US News, World News, Politics, Commentary.
US News:
NY judge accused of making racist, anti-gay remarks agrees to step down
A New York judge who was accused of making vile racist and anti-gay remarks has agreed to step down — claiming a shoulder injury has left her unable to fight misconduct allegations, The Post has learned.
Brooklyn Surrogate’s Court Judge Harriet Thompson — who faced charges for alleged biased and “inappropriate comments” toward co-workers — on Friday agreed to retire effective March 1 and never again seek office as a judge, according to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC).
Thompson, who was paid a $210,900 yearly salary, was accused of saying that homosexuality is an “abomination,” claiming that Hispanic people have “deceitful traits” and called four other judges “gay racist f—-ts” who were “all f–king each other.”
Terror trial of New York truck attack suspect begins with opening statements
Handout/Getty Images
The first federal death penalty trial of the Biden administration began Monday in New York City with a prosecutor alleging Sayfullo Saipov was on a mission to become a full-fledged member of the ISIS terrorist network when he allegedly killed eight people and injured many others after he plowed a rental truck into people on a pedestrian and bicycling path in lower Manhattan on Halloween 2017.
Assistant U.S. District Attorney Alexander Li promised in his opening statement to show jurors photos of mangled bicycles and bodies, video of the truck racing down Manhattan’s West Side Highway and the 32-year-old defendant running through the street before a police officer shot and wounded him.
Li said prosecution witnesses will testify of hearing the “roar of the engine” and the “horrible grinding noise” as Saipov allegedly mowed down bicycles and people.
If convicted, he could face a sentence of death by lethal injection, making him the first federal defendant executed in a New York case since Julius and Ethel Rosenberg died in the electric chair in 1953 for espionage.
The Halloween 2017 truck attack was the deadliest terror attack in New York since Sept. 11, 2001.
The truck Saipov rented reached a speed of 66 mph before crashing into a school bus near Stuyvesant High School with two children aboard, one of whom was badly injured, Li said.
January 6th | Full Measure
It’s been two years since the infamous January 6th rally for President Trump.
The subsequent rioting at the U.S. Capitol has become one of the most-prosecuted events in U.S. history.
About 1,000 people have been charged with crimes.
One side claims it was an “insurrection,” a bigger threat to America than the 9/11 Islamic extremist terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000.
Another side claims Trump supporters have been unfairly targeted. Today, we look at a little-reported facet of the fallout after J-6.
Liquid Natural Gas | Full Measure
Check your fuel bills. Across the board, prices are up.
Natural gas is generally considered the cheapest way to heat most homes, yet Americans are paying nearly a third more than a year ago.
Lisa Fletcher explains how a big boom in natural gas production here has gotten caught up in a widespread green energy crisis.
Vaccine for honeybees approved by USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture has approved a vaccine for honeybees, the first approval of its kind, to help prevent the destruction of colonies, according to CNN. The vaccine co-manufacturer says population growth and climate change have accelerated the necessity for a new vaccine.
The vaccine is to prevent the historically incurable American foulbrood disease, a bacterial spore that can infect even the strongest members of a colony, which often results in destruction of the entire honeybee colony. The USDA calls it one of the most widespread and destructive diseases of the species.
The USDA told CNN this was the “first licensure of a honeybee product,” issuing a vaccine license to Diamond Animal Health. Bloomberg describes the Iowa company as offering “lab systems, allergy testing, supplements, diagnostics,” and other services.
The FDA Approved The New Anti-Alzheimer’s Drug Leqembi. What You Need To Know
GETTY
The FDA’s decision to grant accelerated approval for the anti-Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab, which will be sold as Leqembi, has significant potential for research into treatment of the disease.
But people living with Alzheimer’s and their families will face difficult choices once the drug is made available later this month by Biogen and the Japanese firm Eisai.
A trial found the drug slowed the progression of early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease.
There is no evidence that it helps people with moderate- or late-stage Alzheimer’s or that it benefits people living with any other form of dementia or even some forms of Alzheimer’s.
It cannot reverse brain damage, memory loss, or other symptoms. It is not a cure and it is unclear how long any benefit will last.
Texas restaurant customer who fatally shot robber, gave stolen cash back to victims, now ready to talk to authorities, police say
Houston police said the restaurant customer who fatally shot a masked robber and gave stolen cash back to victims is now ready to talk to authorities, KHOU-TV reported.
