April 27, 2024

The Power Hour

Knowledge is Power

Today’s News: March 25, 2024

WORLD NEWS

Bibi tells Blinken to piss off on a future ground offensive and peace plans!

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told visiting State Secretary Antony Blinken that Israel could launch a ground offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city Rafah “alone” without U.S. backing and over both U.S. and U.N. objections.

Mr. Blinken met with the Israeli leader in Tel Aviv last Friday and urged Israel not to invade Rafah, saying that such an action “risks wreaking greater havoc.”

The State Department said that Mr. Blinken also discussed with Mr. Netanyahu efforts to reach a deal for a six-week ceasefire that would secure the release of hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

However, Mr. Netanyahu stated on X that he had conveyed to Mr. Blinken during the meeting that there was no way to defeat Hamas without entering Rafah and eliminating the remnant of the battalions there, despite the apparent collateral damage to the civilian population.

Kate Middleton reveals she’s being treated for cancer!

Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, announced Friday that she has cancer and is now undergoing chemotherapy, according to a video recording that she issued.

The 42-year-old UK royal learned of her diagnosis after she had major abdominal surgery in January at the London Clinic, she said. The surgery was successful, the Princess of Wales added, but “tests after the operation found cancer had been present.”

My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment,” the princess said.

The Princess of Wales didn’t disclose the type of cancer. Her statement also did not disclose at what stage the cancer was found.

133 Dead; 100+ injured in Russian terrorist attack … all 4 gunmen arrested! 

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has declared a national day of mourning as officials said all four suspects involved in the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall had been arrested, with the death toll rising to 133.

The Russian Investigative Committee provided an update on Saturday on the death toll.

“As the rubble was being removed in the concert hall of the Crocus City Hall, the number of people killed in the attack has risen to 133. The search operation is underway,” the committee said in a statement, per Russian state media Tass.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Saturday that a total of 11 people have been detained in connection with the incident, “including four terrorists, who directly participated in the terrorist attack.”

The FSB said that it has determined that the attack was “carefully planned” and that the attackers had placed the weapons they used in a cache ahead of time.

ISIS K?  Is that anything like Special K? 

Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), a terrorist group based in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the carnage.

The ISIS branch claimed responsibility for the massacre in a statement posted on affiliated social media channels, although neither the Kremlin nor Russian security services have officially assigned blame for the attack.

Emerging in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014, ISIS-K remains one of the most active terrorist groups that fight under the ISIS banner. It has said it aims to create an Islamic caliphate spanning across West and Central Asia.  Over the past decade, ISIS-K has established a reputation for brutality, sometimes fighting against the Taliban, who now run the country after the United States and its allies withdrew their forces in August 2021 and created a political vacuum in Afghanistan. The group’s targets also include Iran, the Islamic Republic dominated by a clerical hierarchy following the Shia school they consider heretics.

And is it real news or fake news?  We weren’t there remember?

Russia launched its third massive missile attack on Ukraine in the past four days, and the second to target the capital of Kyiv, with Poland’s military saying that one of the missiles launched at western Ukraine briefly entered its airspace Sunday.

The head of Kyiv’s military administration, Serhiy Popko, said Russia used cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS strategic bombers. An air alert in the capital lasted for more than two hours as rockets entered Kyiv in groups from the north.

He said the attacks were launched from the Engels district in the Saratov region of Russia.

According to preliminary data, there were no casualties or damage in the capital, he said.

The operation command of Poland, a member of NATO, said in a statement that there was a violation of Polish airspace at 4:23 a.m. by one of the cruise missiles launched by Russia against towns in western Ukraine.

The object entered near the Polish town of Oserdów and stayed there for 39 seconds, the statement said. It added that military radar systems observed the missile the entire time and all necessary procedures were launched to ensure the safety of Polish airspace.

Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters in a televised news conference that the Russian missile would have been shot down had there been any indication that it was heading towards a target in Poland. He said the missile penetrated Polish airspace about 1,000-2,000 meters (0.6 miles to 1.2 miles)

The Polish foreign ministry said it would “demand explanations from the Russian Federation in connection with another violation of the country ́s airspace.”

