News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Ohio Boy, 3, Is Missing After His Mom Was Fatally Stabbed — and Woman’s Boyfriend Faces Charges
A 3-year-old Cincinnati boy last seen on Dec. 4 remains missing after the discovery Saturday of the body of his 29-year-old mother, who had been stabbed repeatedly and left near a bridge over the Ohio River.
Authorities identified the stabbing victim as Nyteisha Lattimore — and later that same day, they arrested 20-year-old Desean Brown on a charge of murder in connection with her death, police said.
Investigators say the suspect was Lattimore’s boyfriend, reports WLWT.
St. John the Divine Cathedral shooter ID’d, had attempted murder charge
Reuters
The gunman shot dead by cops after opening fire on the steps of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Sunday had a long rap sheet that included an attempted murder bust, according to records and sources.
And it wasn’t the first time he shot at cops, sources said.
In the first case, Vasquez was accused of firing a gun at police and an unidentified woman on Aug. 21, 1990, according to sources.
State prison records show he was sentenced to three-to-nine years after pleading guilty to a lesser felony weapons possession charge.
Navy identifies missing Roosevelt carrier sailor, declares him dead
A 55-hour search covered 607 square nautical miles of the Pacific Ocean and, although no body was found, the Navy declared him deceased on Monday.
Goolsby joined the Navy in 2019, and reported for duty aboard the aircraft carrier in July 2020. The incident remains under investigation.
He was reported missing three days after the aircraft carrier left San Diego, its homeport, for its second deployment of the year.
B-1B bomber carries, launches missile externally for first time, Air Force says
The December test suggests that all manner of heavy missiles, notably hypersonic missiles currently under development, could be fired from B-1Bs, Air Force officials have said.
“The Air Force Test Center is enthusiastically teaming with the Air Force Global Strike Command to enable greater flexibility in bomber payloads,” Maj. Gen. Christopher Azzano, Air Force Test Center commander, said Monday in a press release.
“Demonstration of B-1B external carriage reflects the potential to keep weapon systems in the fight with increased combat capability,” Azzano said.
Missouri woman, 3 others arrested in murder of her ex, his fiancée
The killing of Alex Chute, 28, and Brianna Sproul, 30, took place Nov. 14 in Willard. They were home when they were shot to death. Chute was employed as a military security officer with the State of Missouri and served with the Missouri Army National Guard.
The fourth person charged was Plumb’s nephew Therin Plumb, 18. He was accused of helping to get rid of the gun and charged with evidence tampering.
Cox was involved in a custody battle with Chute over their 4-year-old daughter at the time of his death, police said at a news conference.
UAW agrees to independent oversight to resolve U.S. corruption inquiry
U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said the UAW would pay $1.5 million to settle tax issues, make significant reforms and be overseen by an independent monitor for six years.
Schneider said the civil settlement caps the investigation into the union but said inquiries could continue against individuals.
“The union has had a problem with fraud, embezzlement and corruption,” Schneider told a press conference. “There are a few bad apples and those people have been convicted.”
‘Nonpartisan’ Facebook Fact-Checking Arbiter Trashed Republicans On Russian Propaganda Outlet
A professor Facebook has empowered to decide who can become a fact-checker is an open political leftist who has expressed animus against all Republican U.S. voters, according to recently uncovered documents exposing the official — and the process by which social media censors obtain their powers.
According to Jack Houghton of Sky News, the platform’s fact-checking certifier Margot Susca retweeted the claim that racism is “embraced by nearly half of the country’s electorate” in America, called herself a member of Hillary Clinton’s “team” in 2019, and on Russian propaganda network RT she insisted that the U.S. president’s speeches should not be broadcast.
Susca is an American University journalism professor and has been a “certifier” for the International Fact-Checking Network since 2017.
Chicago murders continue to skyrocket as police brass admit ‘it’s just been a really challenging year’
“The homicides have increased dramatically in Chicago, but not just Chicago – across the country – because of the pandemic and because of the civil unrest.”
