WORLD NEWS
Israel announces it will retaliate to Iran missile attack; regional airline flights canceled!
Israel’s military chief said on April 15 that Israel will respond to Iran’s missile and drone attack, but it’s not clear how or when.
Herzi Halevi, head of the Israel Defense Forces, told reporters that Iran’s strikes “will be met with a response” without elaborating. He spoke during a visit to the Nevatim air base, which Israel says suffered light damage in the Iranian attack.
“Iran wanted to harm the strategic capabilities of the State of Israel—that is something that had not happened before. We were prepared for the ‘Iron Shield’ operation—preparation that brought Iran to also meet air superiority,” he said. “Last Monday, we saw what was being organized, and we think that the State of Israel is very strong and knows how to deal with it alone, but with a threat so numerous and so far away, we are always happy to have [the United States] with us.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been huddling with top officials to discuss a possible response to Iran’s attack involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. World leaders have been urging Israel to not retaliate, while U.S. officials have suggested that Israel’s defense apparatus was overwhelmingly successful in dealing with Iran’s attack and intercepted 99 percent of their missiles and drones.
Iran’s attack on April 13 was the first time Tehran directly targeted Israel since the current regime took over in 1979. However, the country has been engaged in proxy attacks against both Israel and the United States originating from a number of Middle Eastern countries.
On April 15, a number of airline companies canceled or delayed flights again after the Iranian missile and drone attack. United Airlines and Air Canada, notably, canceled some flights into Tel Aviv as well as flights into Jordan. About a dozen more companies announced that they would scrap flights to the country amid heightened tensions.
US Intercepted 80 Iranian UAVs, 6 Ballistic Missiles Aimed at Israel: CENTCOM
The Pentagon revealed on April 14 that U.S. forces had destroyed more than 80 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen.
In a statement on X, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said among these interceptions were a ballistic missile on its launcher vehicle, as well as seven UAVs that were destroyed on the ground in Iranian-backed Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen before they were launched.
CENTCOM said U.S. European Command destroyers supported them in taking down the threat on April 13 and the morning of April 14.
However, there are videos circulating on social media that show at least a dozen missiles hit two Israeli air bases in the Southeastern part of the country.
And Biden wants to give another $95-billion to Ukraine and Israel?
U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
The former president took a seat at the defense table inside a Manhattan court as the jury selection process starts. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee will have to be in court for four days a week for the next six or more weeks.
The case, he said, “should have never been brought” and is tantamount to “political persecution.” He added: “This is an assault on America and that’s why I’m very proud to be here. This is really an attack on a political opponent.”
“Every legal scholar said this this case is nonsense, it should never have been brought,” President Trump added to reporters on Monday.
While in court Monday, Judge Juan Merchan denied a Trump-brought motion for recusal and said he would not consider it again until an appeals court issued a ruling on the matter. He claimed the former president is engaging in using “inferences, innuendos, and unsupported speculation” to make claims to recuse himself.
He faces dozens of counts of falsifying business records to allegedly cover up what has been described as “hush-money” payments to Stormy Daniels. The former president has pleaded not guilty and said he never had an affair with Ms. Daniels.
The felony charge he faces could be punishable by up to four years in prison. However, there’s no guarantee that President Trump would actually serve time behind bars if he’s convicted, with the sentence ultimately up to the judge. Notably, it’s not clear how the U.S. Secret Service would handle a former president being incarcerated.
To further ramp up on Trump, the judge warns he could be arrested for missing court dates!
The judge overseeing the Trump “hush-money” case on Monday warned former President Donald Trump that he could be arrested for missing court dates, although his attorney signaled that he would show up.
“If you do not show up there will be an arrest … Do you understand?“ Judge Juan Merchan asked President Trump, according to court reporters. ”I do,” the former president replied.
According to the New York Court System, a defendant who is free on bond—like President Trump—who does not deliberately show up to court could face a “warrant for [their] arrest,” and they “will be subject to separate prosecution and separate punishment for bail jumping no matter what happens in this case. Do you understand?