“Above all, we call on the Russian Federation to stop the terrorist air attacks on the inhabitants and territory of Ukraine, end the war, and address the country ́s internal problems,” the statement read.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, there have been a number of intrusions into Polish airspace.

In 2022, two Poles were killed in a missile blast. Western officials blamed those deaths on a Ukrainian air defense missile that went astray but also accused Russia of culpability because it started the war and the Ukrainian missiles were launched in self-defense.

It appears Ireland will get its first youngest taoiseach! 

Ireland is poised to get its youngest-ever premier after Simon Harris secured the leadership of the Fine Gael party on Sunday, replacing Leo Varadkar who announced his surprise resignation last week.

The 37-year-old Harris, who is the government’s further and higher education minister, was the only candidate to put his name forward to succeed Varadkar, who had been Ireland’s previous youngest prime minister, or what Ireland calls its taoiseach.

Harris won a series of endorsements from within the Fine Gael parliamentary party and is expected to be formally elected premier in the Irish parliament in April after lawmakers return from their Easter break.

“I think he’s done a really good job in securing the leadership in as comprehensive a way as he has,” Fine Gael deputy leader Simon Coveney said.

Harris has said that he would remain fully committed to the program for government agreed upon with coalition partners Fianna Fail and the Green Party. He has stopped short of ruling out a general election this year, but insisted such a poll was not his priority.


U.S. NEWS, POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Former President Trump has announced that he has enough cash for the bond

Former President Donald Trump posted on social media on March 22 that “through hard work, talent, and luck, I currently have almost five hundred million dollars in cash.”

This comes as the former president needs to put up upwards of $454 million to stay judgment in his civil fraud case while he appeals—to effectively hold off the New York Attorney General from potentially seizing his buildings during the appeal.

President Trump posted that he had intended to use a “substantial amount” of his money in his presidential campaign, before blasting the judge and attorney general on the civil fraud case.

“THE OFTEN OVERTURNED POLITICAL HACK JUDGE ON THE RIGGED AND CORRUPT A.G. CASE, WHERE I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG, KNEW THIS, WANTED TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME,” President Trump wrote.

“THAT’S WHERE AND WHY HE CAME UP WITH THE SHOCKING NUMBER WHICH, COUPLED WITH HIS CRAZY INTEREST DEMAND, IS APPROXIMATELY $454,000,000,” he stated.

Trump says billions from the Truth Social deal won’t be used in his fraud case

Former President Donald Trump is set to double his net worth as his Truth Social platform goes public, but he says he doesn’t intend to give any of that money to a New York court, planning an appeal all the way to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the deadline for putting up a $454 million bond looms before the New York attorney general can start filing to seize Trump Organization assets to execute judgment on the civil fraud case after the March 25 deadline.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to give money to a rogue and incompetent judge—the puppet of a corrupt attorney general who’s failing with violent crime and migrant crime and whose only purpose in life is attempting to get Trump,” President Trump told Fox News.

“I’ll fight this all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary,” he said. “They can’t take away your property before you’ve had a chance to appeal the decision of a Trump-hating, incompetent judge who has been overturned more than any judge in the state.”

DC Judge lets non-citizens vote in the DC November elections! 

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit challenging a Washington, D.C., law allowing “non-citizen residents” to vote in local elections.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson, an Obama appointee, found that a group of seven citizen plaintiffs lacked standing to challenge the legislation.

Their lawsuit against the D.C. Board of Elections, filed on March 14, aimed to block the 2022 law passed by the Council of the District of Columbia.

They argued that “noncitizens” do not have a fundamental right to vote in the United States and that allowing them to cast ballots and hold office in the District of Columbia dilutes the votes of U.S. citizens.

However, in an opinion issued Thursday, Judge Jackson determined that the seven plaintiffs failed to demonstrate “that they have personally been subjected to any sort of disadvantage as individual voters by virtue of the fact that noncitizens are permitted to vote, too.”

“They may object as a matter of policy to the fact that immigrants get to vote at all, but their votes will not receive less weight or be treated differently than noncitizens’ votes,” the judge wrote.

