US News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion and Videos.
World: Pictured: Charred remains of Putin’s tanks smouldering on edge of Kyiv
Moscow has admitted that nearly 500 of its troops have been killed and 1,600 more have been injured in its first report of casualties from fighting since President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s savage invasion of Ukraine.
The figures, released on Wednesday, come days after Russia claimed it had not suffered any casualties in the war.
The Kremlin has engaged in a propaganda campaign designed to favourably mould the narrative through state-owned media channels, but has insisted its losses are considerably lower than the figures offered by Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities have said more than 5,800 Russian soldiers have been killed in the last week as the country mounts a fierce resistance against Putin’s forces.
Politics: Newt Gingrich: These Biden remarks were ‘really frightening’
The former speaker of the House discusses President Biden, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and defunding the police.
World: Germany to Pay $720M in Compensation to Holocaust Survivors around the World
The funds will be given to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) to send to social welfare organizations that specialize in-home care and supportive services for Holocaust survivors.
According to estimates, there are 400,000 holocaust survivors in the world, many of whom live in poverty due to their elderly condition and the severe malnutrition they suffered during the Holocaust.
Since 1952, the German government has paid $90 billion to survivors of the Holocaust – many of whom never regained their property or possessions they lost during their persecution.
The Claims Conference has released that they will be allocating $47 Million to social welfare services in Ukraine to ensure their continued “commitment to support Holocaust survivors in the face of imminent threat.”
World: Russia helps Iran on nuclear project, Amb says; German Chancellor visits Israel TV7Israel News 02.03
1) Germany reaffirms Berlin’s pledged commitment to the Security of Israel and the Jewish People – during a first state visit by Chancellor Olaf Scholtz to Jerusalem.
2) Israel reiterates its concern over the possibility that a watered-down version of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran will soon be reached in Vienna.
3) Russia’s ambassador to Iraq refers to the Islamic Republic of Iran as an ally in Syria – and acknowledge that Moscow is helping Tehran develop its nuclear project.
World: Operator of Nord Stream 2 Fires All Employees After US Sanctions
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project represents an $11 billion investment from Russia and is designed to carry 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to Germany every year. It is registered in Switzerland and owned by Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom.
The United States sanctioned Nord Stream 2 AG last week after Russia recognized two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine prior to its invasion of the country, which has prompted a wave of economic sanctions by the West.
“Following the recent geopolitical developments leading to the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Nord Stream 2 AG, the company had to terminate contracts with employees. We very much regret this development,” Nord Stream 2 AG told Reuters in an emailed statement.
US: Note From Elementary School Student Led Vegas Police to Find Remains of a Missing Toddler
The note sent on the morning of Feb. 22 with the child was a cry for help, with her mother writing that she was being held captive by her boyfriend and that she believed her other child might be dead, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a news release on Feb. 23.
Officers went on Feb. 22 to the home, where they detained the boyfriend, Brandon Toseland, the LVMPD said.
The mother told police that Toseland had abused her and wouldn’t let her leave the house alone or go into the garage, according to the release. She told them the last time she saw her child, described by police as a toddler, was in December.
US: Man Shoots and Kills 3 Daughters, 1 Other, and Himself at California Church
The victims included three girls ages 9, 10, and 13, Grassmann said.
The shooter was estranged from his daughters’ mother, who had a restraining order against him, Sheriff Scott Jones said.
Investigators believe the shooting happened during a supervised visit with the children and that the fourth victim was their chaperone, Jones said.
The shooter’s name wasn’t immediately released, but officials said he was 39 years old.
US: More Than 140 Million Americans Have Had COVID-19: CDC
The estimate is drawn from blood tests and would mean 43 percent of the American population has strong and long-lasting protection against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
The blood samples are from commercial laboratories that have been working with the CDC to conduct seroprevalence surveys. They are testing for antibodies to the CCP virus, also known as SARS-CoV-2.
About 6 percent of the U.S. population was estimated in August 2020 to have antibodies to the virus. That number crept up over time, and jumped from 33.5 percent to 43 percent between December 2021 and late January, the latest results reported.
Nearly 60 percent of children 18 or younger have had COVID-19, according to the estimates, along with close to half of Americans aged 18 to 49, 37 percent of people aged 50 to 64, and a little under a quarter of those 65 and older.
US Politics: Whitmer’s reinstatement of Michigan’s prevailing wage draws rebukes
Wendy Block, vice president of Business Advocacy and Member Engagement for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, said the governor’s reinstatement of prevailing wage clearly violates the will of Michigan voters.
“In 2018, over 380,000 Michigan citizens signed a petition proposing legislation to repeal Michigan’s prevailing wage law and the Michigan Legislature adopted it,” Block told The Center Square.
“The law repealed Michigan’s red tape requirement that union wages be paid on state government construction projects regardless of whether the construction worker is unionized or not,” Block continued.
“The result of Michigan’s prevailing wage requirement was higher construction costs on taxpayer-funded projects. In fact, a 2015 study by the nonpartisan Anderson Economic Group revealed that prevailing wage schemes for just public schools and universities cost Michigan taxpayers an additional $127 million annually over a 10-year period.”
