News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World news, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Florida police bust boy, 17, for allegedly pimping 14-year-old girl through social media
Javier Quintero was selling the girl for sex over social media after she ran away from home several weeks earlier, according to the State Attorney’s Office in Miami-Dade County.
Quintero allegedly had his own relationship with the teen and told her she could get paid $250 per hour by having sex with men or performing sex acts, officials said.
Over the course of three weeks, he arranged all meetings with Johns, calling them “dates,” through social media using his cellphone and took any money she was paid, according to the Miami Herald and the victim’s account to police.
Costs from weeks of protests take financial toll on cash-strapped cities across US
All told, the unruly demonstrations following the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery could make it one of the costliest displays of civil disorder in U.S. history.
In many places, the financial fallout comes as cities and states have drained their coffers trying to fight COVID-19.
The end result for these cash-strapped cities could put them millions of dollars in the red and struggling for years to get out.
In Minneapolis, costs related to the protests could hit higher than $500 million. In Portland, Ore., nearly 80 nights of destruction have caused the liberal locale $23 million and counting.
In Chicago, a city that’s seen soaring crime rates and corruption at the highest levels, the damage done from the protests has not only hit high-end retailers but crippled hundreds of mom-and-pop stores trying to eke out a living.
Court Axes ‘Save James’ Ruling, Mom Who Wants Gender ‘Transition’ for 8-Yr-Old Regains Decision Rights
Yesterday, a Dallas judge took away Jeffrey Younger’s say in his son James’ medical, psychological, and psychiatric care, giving that power to James’ mother, who wants to “transition” him into a “girl.”
After receiving national attention in October 2019, the bitter parental dispute had ultimately resulted in both parents getting a say in decisions regarding James and his twin, Jude; this ruling effectively reverses that.
Yesterday’s ruling effectively reverses Judge Kim Cooks’ October order.
Texas Judge Charged With Shooting At Husband’s Girlfriend In Driveway Standoff
A bizarre case has unfolded in Texas where Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas has been charged with shooting at the girlfriend of her husband.
Smoots-Thomas was previously suspended after allegations that she spent campaign funds on jewelry, luxury items, her mortgage payments, and other personal expenses.
The case could raise some novel defenses.
Smoots-Thomas is facing 10 counts of wire fraud involving $25,000 in campaign funds but still ran for reelection. What is astonishing is that, despite the allegations, she still made a runoff in the recent election. (She was ultimately defeated).
Pastor, church sue Newsom, Los Angeles County officials over orders
In its 538-page complaint, the plaintiffs argue that rioters and protesters who were not following health protocols over Memorial Day weekend and following days were treated differently than other residents of California.
This disparate treatment resulted in an increased number of coronavirus cases being reported. In response, “In June and July, attempting to fight this spike, California targeted the wrong groups,” the complaint states.
“Blatant favoritism has not only led to spikes and a loss of confidence by the American people – but it has also resulted in forceful decisions by courts addressing these constitutional violations,” it continues.
Oregon State Police pull out of Portland after DA announces rioters won’t be prosecuted in most cases
About 100 state troopers had been assisting Portland police in controlling riots and protecting property during the nightly unrest that has been taking place in the city for at least 78 days.
After Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced Tuesday that crimes such as disorderly conduct, interference with a police officer, and resisting arrest might not be prosecuted in many cases, OSP Capt.
Timothy Fox said the department would not be extending its assignment in the city, which he said was only supposed to be two weeks long anyway.
VIDEO: Illinois kids’ lemonade stand robbed at gunpoint, then cops and community rally around the boys
Surveillance video from a neighbor caught the armed robbery of the lemonade stand at 4:52 p.m. last Friday.
The suspects reportedly stole about $30 before running off. Peoria police spokeswoman Amy Dotson confirmed that one of the suspects had a gun, according to the Pekin Times. Police were investigating the robbery.
The young entrepreneurs were not deterred by the armed stickup and continued selling their lemonade.
Then on Tuesday, even more police officers showed up to help turn lemons into lemonade.
Ninth Circuit Rules Against California Ban on ‘Large Capacity Mags’
Benitez issued his injunction on June 29, 2017, and that decision was upheld by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit on July 17, 2018, Breitbart News reported.
An August 14, 2020, en banc decision from the Ninth Circuit ruled the ban on LCMs unconstitutional.
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling against California’s ban on LCMs says:
Postal Service Warns Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballots May Arrive Too Late to Be Counted
“There is a significant risk that, at least in certain circumstances, ballots may be requested in a manner that is consistent with your election rules and returned promptly, and yet not be returned in time to be counted,” wrote Thomas Marshall, general counsel and executive vice president for the Postal Service, in the letter addressed to Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar.