The former president’s attorney, Todd Blanche, told the judge that President Trump intends to be present at his trial, in which he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records, but noted there may be an absence. The lawyer said that the former president also wants to be present at every conference during the jury selection process.
In Monday’s hearing, his lawyers requested the trial not be held on May 17 so the former president could attend his son Barron’s graduation from high school. A lawyer in the case also told the judge he wants June 3 off so he could attend his own son’s graduation.
The judge said he wasn’t prepared to rule on those requests, but he said he would be willing to adjourn for one or both days. “It really depends on how we’re doing on time and where we are in the trial,” Judge Merchan said.
The trial is scheduled to last about eight weeks, four days per week, which is likely to severely limit President Trump’s campaigning during that time. The former president has contended that the trial—and three separate cases—are a form of election interference meant to derail his 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump judge says prosecutors cannot show Access Hollywood tape to jury!
The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s “hush-money” trial in Manhattan affirmed Monday that he will not allow the playing of an “Access Hollywood” tape featuring the former president, and he denied prosecutors’ requests to enter other allegations of sexual assault into the evidence.
In denying a prosecutor’s request to bring into evidence allegations of assault against President Trump that emerged after the release of an “Access Hollywood” tape in 2016, Judge Juan Merchan described them as rumors.
“They are very prejudicial, and at this point, given what we know today, it was just a rumor,” Judge Merchan said in court on Monday. But the judge said he would allow video footage that features President Trump denying the allegations at various campaign rallies.
Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the court that the district attorney’s office wants to admit a transcript of the “Access Hollywood” tape that resurfaced ahead of the 2016 presidential election, claiming that the tape contains an alleged admission of a sexual assault. The judge said that the prosecution cannot play the tape during the trial, making note of a previous ruling he had issued, but stipulated that prosecutors can read the words aloud.
“It’s not a little point,” Judge Merchan said, according to court reporters. “My ruling that we were not to play the tape was, and remains, that the tape itself is so prejudicial … the tape itself should not come in.”
The judge also ruled Monday that video footage from President Trump’s deposition in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial should not be played in front of the jury. But the judge did allow alleged Trump campaign interactions with the National Enquirer and claims about an alleged affair with former model Karen McDougal to be allowed in the trial. The former president has denied the McDougal allegations.
“I believe this is necessary to complete the narrative of what took place,” Judge Merchan said of the National Enquirer stories claims.
Trump attorney Todd Blanche had argued in court that those two topics are a “sideshow” that would “do nothing but confuse the jury about the actual crime charged,” adding that some allegations that prosecutors want to enter are “literally just salacious with no value.”
The day began with Judge Merchan denying defense requests to recuse himself from the case and to expand the questionnaire filled out by jurors. Additional legal arguments and housekeeping matters were expected before the formal start of jury selection.
Judge rejects challenge to new Nevada election law!
A legal challenge to a new Nevada law that criminalizes attempting to influence election officials has been turned away. U.S. District Judge Cristina Silva dismissed the lawsuit, which had been filed against Nevada Senate Bill 406.
In an amendment to existing law, the bill states that it’s illegal for people to use or threaten to use intimidation or undue influence “with the intent to interfere with the performance of any elections official” or “retaliate against any elections official.”
A group of Nevada residents sued over the bill, which was signed into law in 2023 by Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican. The residents argued that because the law does not define who an election official is, the description can include election observers, or members of the public who are allowed by law to observe voting at polling places.
Observers “may potentially not only be a victim of SB 406 but also be subject to a prosecution under SB 406, for a Class E felony, if an election observer vocally objects to any conduct which may be subjectively viewed as intimidation or undue influence, by a purported victim under SB 406,” the lawsuit stated. It also noted that neither “intimidation” nor “undue influence” are defined, raising concerns about how the law will be applied.
GOP leaders in Pennsylvania embrace mail-in voting drop boxes!
Voting has changed in the United States, and the Pennsylvania Republican Party wants voters to change with it by becoming mail-in voters.
Elections used to happen on a single day, and only a minority of people voted by absentee ballot. They were mostly military voters stationed out of the country, and people who were traveling, sick, or otherwise had a reason for not going to the local polls on election day.