Police on Sunday said an attorney representing the diner in question contacted the department to set up a time for the individual to come in and talk to investigators, KRPC-TV said, adding that details of the meeting are “still in the works.”
What’s more, police told KPRC that the customer who shot the robber retrieved the stolen money from the robber’s pocket and returned the money to other patrons.
KHOU legal analyst Carmen Roe told the station the shooting appears to be in self-defense but understands why police still want to talk to the customer who shot the robber.
“One of the reasons that law enforcement is seeking out this individual is to find out whether he was in fear for his life or the lives of the people around him because that’s absolutely essential to a self-defense claim under the law,” Roe told the station. “If you’re justified in shooting the first bullet, you’re justified in continuing to shoot until the deadly threat is no longer there.”
Veritas was in El Paso, Texas when Joe Biden visited the Southern Border. Here’s what he didn’t see.
Virginia teacher who was shot by six-year-old tried to confiscate gun – report
The Virginia school teacher shot by her six-year-old student was injured after she sought to confiscate the weapon from the child who had revealed the gun in class, a parent of another child in the class has said.
Brittaney Gregory, whose son is in the same class as the shooter at Richneck elementary school in Newport News, Virginia, detailed her son’s reaction to the shocking scene to the Washington Post newspaper. Gregory said her son told her he that he felt like he couldn’t breathe when the gun was fired.
Gregory said the class was reading and about to go to art class when the child pulled a handgun from their backpack and pointed it at his teacher, Abby Zwerner. “She was going to confiscate it, and that’s when he shot,” Gregory told the Post.
Art professor fired from Minnesota university for showing 14th-century painting of Islam’s founder Muhammad
An art professor was fired from an American university for showing a respectful Medieval painting of the 7th-century religious leader Muhammad.
Erika López Prater’s termination by Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, comes after a Muslim student complained, even though Prater had previously invited students with deep-seated religious beliefs or iconoclastic tendencies to approach her with concerns.
Unlike the images of Muhammad that the murdered French cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo published or the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons that sparked deadly Islamist violence worldwide in early 2006, the image Prater showed to her virtual class is neither parodic nor contextually offensive.
The New York Times reported that Prater showed her art class an image of a 14th-century painting from one of the oldest Islamic illustrated histories of the world, entitled, “A Compendium of Chronicles” by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, himself a Muslim painting for a Muslim patron.
California National Guard general fired after he allegedly made troops take his mom shopping
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Magram is fifth general to resign, retire or be fired from California National Guard in last 4 years.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Magram is set to be “involuntarily transferred” this week to the U.S. Air Force retired reserve, which a California National Guard spokesperson said is “parallel” to a firing, according to a Military.com report Saturday.
The news comes after an internal disciplinary board substantiated multiple allegations against Magram, including accusations he readied a fighter jet for a “possible domestic mission” in 2020 during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some officials feared the order would result in a plane “buzzing” civilian protesters in an attempt to disperse crowds.
The report also found that the general failed to complete mandatory cybersecurity training for about two weeks, eventually enlisting the help of a subordinate to take the training for him.
Ana Walshe’s art conman husband appears in court on new charges over wife’s disappearance
The husband was arrested Sunday and charged with misleading a police investigation. Prosecutors asked for $500,000 cash bail, which was granted under a $5 million surety bond.
Monday’s court hearing revealed that investigators found blood in the basement area and also a knife which also had some blood and was partially damaged.
Prosecutors told Judge Mark S. Coven that Brian Walshe went to Home Depot and purchased $450 worth of cleaning supplies.
Ana Walshe, 39, was last seen on New Year’s Day when she was reportedly expected to use a ride-sharing service to Logan International Airport in Boston to get on a flight to Washington, D.C., where she works for an international real estate developer and property manager.
Woman’s body found in South Carolina donation bin identified, investigation continues
Hannah Gates told WACH news her mother was last seen back in March 2022, and she had been looking for her ever since.
She was relieved to have closure, but still struggling after learning her mother, 46-year-old Lesley Lemoine, was the woman found badly decomposed in a clothing bin in Kershaw County.
Gates said her mother asked to be dropped off at a McDonald’s in Lugoff on March 29. Lemoine was reported missing May 7.
Someone found the body after checking the rusty bin well off U.S. Highway 1 after smelling a bad odor, investigators said.