It comes as some lawmakers in Washington have raised concerns about delays in mail delivery amid reorganization efforts at the Postal Service.
In July, postmaster general and CEO Louis DeJoy imposed cost-cutting measures meant to address the Postal Service’s longtime financial problems, including cutting overtime.
Lawmakers from both parties have criticized the changes,
FBI Removes Wrongful Conviction Status Of O’Keefe From NICS
[NEW YORK—Aug. 14, 2020] A week after vowing to get his constitutional right to bear arms restored, James O’Keefe III, learned the FBI reversed course on an erroneous
denial to purchase a shotgun.
“This is a victory for all Americans. No law-abiding citizen should be wrongfully denied the basic right to bear arms,” said O’Keefe, who attempted to buy the shotgun July 26.
“Throughout this ordeal, I have learned from too many people about the hassles regular Americans have gone through just to exercise their right to keep and bear arms,” O’Keefe said.
Man Arrested for Stabbing One Year After Assaulting Activist in Berkeley
The man caught on video assaulting a conservative activist in California last year was arrested this week for allegedly stabbing another man.
Zachary Greenberg, 30, was arrested on Sunday night after officers responded to a report of an assault in progress in Princeton, Calif.
The victim told San Mateo deputies that a male subject got into an argument with him related to him riding his bicycle on the sidewalk.
SAG-AFTRA Health Plan Raises Rates, Eligibility Requirements in Response to Projected Pandemic Losses
SAG-AFTRA members were informed Wednesday night of drastic changes to the guild’s health plan in response to projected losses incurred as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with premium increases and stricter financial eligibility requirements set to take effect Jan. 1.
In a letter to members, managers of the guild’s health plan said the changes are necessary because of projected deficits “of $141 million this year and $83 million in 2021,” and that “by 2024, the Health Plan is projected to run out of reserves.”
Among the changes to the plan:
Mental Health Issues Soaring During COVID Pandemic
The pandemic is taking a big toll on Americans’ psyches: A new government report found that about 41% of adults surveyed in late June “reported an adverse mental or behavioral health condition.”
That’s a big rise from 2019. For example, the data shows that the number of Americans suffering from an anxiety disorder had tripled by late June compared to the same time last year, and the number of those with depression had jumped fourfold.
The findings, based on surveys conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from June 24-30, also show that “one quarter of [survey] respondents reported symptoms of trauma- and stressor-related disorder.”
Landscape of rubble persists as Minneapolis demands taxes in exchange for permits
The main reason for the different recoveries is simple: Minneapolis requires owners to prepay the second half of their 2020 property taxes in order to obtain a demolition permit. St. Paul does not.
“Minneapolis has not been particularly friendly toward business for some time,” said Blyly, who prepaid $8,847 in taxes last week but still hasn’t received his demolition permit.
“They say they want to be helpful, but they certainly have not been.”
Lawyer for ex-Atlanta cop accused of murder claims DA’s office tried to ‘uncover’ those who donated to client
Noah Pines, one of former Officer Garrett Rolfe’s attorneys, has already requested that Paul Howard, the prosecutor, recuse himself from the case due to his public statements about the shooting, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Prosecutors hoped to learn about the origins of the online fundraiser and what happened to the money that was collected, the paper said.
Prosecutors hoped to determine if there was any evidence to support a bail-jumping charge, the paper reported, citing an official from the district attorney’s office.
Pines told the paper that Howard “sought to uncover the private information of Americans who donated to Garrett Rolfe’s defense because they believed in his innocence.”
North Carolina boy Cannon Hinnant, 5, laid to rest after senseless murder: You ‘can’t imagine what it’s like’
Family and friends gathered Thursday to lay to rest a little North Carolina boy who always had a smile on his face — as the motive for his senseless murder over the weekend remained a mystery.
“[You] can’t imagine what it’s like to hold your son in your arms with a gunshot wound to the head, and his blood is running down your arms,” Austin Hinnant told WRAL-TV before the funeral for his 5-year-old son Cannon.
Cannon’s funeral Thursday drew hundreds of mourners to the Shingleton Funeral Home in Wilson.
FBI offers $10,000 reward in search for 2-year-old girl’s killer
“Our hearts are heavy today, mourning the loss of JoJo with her family. Now more than ever, we ask the public for help.
This little girl’s life was stripped from her in an act of senseless violence that will forever impact those who knew her,” Hammond Police Chief John Doughty said in a statement.
“Please spread this information to anyone you can, and come forward if you know anything that may be valuable to this investigation so that we may bring justice to those involved and assist in bringing peace to Jo Jo’s family.”
ON CAMERA: Grocery store employees berate, curse at customer for improper mask use
“I’ve been here for 30-years, never seen anything like this,” said the man who captured the July 23rd incident on camera.
