his teachers and to learn collaboratively with peers. His daughter is already suffering emotionally from being isolated from her learning community.”
The lawsuit says California is the only state mandating that schools not hold in-person learning and notes that Education Secretarty Betsy DeVos, the America Academy of Pediatrics and others are urging schools to offer in-person learning.
It seeks to have Newsom’s order overturned so schools can reopen.
Two Christopher Columbus Statues Removed In Chicago After Violent Clashes Between Protesters And Cops
Crews dismantled the statues in Grant Park and Arrigo Park under the cover of darkness, and the monuments had been removed from their pedestals by 6 a.m., according to NBC 5.
“The City of Chicago—at Mayor Lightfoot’s direction—has temporarily removed the Christopher Columbus statues in Grant Park and Arrigo Park until further notice,” a statement from the mayor’s office read.
‘Should have never happened’: Thin Blue Line members killed in Texas crash; illegal immigrant charged
In an interview on “Fox & Friends,” member David Weed told host Brian Kilmeade that last Saturday started out like “any other day.”
Twenty-five of their members were en route to their annual foundation meeting near San Antonio when 28-year-old Ivan Robles Navejas, a Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally, allegedly plowed into the front of their group.
“It’s really [an] unfortunate tragedy that happened,” Armando Florido said. “We do ride in a formation that is staggered in order to keep us safer.
But, this gentleman crossed the middle line and came straight on and hit the first bike. And, it was a domino effect with an explosion and it was a really sad scene to see.”
Arizona woman tried sending money to Al Qaeda for weapons to ‘kill Americans’: FBI
Jill Marie Jones arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on Wednesday allegedly expecting to board a flight to Turkey, and then travel to Syria, where she would begin her new life working with Al Qaeda.
Instead, she was greeted at her gate by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to a Friday morning press release.
Jones, a 35-year-old Chandler resident, began speaking with someone who was actually an undercover agent on March 4.
Their communications continued into the beginning of May, when the undercover agent connected with a second person, also an undercover agent, who told her “that he facilitated the movement of people,” according to the criminal complaint pertaining to her arrest.
Washington Post settles Nicholas Sandmann defamation lawsuit in Covington Catholic High School controversy
Sandmann announced the victory on Twitter.
“On 2/19/19, I filed $250M defamation lawsuit against Washington Post. Today, I turned 18 & WaPo settled my lawsuit.
Thanks to @ToddMcMurtry & @LLinWood for their advocacy.
Thanks to my family & millions of you who have stood your ground by supporting me. I still have more to do,” Sandmann wrote on Friday.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Violent Left-Wing Chaos in Portland
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Violent Left-Wing Chaos in Portland:
“The Federal Government has a sworn duty to uphold the laws of the United States….Yet the rhetoric of the Left undermines the justice system.”
CBP Commissioner on Federal Agents in Portland and Chicago
5 COVID-19 Stories the MSM Won’t Report
Commentary/Opinion:
Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler on OAN.
Police Union Leader: Stop Vilifying Cops
Commentary/Opinion:
Did you know?
A police officer is 18½ times more likely to be killed by a black male than an unarmed black male is to be killed by a police officer.
There is an average of 27 deadly-weapons attacks on officers per day in the U.S.
These are good men and women doing a dangerous job that the rest of us can barely fathom.
Trump presents Medal of of Freedom to Jim Ryun
President Trump presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Jim Ryun, a former KS congressman and 3-time Olympian runner. Start’s about 7:51 minute mark.
Philadelphia DA Charges SWAT Officer For Pepper-Spraying Protesters
Krasner charged Philadelphia Police Officer Richard Nicoletti with three counts each of simple assault, reckless endangerment, official oppression, and possession of an instrument of crime in connection with his actions on June 1, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Fortunato Perri, Jr, an attorney for Officer Nicoletti, said his client was just following orders at the protest, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“His unit was ordered by commanders to clear the highway with the approved use of tear gas and pepper spray,” Perri said.