Years before COVID-19 came on the scene, Democrats in Pennsylvania talked about expanding absentee voting as we knew it to “no-excuse absentee voting,” where anyone could participate in mail-in voting—no reason needed. In October 2019, the Pennsylvania Legislature passed Act 77, a controversial package of changes to election law that ushered in no-excuse absentee voting.
In 2020, COVID brought social distancing and, with it, a nationwide Democratic push for voters to use the mail-in voting option.
At the time, President Donald Trump urged supporters to vote in person on election day, saying that mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes were less secure. Republicans mostly agreed, but Republicans have mostly lost elections since then.
Now, the Pennsylvania GOP is urging voters to embrace mail-in voting. Use it, promote it, trust it. If You Want to Win, Mail it In!
Gov. Josh Shapiro added automatic voter registration to the process of getting a driver’s license, Republicans have largely been leading those new registrations.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has an unexplained absence …
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas missed the court’s session yesterday.
Justice Thomas was not on the bench on Monday as the other eight justices heard arguments, with no reason given for his absence.
Chief Justice John Roberts noted the absence of Justice Thomas at the beginning of the arguments in the first of two cases before the court but did not offer an explanation. Justice Roberts did say that Justice Thomas would “participate fully” in the cases by using the written legal briefs and the transcripts of the arguments.
The court did not respond to requests for information on his absence.
The court often gives a reason for a justice’s absence, including when a justice is ill.
Justice Thomas, 75, is the oldest justice in addition to being the justice that has served the longest. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1991.
Justice Thomas was hospitalized on March 18, 2022. The court did not disclose the hospitalization for two days. The justice was released after one week. According to the court, he was diagnosed with an infection after dealing with flu-like symptoms, and he was treated with intravenous antibiotics.
The court specified at the time that Justice Thomas did not have COVID-19. All the justices have received COVID-19 vaccines.
The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into the Baltimore bridge collapse …
The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the deadly collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge that is focused on the circumstances leading up to it and whether all federal laws were followed, according to someone familiar with the matter.
The person was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.
The FBI was aboard the cargo ship Dali conducting court-authorized law enforcement activity, the agency said in a statement Monday. It didn’t elaborate and said it wouldn’t comment further on the investigation, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott on Monday announced a partnership with two law firms to “launch legal action to hold the wrongdoers responsible” and mitigate harm to city residents.
The massive Dali left Baltimore’s port in the early hours of March 26, laden with cargo and headed for Sri Lanka, when it struck one of the bridge’s supporting columns, causing the span to collapse into the Patapsco River and sending six members of a roadwork crew plunging to their deaths.
Divers have recovered three of the six bodies from the wreckage.
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy said last week that investigators were focusing on the ship’s electrical power system. The ship experienced power issues moments before the crash, as is evident in videos that show its lights going out and coming back on.
Homendy said information gleaned from the vessel’s voyage data recorder is relatively basic, “so that information in the engine room will help us tremendously.”
In his statement announcing the partnership with law firms, Scott said the city “will take decisive action to hold responsible all entities accountable for the Key Bridge tragedy, including the owner, charterer, manager/operator, and the manufacturer of the M/V Dali, as well as any other potentially liable third parties.”
He said with the ship’s owner already seeking to limit the company’s liability, the city needs to act quickly to protect its own interests.
House to send articles of impeachment against Mayorkas to the Senate!House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) signed articles of impeachment against U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas yesterday.
The articles of impeachment are set to be delivered to the U.S. Senate on Tuesday afternoon.
Johnson’s signing of the articles of impeachment against Mayorkas comes after he had rescheduled the Senate’s impeachment trial of Mayorkas for Tuesday instead of Wednesday.
In February, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Mayorkas 214 to 213, making him the first cabinet official to be impeached in almost a century and a half.
While Republican senators such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) have been trying to push media coverage surrounding the legal charges brought forth against Mayorkas, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has insisted that Mayorkas was improperly impeached over “policy differences.”
