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World: Reports: Russia planning public executions in Ukrainian cities
Russian forces are planning to begin public executions in an effort to break the morale of Ukrainians resisting their invasion, according to a European intelligence official who spoke with multiple U.S. news publications.
The unnamed official, who spoke to Bloomberg, said the Russian government has devised plans to erode the morale of the Ukrainian people, who for a week now have held out against a full-scale Russian invasion force. The plan reportedly includes cracking down on protests, detaining opponents of Russia, and even carrying out public executions.
Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin also tweeted that a European official told the news channel that Russia’s federal intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service (FSB), developed the plans.
US: 2 Chicago Officers Wounded in Shooting, Suspect Caught
The shooting happened around 3:30 a.m. at the Original Maxwell Street hot dog stand on the city’s West Side as the gunman and one of the officers waited in line, Brown said. The man reached into his pocket to pay for his order and a gun fell from his waistband, he said.
“The officer noticed the gun falling out, but before they could take action, the offender grabbed the gun, picked it up and began immediately shooting at the officers,” Brown said.
He said the shots struck the officer, who was standing near the suspect, while that officer’s partner, who had been sitting inside a police car, was also struck when the suspect fired at least three times into the vehicle.
World: Pakistan mosque blast: Death toll rises to 56, dozens injured
Senior police official Ijaz Khan confirmed that it was a suicide bombing. He told Reuters that two armed men arrived near the mosque on a motorcycle and were stopped for a search by police on duty outside.
“They opened fire on the police…and entered the mosque,” he said.
He said two police officers were shot at the entrance of the mosque. “One policeman died on the spot while the other was critically injured,” he said.
“I saw a man firing at two policemen before he entered the mosque. Seconds later I heard a big bang,” said Zahid Khan, a resident told AFP.
US: Live updates: Three injured in Olathe East High School shooting including suspect, a student
A school administrator and resource officer were injured in a shooting at Olathe East High School, according to police. A suspect, who is a student, was also injured and was taken into custody, according to radio traffic captured by Broadcastify.com.
Friday’s shooting came after a rise in threats made against Kansas City area schools in the past year.
Earlier in the day, some parents in the Odessa school district, on the Missouri side of the metro, said on social media that they were keeping their middle schoolers home after hearing rumors that there was a shooting threat at their school.
US: Kaiser’s secret deal with the state exposes two problems
The news that California proposes to give Kaiser Permanente a no-bid direct contract to participate in Medi-Cal across the state has raised a ruckus because the deal was reached in secret in the governor’s office.
There was no transparency or input from stakeholders who have a vested interest in the outcome, and other commercial health plans will have to bid in an open procurement process to participate in Medi-Cal.
The proposed deal also gives Kaiser the ability to continue to choose who in Medi-Cal it takes as members, which no other plan, public or commercial, has the privilege of doing.
The state and Kaiser call this continuity of coverage. The rest of us call it cherry-picking.
Politics: WATCH: Rand Paul blasts Lindsey Graham for calling for Putin’s assassination
“It’s actually against the US law,” Paul said of Graham’s declaration. “US law for a long time has been that we don’t assassinate civilian leaders of other governments.”
“And so, no, just wrong-headed on every notion. I think people in elected offices need to realize that their words actually have consequences, and they should actually be careful with what they say,” concluded Paul.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had also used very strong language when he previously publicly condemned Sen. Graham’s statement on Twitter.
World: Ukraine Kills Top Russian General during Invasion
Maj. Gen. Andrei Sukhovetsky was taken out by the Ukrainian military, Ukraine officials and Russian media have confirmed.
47-year-old Sukhovetsky was head of Russia’s 7th Airborne Division and one of the highest-ranking military officials among Putin’s invading forces.
The circumstances of Sukhovetsky’s death are not immediately clear, but the Kremlin-backed Pravda said he was killed “during a special operation in Ukraine.”
According to Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency, Putin appointed Sukhovetsky deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District last year.
Politics: Michigan Democrat Gov. Whitmer to veto $2.5B tax cut approved by GOP-led Senate
The bill aims to provide tax relief from 40-year high inflation by dropping the personal tax rate from 4.25% to 3.9%, boosting retirement exemptions, and providing a $500 per child tax credit for those under 19.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey called the threatened veto “a slap in the face” to Michiganders struggling to afford groceries as inflation bites into their budget and gas rapidly approaches $4 a gallon, especially when the state has a multi-billion-dollar surplus.
The legislation would boost seniors’ tax deduction up to $40,000 for individuals and $80,000 for couples and lower the eligibility age from 67 to 62.
US: Former Oregon mayor charged with possession of child pornography
Dennis “Denny” Doyle, who served as mayor of the city from 2009 to 2021, was charged with one count of possession of child pornography, according to the Department of Justice.
The Department of Justice said that between November of 2014 and December of 2015, “Doyle is alleged to have knowingly and unlawfully possessed digital material containing child pornography, including images depicting minors under twelve.”