He said that Officer Nicoletti, a 12-year veteran of the police force and former Army Ranger, “is being charged with crimes for simply following orders,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Portland high school football coach fired
An Oregon high school football coach has said he was fired because he’s also police officer.
One America’s Reagan Gensiejewski has that story.
North Carolina professor is found dead weeks after taking early retirement following online petition to get him fired over tweet where he dubbed State governor ‘Massa Cooper’ and compared coronavirus restrictions to a ‘slave state’
Deputies discovered the body of University of North Carolina-Wilmington professor Mike Adams, 55, while performing a wellness check at his home at around 2pm Thursday.
Later, Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli, Adams posted a statement on the university’s website saying that Adams would retire on August 1.
Adams responded with a Twitter post which read: ‘Many young people are depressed because they have been taught to be offended constantly.’
Adams also regularly critiqued his colleagues, as well as the students he taught.
Referring to Black Lives Matter protests, he wrote on Twitter:
‘The violent outrage of white liberals taking to the streets is brought to you by your local university.
None of this would be possible without the encouragement of academic extremists who have hijacked the system of higher education.’
Report: Portland Rioters Barricaded Federal Agents in Courthouse, Tried to Burn it Down
The attack on the Hatfield Federal Courthouse began after 10 p.m. local time after more than 1,000 people gathered downtown. Some became violent.
The attackers blocked the entrances to the courthouse, preventing the special DHS forces inside from easily getting out.
Some federal officers escaped and tried to repel those vandalizing the outside of the courthouse but were beamed in the eye by lasers, which can cause temporary and long-term blindness.
Other rioters then installed wooden boards on the outside of the courthouse entrance to prevent the rest of the DHS officials from leaving, while others tried to break down the doors.
Oakland Mayor Victimized By BLM Vandals She Supported; Turns To The Police She Did Not
Oakland, California Mayor Libby Schaaf just received a hard dose of reality about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mayor Schaaf has been vocal about defending the protesters in all their glory; looting, rioting, destruction and all.
Additionally, she has joined the movement’s mass mentality and supports defunding the police.
Despite her kinship, the Black Lives Matter activists extended her the same courtesy as they did all other personal property. They vandalized her home.
Detroit police chief says he would welcome federal help if protests turn violent: ‘Lot of partisan politics’
Craig’s comments come a day after President Trump vowed to deploy federal troops to several U.S. cities — including Detroit — to combat rising crime.
The “surge” of agents to struggling American cities is part of Operation Legend — named after 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was fatally shot while sleeping in a Kansas City apartment late last month — and comes as federal law enforcement officers have already descended on Portland, Ore., and Kansas City, Mo.
Craig blasted the bail reform policy and the early release of prisoners due to COVID-19.
“Bail reform, that’s not turning out so well. My colleagues in other cities are talking about it,” Craig said.
“They are reintroducing very violent suspects into our neighborhoods, so, there is no surprise that we’re having this level of violence,” said Craig.
‘They Are Terrorists’: DHS Says Investigations Into ‘Criminal Rioters’ Continue
“So there are hundreds of federal investigations running into these criminal rioters, that’s what they are,” Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told BlazeTV. “They are terrorists.”
When asked if federal authorities are attempting to discover whether riots and looting across America are being coordinated by certain groups, Cuccinelli told BlazeTV that “we are looking at anywhere there is organization behind criminal activity.”
Protests and riots in Portland have resulted in tens of millions of dollars in damages to the community, according to the Portland Tribune.
Despite almost 60 days of nightly rioting in Portland, political leaders there are resisting federal assistance.
China orders US to close Chengdu consulate
Fox News senior strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane offers insight on the state of the U.S. relationship with China.
California failed to test some of the most regular nursing home visitors: inspectors
Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, California health officials have required nursing homes to bar entry to outsiders who might bring the coronavirus in with them and trigger a deadly outbreak among the elderly, vulnerable residents.
As a result, aging parents haven’t seen their families in months. Many have died without a final embrace from the people they loved.