Gavin Newsom takes hits from Twitter after heralding California as the ‘true freedom state’
Critics jumped at Newsom’s claim, calling out alleged drug user enablement, firearm restrictions, restrictive COVID-19 policies and more.
“Hi, New Hampshire resident here. I don’t pay income tax to my state, I don’t need permission to carry a firearm, I can collect rain water, and we have way less crime.
We’re The Free State, thank you very much,” singer Phil Labonte responded.
“If you believe this guy, you lack common sense,” author Scott Fishman chimed in.
California assemblyman Joe Patterson ripped Newsom in the thread, writing,”Can’t wait to use these lines on the assembly floor on dozens of bills that do the exact opposite in our own statehouse!”
Journalist Liz Highleyman asked, “How about a middle-class person being able to accomplish buying a home in one of the big cities?”
Newsom Asks for Federal Relief Aid — After Record Surplus with Federal Money
In a statement Sunday, Newsom said that he had requested a federal emergency declaration, which would make federal funds available, in the ongoing deluge that has dropped heavy rains across his drought-stricken state.
“I am requesting [Direct Federal Assistance] in order to meet critical emergency protection requirements in the form of personnel, mass care support, mass shelter support, mass evacuation support, equipment, and supplies,” Newsom wrote to the president.
Governors routinely ask for federal aid in emergencies. Yet California’s budget surplus was hardly routine: as Breitbart News reported, it reached nearly $100 billion, boosted in part by $26 billion from the federal government that was supposedly necessary to keep the state afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
Heading into 2022-23, however, the Golden State expects to plunge into a $25 billion deficit, thanks to lavish spending and to reduced revenues due to a slowdown in the economy.
SoCal Gas Warns Consumers: Massive Gas Bill Increases Coming
SoCal Gas, which supplies natural gas throughout Southern California, warned consumers this weekend that their next bills will be unusually large, blaming what it calls unusually cold winter weather across the nation.
The Biden administration has also taken a negative approach to oil and gas development, shutting down construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and making it more difficult to explore and develop oil resources on federal lands.
California, too, has seen Democrat-run governments discourage the use of natural gas, despite the fact that it is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, and that its growing adoption in place of coal has allowed the U.S. economy to reduce carbon emissions while still enjoying years of growth.
The state has set a goal of producing 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2045 — a goal that the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office says the state will struggle to meet because of a lack of clear plans.
Catholic hospital can’t refuse to remove uterus from trans-identified patient, judge rules
U.S. District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow ruled Friday that the hospital violated the Affordable Care Act and discriminated against plaintiff Jesse Hammons, a biological female diagnosed with gender dysphoria, by refusing to conduct a planned hysterectomy (removal of the womb) because it doesn’t conduct those procedures to address gender dysphoria.
The ruling acknowledged that St. Joseph’s policy is guided by the National Catholic Bioethics Center’s interpretation of Ethical and Religious Directives, which prohibits such procedures because they do not “conform to the true good of the human person, who is a body-soul union unalterably created male or female.”
Chasanow, a Clinton appointee, issued a summary judgment stating that the facility may not assert a defense based on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act because it receives federal funds.
Candace Cameron Bure Thanks Fans for Making Great American Family ‘Fastest Growing Network’ in Cable
The actress, who serves as the channel’s chief creative officer, recently posted to her Instagram Stories a press release from Great American Media saying the network finished the fourth quarter as the “fastest growing network in all of cable television.”
“Thank you for finding us and watching Great American Family Channel,” Bure wrote over an image of the press release, according to a Christian Post report.
Great American Family posted the press release to its official Twitter account. The channel said it came in No. 1 in “primetime ratings growth in households (+128%) among all cable networks.”
The network also said it ranked No. 1 “in total day ratings growth in households (+113%),” ages 18-49 (+100%), and total viewership (+116%). The channel’s statistics are based on figures from Nielsen.
White House pressed Facebook to censor Tucker Carlson, document reveals
(Daily Caller News Foundation) — The White House pressed Facebook to censor Fox News host Tucker Carlson for saying “vaccines” “don’t work,” according to a document released by Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry of Louisiana.
“Since we’ve been on the phone — the top post about vaccines today is [T]ucker Carlson saying they don’t work. Yesterday it was Tomi Lehren [sic] saying she won’t take one,” White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty reportedly said in an April 14, 2021 email to an unidentified Facebook employee, which was posted on Twitter by Landry.