“Mr. Schumer wants to prevent the House impeachment managers from presenting evidence of the disaster that has unfolded on the southern border because Mr. Mayorkas refuses to follow the law,” Lee said in a press release. “He wants to avoid news coverage of how bad the border crisis is.”
Last week, Johnson delayed sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate after Republican senators asked for additional time to raise support in order to hold a full impeachment trial.
Despite Mayorkas’ support and sympathy for foreign migrants, American citizens have been faced with the costs, an undisclosed, increasing number of long-term, so-called, “temporary” workers in the U.S., and the impacts increased migration is having on the U.S. educational system.
A report from the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) from March 2023 showed that millions of illegal immigrants who were currently residing in the U.S. were costing American taxpayers more than $150 billion annually.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Tesla lays off over 10% of its global workforce amid growth slowdown!
Elon Musk’s Tesla has announced a significant reduction in its global workforce, with
layoffs affecting more than 10 percent of its employees.
Electrek reports that in an internal company-wide email, Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the decision to cut the company’s headcount by more than 10 percent globally. The move comes as Tesla seeks to streamline operations, reduce costs, and increase productivity.
The layoffs, which could affect at least 14,000 employees based on Tesla’s estimated total workforce of 140,000, are a response to the company’s recent challenges. Tesla experienced a rare year-over-year reduction in sales and significantly missed delivery estimates in the previous quarter, with the main dip seemingly coming from the Chinese market where domestic EV makers are ramping up their presence.
In his email, Musk acknowledged the rapid growth Tesla has experienced over the years, with multiple factories scaling around the globe. However, he noted that this growth has led to the duplication of roles and job functions in certain areas. The layoffs are part of a thorough review of the organization to identify cost reduction opportunities and increase efficiency.
Musk expressed his gratitude to the departing employees for their hard work and contributions to Tesla’s mission, recognizing the difficulty of saying goodbye. He also thanked the remaining employees in advance for their resolve in tackling the challenges ahead, emphasizing the importance of their role in developing revolutionary technologies in the automotive, energy, and artificial intelligence sectors.
The layoffs come at a time when many companies in the tech industry are also reducing their workforce, despite industry profits remaining high. Tesla’s move has raised concerns about employee morale and the potential impact on the company’s ability to attract and retain top talent in the future.
Analysts estimate that Tesla will still turn a profit of around 50 cents a share in the upcoming quarterly report, down from 85 cents a share in Q1 2023. The company has previously guided for a “pause” in growth until the release of next-gen vehicles like the $25,000 Model 2, although recent reports suggest a shift in focus towards a robotaxi model.
HEALTH
Kombucha’s fat burning potential shown in a recent study!
Kombucha, an ancient beverage made from a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast, has been taking the wellness world by storm lately. As its popularity surges, new research suggests kombucha may offer an enticing metabolic boost—no calorie counting or burpees necessary.
Kombucha has been touted for its potential health benefits, including the ability to lower blood pressure, prevent cancer, and protect against metabolic diseases.
While these advantages are believed to stem from the probiotic microbes in the drink, rigorous scientific scrutiny of these effects has been limited.
In a new study, researchers investigated the impact of kombucha tea microbes on metabolism, using the microscopic roundworm C. elegans as a model organism. The study, published in PLOS Genetics, revealed that the yeast and bacteria from kombucha tea colonized the worms’ intestines, inducing metabolic changes reminiscent of fasting.
These probiotic microbes altered the expression of genes involved in fat metabolism, leading to an increase in proteins responsible for fat breakdown and a decrease in those involved in synthesizing triglycerides, the body’s most common types of fat. This metabolic shift resulted in reduced fat accumulation in the worms, according to the researchers.
These findings suggest that simply drinking kombucha could potentially reduce body fat without requiring any reduction in food intake.
New Gallup Poll says the majority of Americans are not sleeping well!
A majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep, according to a new poll released yesterday. The poll found 57% of Americans say they would feel better if they could get more sleep, while only 42% say they are getting as much sleep as they need. That’s a first in Gallup polling since 2001; in 2013, when Americans were last asked, it was just about the reverse — 56% saying they got the needed sleep and 43% saying they didn’t.