“I actually did the video because I was afraid it was going to break out into a fist fight,” the man said, asking to remain anonymous for fear of backlash.
“You’re not American, you’re being a piece of [expletive] right now,” said the second employee.
“You’re turning into a little Nazi,” the customer said to the second employee.
“You’re a [expletive] Trumpster,” the second employee responds.
Group of Seattle rioters scream at white residents: ‘Give up your house! Give black people back their homes!’
The march was caught on video, which has since gone viral on the internet.
According to Twitter user Kitty Shackleford, the group — made up of about 50 demonstrators — marched down the streets of the neighborhood chanting, “Black people used to live here!”
One man can be heard telling residents, “Hey guys, do you know that you are living in a historically black neighborhood right now? Do you know that before your white ass came here this was all black people?
A female leader in the group shouted, “Open your wallet!” and proceeded to demand that the residents give up their homes.
Politics:
Tucker: Our leaders don’t care about our real problems
Commentary/Opinion:
FOX NEW VIDEO: Democratic leaders refuse to take accountability for crime and unrest.
Federal appeals court overturns order for Hillary Clinton to sit for deposition on private email use
The appeals court accused the district court of having abused its discretion, having used suspicions of bad faith by the government to opening the door to what the appeals court described as “far-reaching” depositions.
“The mere suspicion of bad faith on the part of the government cannot be used as a dragnet to authorize voluminous discovery that it is irrelevant to the remaining issues in a case,” the ruling said.
The initial case focused on Benghazi, and expanded with the discovery of Clinton’s private email server in 2015.
The court noted that the depositions focused on the server and her understanding of records-managements was not related to the initial issue in the FOIA,
Louisiana legislators rap governor’s administration over state worker pay raises
Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne said the State Civil Service Commission would have approved the raises regardless, forcing cuts to other spending lawmakers had approved.
“I just find it absolutely insane that we’re giving out $60 million in pay raises when my constituents are losing their jobs,” said state Sen. Kirk Talbot, a River Ridge Republican.
An additional 9,919 Louisiana workers filed new unemployment claims in the week ending Aug. 8, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
That’s down from the 13,401 who filed initial claims the week of Aug. 1. But continuing claims – those who filed for unemployment benefits at least two weeks in a row – remain near 300,000 in the state.
08/14/20: President Trump Holds a News Conference
The White House.
The Two Biggest Fake News Stories of the Day, Debunked!
Commentary/Opinion:
Tipping Point With Liz Wheeler on OAN.
The Identity Politics Vice Presidential Nominee
Commentary/Opinion:
Choosing a VP candidate on the basis of race & sex is like buying a car that doesn’t run well because it’s painted red and has leather seats.
It’s stupid. Here’s the Simple Truth.
Fauci: In-Person Voting in November Can Be Done Safely
“I think if carefully done, according to the guidelines, there’s no reason that I can see why that not be the case,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said during an event broadcast Thursday.
“For example, when you look at going to a grocery store now in many regions and counties and cities that are doing it correctly, they have X’s every six or more feet.
And it says, ‘Don’t leave this spot until the person in front of you left their spot.’
And you can do that, if you go and wear a mask, if you observe the physical distancing, and don’t have a crowded situation, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be able to do that,” he added, after being asked about in-person voting at the National Geographic event.
Nebraska Legislature Passes Ban on Dismemberment Abortions
The bill, LB814, passed 33-8 and allows for professional injunctions and civil action against any abortion provider who violates the ban, besides in the case of a medical emergency.
The definition of dilation and evacuation (D&E) abortions in the bill does not apply to an abortion in which only suction is used to dismember a fetus or to the removal of a fetus that is already dead.
The bill specifically bans the use of clamps, forceps or similar instruments in abortion procedures.
Kevin Clinesmith, Corrupt FBI Attorney Who Falsified Carter Page FISA Warrant, Expected To Plead Guilty
Kevin Clinesmith, who is expected to admit to deliberately fabricating evidence in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant application, used to spy on a former campaign affiliate of President Donald Trump, was a top attorney in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) and a key agency attorney under fired former FBI Director James Comey.
Clinesmith is the first individual to be charged as part of U.S. Attorney John Durham’s investigation into the efforts in 2016 and 2017 to spy on the Trump campaign and Trump administration.
Clinesmith’s name first made national news after his anti-Trump text messages to another FBI attorney, Sally Moyer, surfaced following a separate OIG investigation of anti-Trump bias from top FBI attorneys and investigators.
NBC Refuses to Credit Trump for Israel-U.A.E. Peace, CBS Chides It
It was an out of left field and out of character development for 2020:
The Trump administration helped to broker a Middle East peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates Thursday.
