News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
‘NorCal Rapist’ Roy Waller Sentenced To 898 Years In Prison
Waller was sentenced in a Sacramento courtroom Friday. He was convicted on November 18 of 46 criminal counts stemming from nine rape incidents between 1991 and 2006. The last attacks happened in Sacramento.
One victim, Nicole Earnest-Payte, said: “He should experience the barbaric sense of time around him, knowing that this is his fate will set me free for good.
Waller had pleaded not guilty to the charges back in January but Judge Burger-Plavan ruled there was enough evidence presenting in the preliminary hearing to proceed with a trial.
Rape suspect arrested after San Francisco bus passengers intervene in attack
Fidel Padilla, 41, was later arrested after police used witness statements and surveillance footage to help identify the suspect.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Padilla with rape of an unconscious person, and plan to ask that he be held without bail.
At about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to the 900 block of Market Street on a report of a sexual assault. Officers found a 60-year-old woman unconscious at the scene and had the victim transported to a local hospital.
Ex-California contract worker charged in pandemic aid scam with inmate boyfriend
The scam is among several that investigators have uncovered in recent months involving fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment payments to prison inmates, including notorious convicted murderer Scott Peterson at San Quentin State Prison. Earlier this month, state authorities said at least $400 million had been paid on some 21,000 prison claims.
Federal investigators said Thursday that $21,000 went to an address in Roseville under the name and Social Security number of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
They said that and other fraudulent claims had been linked to another woman who once worked for the state.
FBI agent fired gunshots at Metrorail passenger after ‘verbal altercation,’ transit police say
The shooting left the passenger, a 29-year-old man, hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds, the officials said.
The information released Friday did say what sparked the verbal altercation, what is what about or if there was any physical contact before the shooting.
The transit agency also released a preliminary record of events around the shooting.
The agency said the incident started after a man approached the FBI agent as the train neared Medical Center Station. After a verbal exchange, the agent fired multiple shots, hitting the passenger, Metro said.
Boy abandoned at Mississippi Goodwill; FBI charges pair
In a complaint filed Thursday in Memphis Federal Court, the FBI accused Jeremy Fitzgerald, 34, and girlfriend Turlisca Turner, 29, of taking the child and driving him from Memphis to Mississippi.
The complaint said the boy’s mother Antoinette Smith told agents Fitzgerald took her child after she refused to work for him as a prostitute in Nashville.
She said she called Fitzgerald numerous times to get her son after he left her behind in Nashville, but he didn’t answer, according to the complaint.
Smith’s sister then called Fitzgerald and during the conversation, he demanded money for the boy’s return.
Teen stops domestic attack on mom, then is fatally stabbed
Authorities are calling the teen a hero, noting that five younger children were hiding upstairs during the attack Tuesday and were not hurt.
According to criminal charges, Jaime Vaca, 27, and his wife were arguing in their bedroom when one of the younger children got the teenage boy to help.
The teen kicked in the bedroom door as Vaca was choking his mother. Vaca stopped when the son intervened, grabbed a knife and stabbed the boy, the charges say.
Minnesota bar sued by state over indoor dining refuses to close
In court documents, Ellison cited Zarza’s statements to local media outlets that she intended to stay open despite the protocols and photos of the restaurant showing crowds not wearing masks inside. He said she was asked in a media interview what she would do if state officials asked her to close.
In response, Zarza said” You know what? We’ll see them in court,” according to the documents.
“I put a big fat bullseye on our back for a reason because I know they’re going to come after every single business anyways and I wanted to make sure I had thousands of supporters here showing us that they support us,” she told the NBC TV station in Minneapolis, KARE.
Bodycam video shows Florida officers shooting man charging at them with knife: police
Two Daytona Beach officers shot Andrew Mansilla, 25, in the neck Thursday night, critically injuring him.
Officers had responded to a 911 call saying that Mansilla and another man were arguing and that one of them indicated he was going to “stab someone” if cops showed up, the Daytona Police Department said Friday.
The bodycam footage shows one officer pulling up in her patrol car and saying over the radio, “I need another unit over here. He’s real aggressive and it looks like he’s got a knife in his hand. I’m backing away from him.”
Ric Grenell to Newsmax TV: ‘Unexplainable’ How Krebs Missed Cyberattack
Ambassador Richard Grenell reacts to reports of a previously-reported cyber-hack being larger than initially announced, and how this contradicts the sentiment of Former United States Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Chris Krebs. – with Newsmax TV’s John Bachman.