Younger women, under the age of 50, were especially likely to report they aren’t getting enough rest.
The poll also asked respondents to report how many hours of sleep they usually get per night: Only 26% said they got eight or more hours, which is around the amount that sleep experts say is recommended for health and mental well-being. Just over half, 53%, reported getting six to seven hours. And 20% said they got five hours or less, a jump from the 14% who reported getting the least amount of sleep in 2013.
The poll doesn’t get into reasons WHY Americans aren’t getting the sleep they need, and since Gallup last asked the question in 2013, there’s no data breaking down the particular impact of the last four years and the pandemic era.
But what’s notable, says Sarah Fioroni, senior researcher at Gallup, is the shift in the last decade toward more Americans thinking they would benefit from more sleep and particularly the jump in the number of those saying they get five or less hours.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Roku reveals another massive data breach! What can you do to protect yourself?
Streaming giant Roku has disclosed a massive data breach that has compromised more than 576,000 user accounts, marking the second security incident for the company in just a month.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that Roku, a leading streaming video platform, has announced that it has uncovered a new data breach affecting a staggering 576,000 user accounts. The discovery of this security incident comes just a month after the company revealed that 15,000 accounts were compromised in a similar breach.
According to a statement released by Roku, the company identified the latest breach while investigating the previous security incident in early March. “After concluding our investigation of this first incident, we notified affected customers in early March and continued to monitor account activity closely to protect our customers and their personal information,” the statement read. “Through this monitoring we identified a second incident, which impacted approximately 576,000 additional accounts.”
The company clarified that the attack was not a result of a direct hack into Roku’s system but rather a technique known as “credential stuffing.” This method involves hackers obtaining login data from other sources and using it to gain unauthorized access to accounts. Roku stated that in less than 400 cases, malicious actors logged in and made unauthorized purchases of streaming service subscriptions and Roku hardware products using the payment method stored in the compromised accounts. However, the company assured that no sensitive information, such as full credit card numbers or other complete payment information, was accessed.
In response to the breach, Roku has reset the passwords for all affected accounts and notified the account owners about the incident. The company boasts more than 80 million active accounts, making this breach a significant concern for its users. As a proactive measure to enhance security, Roku has announced that it will be enabling two-factor authentication for all accounts.
Breitbart Tech suggests all Roku customers take the following steps regardless of if they are notified that their accounts may have been compromised:
- Immediately change the password on your Roku account, even if Roku changed it already. Make sure your password on this and other devices does not match your email password.
- Enabletwo-factorauthenticationusingyoursmartphoneorathird-partyauthenticatorservice
- Consider removing credit cards stored with the service. It may make purchases slightly
inconvenient, but it will prevent bad guys from ordering products using your account. - Reviewotherservicesyouuseandconsiderapplyingthesestepstothemaswell.
SURVEILLANCE STATE
U.S. House doubles down on Section 702 FISA authorization; rejects motion to reconsider!
The House of Representatives on April 15 rejected a motion to reconsider its vote to reauthorize the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The reauthorization passed last week didn’t include a requirement that intelligence agencies get a warrant to search Americans’ data and communications, as an amendment that would have mandated a warrant was rejected in a tie vote.
Section 702 authorizes intelligence agencies to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreigners but it also captures information on Americans with whom the foreign target communicates. This has drawn civil liberty concerns from both sides of the aisle, especially after revelations of expansive misuse by the FBI. The power expires on April 19.
The bill passed by the House is a modified version of Rep. Laurel Lee’s (R-Fla.) “Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act” that would extend the controversial spying authority for two years, a reduction from a five-year extension rejected by the chamber earlier this week.
Last week, 19 Republicans joined Democrats to tank a procedural vote on a previous version of the bill on the basis that it didn’t go far enough to reform the system and protect civil liberties.
The bill would reform Section 702, which passed in 2008 and allows intelligence officials to gather information on foreign actors working outside of the United States.
However, since the bill was narrowly reauthorized by Congress in 2018, a series of abuses have come to light that have thrown the future of the entire process into question.
