In The News Today:4/5/2022

US News, Politics, World News, Commentary/Opinion and Videos.

US News:

Twitter’s “autoblock” feature blocks citizens from responding to, or even seeing, elected politicians’ tweets

The most recent example was blocking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s tweets from being seen by a user who was highlighting problems with a recent bill.

Twitter is a “social” network that is paradoxically becoming ever more insular and anti-social – apparently, all in a bid to “protect” users from one another.

This seems to be the idea behind testing new features such as the one called “Safety Mode,” that includes something called, “autoblock.”

While the problem has affected many, it was Laura Marston, an advocate for lowering the cost of insulin for diabetes sufferers, that most recently found her account blocked from highlighting problems with a recent bill that Marston feels falls short.

Ivy League universities turning into ‘indoctrination mills’: Dr. Swain

Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Dr. Carol Swain on conservatives continuing to be pushed out of Ivy leagues after none of the universities invited a conservative speaker at graduation.

Chicago PD releases video of suspects accused of beating, robbing Lightfoot appointee

City of Chicago photo of Kwame Amoaku next to security footage of three armed robbery suspects.  (Chicago Police Department)
City of Chicago photo of Kwame Amoaku next to security footage of three armed robbery suspects.  (Chicago Police Department)

The young men rifled through Amoaku’s car and took his credit card, which they allegedly later used to buy clothes at a mall.

The three suspects took off in a gray Dodge Caravan, returned to the scene moments later to continue battering Amoaku and then fled again. 

Amoaku was taken to a hospital in serious, but stable condition with a head injury and fractured arm.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact detectives at (312) 746-8251. Anonymous tips can also be submitted online

Philadelphia gun violence: Boy, 13, shot while sitting in parked car, teen killed walking home from school

Police said they believe the 13-year-old was targeted in the shooting Monday night. (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)
Police said they believe the 13-year-old was targeted in the shooting Monday night. (FOX29 Philadelphia WTXF)

The victim, a 13-year-old boy, was sitting in the passenger seat of a parked car when a gunman walked up and fired over a dozen bullets into the vehicle, Philadelphia Police Captain John Walker told reporters. Detectives said they believe the 13-year-old was targeted.

The boy was rushed to Penn Presbyterian Hospital in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his head, chest and arms, Walker said.

Hours earlier, police said a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed in a separate incident in North Philadelphia.

The eighth grader was walking home from Dr. Tanner G. Duckrey School just before 3 p.m. when at least one gunman approached and fired at least 20 shots, hitting the teen four times in the torso, Walker said.

Video: Purse-snatcher throws pregnant woman to ground on Queens street

A pregnant woman was violently robbed of her purse on a Queens street on March 9, 2022. (Credit: NYPD)
A pregnant woman was violently robbed of her purse on a Queens street on March 9, 2022. (Credit: NYPD)

The NYPD on Monday released surveillance video of the robbery, which happened on March 9 around 6:05 a.m. near the corner of 131st Street and Liberty Avenue in Richmond Hill.

The woman was walking down the sidewalk when a man who was passing by suddenly lunged at her, grabbed her purse and threw her to the ground in an effort to yank the bag from her grip, the video showed. 

The man then ran down the street holding the woman’s purse. He was last seen running west on Liberty Avenue.

Police released the surveillance video with the hope that someone would recognize the suspect and come forward with information.

Houston man robs mother at gunpoint of money for disabled son

(Houston Police Department)
(Houston Police Department)

Police say the aggravated robbery happened around 7:35 a.m. Saturday, March 26. Robertson had just gotten home and was walking towards her front door when a car stopped in front of her house, a man with a gun got out and he demanded her money.

Roberston threw everything she was holding towards the suspect. The suspect then searched her pockets before picking up her purse, running back to the car and taking off.

“Now I’m nervous when I go outside. I have to protect myself getting in my car, and I have to protect myself when I get home from work. It’s crazy,” she told FOX 26 Houston.

Crime Stoppers is offering to pay up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest. Tipsters must contact Crime Stoppers directly to remain anonymous and to be considered for a cash payment by calling 713-222-TIPS (8477), submitting an online tip or through the Houston Crime Stoppers mobile app.

