News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.
In The News:
Man sped through church service in parking lot forcing families to run for safety
Police say the man drove through the parking lot while the service was underway and started making obscene gestures at the crowd.
When he sped off, several people had to dive out of the way with their children and chairs.
Thankfully no one was hurt.
Someone got the license plate number of the car and police caught up to him a short time later.
He’s now been booked on several counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Video: BLM protesters chant ‘burn it down’ and march in DC streets during Super Bowl weekend protests
Demonstrators with Black Lives Matter and Antifa symbols marched in Washington, D.C., Saturday night, clashing with police and threatening to “burn down” the capital city.
In one video posted on Twitter by independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager, protesters can be heard chanting, “If we don’t get it, burn it down” as they march through the nation’s capital.
In another video, the Antifa flag is seen being waved among a large group of protesters marching down the streets of D.C.
Supreme Court to hear case if cops can seize guns from homes without a warrant
On March 24, 2021, the nation’s top court will hear arguments on Caniglia v. Strom, a case involving an argument between Mr. Caniglia and his wife, during which he put an unloaded gun on their table and said, “shoot me now and get it over with,” and law enforcement later confiscated his gun.
While Mr. Caniglia was on his way to the hospital, his wife told the police that he had two pistols in the home, at which point the officers searched the home without a warrant; however, Mrs. Caniglia couldn’t provide legal consent because the police lied, telling her that Mr. Caniglia had consented to the seizure of his firearms.
The officers subsequently located and confiscated the two handguns, prompting Mr. Caniglia to sue the police for allegedly violating his 4th Amendment right to privacy, as well as his 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Supreme Court Stops California From Banning Indoor Worship While Allowing Indoor Shopping
“[I]f Hollywood may host a studio audience or film a singing competition while not a single soul may enter California’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, something has gone seriously awry,” noted Justice Neil Gorsuch in a concurring opinion.
In another concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that he would lift all restrictions against the houses of worship.
He wrote he “would have the stay lift in 30 days unless the State demonstrates clearly that nothing short of those measures will reduce the community spread of COVID–19 at indoor religious gatherings to the same extent as do the restrictions the State enforces with respect to other activities it classifies as essential.”
Covid Lockdowns | Full Measure
We begin with the latest research on lockdowns.
Early in the coronavirus pandemic, panic sent the U.S. and other societies into a restrictive lockdown mode. But not every country took the same approach.
And now armed with hard data, scientists are addressing the question: what worked and what didn’t? Jay Bhattacharya is a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University.
He spoke out against lockdowns from the start and is one of the researchers in a recent study that found they didn’t help.
‘Worst Cooks in America’ winner charged with killing daughter tweeted about kids’ white privilege
Ariel Robinson, 29, and her husband Jerry, 34, are both charged with homicide by child abuse over little Victoria Rose Smith, who died from multiple blunt-force injuries in their home in South Carolina on Jan. 14.
The Robinsons were charged after the Coroner’s Office and Simpsonville Police Department determined that Victoria’s death was the direct result of physical abuse, officials told the Greenville News.
The Food Network’s winner told officers about something that happened the previous day that could have caused the girl to lose consciousness, but the specifics were redacted in records, the outlet said. Victoria’s two brothers were immediately removed and placed in foster care, the report said.
New York man gets COVID-19 vaccine, dies soon after: official
Though security and first responders were by the man’s side in a matter of seconds, said Zucker, the man died soon after in the hospital.
“The incident occurred approximately 25 minutes after he was vaccinated, and following the required 15 minute observation period where he exhibited no adverse reactions or any distress,” reads an emailed statement sent to Fox News. “Initial indications are that the man did not have any allergic reaction to the vaccine.”
It was not immediately clear which vaccine the man received.
Chicago weekend gun violence leaves 2 dead, 21 wounded; police arrest 3 juveniles over carjacking
Separately, three juveniles were charged in connection to the carjacking of a delivery man last week — just one of various cases in which the Chicago Police Department has been forced to respond to a surge in carjackings across the city, carried out mostly by teens.