With the bill’s passage through the House secured following the failure of Ms. Luna’s motion to reconsider, it will now go to the Senate, where the same disputes over privacy and national security are likely to follow it.
However, it could face a rocky road in the Senate, where individual lawmakers have far more power to obstruct legislation—a threat that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has made in regards to FISA reauthorization. Mr. Paul, like his lower chamber counterparts, has demanded that a warrant requirement be attached to the legislation.
Mr. Paul has threatened to let the authority, which will expire on Friday, lapse.
Should the legislation overcome these procedural hurdles in the upper chamber without a warrant requirement, it will likely be quickly signed by President Joe Biden, who has supported a “clean” reauthorization of the program without a warrant requirement.
Sen. Rand Paul: Mike Johnson completely changed his principles after becoming Speaker!
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said over the weekend Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson “completely changed” his principles after ascending to his position.
Paul took issue with Johnson for forcing a tie vote against a spy bill amendment that conservative Republicans and some progressives supported.
“Conservatives and progressives teamed up to demand an amendment the for reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) last week, which would have required a warrant for government spying on Americans. The amendment vote came to a tie after Johnson’s vote against it, tanking the change,” noted The Hill.
“The FISA amendment vote was bipartisan, with 86 Republicans — including Johnson — and 126 Democrats voting against it. Paul, a libertarian-minded conservative, was a major Senate backer of the FISA amendment,” it added.
Speaking with Fox News Sunday, Paul said Speaker Johnson betrayed some of the conservative values he previously espoused.
“Speaker Johnson was incredibly wrong,” Paul said. “He broke the tie. He voted with the Democrats. Here we have the leader of the Republicans in the House votes with the Democrats against a warrant requirement.”
“We also have Speaker Johnson voting for the spending package once again with a majority of the Democrats,” he continued. “As I see it now, I’m not so sure there’s a difference between Mike Johnson being in charge and the Democrats being in charge.”
Paul said Johnson “hasn’t held his ground” since becoming House Speaker, adding he has not done much to differentiate himself from Democrats.
“Johnson hasn’t held his ground,” Paul said. “He has power. He has a majority. Use the power of the purse. Speaker Johnson, do something to make us think you are different than the Democrats. But so far I don’t see a lot of difference.”
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signs climate engineering ban legislation into law!
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has now signed legislation into law that bans any form of climate engineering operations over the State of Tennessee. Courageous Tennessee lawmakers in the Senate and House had previously passed the legislation which put it on the governor’s desk, it has now been signed into law. Though other states have tried, Tennessee has succeeded due to their solid, straightforward and simple bill. Now other states can follow suit by utilizing the Tennessee legislation as a template for their own. The following is an excerpt from the legislation that is now the law:
“Prohibits the intentional injection, release, or dispersion, by any means, of chemicals, chemical compounds, substances, or apparatus within the borders of this state into the atmosphere with the express purpose of affecting temperature, weather, or the intensity of the sunlight.”
House votes to prevent China from buying Iranian oil
The House passed legislation Monday that would impose further sanctions against Iran — by making it harder for China to purchase Iranian petroleum and petroleum products.
H.R. 5923, the “Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act,” was one of nearly three dozen bills House Republican leaders scheduled for floor consideration this week in direct response to Iran’s attacks on Israel over the weekend.
The proposal, which passed 383-11, was the only measure debated Monday that would specifically hamper Iran’s ability to profit off its energy resources.
GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING
Kitchen Garden Ideas for Your Home
Whatever the season, a kitchen garden can provide fresh food for your home.
2ND AMENDMENT
Colorado House Democrats pass bill banning AR-15’s and 9mm pistols with threaded barrels!
Colorado House Democrats passed “assault weapons” ban legislation Sunday to prohibit
the sale of AR-15s and certain 9mm pistols.
On March 20, 2024, Breitbart News reported that the legislation, HB24-1292, bans 9mm pistols that have threaded barrels and accept a detachable magazine.