Both Trump and Biden win their respective parties’ Louisiana primaries

Presidential nominees Biden and Trump both won their respective party’s primary races in Louisiana last Saturday.  Both have already secured enough delegates to win their parties’ nominations for the upcoming general election, although some continue watching the primary races for turnout and signals from protest voters. Both nominees are expected to secure all 47 delegates allocated to the Pelican State. Louisiana is not expected to be a swing state in the upcoming election, historically backing Republican presidential nominees as a safe GOP state. It is assigned eight electoral votes.

Biden also appeared in Missouri’s Democratic primary, with results not expected to be reported until next week. Saturday’s primary was the Missouri Democratic Party’s first party-run presidential contest since a new law took effect in August 2022. Louisiana’s primaries, meanwhile, come almost four years after the Pelican State was the first to postpone its primaries due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manhattan DA Bragg wants the Trump trial to start now! 

The Manhattan district attorney prosecuting former President Donald Trump’s so-called hush money case said the over 170,000 documents his office recently disclosed should not warrant further delay to the trial proceeding, since only fewer than 300 of that batch are potentially relevant.

In a filing on Tuesday, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg asked the New York Supreme Court to ignore the request from the former president’s lawyers, who said they need the next several months to carefully examine the newly disclosed materials. 

The Trump legal team had requested the court to push back the trial date for at least 90 days so that they can extensively review more than 100,000 pages of records unexpectedly released by federal prosecutors last week. New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case, ultimately ordered a 30-day postponement after Mr. Bragg’s office consented out of an “abundance of caution.”

President Trump’s trial, which had been slated to start on March 25, is currently postponed to at least April 15. Mr. Bragg said the case should proceed to trial in mid- April, claiming there is “more than sufficient time” for both sides to review the “limited amount of relevant information.”

Pollster tells New York AG that if she takes Trump’s properties, Trump will win in November!

Pollster Frank Luntz warned New York Attorney General Letitia James that she is “going to elect Donald Trump” if she goes through with seizing the former president’s properties.

James — a Democrat who campaigned on the promise that she would go after Trump — brought an unprecedented civil fraud case against the former commander in chief, which resulted in him owing penalties and interest in excess of $450 million. Trump has until Monday to pay it off, or James said she will start seizing his properties.

During a CNN panel discussion Thursday, Luntz predicted that James’ attack on Trump will ultimately backfire on Democrats:

I want you to remember this moment and don’t forget it: If the New York attorney general starts to take his homes away, starts to seize his assets — it’s all gonna be on camera, pundits are gonna sit there and scream … ‘This man cannot be elected’ — you’re going to create the greatest victimhood of 2024, and you’re going to elect Donald Trump. If they

take his stuff, he’s gonna say that this is proof that the federal government and the establishment in the swamp in Washington and all the politicians across the country and the attorneys generals and all of this, that this is a conspiracy to deny him the presidency. He’s gonna go up in the polls just like he went up every single time they indicted him. The indictment, and let’s not talk about whether it’s justified or not, but it will prove the things that he’s saying on the campaign trail, and he will go up, and it may just elect him president. Do not forget that.

MTG files motion to oust Speaker Johnson after massive omnibus bill passes

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has formally moved to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) from his leadership role in frustration over a $1.2 trillion spending package Congress is working to pass today to avoid a shutdown.

Ms. Greene filed the motion to vacate on Friday, March 22, as members of the House voted to fund the remaining 70 percent of the federal government through the rest of the fiscal year.

The funding package, comprising six appropriations bills, was introduced in the wee hours of March 21—just one day ahead of the deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown. Despite fierce opposition from most of the GOP conference, the measure passed under a suspension of the rules in a 286–134 vote.

“This is a betrayal of the American people. This is a betrayal of the Republican voters,” the congresswoman told reporters outside of the Capitol following the vote.

While noting that she was not alone in thinking it was time for a leadership change, Ms. Greene stressed that her purpose in filing the motion was not to “throw the House into chaos.”

In this case, Ms. Greene said her motion was “more of a warning and a pink slip” and that it will only be voted on if she brings it to the floor.

Ms. Greene’s office confirmed to The Epoch Times that her motion is not privileged, meaning that it will not require a floor vote within two legislative days.

“This is not personal against Mike Johnson,” she noted. “He’s a very good man and I have respect for him as a person, but he is not doing the job. The proof is in the vote count today.”