Landry along with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sued the Biden administration in federal court on May 5, claiming that members of the administration colluded with social media companies to suppress debate on the 2020 presidential election, the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. The court ordered the Biden administration to turn over communications between officials and the tech companies in July.
Commentary:
Tulsi Gabbard: Politicians think they are gods
We don’t have a political problem in America; we have a spiritual problem.
There are leaders in govt, Big Tech, social/MSM, and Congress who are comfortable lying and deceiving the American people to seize more power, often believing the “ends justify the means.”
Glenn Beck: My visit to Vatican City proves EVIL IS EVERYWHERE |
During his Christmas address last December, Pope Francis warned cardinals to be vigilant of an ‘elegant demon’ lurking in the Vatican.
Additionally, Pope Benedict XVI’s personal secretary plans to release a tell-all book that his publisher says will describe certain ‘dark maneuvers.’
But Glenn also has his own, personal experiences in Vatican City that lead him to believe there could be sinister forces attempting to gain a foothold there.
In this clip, Glenn describes the last time he visited the Vatican, and the “spooky” meeting he had there. His story, Glenn says, proves that evil isn’t just spreading in America — it’s all over the world. But, there are good guys fighting it everywhere as well…
Joe Concha Rips New Woke Batman With Pregnant Joker
World News:
NATO Uses Rafale Fighters To Chase Russian Warplanes; Air Force Says Carried Out 60 Sorties In A Month!
The outgoing Hungarian fleet dominated by the JAS-39 Gripens was replaced by the four French Rafales jets and four Polish F-16 Fighting Falcons.
The Rafales have since conducted record 60 aerial sorties to aid the air policing mission, and this may be the first time that the aircraft has been deployed for air policing over the Baltic.
In late December, the aircraft took on the “Alpha Scramble” alert as part of the air policing mission.
According to official accounts, the plane intercepted two Su-27 and an Il-20 and escorted them near the Baltic airspace, and a video was subsequently released on Twitter.
Alpha Scramble is an alert departure that’s given to intercept and engage a hostile aircraft immediately.
On December 27, an alert scramble was carried out over a Russian Il-20 attack aircraft flying from the Russian mainland to Kaliningrad and two Su-27 fighter jets flying into and out of the Russian exclave in international airspace.
South Korea Hazed By Thick Smog After CCP Drops Zero COVID and Crematoriums Logjam
The South Korean skyline has been almost completely obliqued by a thick haze of what appears to be smog-like “superfine dust” following the apparent relaxation of the Chinese Communist Party’s extreme Zero COVID lockdown and control measures — and the ensuing logjam of the country’s crematoriums — following mass protests in December.
Website Korea JoongAng Daily reported on Jan. 8 that air quality was “the worst this season over the weekend, with ultrafine dust advisories issued for almost all of the nation,” in an article accompanied by a photo of a nearly invisible Seoul skyline.
One potential source of the smog coming from China could have less to do with the downside of industrial manufacturing and more to do with the aftermath of the world’s largest country being both the epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the hardest hit.
Dec. 21 reporting by Reuters demolished any veracity the Chinese Communist Party’s unrealistically low COVID death count may have had in an article titled Hearses Queue at Beijing Crematorium, Even as China Reports No New Covid Deaths.
“Amid a heavy police presence outside a crematorium in Beijing’s Tongzhou district, a Reuters witness saw about 40 hearses queuing to enter while the parking lot was full,” the article stated.
Reuters wasn’t alone in the observation.
What both articles quietly reveal, however, is that for Chinese people, cremating loved ones who have perished because of COVID — or any other causes — has been anything but an easy or accessable process under the Zero COVID regimen.
Reuters stated that according to funeral home workers they interviewed, “Some Beijing residents have to wait days to cremate relatives or pay steep fees to secure faster service, funeral home workers said.”
NGO urges release of jailed Chinese journalist who wrote articles criticising Beijing for Hong Kong newspapers
According to RSF, the 42-year-old was jailed for three and a half years for “inciting subversion of state power” and fined 70,000 renminbi (HK$80,073) over an “illegal income” earned from articles written for Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper and the defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily.
The articles – which also appeared on the Human Rights Campaign website in China – were critical of Beijing.
