News and Headlines.4/23/2021

News and Headlines: In The News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion.

In The News:

NC police identify man suspected of killing 7-year-old in road rage incident

***Douglas Mason Wilson (Catawba County NC jail records)***

Police on Friday announced a first-degree murder charge against 23-year-old Douglas Mason Wilson.

A Hickory officer was responding to reports of gunfire on Tuesday and discovered 7-year-old Kakylen Greylen Harris with “an apparent gunshot wound to the neck area” after the suspect allegedly shot at his mother’s car from another vehicle, Whisnant said during a Wednesday press conference.

Authorities previously located Wilson “at a hotel in Hickory” and took him “into custody on unrelated warrants,” Whisnant said during a Friday press conference.

Californians React to Chauvin Verdict

Californians have begun responding to Tuesday’s guilty verdict against Derek Chauvin.

While officials look at it as an opportunity to overhaul the police system, one victim of gun violence remains skeptical.

Maricopa County judge orders ‘pause’ on 2020 election audit after Democrats file lawsuit

PHOENIX — A Maricopa County judge paused an election audit being conducted by Arizona Senate Republicans Friday after state Democrats filed a lawsuit to block the audit.

The “pause” will be from 5 p.m. Friday until noon Monday.

The Arizona Democratic Party must post a $1 million bond to protect the audit team from financial losses.

Maricopa County delivered the first shipment of ballot-counting machines Wednesday for Arizona Senate Republicans’ audit, but only after the Senate agreed to shield the county from any legal or financial liability connected to the audit, according to documents obtained by 12 News.

US suspects Russia attacked US troops with sonic attacks in 2020, new report says

***U.S. soldiers in Syria, Oct. 27, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jensen Guillory)***

The investigation includes one incident in Syria in fall 2020 in which several troops developed flu-like symptoms after a suspected attack, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

U.S. personnel reportedly exhibited symptoms similar to those experienced by nearly 50 U.S. diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba in late 2016, at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China in early 2017, and again in Moscow, Russia in late 2017.

The briefers reportedly identified Russia as the likely source of the various sonic attacks but also listed China as another possible culprit.

The briefers told lawmakers they are concerned U.S. troops are becoming increasingly vulnerable to these types of attacks, especially in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of operations, including combat zones in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

With Straight Face, TX Rep Says “Science Obviously Recognizes… There Are 6” Biological Sexes

Texas State Representative James Talarico claims that modern science says there are 6 sexes.

More than 900 People Shot in Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago This Year

The Chicago Tribune reports 907 people were shot January 1, 2021, through April 19, 2021. That figure represents fatal and non-fatal shooting victims combined and it is an increase of 214 shooting victims over the same time in 2020.

The Tribune isolates fatalities in a separate data table, showing 177 people were killed in the city January 1, 2021, through April 18, 2021. That is an increase of 32 more shooting fatalities than were witnessed during the same time-frame in 2020.

One of the most highly publicized fatalities occurred Sunday when a seven-year-old girl was shot and killed while in a McDonald’s drive-thru with her father.

Breitbart News noted the shooting occurred around 4:20 p.m. A suspect in the seven-year-old’s shooting death was shot by police and captured on Thursday.

Rep. Biggs shares images of migrants being moved from Arizona hotels to airport

***An Arizona hotel housing migrants is pictured. (Office of Rep. Andy Biggs)***

The footage, obtained by Rep. Andy Biggs’, R-Ariz., office and shared with Fox News, purportedly shows a hotel in Chandler, Arizona, where migrant families are being housed. Separate video footage shows migrants – both children and adults – being placed onto a bus and transported to a nearby airport.

“Biden’s border crisis is real and it’s being forced into our local communities,” Biggs said.

“These illegal aliens aren’t stopping in border states, they’re being given plane and bus tickets to anywhere in the country.

On Thursday, Fox News confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services is paying for the travel costs of adult sponsors to come to facilities to pick up children they are sponsoring, as well as the travel costs for the children to reach their sponsors.

CDC says women under 50 are at the highest risk of blood clots after J&J shot as advisors debate the vaccine’s future

Fifteen women who received Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine have developed a rare type of blood clot in their brains, officials disclosed in slides that are going to be presented at a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention meeting on Friday afternoon.

Three of the clots were fatal, according to the slides.

Seven of the clot patients remain hospitalized (four of them in intensive care), while five others have been discharged home.

“It affects people that are younger in age, and seems to affect women more than men — so far,” Dr. Michael Streiff, medical director at The Johns Hopkins Anticoagulation Management Service and Hemostatic Disorder Stewardship Program said during his presentation at the meeting.