Some Dems would come to the rescue of Speaker Johnson … because he’s a RINO?

An unlikely source of aid for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)— who is facing a motion from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to oust him after bringing the government funding package to a floor vote—might come from House Democrats.

After all House Democrats voted with a gang of eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in October 2023, several House Democrats are signaling they would save Mr. Johnson from a similar fate.

“It’s absurd he’s being kicked out for doing the right thing, keeping the government open. It has two- thirds support of the Congress, and the idea that he would be kicked out by these jokers is absurd,” Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) told CNN last Friday.

He said he would vote to retain Mr. Johnson as House Speaker and hoped other Democrats would do the same.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) expressed a similar sentiment in a March 22 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I do not support Speaker Johnson, but I will never stand by and let [Ms. Greene] take over the people’s House,” he said.

However, some Democrats said their support would be predicated on Mr. Johnson reconsidering the Senate’s foreign-aid package passed in February.

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, who initiated Kevin McCarthy’s downfall, said he would not support a motion to vacate Mr. Johnson, expressing concern with the dwindling House GOP majority and the possibility of at least a few Republicans voting for a Democratic speaker in the event of Mr. Johnson’s potential ouster.

GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher says he’ll step down, leaving the GOP in voting jeopardy!

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., announced Friday he will be resigning from Congress early, cutting House Republicans’ already razor-thin majority to a one-vote margin just as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is drawing severe conservative backlash.

“After conversations with my family, I have made the decision to resign my position as a member of the House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s Eighth Congressional District,” Gallagher said in a statement. His resignation will be effective on April 19.

Gallagher already announced he was retiring last month but his early departure comes as a surprise and will pose additional challenges for House Republican leadership.

Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., also announced his retirement last year but then later shared he planned to resign early as well. Buck’s last day is Friday and will leave the House’s party breakdown at 218 Republicans and 213 Democrats.

When Gallagher leaves, the breakdown will shrink to 217 Republicans and 213 Democrats, meaning Johnson and Republican leadership can only afford one GOP defection on party line votes.

Former Defense Secretary says J-6 Committee issued latent threat to keep quiet!

A former Trump secretary of defense revealed that he was pressured by the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack into staying silent about claims that then-President Donald Trump authorized the deployment of National Guard troops before the breach at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Speaking to the Daily Mail on March 23, former acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, who was only on the job for about two months, said that members of the Democratic-led panel used “aggressive” tactics after he spoke to several media outlets about the Trump authorization. The final report from the Jan. 6 subcommittee, which was dissolved after the current Congress took over, claimed that President Trump did not authorize the deployment of the National Guard.

In 2022, Mr. Miller appeared on a Fox News segment along with former Trump national security official Kash Patel in an interview that he said “hit a nerve.”

“The two of us were on [the Fox News show] and the next day my lawyer got a call from the Jan. 6 staff director … I forgot exactly who it was, but basically saying, very legalistic: ‘Well, if your client has additional information he wants to share, we’d be happy to have him re-interviewed,” Mr. Miller told the Mail.

“It was more that latent threat of: ‘If you want to keep going on TV, we’re gonna drag you in here again for additional hours of hearing testimony.’ So that was the nature of that whole thing. It was the latent threat of the government continuing to intrude into my life.”

The former defense secretary added that he did not have the reaources to continue the battle” with the Jan. 6 committee and didn’t want to face any more depositions. Instead, he kept to himself and did not discuss how the panel allegedly targeted him.


ECONOMY & BUSINESS 

U.S. Supremes deny McDonald’s appeal in class action lawsuit! 

The Supreme Court’s refusal to take up McDonald’s appeal of a lower court ruling means the fast food giant will have to face a class action that alleges the company violated antitrust laws.

The burger chain was sued in 2017 over no-poaching agreements between franchise owners that allegedly violated workers’ rights by limiting their job mobility. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit resurrected the proposed class action lawsuit after a lower court dismissed it.

The Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari, or review, in the case of McDonald’s USA LLC v. Deslandes in an unsigned order on March 18. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision. At least four of the nine justices must vote to grant the petition for the case to move forward to the oral argument stage.