“As a political commentator, Ou Biaofeng published fact-based essays that allowed the Chinese public to access information on regime’s human rights abuses despite heavy censorship”, said RSF East Asia bureau head Cédric Alviani in a press release. He urged Beijing to “release him as well as all other press freedom defenders detained in China.”
Ou had already been under forms of state detention for two years, after originally being detained for 15 days in December 2020 for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” – a charge often used against dissidents in China.
He was accused of retweeting a video of “ink girl” Dong Yaoqiong, according to his wife. Dong earned her nickname by defacing a poster of leader Xi Jinping in 2018.
Ou was then placed under “Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location,” RSF reports, before being formally charged last July with subversion. He was then moved to the No. 1 Zhuzhou Municipal Detention Center.
Reports: Eskom CEO targeted with Cyanide coffee | Latest English News | WION
Police in South Africa is investigating an alleged plot to poison the Chief Executive of Eskom.
The South African energy company alleges that its outgoing CEO Andre De Ruyter drank a cup of coffee suspected to be laced with poison. Watch to know more.
Apple exported more than $2.5 billion of iPhones from India between April and December
Apple Inc. has exported more than $2.5 billion of iPhones from India from April to December, Bloomberg reported on Monday (January 9). The amount is almost twice the previous fiscal year’s total.
The report also highlights how some of the Western tech companies are shifting from China when it comes to production. Apple is among other big names that are exploring alternatives to China.
Reports previously revealed that China was the primary location of about 44-47 per cent of Apple suppliers’ production sites until 2019. Now the scenario is changing gradually, especially after simmering tensions between the United States and China.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Bloomberg report noted that Foxconn Technology Group and Wistron Corp have each “shipped more than $1 billion of Apple’s marquee devices abroad in the first nine months of the fiscal year ending March 2023”.
90% of China’s third-most populous Henan province infected with Covid, says health official
About 88.5 million people out of the total 99.4 million population have been infected with COVID-19, provincial official Kan Quancheng revealed at a press conference on Monday, reports AFP news agency.
He, however, did not provide a timeline of when these infections happened, but it is believed that the cases might have jumped in the past three weeks when China dropped the stringent Covid restrictions, and as a result, recorded a spurt in cases.
The Henan provincial figures are in stark contrast to Covid figures from the central government.
The latest figures from the official are in stark contrast to the data being provided by the Beijing officials of across the country. According to official data, only 120,000 people in the country of 1.4 billion have been infected and 30 died since the shift in Covid policy.
As of January 8, China reported only 5,272 Covid-related deaths, one of the lowest rates of death from the infection in the world.
Iranian Lawyer Charged After Reporting Client Was Tortured
An Iranian lawyer who reported on the torture of his client by security agents has been charged for saying so publicly.
The activist HRANA news agency reported on January 8 that Ali Sharifzadeh Ardakani was released on bail after being summoned to a court in Karaj to hear the charges against him.
HRANA quoted an informed source as saying the Karaj prosecutor’s complaint against the lawyer is because he said his client, Mohammad Hosseini, was tortured until he confessed to playing a part in the murder of a security officer.
Mohammad Hosseini was arrested for his part in nationwide protests triggered by the death while in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Hosseini was hanged in prison on January 7 on charges of “waging war against God.”
Let’s Look at Canada’s Suicide Ad
As Canada’s euthanasia program takes off, private companies have joined in encouraging citizens to end their lives by parading those who have recently been killed. The full truth is even darker.
At least 400 arrested in Pro-Bolsonaro protests at capital | John Bachman Now
Brazil’s new president Lula da Silva vows to make arrests after Federal buildings were raided in Brazil’s capital by thousands of protestors who claim that the recent election was stolen from now former president Jair Bolsonaro. NEWSMAX’s John Huddy reports on “John Bachman Now.”
US ramps up ties with Philippines as key to China deterrence plans
The base was once one of the largest U.S. military bases in Asia, but the Washington withdrew in 1992 after the Philippine Senate rejected its continued presence the previous year. China later advanced into the South China Sea.
In recent years, the bay has again been the focus of attention as a military base. Following the U.S. forces’ withdrawal, the port was transformed into a special economic zone.
But in response to China’s growing threat in the South China Sea, the Philippine Navy established a new base in the bay last May.
“We’re ready to accept the U.S. military,” Paulino said.