Man stabbed with box cutter in NYC subway station: cops

John Minchillo/AP
John Minchillo/AP

The incident comes about a week after an ex-cop was slashed by an attacker who first spat at him and his wife at the same station, according to police.

The victim, said to be in his 40s, was arguing with another man on a northbound 4 train, cops said. 

When both men got off the train at Wall Street around 6:10 a.m., the assailant attacked his fellow straphanger with a box cutter on the staircase, according to cops and the sources.

Migrant woman stuffed in duffel bag rescued from fiery car wreck: video

A migrant woman had to be rescued from a burning car after an alleged smuggler crashed it while being chased by Border Patrol in Texas on March 24, 2022.
Facebook/Texas Department of Public Safety – South Texas Region
A migrant woman had to be rescued from a burning car after an alleged smuggler crashed it while being chased by Border Patrol in Texas on March 24, 2022.
Facebook/Texas Department of Public Safety – South Texas Region

The terrifying ordeal unfolded on March 24 when her alleged smuggler, David Padilla Jr., 29, sped off from an immigration checkpoint after a K-9 unit alerted US Border Patrol agents to something in his car, authorities said.

Padilla allegedly crashed the vehicle into a barrier on Interstate 35 after agents deployed spike strips amid the high-speed chase.

The alleged smuggler then tried to escape on foot but was captured, authorities said.

When Padilla spotted the vehicle on fire, he allegedly said: “She is in the back. Get her out of there. Did they get her out?”

2 US Navy sailors injured in nuclear sub accident

The USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) Blue Crew Sailors return home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ahron Arendes)
The USS Louisiana (SSBN 743) Blue Crew Sailors return home to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ahron Arendes)

Around noon local time, the sub located at Pier 3 “experienced a problem with the forward logistics escape trunk during testing, resulting in the rapid depressurization of the compartment.”

“The depressurization created a loud noise due to the escaping air and dislodged a scaffolding enclosure and other equipment,” the press release stated. “Routine compartment air tests are conducted to ensure equipment functions as designed. The boat’s nuclear propulsion space was not affected.”

The Navy said the cause of the issues “will be fully investigated.”

The incident comes less than a month after two fatal accidents in the Navy and Marines.

FACT CHECK: DO THESE PICTURES SHOW SEA LEVELS 80 YEARS AGO AND NOW?

The Facebook post appears to show two images, one in black and white and the other in color, both showing what appears to be a formidable stone wall that extends into the sea. The black and white image is labeled with text that reads, “80 years ago,” while the bottom photo includes text that reads, “Today: Those rising sea levels though.” In both images, the sea level appears to be the same.

A reverse image search reveals both pictures show the Laolongtou section of the Great Wall of China, as can be seen on Getty Images.

The image at the top is not from 80 years ago, however. A reverse image search revealed the top photo was taken on Sep. 15, 2008 and published to Flickr. The original version of the photo is in color, not black and white. The image shared on Facebook appears to have been edited to make it appear older than it is.

2nd Man Arrested in Sacramento Mass Shooting

Dandrae Martin in a file photo. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP)
Dandrae Martin in a file photo. (Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry via AP)

Smiley Martin, 27, was arrested while hospitalized with serious injuries from the gunfire. When his condition improves enough for him to be jailed, he will be booked for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and possession of a machine gun, a police statement said.

A day later police announced the arrest of Dandrae Martin, 26, as a “related suspect” on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and being a convict carrying a loaded gun.

His first court appearance was set for Tuesday.

Mesa man stabs his dad to death after he refuses to pay for groceries, police say

Jason Jeschor told officers "I killed him" when they came to his home for a requested welfare check.(Mesa Police Department)
Jason Jeschor told officers “I killed him” when they came to his home for a requested welfare check.(Mesa Police Department)

According to court documents, when asked what happened to his dad, Jeschor told officers, “I killed him.” Jeschor told police that his dad had taken him to the grocery store but when his debit card was declined, his father refused to pay.

When the two returned to Jeschor’s apartment, he said that he stabbed his dad with a “homemade spear-like object” and then several times in the neck with a switchblade knife in the dining room area, according to court documents.

The knife was the same one that was in his waist when officers arrived at the apartment.

Leo Terrell: BLM exploited Black Americans

Fox News contributor Leo Terrell criticizes Black Lives Matter after reports the organization used donations to purchase a $6 million home in California.