Trump wins flipped Michigan Co; Georgia to check mail-in ballot sigs; US bans more Chinese companies
The White House says Congress is working around the clock to agree on the next virus relief bill, Georgia’s Secretary of State announces a statewide audit of mail-in ballots, and the Department of Energy says it was hacked after a SolarWinds update.
Barricade Erected Around Seattle Capitol Hill Protest Zone
The Seattle homeless encampment located in what is known as the Capitol Hill Organized Protest or the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone has been surrounded by a “border wall” barricade after city officials said they planned on clearing the area, Newsweek reports.
Twitter users began sharing images of the wall, which appears to be made largely of wooden pallets, in Cal Anderson Park this week.
It surrounds the self-declared autonomous zone, which was set up by racial justice protesters over the summer and has resisted multiple attempts by local law enforcement to clear the area.
Supreme Court dismisses case on excluding illegal immigrants from census count as ‘riddled’ with ‘speculation’
An unsigned opinion from the majority of the court concluded that it would be premature to issue a ruling because it is uncertain how the administration will eventually implement the directive to not count illegal immigrants from a memo President Trump signed in July.
“At present, this case is riddled with contingencies and speculation that impede judicial review,” the unsigned opinion of the court read.
“The President, to be sure, has made clear his desire to exclude aliens without lawful status from the apportionment base. But the President qualified his directive by providing that the Secretary should gather information ‘to the extent practicable’ and that aliens should be excluded ‘to the extent feasible,” it continued. “
Any prediction of how the Executive Branch might eventually implement this general statement of policy is ‘no more than conjecture’ at this time.”
Fired Rochester police chief claims mayor asked him to lie in Daniel Prude’s death investigation
La’Ron Singletary, who was fired from the Rochester Police Department (RPD) in September shortly after announcing his plans to retire, on Wednesday filed a notice of claim with the Monroe Court Clerk’s office announcing his intention to sue Mayor Lovely Warren and the city for defamation of character, the creation of a hostile work environment and his “wrongful and retaliatory termination,” according to the documents.
Singletary alleged Warren and other city officials who were acting on her behalf “impugned my performance as Chief of Police of the City of Rochester by making false statements and material omissions about my performance and discharge of duties in the matter of the treatment of Daniel Prude in the custody of the Rochester Police, his subsequent death, the internal investigations conducted by the Rochester Police Department and my communication with Mayor Warren and other city officials.”
“I repeatedly refused to lie for Mayor Warren,” he wrote in the court papers.
FOX NEWS VIDEO: Victor Davis Hanson accuses BLM of trying to hijack American history
Commentary/Opinion:
Hoover Institution senior fellow discusses the connection between corporate America and radicals on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’.
Politics:
Repubs Bind Virus Aid to Limit on Fed Lending, Risking Bill; Biden Allies Cry Foul
Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania, wants a provision in the relief bill that would bar the Fed from restarting five programs that expire at the end of the year, or create similar ones going forward.
The roughly $900 billion proposal being debated by Congress, would, among other things, extend support to out-of-work Americans and thousands of small businesses.
While Toomey said the language only would affect a “narrow universe” of Fed facilities, Democrats in Congress have accused Republicans of trying to hamstring the incoming Biden administration.
Sen. Ron Johnson Blocks Bill Proposing $1,200 Relief Checks
His comments came as Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., tried to get consent to pass a bill that would have provided $1,200 for those who make up to $75,000. Consent requires the cooperation of every senator.
“What I’m proposing will give working folks in my state and across this country a shot … at getting back up on their feet,” Hawley said.
Johnson, however, objected.
“I completely support some kind of program targeted for small businesses. … So what I fear we’re going to do with this bipartisan package, and what the senator from Missouri is talking about is the same thing, is a shotgun approach,” Johnson said.
New Strzok texts reveal FBI’s eyes on Trump | Report
Peter Strzok’s new text messages were released suggesting the FBI was investigating Trump, like the president’s supporters have claimed. Newsmax TV’s Emerald Robinson reports.
FBI to brief McCarthy on Swalwell connection to Chinese spy
Here’s how you can help California remove Governor Gavin Newsom for good
Mike Netter is the founder of RecallGavin2020 It’s a movement — with amazing momentum — that could result in the end of Gavin Newsom’s career as Governor of California MUCH earlier than expected.