Leinani Deslandes is the lead respondent. Ms. Deslandes said in her lawsuit that she was hired for an entry-level job at a McDonald’s franchise in Florida in 2009, and applied for a better-paying position in 2015 at a different franchise. A manager informed her that even though he wanted to give her the job, the no-poaching policy tied his hands.

The Supreme Court’s order came days after the Biden administration demanded that the often-broken soft serve ice cream machines at McDonald’s and other fast food chains be made easier to fix, according to a recent report on Fox Business.

A standard provision in the McDonald’s franchise agreement is known as Paragraph 14. Paragraph 14 states in part:

“During the term of this Franchise, Franchisee shall not employ or seek to employ any person who is at the time employed by McDonald’s, any of its subsidiaries, or by any person who is at the time operating a McDonald’s restaurant or otherwise induce, directly or indirectly, such person to leave such employment.”

The ban expires six months after the employee leaves his or her job.

Paragraph 14 gave McDonald’s a “significant competitive advantage” by stopping
one franchisee from raiding another’s employees, “which would have threatened the guest experience, undermined the McDonald’s brand, and risked driving unhappy customers to McDonald’s competitors,” the petition states.

McDonald’s in separate lawsuits in 2017, claiming Paragraph 14 was an unlawful restraint of trade that was prohibited by Section 1 of the federal Sherman Act. The lawsuits were consolidated.

The litigants argued that Paragraph 14 held down wages for McDonald’s workers by limiting competition among McDonald’s restaurants and violated the law.

FBI tells January Alaska Airlines blowout passengers they may be crime victims

Passengers onboard the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9, which suffered a mid-air door plug blowout on Jan. 5, have been told by the FBI via a letter that they may have been victims of a possible crime.

The letter, written by a victim specialist with the FBI’s Seattle office, states that the case is currently under FBI investigation, which “can be a lengthy undertaking.” But the FBI is unable to provide updates on its progress for the time being, it added.

“I’m contacting you because we have identified you as a possible victim of a crime,” the letter, which was received this week, reads, according to the Associated Press. “A victim of a federal crime is entitled to receive certain services.”

Mark Lindquist, the lawyer representing some passengers in their lawsuit against Boeing, shared the letter with the news outlet. It includes contact details for passengers to relay information or concerns to the FBI.

Mr. Lindquist said that his clients welcome the Justice Department’s (DOJ) investigation.

“We want accountability, answers, and safer planes,” he told the news outlet. “The DOJ and the FBI bring significant leverage and resources that I’m confident will help our case and help the flying public as well.”

What the government can’t constitutionally prohibit it gets private corporations to do!

Attorneys representing the Securities and Exchange Commission have urged the Supreme Court not to hear Elon Musk’s appeal of settlement conditions that Mr. Musk says would require “Americans who settle their cases with the government to ‘consent’ to be gagged for life.”

Elon Musk is challenging the details of a settlement agreement he signed with the SEC requiring him to seek pre-approval for comments about Tesla, of which he is the CEO. He also used to be chairman of Tesla’s board of directors.

He is arguing that his future speech “on matters ranging far beyond the charged violations” cannot be gagged as a condition of settlement by the agency.

However, attorneys for the SEC noted that Mr. Musk “concede[d] that his free speech rights do not permit him to engage in speech that is or could be considered fraudulent or otherwise violative of the securities laws” in the district court, and they stated that the terms of the settlement require him to seek pre-approval from Tesla’s own attorneys, not the government, before speaking publicly about specified matters related to the company, according to court documents.

“Further review is not warranted,” the government said.

After a social media post about Tesla by Mr. Musk in August 2018 caused “significant market disruption,” both parties agreed that Tesla Inc.’s senior executives would implement policy to require that in-house lawyers pre-approve any public written communications, including social media posts, about the company.


HEALTH

Researchers in Japan warn of potential blood bank contamination because of the mRNA jabs!

Receiving blood transfusion from COVID-19-vaccinated individuals could pose a medical risk to unvaccinated recipients since numerous adverse events are being reported among vaccinated people worldwide, according to a recent study from Japan.

The preprint review, published on March 15, examined whether receiving blood from COVID-19-vaccinated individuals is safe or poses a health risk. Many nations have reported that mRNA vaccine usage has resulted in “post-vaccination thrombosis and subsequent cardiovascular damage, as well as a wide variety of diseases involving all organs and systems, including the nervous system,” it said.