Two firsts for the SpaceX rocketship

NASA and Elon Musk’s commercial rocket company SpaceX launched a new four-astronaut team on a flight to the International Space Station on Friday.

Emily Wither reports.

California man pleads guilty to murdering sheriff’s deputy in 2016

Trenton Lovell's prior prison photo. — ***Trenton Lovell’s prior prison photo.***

Sgt. Steve Owen, 53, was shot in the head by Trenton Lovell, 31, while responding to a report of a break-in in Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County on Oct. 5, 2016, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Lovell previously confessed that he continued to shoot Owen as he lay wounded on the ground, claiming he “finished the job,” The Times added.

Lovell allegedly tried to steal Owen’s patrol car, ramming Anderson’s car and nearly running him over in the process, The Times reported.

Police said Lovell then ran to a home in the neighborhood where he held two teenagers at gunpoint as officers cordoned off the area amid the manhunt.

Newly elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has barred prosecutors from filing a special circumstance seeking life without parole but the charges against Lovell were filed before Gascón took office, according to The Times.

Virginia moving to eliminate all accelerated math courses before 11th grade as part of equity-focused plan

The changes were just the latest of many to prompt concern from parents in the state, which has seen in-fighting over controversial ideas surrounding equity and race.

A Loudoun parent who spoke on the condition of anonymity worried that the changes would “lower standards for all students in the name of equity.”

“These changes will have a profound impact on students who excel in STEM related curriculum, weakening our country’s ability to compete in a global marketplace for years to come,” the parent told Fox News on Thursday.

Ian Prior, a Loudoun parent and former Trump administration official, similarly panned the move as a way to “stifle advancement for gifted students and set them back as they prepare for advanced mathematics in college.

This is critical race theory in action and parents should be outraged.”

Christian University Faculty Revolt After Board Votes to Affirm Biblical View of Sexuality

Here is a segment of the “statement on human sexuality” with which a majority of faculty members took issue:

Human beings are created in the image of God, male and female, and are of inestimable worth. Because we are created in God’s image, people must be treated with respect and dignity by all institutions in society whether male or female, young or old, rich or poor, believer or unbeliever, homosexual or heterosexual. This priceless value constitutes the theological and anthropological foundation of our discussions regarding human sexuality. We, therefore, affirm the fundamental worth of all human persons, including those with whom we disagree.

According to the Times, the hiring policy, found in the not-publicly-accessible employee handbook, says staffers “are expected to refrain from … sexually immoral behavior that is inconsistent with Biblical standards, including cohabitation and extramarital sexual activity,” ultimately directing employees to the statement referenced above.

“I appreciate that the board of this CHristian school is willing to take a stand on biblical [and] moral issues when so many today are caving,” opined the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse.

“I’m thankful to see that this board has stood against the winds of culture — [and] now their own staff [and] students — [and] I pray that they will continue.”

Politics:

California Gov. Newsom raising money by tying Caitlyn Jenner to Trump

A few hours after Jenner, a Republican, announced her candidacy, Newsom sent an email blast to his donors tying the celebrity and ex-Olympian to former President Trump and asking for funds.

“Earlier this morning, Caitlyn Jenner announced she was running for Governor of California as part of this Republican recall attempt,” the email read.

“What’s more, she is working closely with Donald Trump’s former presidential campaign manager and the person behind his small-dollar fundraising success.

“We’re going to need help keeping up with Caitlyn’s personal wealth and ability to raise money from right-wing donors now that she has Trump’s team with her,” the email continued.

Louisiana Leads 10-state Lawsuit Against Biden’s Climate Order

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during day 2 of the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate at the East Room of the White House April 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker-Pool/Getty Images)

The Democrat on Thursday unveiled a new phase of his climate agenda, vowing that the United States will cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.

Biden’s order could destroy a range of industries if left unchallenged, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry warned as he led the filing of the multistate lawsuit in federal court in his state.

Attorneys general of Alabama, Florida, George, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming joined the suit, along with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. All are Republicans.

In a separate action in Congress, Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) said they would attempt to force a vote on legislation that would reverse Biden’s Jan. 20 executive order and other similar mandates.

Destroying Lebron James’ Police Narrative with Facts | POLITICS | Rubin Report

Commentary/Opinion:
Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report talks to John Bachman on Newsmax about Lebron James’s insane tweet regarding the police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant.

Dave also discusses how Joe Biden’s 1994 crime bill is one of the main reasons for the mass incarceration that is demonized by the left.

Dave shares the real facts about police shootings and how the media has a thing for ignoring facts when it comes to police violence.