As of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, CPD saw 739 murders so far in 2020 – approximately 55% more than the 475 reported through the same period in 2019, police told Fox News. More than 320 of this year’s murders have been solved, officials said.
But Chicago is not alone in seeing an uptick in violence.
Earlier this month, the New York City Police Department reported that the number of shootings through November in New York City had risen “to levels unseen in years.”
Pennsylvania waitress receives $5G tip on $200 bill, says money will help fund nursing degree
“I’m just happy with anything… I just couldn’t even believe it,” the student said of the surprise. “I’m going to put that money away toward college and pay it forward to do something good for other people.”
That night, the restaurant shared the story to Facebook, thanking the community for their support in “helping our staff get [through] the holidays,” during a year made complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The grateful message from Anthony’s At Paxon Hollow has since gone viral with over 1,000 likes.
Man firing pistols at end of Christmas concert killed by police in front of NYC cathedral
A man with a pistol in each hand — and a bag stuffed with weapons, gas, tools and a Bible — was fatally shot by cops after he fired bullets into the air outside Manhattan’s famed Cathedral of St. John the Divine at the end of a Christmas carol performance Sunday afternoon, officials and witnesses said.
The man reached the stairs of the Morningside Heights church on Amsterdam Avenue and W. 112th St. about 3:55 p.m., just after its choir finished singing Christmas carols, and started blasting a pair of pistols, police sources said.
He had a Dominican flag mask pulled over his face, and carried a bag on his shoulder.
Michigan judge allows release of report from Dominion voting equipment forensic audit in Antrim County
The hearing took place on the same day that Michigan’s presidential electors were set to convene in Lansing, as were electors in states across the country.
In the virtual court hearing, which was watched online by thousands of people, DePerno argued that the public interest in the case was high and that his report about the forensic audit of the Dominion machines should be released.
“We believe that the public interest in understanding what we discovered and what’s in the report would outweigh any potential harm to Dominion’s software,” the attorney said.
Politics:
Hunter Biden’s Attorneys Refuse to Cooperate With Senate Investigation
Of course, there is an alternative suggested by Congressman Ken Buck among others.
A special counsel could be appointed. Granted, Biden could dismiss the special counsel, but he would be hesitant because that would look terrible and would make most people assume his son was guilty.
So, if you want to really get to the bottom of this, which everyone should since there is a possibility that the incoming President of the United States could be compromised by criminal acts that either he or his son have committed under the watchful eye of a foreign government, a special prosecutor seems like the right way to go.
As border numbers increase, CBP chief says US faces ‘full-blown crisis’ if Trump-era policies end
Acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Mark Morgan told reporters that the increase, which saw an average of 2,300 encounters a day in November, was mainly made up of single adult males from Mexico — but there is an increasing number of families and unaccompanied children (UACs) from the Northern Triangle countries in recent months.
While the 70,000 was similar to October’s numbers, Morgan noted that numbers had been creeping up since April and said they were motivated in part by the worsening economic conditions in those countries due to the COVID-19 crisis. In April, Border Patrol encountered 712 unaccompanied children in April. That number was 4,467 in November.
But, as Morgan has warned before, he said that a perceived coming shift in policy from a new incoming Biden administration was motivating others to make the journey north.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Says Coronavirus Is Not A Reason To Abandon Voter ID Requirement
In a unanimous ruling, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled election officials who implemented their own amendments to state law, arguing that the state Democratic governor’s stay-home order used at least in part to justify the changes — which was also shut down by the high bench this spring — did not render residents indefinitely confined and therefore did not warrant an exemption from providing ID.
“County clerks are not to interpret Wisconsin’s election laws and make declarations based on those interpretations,” Chief Justice Patience Roggensack wrote.
In the spring, the court ordered the local clerks to halt issuing guidance allowing voters to exempt themselves from the voter ID law citing coronavirus. The edict remained in place through the general election.