But despite requiring routine testing of residents and employees, there’s one group California health officials have knowingly sent from nursing home to nursing home without first testing them for the lethal virus: state inspectors.
Politics:
Dave “Walter Cronkite” Portnoy Interviews Donald Trump at the White House
This was truly one of the most surreal days of my life. From delivering newspapers out of my astrovan to interviewing the leader of the free world at the White House.
What a long, strange trip it’s been.
I don’t care what your politics are this was an opportunity that couldn’t be turned on. I still can’t believe it happened to be honest
Key Republicans say newly declassified memos prove FBI spied on Trump during intel briefings
The agent’s post-briefing memo recorded near verbatim the specific questions the future president was asking intelligence officials, even comments Trump made about his youngest son, as well as sizing up national security adviser Michael Flynn’s behavior,
Senate committee chairmen Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who first uncovered the FBI use of briefings to gather evidence against Trump, issued a statement Thursday night saying he new memos “shed light on FBI efforts to co-opt Intel briefings to spy on 2016 Trump campaign.”
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the bureau’s tactics were unwarranted and “give us more proof that the Deep State within the FBI was working to prevent @realDonaldTrump from becoming the next President of the United States.
“This is outrageous, and every American should demand accountability for those involved,” he tweeted.
‘Unrigging the system,’ Trump signs executive orders to lower prescription drug prices
One of the executive orders would provide discounted insulin and EpiPens to low-income Americans, which Trump said would bring the cost down to “pennies a day.”
The president explained that community health centers would have to pass the savings they receive on the drugs onto their patients.
Another order would allow “states, wholesalers and pharmacies” to safely import prescription drugs from Canada –a change Trump said the Obama-Biden administration wasn’t able to make
“We’re standing up to the lobbyists and special interests,” the president said in a White House event. “I’m unrigging the system that is many decades old.”
Tom Cotton Introduces Bill to Cut Funds to Schools That Teach “1619 Project”
Cotton’s bill, called the Saving American History Act of 2020, requires secretaries from the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Agriculture to cut funds to schools implementing the false, anti-American rewriting of history into their curriculum.
Federal funding for low-income and special-needs students would not be affected, the Free Beacon added.
“The New York Times’s 1619 Project is a racially divisive, revisionist account of history that denies the noble principles of freedom and equality on which our nation was founded.
Not a single cent of federal funding should go to indoctrinate young Americans with this left-wing garbage,” Cotton said.
GOP reps push resolution to ban Democratic Party over past slavery ties
The resolution’s co-sponsors are Reps. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Jody Hice, R-Ga., Randy Weber, R-Texas, and Andy Harris, R-Md. It is unlikely to pass, but appears to be meant more as a criticism of allegedly “blatant hypocrisy” around the House’s approval of a measure removing Confederate busts in the Capitol this week.
Weber, speaking on the House floor after Gohmert introduced his resolution, criticized “cancel culture.”
“The cancel culture train, H.R. 7573, that passed yesterday, was wrong on a deep level.
I’m not going to get on that cancel culture train that says we have to do away with any mention or remembrance of everybody or everything that we don’t agree with, or that might have said something we don’t like, didn’t like, or that might have stood for something that we don’t stand for,” Weber said.
GOP Candidate (CA-28th) Eric Early says “Schiff Lied, People Died”
Challenger to Rep. Adam Schiff in California’s 28th District, Eric Early, spoke to OAN’s Patrick Hussion about his campaign to unseat Schiff and flip the district to red.
Early said Schiff’s focus on impeaching President Trump delayed the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roger Stone and Rudy Giuliani, EXCLUSIVE Interview | Ep. 56, Part One
In this episode of Rudy Giuliani’s Common Sense, Rudy Giuliani sits down with Roger Stone for an exclusive interview.
President Trump’s update on reopening schools
Rep. Andy Biggs,
I thank President Donald J. Trump for stressing the importance of returning our children to their classrooms as SAFELY and QUICKLY as possible.
Children need the structure and stability that in-person instruction provides.
The science shows that children are more immune from COVID-19, and that they may not transmit the virus as readily as adults.