US Politics: Arizona bill would keep state money from businesses refusing to work with firearms companies
The bill (HB 2473), proposed by state Representative Frank Carroll, R-Sun City, would require companies that sign contracts worth more than $100,000 with the state or local governments to agree that they won’t refuse to do business with firearms-related companies.
The bill passed along a party-line vote of 31-28. Every Republican voted in favor of it and no Democrat supported it.
Republicans and the firearms industry support the bill. They say it’s necessary because some banks refuse to do business with firearms companies.
That’s the argument that National Shooting Sports Foundation director of government relations Michael Findlay made during the House Judiciary Committee hearing last week.
Covid: The Most Objective Evidence Shows No Indication That Covid Vaccines Save More Lives Than They Take
The FDA’s Diversion
Despite the import of all-cause mortality, the FDA completely ignored this measure in its press releases announcing approvals of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Moreover, the FDA presented the all-cause mortality figures 20+ pages into technical documents alongside the following statements that distract from their implications:
That evidence consists of two large RCTs for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which were the FDA’s main basis for approving them. These studies involved 72,663 generally healthy adults and older children in the pre-Delta/Omicron era who didn’t yet have naturally acquired immunity to C-19. After half of the subjects were randomly given a vaccine and the other half a placebo, 37 people died who received a vaccine, and 33 died who received a placebo.
On a superficial basis, these figures suggest that the vaccines increased the relative risk of death by 13%. However, the death rate in both groups was so small (0.1%) that the difference between them is statistically insignificant. More specifically, the results demonstrate with 95% confidence that:
- neither of the vaccines decreased or increased the absolute risk of death by any more than 0.08%.
- the vaccines could prevent up to two deaths or cause up to three deaths per year among every 1,000 people.
In short, the strongest available evidence shows no indication that the mRNA Covid vaccines save more lives than they take. However, the benefits and risks of the vaccines can vary greatly for each individual.
World: Israel gets involved in diplomatic solution to Russia-Ukraine, vows ‘unprecedented’ aid
Following talks earlier this week between President Isaac Herzog and his counterpart in Cypress, Israel has announced it will send an “unprecedented amount” of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
Three flights left Israel on Monday and Tuesday carrying medical supplies, systems that can provide safe water, and winter gear. In total, Israel has sent 100 tons in aid.
President Herzog called the decision a “moral obligation” that arrives following a missile attack on the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv that he said “epitomizes the huge pain and suffering of people there” and the “terrible tragedy that we’re seeing unfolding in front of our eyes.”
US: NYC police investigating hate crime pattern after 7 Asian woman attacked in just over 2 hours
Sunday’s series of assaults began around 6:30 p.m. Sunday around Madison Avenue and East 30th Street. Police said the man approached a 57-year-old woman and punched her in the face before continuing along Madison Avenue.
The victim suffered cuts and swelling to her face and was treated at a local hospital, cops said.
He allegedly made his way to Fifth Avenue and East 30th Street, where he punched a 25-year-old woman in the face and the back of her arm around 6:40 p.m.
Approximately five minutes later, he punched a 21-year-old woman in the face in the area of Park Avenue South and East 23rd Street, police said. The victim was taken to a local hospital in fair condition.
But the attacks continued.
US: Glenn Greenwald exposes Big Tech on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’
Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald offers reaction and analysis on Russia on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’.
US: Carjackings in cities like NYC, Philadelphia jump over 200% – often with kids behind the wheel, officials say
Law enforcement executives and officials from crime monitoring agencies from across the country convened on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing to address the startling trends related to carjackings.
Carjackings have soared by 286% in New York City from 2019 to 2021, while Philadelphia saw the second-highest increase, with 238, the NICB found. Chicago followed with the third-highest increase, 207%, from 2019 to 2021, then Washington, D.C. with a 200% increase and New Orleans with 159%, Glawe told lawmakers.
“A disturbing subplot to these bleak numbers is that many carjackings are often committed in furtherance of other serious violent crimes, and many carjackings are committed by juveniles are committed by juveniles — some as young as 11 years old,” Glawe explained.
World Commentary: Nigel Farage: NATO is facing one hell of a risk
Former Brexit Party Leader Nigel Farage on how he expects NATO to respond to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
US: 55 federal agencies creating lists, tracking employees who filed for exemptions to COVID vaccine
Dozens of federal agencies as well as the U.S. Army are now creating lists and tracking any employees who filed for exemptions to the vaccines. One America’s Pearson Sharp has more.
Commentary: Calls for no-fly zone, though still a minority, are growing and dangerous
US Politics: Washington state capital gains income tax ruled unconstitutional
(The Center Square) – Douglas County Superior Court Judge Brian Huber ruled Tuesday afternoon that Washington state’s capital gains income tax is unconstitutional.
“ESSB 5096 is properly characterized as an income tax pursuant to Culliton, Jensen, Power and other applicable Washington caselaw, rather than as an excise tax as argued by the State,” Huber wrote in his ruling.
Those are references to state Supreme Court decisions, including the 1933 Culliton v. Chase case in which the justices invalidated a voter-approved progressive income tax meant to pay for education.