Repeated vaccinations can make people more vulnerable to COVID-19, it said. If the blood contains spike proteins, it becomes necessary to remove these proteins prior to administration, and there is no such technology currently available, the authors wrote.

Given such concerns, medical professionals should be aware of the “various risks associated with blood transfusions using blood products derived from people who have suffered from long COVID and from genetic vaccine recipients, including those who have received mRNA vaccines.”

The impact of such genetic vaccines on blood products as well as the actual damage caused by them are currently unknown, the authors wrote.

“In order to avoid these risks and prevent further expansion of blood contamination and complication of the situation, we strongly request that the vaccination campaign using genetic vaccines be suspended and that a harm–benefit assessment be carried out as early as possible.”


SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 

More SpaceX Starlink satellites are launched into orbit over the weekend

SpaceX managed to thread the needle with the weather and launch the first of two planned Starlink missions from Cape Canaveral in 48 hours. A Falcon 9 rocket launched from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, which will be followed by another Falcon 9 from nearby pad 40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today.

In a forecast issued by the 45th Weather Squadron on Friday, Space Force meteorologists gave Saturday’s launch a 75-percent chance of acceptable weather. The main concerns are for high winds and breaching the cumulus cloud rule associated with the risk of lightning. SpaceX pushed to nearly the end of its launch window on Saturday to make the mission happen.

The Falcon 9 first stage landed on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ about eight and half minutes into the flight. Two burns of the rocket’s second stage placed the 23 second-generation Starlink satellites into orbit, with deployment occurring about one hour, five minutes after launch.

Another batch of Starlink satellites are scheduled to fly from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on Monday during a four-hour launch window that opens at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 UTC). More Starlink’s will head to space later in the week from SpaceX’s West Coast launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Zuckerberg is at his best when not inhibited by the facts … it’s called censorship! 

Instagram users are expressing frustration as the platform begins automatically restricting political content in their feeds, just months before the 2024 presidential election. Many users report that the political filter has been automatically turned on without asking them. Breitbart News has compiled the steps necessary to turn off Zuckerberg’s latest scheme to help Joe Biden.

Ars Technica reports that in a move that has sparked outrage among users, Instagram has started limiting political content in users’ feeds by default, a significant change that comes just months before the 2024 presidential election. The new policy, announced by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta on February 9, 2024, aims to reduce the amount of political content unless they explicitly choose to see it. The most troubling aspect is Zuckerberg enabling this filter without asking users if they desire to see political content.

The change affects content mentioning “laws, elections, or social topics” from accounts not followed by users. While Meta claims this decision is based on user feedback, many are questioning the timing and motives behind the move. Independent journalist Jessica Reed Kraus, who has 1.2 million Instagram followers, expressed her concern, stating, “We should all be outraged but this overstep. Censorship during peak campaign months is a direct threat to the [sic] democracy.”

Although Zuckerberg’s Meta has apparently made the political filter a default setting for all users, it can be disabled. Follow the steps below to stop Mark Zuckerberg from deciding what content you see on the Instagram platform.

Here’s

how to stop Instagram from limiting political content on your timeline.

  1. Open the Instagram app on your device.
  2. Gotoyourprofilebytappingonyourprofilepictureinthebottomrightcorner.
  3. Tap on the three horizontal lines in the top right corner to access the menu.
  4. Select“Settings”fromthemenu.
  5. Choose“Privacy”fromthesettingsoptions.
  6. Scrolldownandtapon“Contentpreferences.”
  7. Select “Political content.”
  8. Choosethe“Don’tlimit”optiontodisabletheautomaticrestrictionofpoliticalcontentinyour
    feed.
  9. Iftheappcrasheswhenattemptingtochangethesetting,tryupdatingtheappandrunning
    through the process again.

Four years after Mark Zuckerberg directly impacted the 2020 election by spreading “Zuckerbucks” around the nation, it is clear that he is willing to attempt to move mountains for Democrats again in 2024. Breitbart News will continue to document Meta’s actions including guides on how to overcome platform changes timed to impact the election.