And Californians are HUNGRY for his removal.
So much so, in fact, that Netter says they’re practically grabbing the petition from his hands to sign.
He explains to Glenn how the process works, why Governor Newsom is such a danger to not only California but to the entire nation too, and how even non-Californians can help.
I Served 8 Months for a Campaign Contribution. Will Zuckerberg Get Punished for His $500M?
Commentary/Opinion:
I served 8 months on overnight confinement for a $20,000 campaign contribution.
How much time should Mark Zuckerberg serve for investing $500 million to skew the 2020 election for the Democrats?
Recall Gavin Newsom
Commentary/Opinion:
While Newsom forgets he’s an employee of the people and not their ruler, the people have not forgotten.
Liz Wheeler.
Top US lawmaker and wife with ties to China; Chinese authorities beat disabled woman
A paraplegic Chinese woman has been fighting for her rights for seven years.
But she’s not only a victim of forced demolition. A shortage of power in three Chinese provinces shuts down some factories and heating devices.
At the same time, China bans Australia’s coal, the main raw material for producing electricity in the country.
We breakdown the US Secretary of Transportation’s relation to the CCP and that of her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. And Chinese telecom company Huawei is now allowed to operate in Germany – as long as it guarantees its equipment won’t be used for sabotage, espionage or terrorism.
World News:
Report: Police in Socialist Zimbabwe Took Bets on Local Women to Rape
The study highlights abuses women face in communities rich in diamond mines, concluding Zanu-PF officials allowed torture, rape, killings, forced displacement, and other human rights violations to establish control of local mines and enrich themselves with diamond profits.
Multiple women quoted in the study described being attacked by large dogs, threatened with sexual violence, and witnessing security officials bet on which local women each would later attempt to rape.
Zimbabwe’s mines, particularly its diamond mines, are the source of much of its natural wealth.
Under late dictator Robert Mugabe and his successor and former intelligence chief Emmerson Mnangagwa, indigenous groups in areas with significant diamond reserves faced extreme state abuse and, ultimately, displacement, to allow companies affiliated with Zanu-PF to mine the area.
Chinese Military Road in Himalayas Alarms Indian Strategists
The Hindustan Times reported Friday that the road and associated infrastructure will improve the PLA’s ability to cross Karakoram Pass.
The road is less than 30 feet wide for much of its length, but it would “shorten the distance to the strategic gateway into the Daulet Beg Oldi sector by two hours,” and would help the PLA feed and support troops positioned along the mountainous Indian border for extended periods.
A senior Indian military commander told the Hindustan Times the Chinese are working on widening and strengthening the road to handle “bigger vehicles carrying heavy equipment.”
Supporting infrastructure is also under construction, including an underground fuel depot and tunnels that can be used as aircraft hangars.
Thousands trapped in cars in Japan snowfall
More than one thousand people in Japan have spent the night stuck in their cars after record snowfall blanketed parts of the country.
US-Israel alliance Ironclad, Gen Milley Affirms; Turkey sanctions justified – TV7 Israel News 18.12
1) U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Four-Star General Mark Milley concluded a two-day visit to Israel – during which regional shifts and Iran were the focus of discussions.
2) US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Clarke Cooper emphasizes that defense sales to the United Arab Emirates of sophisticated-weaponry does not harm Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge.
3) Turkey claims that its decision to purchase Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile-systems stem from qualitative considerations.
Commentary/Opinion:
News Reporting On Crime Isn’t Racist, It’s Essential
Among the many things 2020 has helped clarify is that journalism, particularly the journalism practiced by the corporate media, is in bad shape.
From the media’s coverage of impeachment (remember that?), to the presidential election, to the pandemic and the riots and everything else, it has become painfully obvious that the establishment press isn’t interested in journalism as such, but in woke political activism and race hustling.
So no wonder the very smart journalists at Harvard’s Nieman Lab want to “defund the crime beat” because reporting on crime is apparently now racist.
Employing prose better suited to a graduate seminar on critical race theory than a newsroom, authors Tauid Chappell and Mike Rispoli go on to argue that because crime beat reporters often rely on the police for basic information when reporting crime stories, such stories can’t be trusted because the police can’t be trusted.
In their minds, the crime beat is a nexus of greedy news media owners and racist cops. But this is of course a caricature unconnected to the reality of actual newsrooms.