The weekend shootings happened across different neighborhoods, with the first involving a 42-year-old man who police say was fatally shot Friday while trying to break up a fight between two males at about 9:10 p.m. in the 1600 block of North Cicero Avenue in Austin on the West Side.
The man, since identified as Brighton Park resident Kenny Winters, was shot in the back and leg and was transported to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Politics:
Conservatives Slam Biden Bid to Rejoin U.N. Human Rights Council
The State Department formally moved on Monday to put the United States back on the UNHRC, which the Trump administration boycotted in 2018 over its anti-Israel agenda and inclusion of several countries known for conducting mass human rights abuses, such as China, Russia, and Cuba.
Conservative foreign policy voices quickly criticized the State Department decision, saying the Biden administration will face difficulties in attempting to reform an organization that has long been used as a platform to promote anti-Israel views and give cover to some of the world’s foremost human rights abusers.
“The UN Human Rights Council doesn’t improve human rights. It covers for dictators & human rights abusers like Russia, China, & Venezuela,” Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, tweeted.
Iowa’s governor lifts statewide COVID mandates, encourages personal responsibility: No more mandatory masks, social distancing, or gathering restrictions
On Friday, Reynolds issued a proclamation repealing the state’s limited mask requirements, social distancing requirements, and limits on gatherings, the Des Moines Register reported.
The proclamation, which extended Iowa’s state of public health disaster emergency through March 7, went into effect Sunday morning and focuses on encouraging Iowans to take personal responsibility and make decisions that are in the best interest of their health during the pandemic.
The governor imposed a limited statewide mask mandate in November as cases surged nationwide, the Washington Post noted. But with a significant drop in cases and hospitalizations in the state, as well as increased vaccination availability for hundreds of thousands of Iowans, Reynolds elected to return personal choice on masks to adult Iowans.
South Dakota Republican Bill Seeks to Nullify Biden Executive Orders
The proposed legislation, which describes itself as an act to “authorize the review of certain executive orders issued by the President of the United States,” was sponsored by a group of 15 Republican lawmakers, including 2 state senators.
If passed as written, the bill would allow the Executive Board of the Legislative Research Council to review any executive order, which by nature requires no approval from Congress.
Upon review, the Board may refer the order to the attorney general for further examination.
The attorney general will then determine whether South Dakota should seek an exemption from the application of the order if deemed unconstitutional.
Thank You For Shoveling My Driveway . . . You Nazi? LA Times Runs Bizarre Column Revealing Liberal Angst And Anger
A Los Angeles Times opinion column is firing up the Internet after Virginia Heffernan wrote about her anguish in not knowing how to respond to neighbors cleared the snow on her driveway.
They problem is that they also voted for former President Donald Trump. The column entitled “What can you do about the Trumpites next door?” explores her struggle with how to respond while comparing all Trump supporters to Nazis and Hezbollah.
It is unfortunately hardly surprising to see such unhinged hateful comparisons in today’s age of rage.
What was surprising is need to publish such a column containing gratuitous attacks on over 70 million voters as comparable to genocidal murders or terrorists.
Will Cori Bush Be Stripped Of Committee Assignments After Encouraging Prison Riot?
The explosive unrest came over inmate frustration related to pandemic restrictions that limited visits and stalled court proceedings. Jacob Long, a spokesman for the St. Louis mayor’s office estimated to the Associated Press that about 115 inmates were involved with the weekend chaos, describing them as “extremely violent and noncompliant.”
Despite their destructive acts, the group found solace in their local representative, St. Louis-area Democratic Rep. Cori Bush, who offered the rioters her support on Twitter.
“A riot is the language of the unheard,” Bush wrote, quoting civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I want to talk to my constituents in the window. Their lives and their rights must be protected.”