Doyle will make his first appearance in federal count today.
World: Russia blocks access to Facebook and Twitter
Russia has completely blocked access to Facebook in retaliation for the platform placing restrictions on state-owned media.
It was later reported that it had also blocked Twitter. The Russian state communications regulator said access had been restricted, according to the state-owned Ria news agency.
Facebook and its sister platform Instagram have removed Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik from their output in the European Union this week and did the same with the UK on Friday, which drew an immediate response from the Russian communications regulator.
World: Russian troops attack and destroy their own troops, tanks
Russian troops attacked other Russian troops early Friday, destroying nine tanks and four armored vehicles in the “friendly fire” incident, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Just now in the Kiev region, near Severinovka, Russian occupation troops started a fight with… Russian occupation forces. As a result, 9 tanks and 4 BTR were destroyed thanks to ‘friendly fire,’ the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a Facebook post. “That saved us 13 Javelin accordingly.”
The post went on to mock the Russian forces, encouraging them to “continue in this spirit.”
World: Powell acknowledges Russia sanctions could rev China plan for alternative to dollar-centric banking
“I think the Chinese are particularly interested in the fact that we’ve been able to assemble a global coalition to basically shut down the Russian economy,” was one statement by Reed, who also asked Powell to keep Congress apprised of the matter.
Powell responded: “Yes to all of the above” and pointed out that China had already been working on an alternative to the SWIFT international payments system, from which several Russia banks were banned Feb. 26 in response to the Ukraine invasion.
Powell said that China’s efforts have “been going on for some time” and acknowledged the Russian invasion and subsequent global economic response “may change the trajectory” of China’s work, the Epoch Times also reported.
US: Eligibility, timing in question for PPP loans; $1.2 million went to Pennsylvania unions
Eligibility and timing are in question for many, according to a new report from the Freedom Foundation. Nationally, labor organizations received $36.7 million in PPP funds, and $1.2 million ended up in the hands of Pennsylvania unions.
“Disconcertingly, the apparently inappropriate PPP loans may have been granted due to fraudulent loan applications or other questionable conduct by applicants or the private lenders operating under the SBA’s delegated authority,” wrote Maxford Nelsen, report author and director of labor policy at the Freedom Foundation.
Teachers’ unions and unions for state and local government employees across the country received funding, even though they were not affected by the sorts of economic shocks private businesses were.
“This was a complete breakdown in how the program was supposed to work,” Nelsen said.
World: Iran rebukes West’s “haste” in nuclear talks; U.S. attempts to reassure Israel TV7 Israel News 04.03
1) Ahead of an imminent revival of a watered-down version of the 2015 nuclear agreement – U.S. Central Command Commander General Kenneth McKenzie visits Israel to reaffirm Washington’s commitment to uphold its pledge that Iran will not have nuclear weapons.
2) IDF officials urge the political establishment in Jerusalem to keep a low profile in the tug-of-war between world powers vis-à-vis Ukraine – amid concerns over possible ramifications for Syria.
3) Israeli President Isaac Herzog proclaims Jerusalem, Athens and Nicosia to be anchors of stability within a stormy region.
US,Commentary: Is SAVING Ukraine worth CRIPPLING the West’s economy?
There’s something that MUST be said: America has a price we’re not willing to pay in return for Ukraine’s freedom.
We’re not willing to risk U.S. troops or to start a nuclear war. It doesn’t mean we’re not compassionate, Glenn explains…we’re rationally compassionate.
And now there’s another huge, potential consequence at play that NO ONE else is talking about: The end of the West’s economy.
Glenn explains why we must not destroy America — and, specifically, U.S. energy — in the process of stopping Putin and Russia.
So, until our current leaders start opening up our own oil reserves, we might be able to help Ukraine. But we cannot save them.
Commentary, Politics: Ingraham: Biden, DOJ’s ‘pretend warriors’ look tough, but don’t act it
Commentary: Where’s the TRUTH amid the Ukraine, Russia conflict?
Glenn’s job is to tell you the TRUTH, but when it comes to some details from the Ukraine/Russia conflict, currently he’s struggling to find it.
Why? Because everything on social media is filtered, everything from the mainstream media or our White House is partisan, and there’s propaganda coming from BOTH sides.
There may be a clear good guy and bad guy, but so many details and decisions still remain ‘in the fog of war,’ Glenn says.
‘My problem with this is [that] everybody is just jumping onto a bandwagon. And if you disagree or question and say, hey, let’s not race to World War III…you’re of course an enemy.’
Commentary: Classic Stossel: The Birth of Cancel Culture
America is the first country to say to its people: all of you have a right to speak. But today speech is under siege.
The former CEO of Mozilla Brendan Eich, Pax Dickinson of Business Insider, Paula Deen of the Food Network, and real estate entrepreneurs David and Jason Benham all lost jobs because of something they said.