California city to give universal income to transgender, nonbinary residents regardless of earnings

The street pedestrian crossing is painted in rainbow colors as viewed on March 7, 2022 in Palm Springs, California.(George Rose/Getty Images)
The street pedestrian crossing is painted in rainbow colors as viewed on March 7, 2022 in Palm Springs, California.(George Rose/Getty Images)

Transgender residents in Palm Springs, California are eligible to receive a UBI of up to $900 per month solely for identifying as transgender or nonbinary — no strings attached.

The new pilot program will have $200,000 set aside for allocation after a unanimous vote by the Palm Springs City Council last week.

Twenty transgender and nonbinary Palm Springs residents will receive the free money funded by the taxpayers for 18 months, with advocacy-based health center DAP Health and LGBT advocacy group Queer Works managing the program.

A six-month design period will be the precursor of the program’s implementation, in which the group Mayors for a Guaranteed Income will be involved providing guidance.

Twitter appoints Elon Musk to board, expanding his influence amid free speech debate

(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
(Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)

“Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” Musk wrote, responding to Agrawal’s tweet. 

Twitter Inc. said in a Tuesday SEC filing that the company entered into an agreement with Musk Monday that he will be appointed to the Board of Directors with a term expiring at its 2024 annual meeting of stockholders.

Per the agreement, Musk cannot, either alone or as a member of a group, own more than 14.9% of the company’s common stock while serving as a member of the board and for 90 days after.

Elon Musk now Twitter’s biggest shareholder

‘Fox & Friends’ co-hosts discuss Elon Musk’s potential impact on Twitter’s censorship of conservatives after the billionaire purchased nearly 10% of shares.

Progressive activists, media pundits react to Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover: ‘No good will come of this’

(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)
(Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

“Maybe he can find out who at Twitter censored the Hunter Biden story?” Dave Rubin, host of “The Rubin Report” said. Musk became Twitter’s biggest shareholder on Monday and will sit on the board of directors.  

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said Tuesday that Musk “would bring great value” to the board. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said Musk “opposes big tech censorship” and that “all freedom-loving Americans can get behind” the news. 

“No good will come of this. Hoping entrepreneurs are dreaming up new alternatives to Twitter and Facebook,” activist, author and president of The New Agenda Amy Siskind said.

MSNBC’s Joy Reid asked her followers how many of them would “remain” on Twitter if they bring “Trump, his white nationalist friends, Q-anon and the anti-vaxxers back.” 

Jordan Peterson breaks down in tears describing Antifa: They’re ‘worse than animals’

Image Source: YouTube screenshot
Image Source: YouTube screenshot

“You really want to know what I think,” Peterson continued. “I think it’s revenge against God for the crime of being. That’s really what I think. It’s ‘Cain’ in [the story of] Cain and Abel.

“Like, ‘Oh, Abel’s your guy, what if I take him out into a field and beat him to death. How do you feel about that?'” he said.

“All my sacrifices went unrewarded. Yeah,” a teary-eyed Peterson added, his voice starting to crack. “Yeah, that’s what it is at the bottom of the hell of things.”

Politics:

Biden’s own study confirms the worst about the left’s climate agenda

Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration issued a study that showed how electricity prices would increase if the U.S. were to ban all future interstate natural gas pipeline projects.

Banning natural gas pipelines would lead to 11% lower natural gas electricity production by 2050 while renewables, nuclear and coal-fired production would increase 4%, 5% and 9% respectively, the study published Monday by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed.

While such a ban would achieve the left-wing goal of lower natural gas reliance, it would lead to higher coal reliance, making its positive climate impacts minimal, according to the agency’s estimates.

Stacey Abrams now a millionaire as she aims to take governor’s office

(Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Democrat reports that she is worth $3.17 million, according to state disclosures filed in March. 

That figure is compared to a net worth of $109,000 when she first ran for Georgia governor four years ago. 

Then-gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp criticized Abrams in 2018 for owing $54,000 to the IRS. Kemp defeated Abrams in the general election.

Now, as she launches her second bid for the office, the voting rights activist says criticism of her current status is ironic.