Illegal Immigrants Guilty of DUI, Assault Will Not Be Deported Under Biden Plan
The guidelines—which were outlined in internal memos obtained by the Washington Post—aim to prioritize “threats to national security, border security and public safety,” ICE said in a statement.
But the agency’s new operational plan severely narrows the criminal convictions required for an illegal immigrant to be considered a “public safety threat.”
“Generally, these convictions would not include drug-based crimes (less serious offenses), simple assault, DUI, money laundering, property crimes, fraud, tax crimes, solicitation, or charges without convictions,” acting director Tae Johnson wrote in a Thursday email.
He added that individuals with “gang tattoos” and other “loose” affiliations with gang activity also would not face deportation, according to the Post.
DHS deletes deportation warning to illegal immigrants to avoid causing ‘undue stress,’ report says
Center for Immigration Studies’ policy studies director Jessica Vaughan told the Times that the notice should continue to be used as a statement of law.
“There’s no reason not to warn the rejected applicants that they are potentially removable, even if they are not a priority,” she told the Times.
Vaughan also noted that referring to the immigrants as “customers” was imprudent.
“They brazenly tried to exploit our immigration system, but are to be treated as customers who must be treated gently, and definitely not be frightened by the suggestion that they should leave before they are removed,” she said.
The move is yet another signal from the Biden administration that it will take a more lax approach to immigration policy.
Transgender Divide | Full Measure
Among President Biden’s first executive orders was one that prohibits discrimination against transgenders, including in school sports.
Amid court challenges, it’s unclear exactly how that will impact high school and college athletes governed by a mix of policies state by state.
Earlier this season, we looked at a federal ruling that seemed to say the opposite – high school athletes in Connecticut were not allowed to switch from the boys’ team to the girls’ team because it deprives girls of athletic opportunities guaranteed under the 1972 Title Nine civil rights law. Here’s a look at our earlier report.
Evidence Mounts that Capitol Breach Was Pre-Planned, Eroding Incitement Allegation in Trump Impeachment Trial
A number of FBI affidavits filed in support of various charges—including conspiracy—against accused participants in the Capitol breach show evidence of pre-planning, reinforcing one of the arguments made by critics of the impeachment trial against Trump, namely that participants couldn’t have been incited by the president to break into the building if they had earlier planned to do so.
Meanwhile, the FBI has said it notified other law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Capitol Police, the day before the Capitol incursion about an online message about a “war” and storming the building.
The FBI said on Jan. 12 that the warning was issued through the Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the U.S. Capitol Police have members on the task force, The Associated Press reported.
The Washington Post reported that an FBI bulletin described that people had been sharing maps of the Capitol’s tunnels and discussed rallying points to meet up to travel to Washington.
The newspaper also reported that the document detailed posts calling for violence, including that “Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in, and blood from their BLM and Pantifa slave soldiers being spilled.”
World News:
China claims it ‘expelled’ US warship from South China Sea, a first under Biden presidency
The US Navy has said it was carrying out a lawful, “freedom of navigation operation” and did not say it had been expelled.
Friday’s exchange is part of the war of words that has broken out between Beijing and Washington on the passage of the US warship through the region in the past 24 hours — for the first time since Joe Biden took over as President in January.
Meanwhile, China’s defence ministry has said that it has successfully conducted a land-based midcourse missile interception test within its territory on February 4, and “achieved the desired test objective.
The test is defensive in nature and not targeted against any country.”
China warns Australia to ‘respect’ legal authority after arrest of Australian citizen
Chinese authorities have urged Australia to “respect” its judicial authority, accusing the Morrison Government of interfering in its legal proceedings relating to Australian citizen Cheng Lei. Ms Lei was formally arrested in China last Friday and accused of illegally supplying state secrets overseas, after being detained for six months.
The federal government has confirmed it continues to raise concerns at consular levels and seek assurances about her treatment in China.