Moreover, the text of HB24-1292 makes clear that a semiautomatic handgun of any caliber would be banned if it takes a detachable magazine and has a threaded barrel.
The ban also targets semiautomatic handguns that do not take a detachable magazine by making clear that any such handgun that “may be readily modified to accept a detachable magazine” is banned as well.
Colorado Public Radio noted that the ban passed the House Sunday on a vote of 35 to 27.
State Rep. Ken DeGraaf (R) argued that the focus should be on ascertaining why people do not value life instead of guns.
DeGraaf said, “We should probably get to a point where we look at why communities don’t value life.”
Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed gets the maximum sentence of 18 months for fatal on-set shooting!
A movie weapons supervisor was sentenced to 18 months in prison in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin on the set of the Western film “Rust,” during a hearing Monday in which tearful family members and friends gave testimonials that included calls for justice and a punishment that would instill greater accountability for safety on film sets.
Movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was convicted in March by a jury on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and has been held for more than a month at a county jail on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust” where it was expressly prohibited and for failing to follow basic gun safety protocols.
Gutierrez-Reed was unsuccessful in her plea for a lesser sentencing, telling the judge she was not the monster that people have made her out to be and that she had tried to do her best on the set despite not having “proper time, resources and staffing.”
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal on a movie set outside Santa Fe in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.
Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He is scheduled for trial in July at a courthouse in Santa Fe.
The sentence against Gutierrez-Reed was delivered by New Mexico Judge Mary Marlowe Summer, who is overseeing proceedings against Baldwin. The judge said anything less than the maximum sentence would not be appropriate given that Gutierrez-Reed’s recklessness amounted to a serious violent offense.
Gutierrez-Reed was acquitted at trial of allegations she tampered with evidence in the “Rust” investigation. She also has pleaded not guilty to a separate felony charge that she allegedly carried a gun into a bar in Santa Fe where firearms are prohibited.
Defense attorneys have highlighted Gutierrez-Reed’s relatively young age “and the devastating effect a felony will have on her life going forward.”
They said the 26-year-old will forever be affected negatively by intense publicity associated with her prosecution in parallel with an A-list actor, and has suffered from anxiety, fear and depression as a result.
COVID RELATED NEWS
CDC-funded study suggests RSV vax may reduce severity of the disease; data contradicts!
Newly approved vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may reduce severe disease, similar to how COVID-19 vaccines lessen the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to new research funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study published April 4 in JAMA Network Open found that during the 16 months preceding approval of the first adult RSV vaccines, individuals with RSV experienced disease severity similar to unvaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or influenza—but were “substantially more severe” than vaccinated patients hospitalized with COVID-19 or influenza.
CDC researchers compared disease severity in those who received routine COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations with those who were unvaccinated, noting that it could be useful for framing the potential benefits of RSV vaccination, which “may include reduction in disease severity, as observed with COVID-19 and influenza vaccination.”
Yet the study’s supplemental data show patients vaccinated against COVID-19 or influenza had higher odds of dying than unvaccinated patients, and that unvaccinated RSV patients were less likely to die than unvaccinated COVID-19 patients, contradicting the study’s findings on disease severity.
Brian Hooker, Chief scientific officer at Children’s Health Defense, who holds a doctorate in biochemical engineering, told The Epoch Times in an email that he had a different impression of the CDC study.
“Something is missing here. There is no death data,” Mr. Hooker said. “To me it is suspicious that they aggregated IMV and death data instead of reporting each separately.”
According to the CDC’s website, severe outcomes of COVID-19 include “hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit, intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death.”
CDC investigators, involved in all aspects of the analysis (including the design, analysis, and interpretation of data), combined patients who experienced IMV and those who died. They concluded that the odds of experiencing severe disease were higher among the unvaccinated.
“My guess is that the numbers regarding mortality didn’t portray the message CDC wanted, so they added IMV data as well to skew the results,” Mr. Hooker said.
CANCEL CULTURE
The Biden campaign is requiring its employees to be “up to date” on COVID-19 vaccines, according to a job listing from the campaign, which is searching for a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) director.