Durham releases former Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann’s text message, says he put ‘lie in writing’

Photo of John Durham and Michael Sussmann.  Sussman pic:  Perkins Coie (Perkins Coie)
Photo of John Durham and Michael Sussmann.  Sussman pic:  Perkins Coie (Perkins Coie)

Durham, in his Monday filing, writes that Sussmann “had assembled and conveyed the allegations to the FBI on behalf of at least two specific clients,” including Tech Executive-1, who has been identified as Rodney Joffe, and the Clinton campaign.

The tech executive has since identified himself as Rodney Joffe. Joffe is not named in Durham’s filing and has not been charged with a crime.

“Indeed, on September 18, 2016 at 7:24 p.m., i.e., the night before the defendant met with the General Counsel, the defendant conveyed the same lie in writing and sent the following text message to the General Counsel’s personal cellphone,” Durham wrote in the filing.

Matt Gaetz Grills Sec. Austin: “I’m Embarrassed by Your Leadership”

“I’m embarrassed by your leadership,” responded Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a tense exchange on Tuesday at the House Armed Services Committee hearing on the 2023 defense budget request.

Biden agencies reportedly refuse to define the word ‘woman’ — despite having official materials on women’s health and women’s rights

Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

In response to inquiries from Fox News in recent days regarding the administration’s definition of the word “woman,” multiple agencies in the federal government refused to answer despite the fact that, in many cases, the agencies themselves promote official women’s rights and women’s health initiatives.

Fox News reported on Monday that the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Education (DOE), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Federal Bureau of Prisons all declined to answer the seemingly simple request.

Furthermore, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offered only vague and evasive answers.

Mississippi Tightens Up Its Elections With Ban On Zuckbucks

TERRI SEWELL/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
TERRI SEWELL/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Mississippi became the latest state to advance election security measures on Monday, with Gov. Tate Reeves signing legislation to bar state and local election officials from receiving funding from nongovernmental entities to conduct elections.

While speaking at a signing ceremony for the legislation, Reeves applauded the measure’s passage, saying, “Corporations and special interest groups have no role in determining how [Mississippi] elections are run, how [Mississippi] candidates are elected, and who [Mississippi] voters cast their ballots for.”

During his remarks, Reeves referenced actions taken by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who dumped more than $400 million into the pockets of left-wing advocacy groups during the 2020 election in order to alter state and local government election operations.

Hunter Biden grand jury witness asked about the ‘big guy,’ China deal: Report

Former assistant FBI director Chris Swecker joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss the latest on the report and the potential implications of the probe.

House Republicans Briefed By National Border Patrol Council

Biden’s Border Crisis has been a complete failure of leadership. House Republicans have been calling attention to the escalating conditions for 14 months, and now, we’re hearing directly from Border Patrol agents to learn what’s happening on the ground.

World News:

EU targeting Putin’s 2 daughters – here’s what we know

The E.U. plan would entail sanctioning Putin’s two daughters, according to diplomats familiar with the plan who spoke with the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg on Tuesday.

The individual sanctions are among dozens of proposed punitive moves against Russia, which would include freezing the assets of various Russian business figures and banning certain travel.

It’s unclear what assets of Putin’s daughters’ would be at risk under the proposed E.U. sanctions, making the sanctions a largely symbolic move.

Bloomberg reported the daughters’ lives are shrouded in secrecy and they use different maiden names. The Kremlin has also never confirmed their names or released photographs of them as adults, though Bloomberg reported they are named Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova.

US tested hypersonic missile, reportedly kept it secret to not anger Russia

Artist rendering of the U.S. Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). (DARPA image/Released)
Artist rendering of the U.S. Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC). (DARPA image/Released)

The U.S. military successfully tested an air-launched hypersonic missile, but reportedly kept the test a secret in order to avoid raising tensions with Russia.

On Tuesday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced it successfully launched a version of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC), developed by Lockheed Martin, from a carrier aircraft. DARPA said it was the second successful test of a HAWC design, after the first one was completed in September of 2021.

Hypersonic weapons have become an area of increasing focus for the U.S., Russia and China. All three countries have been working to rapidly develop their missile technology.

Hypersonic missiles: UK, US, and Australia to boost defence co-operation

EPA
EPA

Hypersonic missiles are changing the way nations plan for their strategic defence for two reasons. Firstly, they are so fast there would be very little time – just minutes – between a launch being detected and a country’s leader having to decide whether to retaliate.

There is almost no way of knowing whether that missile is nuclear-tipped or not.