In 2016, Washington and Manila designated five bases that could be used by U.S. forces under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. However, relations deteriorated under former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and little progress was made in upgrading the facilities.
Israel does not occupy its ancestral lands; US warns Israel over Temple Mount TV7 Israel News 09.01
1) Israel will not sit idly by while the Western-financed Palestinian Authority advances radical anti-Israel decisions within International institutions.
2) Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signs order to withhold Palestinian Authority funds earmarked for families of convicted Palestinian terrorist.
3) Visit by Israeli Minister of National Security to the Temple Mount stirs domestic debate and international rebuke.
Not Refugees, Not Asylum Seekers
Brazil Riot Police Deployed at Bolsonaro Backers’ Camp After Capital Stormed
Brazilian police deployed at a camp of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro in the capital Monday, a day after rioters launched the worst attack on Brazil’s state institutions since its return to democracy in the 1980s.
Hundreds of police in riot gear and some on horseback amassed at the encampment near Brasilia’s army headquarters, while soldiers in the area withdrew, Reuters witnesses said, after Sunday’s storming by thousands of Bolsonaro’s backers of Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro’s leftist rival who took office on Jan. 1 after a narrow October election win, promised to bring those responsible for the violence to justice, after demonstrators broke windows and furniture, destroyed art work and stole guns and artifacts.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the governor of Brasilia removed from office late on Sunday for 90 days over alleged security failings.
He also ordered social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to block accounts of users spreading anti-democratic propaganda.
Iran sentences 3 more protesters to death row
Iran sentences 3 more protesters to death row, with the executions said to be imminent.
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the prison in a show of solidarity, as the anti-government demonstrations continue across the country.
‘May Allah Destroy You!’ – Rapist Barber Jailed for Sending COVID Cash to ISIS
Some of the money sent by the Muslim extremist is believed to have originated from COVID relief funds provided to him by the British government over the period of lockdown, with the cash injections being aimed at keeping the rapist’s barber shop in west London open.
However, according to a report by The Telegraph, the funding instead appears to have gone to ISIS, with Namouz allegedly bragging to a fellow inmate in prison that he had sent at least £25,000 (~$30,000) to the Islamic State for the purpose of funding jihad.
Namouz — who had previously been jailed for raping a woman at a pub where he was the landlord — has now been convicted of eight counts of entering into a funding arrangement for terrorism between November 2020 and May 2021, as well as a further two counts of possessing terrorist information, which was in relation to extremist ISIS videos found on his phone.
Irish Govt Reopens ‘Tent City’ for Migrants as Public Protest Open Borders
Protests against the Irish government’s open borders approach to migration continue to spread across the country as state officials requisition more and more premises to house asylum seekers.
With Ireland in the midst of a crippling housing crisis, the authorities have taken to utilising disused office blocks and even school buildings to house migrants, often without consulting locals living near the site.
This has sparked a number of high-profile protests in areas where migrants have been transplanted, with the country’s asylum centres becoming ever more associated with various acts of extreme violence that have taken place over the last number of weeks.
Overall, Ireland reportedly saw just under 20,000 asylum seekers from countries other than Ukraine arrive last year, with a further 50,000 refugees ostensibly from the war-torn country also being said to have arrived in the nation in 2022.
While the numbers may seem small overall compared to mass migration to the United States or even the United Kingdom, their impact is still enormous, given Ireland’s relatively small population, overall size, and state resources.
Japan to double defense spending over China threat
Japan is making the historic move of doubling its defense budget as China increasingly encroaches on Japanese territory that matches Chinese inflammatory rhetoric.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that Japan had reached a “turning point” in its history that necessitated the buildup.
“In Japan’s neighboring countries and regions, there is more obvious shift toward attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by might,” he said, noting that Japan would take a wide range of measures, from military to diplomatic, to respond to the change.
Chaos in Brazil: Protesters Storm Capital, Destroying Supreme Court and Congress
Thousands of opponents of socialist convicted felon President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stormed his offices and the headquarters of the Congress and Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) of Brazil on Sunday, reportedly demolishing the facades of two of the three buildings and causing “irreparable” damage to priceless artifacts in the chambers.
Politics:
Crenshaw loses race for top committee chair to Freedom Caucus member
In what could be a sign of conservatives‘ newly-expanded influence over the House GOP, House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Mark Green won the top spot on the Homeland Security Committee over Republican star Rep. Dan Crenshaw.