Commentary: Junk Science Locks Up Innocent People
I love TV shows like NCIS.
They show brilliant scientists solving crimes with the latest technology.
But in real life, police and prosecutors often use junk science to jail innocent people:
World: Innocent man labelled a paedophile by British newspaper | 60 Minutes Australia
A convicted paedophile moves into your neighbourhood. He’s been to jail and done his time, but should he remain anonymous? Or for your own protection, should you and your family be informed?
In Britain, they’re not hypothetical questions. When an eight-year-old girl was abducted and murdered, a national newspaper outed known paedophiles throughout the country.
It published thousands of names, their photos, even the towns they lived in.
At first, many applauded the paper’s bravery – but in its zeal to name and shame, the paper mistakenly identified innocent men.
US: Joe Biden Delivers Flood of Cheap Migrant Labor to New York
Migrants in New York need jobs to live in the expensive city, but they also need money to pay off their debts of about $15,000 to $20,000 per person.
They also need cash to re-hire the coyotes so they illegally deliver the migrants’ children to them via the federal government’s Unaccompanied Alien Children child-delivery program.
The migrants try to save wages for debt payments by crowding into apartments, Sinche said. “They have to struggle — they cannot afford to spend too much money … because they want to save,” he said.
City officials do not stop landlords from subdividing apartments to extract more rent, he said. In an August rainstorm, 11 migrants drowned in their basement apartments.
The economic strategy of extraction migration has no stopping point, and it is harmful to ordinary Americans because it cuts their career opportunities and their wages while also raising their housing costs.
Commentary/Opinion, Politics: Tucker: Why didn’t we see this coming?
Fox News host gives his take on the Russia-Ukraine war and Vice President Kamala Harris possibly visiting Europe on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’
World: Joe Biden Readies Plan to Revive Nuclear Deal with Iran as Oil Spikes
Iran now has the upper hand in negotiations, as Europe and the United States are struggling after the the price of oil spiked to over $110 a barrel after the latest Russian invasion into Ukraine.
Both Europe and the United States are eying the potential of a million barrels of Iranian oil per day as a welcome relief from the higher prices fueled by the Russian war in Ukraine.
Iran has demanded that the International Atomic Energy Agency end their investigations in their nuclear activities.
Iran is also demanding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps be removed from the United States terror blacklist, a decision that former President Donald Trump made in 2019.
World: Boris Johnson Calls Russia ‘Reckless’ After Ukraine Accusations of ‘Nuclear Terror’
While claims around what exactly transpired at the plant and why differ between Ukrainian and Russian sources, both sides at least agree that Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is now in Russian hands.
“No state except Russia has ever opened fire at nuclear power units.
For the first time in human history, a terrorist state has resorted to nuclear terror,” Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky railed, calling for “immediate European action” as the only way to “stop Russian troops.”
Zelensky and Johnson “agreed that Russia must immediately cease its attack on the power station and allow unfettered access for emergency services to the plant,” according to an official readout of the conversation published by the British government.
“The Prime Minister said the reckless actions of President Putin could now directly threaten the safety of all of Europe,” the readout continued, adding that Johnson had pledged to “do everything it could to ensure the situation did not deteriorate further.”
World: Ukraine nuclear authority gives update on Zaporizhzhia power plant: now in Russian hands
Russian shelling caused a fire to break out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), but Ukrainian State Emergency Service units put out the fire as of 6:20 a.m., the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate reported. The agency could not provide information about the dead and injured.
“ZNPP power units remain intact, unit 1 reactor compartment auxiliary buildings have been damaged, which does not affect the safety of the unit,” the agency reported. “The systems and components important to the safety of the NPP are operational.”
“At present, no changes in the radiation situation have been registered,” the agency added. Crisis agencies are investigating the situation.
Commentary/Opinion: Ukraine Update | Frederick Kagan | The JBP Podcast | #231
Dr. Frederick W. Kagan is a former professor of history with a PhD in Russian and Soviet military history from Yale.
He is also a celebrated author and the director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.
Entering the ninth day of the Russian invasion, Dr. Kagan and I discuss the most recent developments in Ukraine, potential outcomes, strategies deployed by the Biden administration, sanctions, the psychological nature of aggression and accepting defeat, US intervention, international response, protests in Moscow, and more.
US: Nearly 1,500 Service Members Discharged over Biden’s Military Vaccine Mandate
The 1,480 figure does not even include figures from the Army, which has not released any discharge numbers since it announced in early February it would begin discharging unvaccinated soldiers.
The Marine Corps announced Thursday it has discharged 873 Marines, as of March 1. Only six religious exemptions have been granted. At least three of the Marines were already in the process of leaving the military.
The Navy announced this week it has separated 419 sailors. The service has not approved any religious exemption requests.
The Air Force said it has separated 188 active duty Airmen. It has approved 17 religious exemptions.