SURVEILLANCE STATE 

Musk delivers satellite tech to the military; earth will become a surveillance state!

The U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is reportedly acquiring a constellation of hundreds of intelligence-gathering satellites from SpaceX, with a specific focus on tracking targets down below in support of ground operations. Though details about this project are still very limited, there are clear parallels to what the U.S. Space Force has previously said about a highly classified space-based radar surveillance program, which it first publicly disclosed around the same time SpaceX is said to have gotten its NRO contract. If this program is the one we think it is, it could bring about a revolution in both tactical and strategic space-based sensing.

Starshield, SpaceX’s government-sales-focused business unit, has been working on the new low Earth orbit (LEO) spy satellites under a $1.8 billion contract it received in 2021 from NRO, according to a
report from Reuters this past weekend, citing five anonymous sources familiar with the deal. The Wall Street Journal had previously published a story about the existence of the contract in February, but did not name NRO as being involved or provide specific details about the deal’s scope of work.

“Starlink already offers unparalleled end-to-end user data encryption. Starshield uses additional high- assurance cryptographic capability to host classified payloads and process data securely, meeting the most demanding government requirements,” according to the Starshield site. “Starlink’s inter-satellite laser communications terminal, which is the only communications laser operating at scale in orbit today, can be integrated onto partner satellites to enable incorporation into the Starshield network.”

Laser-based communications systems are capable of sending large amounts of information quickly and are also highly secure and resistant to electronic warfare jamming.

IRS and Treasury using AI to spy on your financial records! 

Is your financial privacy a mere myth? In an age where digital oversight is omnipresent, a new fear emerges: the IRS, armed with cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI), is allegedly prying into Americans’ bank accounts and monitoring financial activities without a whisper of legal procedure. This operation suggests a harrowing breach of trust and a flagrant violation of civil liberties. The inquiry seeks to unravel the depth of this surveillance web, spun under the guise of fraud prevention and tax compliance, yet ominously encroaching on the private lives of citizens. As the specter of unwarranted financial scrutiny looms, one must ask: has the IRS grossly overstepped into the realm of illegal spying?

Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland opening an inquiry into the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) use of artificial intelligence (AI) to surveil Americans’ financial information. The Committee and its Select Subcommittee have reason to believe that the IRS and Department of Justice (DOJ) are actively monitoring millions of Americans’ private transactions, bank accounts, and related financial information—without any legal process—using an AI-powered system. This AI-powered warrantless financial surveillance is highly concerning and raises serious doubts about the federal government’s respect for Americans’ fundamental civil liberties. The letter also requests Alex Mena, an IRS official working in the agency’s Criminal Investigations Unit who admitted that the IRS has “a new system” that uses AI to target Americans, appear before the Committee for a transcribed interview.

California man arrested for illegal surveillance of over 90 victims in Starbuck’s restroom!

A man characterized as a “violent predator” in California allegedly recorded 91 people without their knowledge by hiding cameras in a Starbucks restroom. Some of the victims were as young as four years old, according to the New York Post.

The report noted that Louie Juarez Jr. is suspected of installing small cameras beneath the bathroom sink at the coffee shop in San Jose. The cameras were reportedly directed to face the toilet.

The man’s camera was able to capture “extremely graphic” material between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. Victims ranged in age from four years old to 85 years old. An employee at the establishment eventually discovered the camera’s location, per the report.

Juarez Jr., 35, was arrested and taken into custody on March 15 after investigators suspected him of being the one who set up the camera. Equally disturbing is that the San Jose authorities found 20 firearms inside the man’s home, including a gun that was not registered, high-capacity magazines, and an assault rifle, according to the San Jose Police Department.

Juarez has been charged with possession of child pornography, installment of a hidden surveillance camera with audio, possession of high-capacity magazines, possession of an assault rifle, and possession of an unregistered firearm.


ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

FAA issues travel warnings before, during and after the April 8th solar eclipse! 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a warning on Thursday about potential disruptions in air travel surrounding the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8.

The celestial event, set to cast a path of totality across 13 states, is anticipated to impact air travel operations before, during, and after the eclipse, according to the aviation agency.

The FAA indicated that the eclipse’s effects on U.S. airspace are anticipated between approximately 2:30 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. ET. At this time, some 32 million people in North America are expected to witness the rare event, which is anticipated to be the most-watched solar eclipse in history.