Secondly, their flight path, especially that of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), is so hard to predict it makes interception extremely difficult.

Currently China is in the forefront of hypersonic missile development, closely followed by Russia, which has already used them to hit long distance targets in Ukraine. The US is late to the game and some of its tests have not gone well.

Britain does not possess any and is only now forming an alliance with the US and Australia to carry out research into them and how, if possible, to defend against them.

Longtime Putin Adviser Says Russian Leader Is Obsessed With Ukraine And Has ‘Stepped Into A Trap’

Former Putin adviser Gleb Pavlovsky:
Former Putin adviser Gleb Pavlovsky:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a grave miscalculation by invading Ukraine, triggering a conflict that could ultimately spill over its borders, possibly igniting a larger conflagration, a former presidential adviser and Kremlin spin doctor has said.

In an interview with RFE/RL’s Georgian Service, Gleb Pavlovsky said Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine on February 24 made “no political sense.”

“This is all Putin’s own personal decision. Nobody other than Putin would have made it, not even Ramzan Kadyrov, had he had a say in it,” Pavlovsky said, referring to the authoritarian ruler of the Russian republic of Chechnya. “Nobody, including myself, realized just how maniacally obsessed he must have been with Ukraine. We underestimated the extent of decay of the Russian government.”

Russian forces in Ukraine committed atrocities beyond even the Nazis, Zelenskyy says

Image 3 of 4
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - Lifeless bodies of men, some with their hands tied behind their backs lie on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Image 3 of 4
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT – Lifeless bodies of men, some with their hands tied behind their backs lie on the ground in Bucha, Ukraine, Sunday, April 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

He made the claim after Russian forces pulled out of many towns near the capital city of Kyiv, allegedly leaving bodies in mass graves.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Kyiv of setting up a “stage-managed anti-Russian provocation.”

“I’ve visited our cities in the Kyiv region, which we liberated from the occupiers: Stoyanka, Irpin, Bucha,” Zelenskyy said in his daily address shortly after midnight Tuesday. “Of course, now this area does not look like yesterday.

The bodies of killed people, killed Ukrainians have already been taken from most streets. But in the yards, in the houses, the dead still remain.”

Russia-Arab League deliberate status of Jerusalem; Israel to prevail vs terror TV7 Israel News 05.04

1) Tensions continue to run-high in the predominately-Arab East Jerusalem neighborhoods, as well as in the West Bank districts of Judea and Samaria.

2) IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi revealed that at least ten terror attacks were foiled in the past two weeks thanks to intelligence and operational activity.

3) The United States is growing increasingly impatient with Iran over its refusal to abandon its non-nuclear related demand of having the Biden Administration remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps from the U.S. State Department’s list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

More photos from Ukraine-Russia war massacre in Bucha, devastation in Mariupol

Image 5 of 8 WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE.
Journalists stand by a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. Russia is facing a fresh wave of condemnation after evidence emerged of what appeared to be deliberate killings of civilians in Ukraine.  (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Image 5 of 8 WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE.
Journalists stand by a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 4, 2022. Russia is facing a fresh wave of condemnation after evidence emerged of what appeared to be deliberate killings of civilians in Ukraine.  (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

In an overnight address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 300 people had been tortured and killed in Bucha, as satellite imagery seemed to back up Ukrainian claims about Russian soldiers shooting and killing civilians left lying in the streets and outside homes. 

The Kremlin has claimed that the bodies were staged after Russian soldiers pulled back from the capital region, allegations Ukraine and the West say is misinformation meant to displace blame for such war crimes. 

Russian forces on Tuesday were preparing for an offensive in Ukraine’s southeast, the Ukrainian military said, as Zelenskyy prepared to talk to the U.N. Security Council amid outrage over evidence Moscow’s soldiers deliberately killed civilians.

Commentary/Opinion:

Guidance Counselors Help 5th Graders “Come Out” in America’s Wokest School District

Jill Simonian and Will Witt react to a report of guidance counselors helping middle school students being helped to “come out” in Burlington, Vermont.

The school district also held a webinar to discuss using the Gender Unicorn to educate students about gender identity and another to discuss “White Supremacy Culture” and “White Silence.”

Plus a new episode of Otto’s Tales released today and have you seen an ad for PragerU Kids running on Fox News?