We can safely reopen our schools for children, teachers, and parents. We must not play politics with the critical development of our children.
Virtue Signaling Rich Liberals-The Mob Is Coming For You (Pt. 3 | Ted Cruz | POLITICS | Rubin Report
Commentary/Opinion:
Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report talks to Ted Cruz (U.S. Senator from Texas and best selling author of “A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America,” ) about big tech’s US election meddling, the dangers of democratic socialism, and if the woke outrage mobs will spare the virtue signalling liberal elites of Silicon Valley and Hollywood.
Ted talks about how the Democratic party has changed from the party of blue collar workers to the party of the silicon valley elites.
He wonders if the virtue signalling liberal elite really believe that they will be spared from the woke cancel culture mobs.
He discusses how intolerant the left have gotten when people like Peter Thiel feel the need to get out of silicon valley.
The Real Collusion Scandal of the 2016 Campaign
Commentary/Opinion:
If you think this sort of collusion isn’t happening right now between Biden’s aides and the journalists who want Trump bounced from office, then you’re dreaming.
Even worse, CBS brought on Leibovich to discuss WikiLeaks … and never mentioned any of this!
In February 2016, the website Gawker published a cache of emails between reporters and Clinton PR operative Phillippe Reines.
The best example was Marc Ambinder, a longtime ABC and CBS reporter then with The Atlantic.
In July 2009, Clinton was delivering a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations. Ambinder wanted an advance copy of the speech. Reines insisted on conditions.
“You must describe her tone as ‘muscular,’ and you must note that her most prominent underlings at the State Department (George Mitchell and Richard Holbrooke) would be seated in front of her to convey her command of the staff,” he said.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti Backs Rioters in Portland: ‘The Best of Our Democratic Ideals’
In addition to violence, the protests in Portland have seen various other extreme tactics, such as using toddlers to convey obscene anti-police messages:
Breitbart News asked Mayor Garcetti in a press briefing last week if new stay-at-home orders in Los Angeles would apply to protests as well.
The mayor replied that outdoor protests were allowed if social distancing measures were taken. The “racial justice” protesters in Portland do not appear to be heeding that advice.
Several other Democratic mayors have joined Portland in opposing the presence of federal law enforcement agents in their cities, as President Donald Trump launched Operation Legend to fight crime waves that have broken out in the wake of nationwide unrest. The operation involves sending federal personnel to assist local law enforcement in restoring order.
Pro-Life Senator Holds Moment of Silence on Senate Floor to Mourn Babies Killed in Abortions
The Omaha World-Herald reports many lawmakers were emotional as they discussed whether to advance the pro-life bill.
Among them was state Sen. John Lowe, of Kearney. He held a moment of silence for the babies who have been killed in abortions during his time to speak, according to the report.
In 2018, there were 2,078 abortions on unborn babies in Nebraska, according to the state health department.
Of those, 32 were aborted by dilation and evacuation (D&E), which typically involves dismembering a nearly fully developed unborn baby while their heart is still beating.
Sean Davis: Most Disconcerting Thing About Obamagate Is Not One Person Has Been Charged
Commentary/Opinion:
Federalist co-founder Sean Davis said the “most disconcerting” thing about the Obama administration’s illegal spying and the fabrication of evidence in order to conduct deep-state surveillance on the Trump campaign is that not a single person has been charged now years later.
“Nobody’s been charged,” Davis said on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday. “If they’re not even going to come in and charge people who obviously violated our laws in order to spy on and then overthrow a presidential administration, why on earth would we expect them to go and reform the agency?”
The U.S. intelligence community declassified new documents Thursday offering more proof to pile onto the growing mountain of evidence exposing how corrupted bureaucrats abused their government powers to oust the democratically elected President Donald Trump.
Tucker: Coronavirus response is being driven by politics
Commentary/Opinion:
It’s likely that Americans have never been as unhappy as they are right now.
And for Democrats, that’s a win.