Michigan House takes action against GOP lawmaker for floating violent Electoral College disruption
Michigan’s Republican leaders in its state legislature stripped Rep. Gary Eisen of his committee assignments after he inferred that violence could erupt during Monday’s Electoral College vote.
Eisen, a Republican, did not rule out the possibility of violence erupting during the vote in an interview with a radio station. He also referenced a threat to lawmakers’ safety, doubting its credibility and calling it “convenient” for those wishing to impede the efforts of those wishing to disrupt the Electoral College process.
The decision to remove Eisen from his legislative committees was announced by Republican House Speaker Lee Chatfield.
Sanders urges Democrats to reject bipartisan stimulus bill
In an interview, the Vermont independent said the legislation is “totally inadequate” and questioned how Democrats could fathom supporting a bill that’s so far short of previous proposals that ran into the trillions.
Much of the bipartisan bill is funded with unused money from March’s massive CARES Act.
Sanders, who is on the Democratic leadership team in the Senate, said he communicated his views to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer privately.
He said Schumer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi need to force negotiations on a bigger bill and lean on President Donald Trump’s support for new stimulus checks and more government spending.
SALT | Full Measure
Right now, there is a controversy over SALT.
And by SALT, we mean “State and Local Taxes.”
Right now there’s an epic battle going on between the federal government and states like California, New York and New Jersey.
It centers on whether taxpayers in those states should get a bigger break on their federal taxes because they pay so much in state and local taxes.
Hilton: The establishment has no intention of building trust in democracy
Commentary/Opinion:
Host of ‘The Next Revolution’ Steve Hilton weighs in on the Democrat establishment’s attempts to silence Americans.
Stephen Miller: We have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result
Trump Campaign Senior Advisor Stephen Miller: “We have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result.”
World News:
India: Hundreds of iPhone Factory Workers Riot over Abusive Work Conditions
The demonstration turned violent as workers smashed windows, damaged factory equipment, destroyed vehicles, and clashed with police. Taiwan-based Wistron uses the facility to manufacture iPhones for Apple, Inc.
According to local media reports cited by the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the workers claim they have not been paid in months, even though they were forced to work extra shifts to meet production goals.
Some employees complained that when they did get paid, their wages were much lower than the salaries to which they agreed when Wistron hired them. Employees working on the factory floor reported clearing as little as eight dollars per month.
U.S. sanctions NATO ally Turkey over purchase of Russian defense system
Turkey condemned the sanctions as a “grave mistake” and urged Washington to revise its “unjust decision”. It said sanctions would inevitably harm mutual relations and threatened unspecified retaliatory steps.
Senior U.S. officials said in a call with reporters that Ankara’s purchase of the S-400s and its refusal to reverse its decision, despite repeated pleas from Washington, left the United States with no other choice.
The sanctions, first reported by Reuters last week, target Turkey’s top defence procurement and development body Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), its chairman Ismail Demir and three other employees.
US blames Iran in abduction, death of ex-FBI agent Levinson
Besides calling out two high-ranking intelligence officers by name, U.S. officials also said the Iranian regime sanctioned the plot that led to Levinson’s abduction and lied for years about its involvement in his disappearance through disinformation campaigns aimed at deflecting responsibility and covering up the government’s role.
“The abduction of Mr. Levinson in Iran is an outrageous example of the Iranian regime’s willingness to commit unjust acts,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
“The United States will always prioritize the safety and security of the American people and will continue to aggressively pursue those who played a role in Mr. Levinson’s detention and probable death.”
Many African, Asian families marry off daughters amid virus
Many countries had made progress against such traditional and transactional marriages of girls in recent decades, but COVID-19’s economic havoc has caused significant backsliding: The United Nations estimates that hardships resulting from COVID-19 will drive 13 million more girls to marry before the age of 18.