Green was chosen by the House Republican Steering Committee to chair the panel, which has oversight capabilities over the Homeland Security Department including the southwestern border.
Both he and Crenshaw – each a supporter of new House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – had signaled they would take a hardline approach to the migrant crisis at the U.S. border with Mexico.
Green pledged that under his watch the committee would hire at least one staff member that’s permanently stationed at the border to work with Customs and Border Patrol and other relevant groups.
Biden Makes Very Brief Border Visit While Mostly Ignoring the Problem, with Greg Kelly
Megyn Kelly is joined by Greg Kelly, author of “Justice For All,” to talk about President Biden’s visit to the border but failure to apologize for false claims against Border Patrol agents, how he is unopposed in the upcoming election, the potential win for Democrats,
3 reasons the GOP House Speaker chaos was GREAT for America
Despite what Democrats (and even some Republicans…) may say, the chaos that ensued last week over the GOP’s pick for House Speaker actually was GREAT for America. Why?
Because by pushing back against Kevin McCarthy’s nomination for the role, Freedom Caucus members were able to ensure several HUGE wins for House Republicans.
In this clip, Glenn lists those wins in this clip — like a 72-hour reading period on all bills presented to Congress, an upcoming vote on term limits, and more. Thanks to the House Freedom Caucus, Glenn says, ‘America: you won.’
House GOP will investigate ‘traitor’ Gen. Milley, Rep. Gosar says
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) called the top U.S. military officer, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, a “traitor,” adding that House Republicans will investigate his “treasonous sell out to China” and “coup” attempt around the Jan. 6 Capitol storming.
“Remember – we will conduct a real investigation into J6. The effort to attempt a coup between traitor Gen. Mark Milley and Pelosi will be reviewed and exposed,” Gosar tweeted on Saturday.
“Milleys treasonous sell out to China will be investigated. Pelosi not warning members about intel of impending violence will be exposed,” he added. “Soon, we’ll know the truth.”
Everyone is going to be held accountable in this town: Rep. Comer
Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., on the House electing Kevin McCarthy as speaker and Congress’ upcoming rules package vote.
Trump Calls for Primary Challenges to McConnell, Collaborators
Former President Donald Trump on Monday urged primary challenges of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and GOP senators who vote with him.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump hailed the selection of California GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, then unleashed a tirade against McConnell and a swipe at McConnell’s wife.
“We must now stop Mitch McConnell and his China flagrant boss, Coco Chow,” Trump wrote. “It’s as though he just doesn’t care anymore, he pushes through anything the Democrats want.”
House Republicans Prepare to Probe Big Tech
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, will chair a new House select committee that will probe Big Tech’s interactions with the White House, Axios reported.
The House Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government will focus on the Biden administration’s alleged actions in pressuring social media platforms to censor conservative accounts and content.
It is partly a response to Elon Musk’s Twitter Files, Axios reported.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, elected to his position last week, agreed to the select committee’s creation when he was seeking votes from House conservatives.
The House panel will demand copies of White House emails, memos, and other communications with Big Tech companies, sources told Axios.
What’s in it: House GOP rules package aims to curb trillions in yearly heaps of new debt
A 55-page set of rules for the House that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hopes to pass on Monday will set ambitious new curbs on federal spending, part of the GOP’s effort to stop piling on trillions of dollars in new debt each year.
One of the biggest changes is a return to a “Cut-As-You-Go” policy that says legislation cannot be considered if it increases mandatory spending over a 5- or 10-year period of time.
This “CUTGO” policy requires bills that call for new spending to find offsetting spending cuts elsewhere in the federal budget.
That is a more aggressive stance compared to the “Pay-As-You-Go” policy under Democratic control. “PAYGO” also requires offsets to new spending, but those offsets can either be spending cuts or tax increases – and in either case, PAYGO rules were often waived entirely by Democrats.
Steve Hilton: This is the next revolution we need in US politics
Fox News host Steve Hilton gives his take on the GOP’s struggle to elect a House Speaker last week on ‘The Next Revolution.’
Levin: The Biden admin continues to prove it’s an enemy of our republic
Fox News host Mark Levin reacts to Kevin McCarthy becoming speaker of the House and why it took Republicans so long to come to a consensus on ‘Life Liberty & Levin.’
In The News Feed. 