ICC to probe “Israeli war-crimes”; Hamas ‘rocket-fire coherent with Intl law’- TV7 Israel News 08.02
1) The International Criminal Court in the Hague claims jurisdiction over the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem; granting its Chief Prosecutor legal authority to conduct an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel.
2) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemns the International Criminal Court – accusing it of “pure antisemitism.”
3) The Islamist Hamas organization welcomed the ICC’s anticipated investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes – while in tandem – asserting that its indiscriminate rocket-fire toward Israel to be “consistent with international humanitarian law.”
Chinese Police Beat City Residents Protesting Sewage Plant Project, Including Pregnant Woman
Protesters told the Chinese-language Epoch Times that the facility was being built about 200 meters away from the residential compound of Yixin Lake.
Dissatisfied residents launched a demonstration on Jan. 23, shouting their demands.
Soon, a large number of police officers arrived at the scene and began to beat, kick, and drag away the protesters fiercely.
Rescuers in India Digging for 37 Trapped in Glacier Flood
RUDRAPRAYAG, India—Rescuers in northern India worked Monday to rescue more than three dozen power plant workers trapped in a tunnel after part of a Himalayan glacier broke off and sent a wall of water and debris rushing down a mountain in a disaster that has left at least 18 people dead and 165 missing.
More than 2,000 members of the military, paramilitary groups, and police have been taking part in search-and-rescue operations in the northern state of Uttarakhand after Sunday’s flood, which destroyed one dam, damaged another, and washed homes downstream.
Officials said the focus was on saving 37 workers who are stuck inside a tunnel at one of the affected hydropower plants.
Commentary/Opinion:
Woke Culture’s Similarities to Radical Islam (Pt. 1) | Ayaan Hirsi Ali | POLITICS | Rubin Report
Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report talks to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, author of “Prey”, about how woke culture is destroying classical liberalism, how elites are finally acknowledging that immigration in Europe is backfiring, and how immigration policies in Europe have negatively impacted women’s rights and made Europe less safe for women.
In this clip Ayaan talks about how liberalism is being weakened by the identity politics of the woke left.
She shares why James Lindsay and Helen Pluckrose’s book “Cynical Theories” is so vital to understanding our current political climate. She also discusses how wokeism has far more in common with radical Islam than many would think.
Both engage in science denial, and the censorship of criticism.
She suggests that the only way to defend liberalism is to build alliances with centrist and moderate political opponents and create a new centrism. She states that young people should not be seeking out safe spaces at university, but should actually want to be triggered.
The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast – Season 4 Episode 4: Matt Ridley: Rational Optimism
Matt Ridley and I discuss, among other topics, economic optimism, trade through the reciprocity of nations, enlightened self-interest, virtues relation to trade, feeding nine billion people, the triumphs of cities, escape of Malthusian population trap, and more.
Matt Ridley is a British best-selling author (The Origins of Virtue, The Rational Optimist, How Innovation Works, and many more) who is best known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics.
He is also a well-respected journalist, businessman, and member of The House of Lords in the United Kingdom.
Capitalism Wins
More and more, it seems people find it difficult to defend capitalism—even those who benefit from it most.
But former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley takes a refreshingly different view: she thinks we should double down on it. Here’s why.
Supreme Court Pushback On California Should Be Just The Start Of Courts Standing Up Against Endless Lockdown
California must have known that it would be hauled back before the Supreme Court, and the court made it pay.
Justice Neil Gorsuch’s plurality opinion hammered that point, saying: “Recently, this Court made it abundantly clear that edicts like California’s fail strict scrutiny and violate the Constitution ….
Today’s order should have been needless; the lower courts in these cases should have followed the extensive guidance this Court already gave.”
Of course, one may expect such defiance from California politicians, whose state voted nearly two to one for Joe Biden over Donald Trump, but it is much scarier to see it come from three Supreme Court justices—Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Stephen Breyer—who discarded all respect for stare decisis and essentially accused their colleagues of killing people.
Kagan’s dissent could have been pulled from the op-ed pages of The New York Times or CNN.