The UAE recognized Israel’s right to exist as they planned to establish embassies and an economic relationship, and work on a COVID-19 vaccine.
The report was delivered by chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel, and at no point did he mention the Trump administration’s role in brokering the deal:
On CBS, White House correspondent Weijia Jiang took her normal adversarial tone against the President.
“The damning excerpts were released as the President took credit for establishing ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates,”
World News:
15 Years After Disengagement From Gaza, Area Still Mired in Violence
Israel will mark 15 years since the 2005 Gaza Disengagement —former Prime Minister’s Ariel Sharon’s operation to evict all 8,000 or so Israelis from the Gazan Jewish communities of Gush Katif, along with those in the central and northern parts of the Strip, in addition to the Israelis living in four communities in northern Samaria.
The expulsion of the residents and the destruction of their homes were a supposed peace gesture to the Palestinian Authority, which was gaining the coastal enclave. (Greenhouses were left intact to boost the initial economy; the Palestinians promptly burned them down.)
That small piece of territory has now become a seat of ongoing strife overrun by terror groups.
Once again, with a significant increase in rocket fire and incendiary devices leading to arson in Jewish towns and farmland in Israel’s south, many are still questioning the move after all these years.
Philippines terror boss linked to beheadings of two Canadians surrenders
Separatist commander Anduljihad Susukan was taken into custody in the city of Davao, the Associated Press reported.
Wanted for at least 23 murders, six attempted murders and five kidnappings, he led a network whose members are affiliated with ISIL.
The island-hopping group began in the 1990s with funding from Al-Qaeda, and has been at simmering conflict with the state ever since, using kidnapping as one of its main weapons.
John Ridsdel of Calgary and fellow Canadian Robert Hall were beheaded by Abu Sayyaf in Sulu in 2016, with Susukan said to have funded their captures from a Davao marina the year before.
Palestinians: Jews, Christians Are Our Enemy
![Pictured: A cargo plane operated by Etihad Airways, carrying medical aid from the UAE for Palestinians, prepares to land at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on June 9, 2020. The Palestinian Authority rejected the shipment because the Palestinians "refuse to be a bridge [for Arab countries] seeking to have normalized ties with Israel."](https://exampl76602.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/761.jpg?w=1024)
For the past few years, Palestinians have been waging a campaign to stop Jews from visiting Jerusalem’s Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary, a place sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and other Palestinian groups continue to portray the visits as “violent incursions by extremist Jewish settlers,” even though many of the visitors are not extremists and do not live in settlements.
The Temple Mount, where the First and Second Jewish Temples once stood, is the holiest place in the world for the Jewish people.
The Palestinians, however, deny any Jewish historic and religious connection to the Temple Mount and harass Jews who, as tourists, visit the site.
In response to reports that Jews will soon hold their first prayer at the UAE synagogue, a group called The Palestinian Congregation of Khulafa e-Rashideen (The Rightly Guided Successors of Prophet Mohammed), accused the UAE of acting in violation of the Koran and the Hadith (a collection of traditions containing sayings of Prophet Mohammed that constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran) by displaying “loyalty” to Jews and Christians.
The group reminded the rulers of the UAE of the Koranic verse that says:
At Least 100,000 Victims of Modern Slavery Just in UK
A new British report, “It Still Happens Here: Fighting UK Slavery in the 2020s”, by The Modern Slavery Policy Unit, a joint initiative led by the anti-slavery charity Justice and Care and The Centre for Social Justice, has estimated that “there could be at least 100,000 victims [of modern slavery] in the UK, with the actual number likely to be even greater”.
According to the report:
“Many thousands of children, women and men of all nationalities and backgrounds — including a growing number of British citizens — continue to be trafficked and exploited for profit by ruthless criminal networks.
They are tricked, taken and coerced into sexual slavery, crime, hard labour and domestic servitude. Forced addictions are increasingly used as methods of control”.
According to the report, despite the scale of the crimes, prosecutions have barely increased:
Thai student rallies continue despite activist’s arrest
BANGKOK — Student activists at Thailand’s most prestigious university defied a ban by college administrators and staged an anti-government rally on Friday, as a prominent protest leader was arrested elsewhere for his involvement in a previous demonstration.
Hundreds of students gathered in a hall on the campus of Chulalongkorn University in central Bangkok to hear speeches calling for a new constitution and for the government to resign.
The rally was the latest in a series in several major cities around the country.
Commentary/Opinion:
Fireside Chat Ep. 147 — Teachers Admit They Want to Keep Parents in the Dark
In a revealing new development, teachers openly lament that at-home learning allows parents to hear their lessons.
Others agree that this is “dangerous,” and say they need to be able to indoctrinate in a “parentless” way.
As Dennis explains, severing parental authority is exactly what every cult must achieve.