Instead, systemic racism becomes the reason for every police shooting no matter what the facts are.

A Green New Deal Warning: Bjorn Lomborg, Alex Epstein, Benji Backer | ROUNDTABLE | Rubin Report

Commentary/Opinion:
Dave Rubin of The Rubin Report talks to Bjorn Lomborg, Alex Epstein, and Benji Backer about the green new deal.

They discuss why it is poorly designed environmental policy and it won’t deliver on the promise of green jobs.

The green economy is another utopia being pushed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Ed Markey, and progressive Democrats that won’t solve climate change.

Instead our guests argue that various plans to replace fossil fuels with inefficient and expensive renewable energy could actually make life worse for the poorest among us.

They will also discuss how unrelated issues like racial justice have been packaged into climate policy and the importance of separating politics from science.

N.H. audit to get underway to investigate ‘Windham incident’

The 2020 election audit in New Hampshire is set to kick off soon as officials investigate the so-called “Windham incident.”

One America’s Jack Posobiec has more.

2020 election audit underway in Phoenix, Ariz.

Officials in Maricopa County held a press conference on the forensic audit of the 2020 presidential and Senate election.

One America’s Christina Bobb was live on the ground and has more.

Biden administration presses ahead with critical race theory that some see as ‘racist’

The right-leaning National Association of Scholars (NAS) isn’t just critical of the wisdom of the proposed rule, which would prioritize federal funding for history and civics programs that “incorporate culturally and linguistically responsive learning environments.”

It’s calling on state attorneys general to go to court to block the Department of Education proposal, which is accepting public comments through May 19.

The federal proposal is marked by a “deafening silence about such matters as the Founding documents, the Emancipation Proclamation, the World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement,” ACTA President Michael Poliakoff wrote in an email.

“Instead, we get a homage” to Kendi and the 1619 Project, “whose tendentious rewriting of American history drew the scathing critique of a broadly nonpartisan group of the nation’s leading historians,” he wrote.

Pompeo: Foreign threats ‘far outweigh’ Biden’s focus on climate change

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo explains what he says are the biggest threats facing the U.S. as President Biden focuses on climate change.

Tucker Carlson: Why Are Leaders Defending Ma’Khia Bryant’s Knife Fight As Normal And Okay?

Commentary/Opinion:
‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ host questions why prominent leaders are suggesting knife fights are ‘normal and okay’.

Good news: after a decades-long search by a blue-ribbon commission of internationally renowned experts from McKinsey & Company and Yale Law School, the Democratic Party announced that it has finally identified the single most grotesque, most dystopian, most anti-human policy ever adopted by a Western government.

They’ve been looking hard to find it, as you may have noticed.

At a triumphant press conference Wednesday, leading Democrats unveiled their findings, which are now a plank in the party’s platform: they’re going to allow children to stab each other.

Stephen Miller group suing Biden administration over border policy

Former Trump senior advisor claims president breaking the law ‘to facilitate increased COVID transmission’ at border.

Victor Davis Hanson: ‘Good old Joe from Scranton’ is a media construct

Commentary/Opinion:
Hoover Institution senior fellow analyzes Biden’s progressive push on ‘Fox News @ Night.’

World News:

SURREAL: UN Just Elected Iran to Commission on Status of Women

The Islamic Republic of Iran, a chronic oppressor of women, was just elected by the UN to head an organization that works to be the global champion for gender equality.

14-year-old boy knifed to death in east London in broad daylight

A crime scene is in place and the Met said there would be an increased police presence in the area.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he was “deeply saddened” by the killing, adding: “I am in touch with the Deputy Met Commissioner and my thoughts are with the victim’s family and friends.”

He urged witnesses to come forward, saying: “This appalling incident happened on a busy street in broad daylight, so if you saw or know anything then please don’t stay silent.”

Jerusalem tensions boil;Israel not bound by nuclear deal; US to lift sanctions TV7 Israel News 23.04

1) Tensions escalated in Jerusalem last night when thousands of Jewish extremists from a radical nationalistic movement on the one-hand, and Arab Islamist’ youth on the other-hand, sought to confront each-other, on the streets surrounding the old city’ walls.

2) Israel emphasizes to the UN Security Council that it is not bound by any agreement threatening its existence.

3) U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price acknowledged that the Biden Administration intends to lift all nuclear-related sanctions which are inconsistent with the 2015 agreement with Iran.

Indonesia continues search for missing submarine

Rescue teams from several countries were battling against time on Friday to find a missing Indonesian Navy submarine lost in the Bali Sea with 53 crew, which would be rapidly running out of oxygen if not already crushed by water pressure.

Jayson Albano reports.