New FBI Notes Re-Debunk Major NYT Story, Highlight Media Collusion To Produce Russia Hoax
The FBI official who ran the investigation into whether the Donald Trump campaign colluded with Russia to steal the 2016 presidential election privately admitted in newly released notes that a major New York Times article was riddled with lies, falsehoods, and “misleading and inaccurate” information.
The February 2017 story was penned by three reporters who would win Pulitzers for their reporting on Trump’s supposed collusion with Russia.
The FBI’s public posture and leaks at the time supported the now-discredited conspiracy theory that led to the formation of a special counsel probe to investigate the Trump campaign and undermine his administration.
Declassified Documents Show FBI Used ‘Defensive’ Briefing In 2016 To Spy On Donald Trump
In one of the documents declassified and released on Wednesday, FBI supervisory Special Agent Joe Pientka wrote that he deliberately used the briefing to “actively listen for topics or questions” from Trump “regarding the Russian Federation.”
Rather than provide the Trump campaign a specific warning that certain campaign principals were being targeted by Russian intelligence, the FBI instead gave a general, non-specific warning that foreign intelligence services might eventually target the campaign.
The August 17, 2016 meeting came the day after the FBI opened a formal counterintelligence investigation against Flynn and just two days after FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok texted his former lover, FBI attorney Lisa Page, about an “insurance policy” he had designed to keep Trump from becoming president.
World News:
South African police disperse protesters over lockdown pain
Businesses say revenues have fallen because of the country’s lockdown and they seek further loosening of restrictions.
The protest occurred in Cape Town, one of the world’s most well-known tourist destinations. Officers shooed away protesters, who shouted ad whistled.
South Africa once had one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to delay the spread of the virus, but the government has been loosening it under economic pressure.
Israeli police use water cannon at anti-Netanyahu protest
Demonstrators have rallied near Netanyahu’s official residence on Balfour Street in recent weeks.
On Thursday night, the last day of the working week in Israel, mostly young people in masks and bandanas gathered at a nearby intersection for a predominantly peaceful protest, including a small outdoor orchestra performance.
Several hours later, there was a standoff, with police attempting to disperse the protesters, some of whom stood their ground.
Later, authorities drove large white lorries into the area and turned water cannon on the crowds.
EU must sanction Chinese leaders involved in Uighur oppression, legislators say
Last month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Brussels was mulling a coordinated European response to China’s new security law in Hong Kong, though she added:
“This has to be done with care.”
Now a group of 23 Renew Europe MEPs have written to Borrell to demand that the process be accelerated following “disturbing footage from China of handcuffed and blindfolded detained Uighurs and the continuous crackdown in Hong Kong.”
In the letter, seen by POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook, which is coordinated by Hilde Vautmans and Katalin Cseh and signed by Nathalie Loiseau, the former French Europe minister, they argue:
“The EU should adopt the framework swiftly to make sure we can ban human rights violators from traveling to Europe and freeze their assets.
By taking away their lives of luxury, the EU will hit them where it hurts most.”
Sudan finds mass grave likely linked to foiled 1990 coup
It was the second Bashir-era mass grave uncovered in as many months.
Al-Bashir’s repressive rule collapsed last year, when the military ousted him after months of street protests.
The transitional government, jointly led by civilians and army generals, is navigating a fraught path toward democratic elections and trying to hold al-Bashir’s government accountable for crimes committed over the 30 years that he ruled Sudan with an iron fist.
Commentary/Opinion:
Science And Data Say School Reopening Is Safe, So Why Do Democrats Oppose It?
According to the Foundation for Research of Equal Opportunity, maintaining the closure of schools poses expansive threats to the mental, emotional, and physical health of children and their family than the reopening schools could.
“While the risks of COVID-19 in children are low and manageable, the harms of prolonged school closures are high.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, ‘The importance of in-person learning is well-documented, and there is already evidence of the negative impacts on children because of school closures in the spring of 2020,’” the report says.
The science also points to children being at very low risk of hospitalization or death from the novel coronavirus.
Despite the overwhelming scientific support, the public debate over opening schools in America remains a partisan issue.