Though most such marriages take place in secret, Save the Children estimates that this year alone, nearly half a million more girls under 18 are at risk of being married off worldwide, most in Africa and Asia, but also in the Middle East.
One aid organization said staffers in a remote corner of Sierra Leone overheard a relative offering up a girl as young as 8 for marriage earlier this year. When chastised, the grandmother later denied doing so.
China detains Bloomberg News employee over ‘endangering national security’ suspicions
Haze Fan, a Chinese national working for Bloomberg’s Beijing bureau, has been detained on suspicion of endangering Chinese national security, the news publication reported Friday.
“Chinese citizen Ms. Fan has been detained by the Beijing National Security Bureau according to relevant Chinese law on suspicion of engaging in criminal activities that jeopardize national security.
The case is currently under investigation. Ms. Fan’s legitimate rights have been fully ensured and her family has been notified,” Chinese authorities told Bloomberg.
China: Britain’s Biggest Long-Term Threat
“If the question is which state will be shaping our world across the next decade providing big opportunities and big challenges for the UK, the answer is China,” Britain’s new MI5 Director Ken McCallum recently told journalists.
He added that Russia is currently “providing bursts of bad weather, while China is changing the climate”.
McCallum said that countries such as China and Russia were no longer focused just on traditional espionage activities, such as stealing government secrets, but also on targeting Britain’s economy, infrastructure and academic research, while seeking to undermine its democracy.
Israel-Bhutan normalize relations; World must note MidEast consensus on Iran – TV7 Israel News 14.12
1) The circle of Jerusalem’s peace continues to grow – with the Kingdom of Bhutan and the State of Israel jointly announcing the Establishment of full diplomatic relations.
2) The United States formally removed the Republic of Sudan from the list of ‘state sponsors of terror’ – as part of a deal to realize peace between Khartoum and Jerusalem (among others).
3) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urges the European Union to discard the plight from its Member States Greece and Cyprus – apparently insisting that EU-Turkish relations are more important.
Instagram star ‘zombie’ Angelina Jolie sentenced to decade in prison
Sahar Tabar, 19, whose real name is Fatemeh Khishvand, gained nearly 500,000 followers after posting images of her eerily gaunt face.
Tabar’s lawyer confirmed his client was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the past few days, the Daily Mail reported. She was charged with corruption of young people and disrespect for the Islamic Republic, according to the Guardian.
She was also charged with blasphemy and inciting violence when she was arrested in October 2019 along with three other Instagram influencers. She was cleared of those charges. Iranian state TV broadcast her confession in late October last year.
Chinese Communist member data leak shows thousands in US government, companies and more: report
A leaked database of 2 million Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members revealed that thousands of Chinese communist members infiltrated U.S., U.K., and Australian government agencies and companies, new reports revealed over the weekend.
The database leak, originally reported by The Australian, revealed the identities of nearly 2 million CCP members, thousands of which were discovered to be employed by western businesses and government agencies, and 79,000 branches of the CCP.
Boeing and QualComm are just two companies identified with U.S. military contracts.
Aerospace giant Boeing has billions of dollars worth of contracts with the U.S. military, while QualComm manufactures computer chips and other hardware for the U.S. Department of Defense’s IT systems and more.
Over 300 students still missing after Nigeria school attack
More than 300 students are missing after the attack on the Government Science Secondary School, a boys’ school in Kankara, on Friday night, Katsina governor Aminu Masari said.
A joint rescue operation was launched Saturday by Nigeria’s police, air force and army, according to the government.
The military was in gunfights with the bandits after locating their hideout in the Zango/Paula forest Saturday, according to a statement by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Commentary/Opinion:
Dennis Prager Explains Battle Between Leftism and Judeo-Christian Tradition
“The aim of the left is a reversion to a world without God, which means a world of chaos,” Dennis Prager, host of The Dennis Prager Show and founder of PragerU, told a crowd of Trump supporters Saturday during the Jericho March in Washington, DC.