A recent job listing for the Biden campaign seems to be relatively run-of-the-mill, but the fine print reveals that the Biden campaign is still very focused on COVID-19 vaccines even though President Joe Biden largely lost his battles against the unvaccinated during his presidency.
The listing states:
Biden for President requires all employees to be “up to date” on COVID-19 vaccination status as prescribed by the CDC as a condition of employment, unless otherwise prohibited by applicable law. If you seek a reasonable accommodation in relation to the campaign’s COVID-19 policy, you should speak to the HR Department prior to reporting to an office location.
Currently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that those 12 years old and older who are unvaccinated should receive “1 updated Pfizer-BioNTech or updated Moderna COVID- 19 vaccine, OR 2 doses of updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.” For those 12 years old and older who were vaccinated before September 12, 2023, the CDC states that they should receive “1 updated Pfizer- BioNTech, Moderna, or Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.”
The campaign’s requirement is reminiscent of Biden’s war against the unvaccinated, which began early in his presidency. In December 2020, Biden misled the American people after stating that he did not believe vaccines should be mandatory, saying he would not demand them to be so.
He completely went back on his word, even attempting to use the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to force vaccines on tens of millions of U.S. workers. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually blocked the OSHA mandate, which served as a massive defeat to the Biden administration.
Despite hesitancy over the vaccines — possible side effects and effectiveness — Biden continued to insult those who refused to get the shot, asserting that those individuals “got a problem.”
“It’s not in their interest or the public’s interest not to get vaccinated,” he said. “We have the capacity to control it. They should get vaccinated now.”
Biden also made false statements about COVID-19 vaccines, stating in July 2021 that vaccinated individuals could not get the virus. Ironically, the then-twice-vaccinated and twice-boosted president contracted the virus exactly one year later.
PET NEWS
Injured dog owner stuck in snowy ditch for 2 days protected by loyal dog who fights off coyotes!
Reports of a stray Akita-mix injuring locals, scrapping with coyotes, and protecting his wounded owner in sub-zero temperatures near a rural sugar factory came to the attention of police in Taber, Alberta, late last month.
The dog, Hero, was apparently only living up to his name.
It had already been two days for Hero’s owner, stranded in frosty March weather dropping as low as 7 degrees Fahrenheit, by the time officers found him, police stated on social media. The 61-year-old man had fallen into a muddy, snowy ditch and gotten stuck while the man’s dog had stood guard, protecting him, keeping him warm.
The first call to police came early on Thursday, March 28, around 6:50 a.m., reporting a large canine with potential injuries on the north side of the factory property. The second call was received just hours later, complaining that a man out running with his dog had been viciously mauled by a large dog in that area. Taber Police arrived shortly thereafter and found a large Akita-mix sitting on a berm.
“As [police] members approached, they heard cries for help. A 61-year-old male, from Taber, was located near the dog, hidden behind tall grasses,” Taber Police stated. “The male was stuck in a muddy ditch and advised he had been stuck there for two days.”
Taber Police Constable Austin Weersink found the man, identified by a local dog care center as Alan, injured and lying on his back.
“He was quite cold, he was shivering,” the officer told CBC. “And he was unable to get up.”
From the man’s statement, police learned of the heroic deeds of his four-legged companion, who stayed with him throughout the ordeal, kept him warm, and even fought off coyotes at one point.
And, it turns out, yet another dog was involved in the incident: Alan’s dog Tora had reportedly been shuttling between her stranded owner and his home and, in so doing, had sustained an injury to a previously broken leg when screws of a metal rod came loose.
The veterinary costs for all the injuries would add up, however, local benefactors reportedly helped raise the funds.
ICYMI
Nikki Haley joins Hudson Institute!
Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has joined the Hudson Institute, an influential conservative think tank.
In an April 15 statement, the institute said that Ms. Haley, who was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, will be the Walter P. Stern Chair.
“When our policymakers fail to call out our enemies or acknowledge the importance of our alliances, the world is less safe. That is why Hudson’s work is so critical,” Ms. Haley said.
Hudson gave its global leadership award to Ms. Haley in 2018.
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