A notice issued by the FAA to airmen emphasized potential impacts on air traffic and airports along the eclipse path from April 7 to April 10. Pilots and aviation personnel are advised to stay informed and prepared for possible disruptions.

In a statement, the FAA suggested that aircraft should ready themselves for potential airborne holding, reroutes, and departure clearance times that might be issued for all domestic IFR arrivals and departures during the eclipse.

Departing aircraft from airports along the eclipse path are “strongly encouraged” to coordinate their departure times as early as possible to assist fixed base operators with staging aircraft and alleviating ramp congestion.

“There may be a higher traffic volume than normal anticipated at airports along the path of the eclipse. Traffic should anticipate delays during peak traffic periods,” the FAA stated.

The agency cautioned that parking may be limited, particularly at small, uncontrolled airports. Delays with issuing IFR departure clearances might also happen.

Geomagnetic storm alert issued by NOAA!

A federal weather agency alert said that a “severe” geomagnetic storm is impacting Earth on Sunday and will be lasting until Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center warned yesterday that a “major disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field” occurred starting yesterday and into today. On Sunday NOAA issued a G4, or “severe,” geomagnetic storm alert.

A sun coronal mass ejection arrived at around March 24 and that “severe (G4) geomagnetic storming has been observed and is expected to continue through the remainder” of Sunday and into Monday. It’s not clear if the storm has caused any damage to satellites or telecommunications.

“The public should not anticipate adverse impacts and no action is necessary,” the agency said. “But they should stay properly informed of storm progression by visiting our webpage.”

The agency said that operators of infrastructure “have been notified to take action to mitigate any possible impacts” such as “frequent voltage control problems.” There is also an “increased possibility of anomalies” to satellites, and “more frequent” periods of GPS degradation is possible,” NOAA said.

In a statement posted to X on Saturday, the agency issued a geomagnetic storm watch as a coronal mass ejection from the sun is on track to impact the Earth. The storms, according to the agency, could be “moderate” or “strong.” It later revised it up to G4 as the storm hit Earth on Sunday.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute’s website signaled that it is forecasting high aurora borealis, or northern lights, activity until Monday evening “Forecast: Auroral activity will be high,” it said. “Weather permitting, highly active auroral displays will be visible overhead from Utqiagvik to as far south as Kodiak and King Salmon.”

Elsewhere, as of 2:30 p.m. ET, the forecast offered by NOAA suggests that people in the northern portions of the lower 48 U.S. states may be able to see the northern lights on Sunday and Monday night. States with the best chance of seeing them are Washington, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

But it still is not clear if the aurora borealis will be seen in the lower 48, said Eric Snitil, chief meteorologist at WROC-TV based in Rochester, New York. He said the northern lights may be visible if the storm stays into the night, adding that a G4 storm means that residents as far south as Alabama and California could see them.

Dane Wigington has more news from GeoEngineering Watch in his latest report! 

“Winter makes a comeback”, a new headline from Fox News. “Winter storm warnings as heavy wet snow falls across New England”, also from Fox News. Are they trying to cover up headlines like this one from just over a week ago “US just had warmest winter in history”, which was also from Fox News. Flora and crops all over the US have bloomed and emerged early, the flash freeze weather whiplash events do great damage. This type of scenario is now becoming the norm. Is it just nature behaving badly? Or is there much more to the story? Are patented processes of chemical ice nucleation cloud seeding part of this equation? Would our government do such a thing without public disclosure? Does that question even deserve an answer?


GARDENING, FARMING & HOMESTEADING

Thanks to Brett from NY for this video on growing your own chicken feed for both meat and eggs!  CLICK HERE to watch! 


2ND AMENDMENT

En garde! Biden administration launches red flag hub to target gun owners! 

The Biden administration is setting up a national center to provide training and technical assistance to help police, prosecutors, judges, and others implement “red flags” laws more effectively to take away guns from Americans “who pose a threat to themselves or others,” drawing criticism from some conservatives.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on March 23 that it had launched the National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center, a training and technical assistance hub that it says is meant to support states and localities in the implementation of their ERPO or red flag laws, which have long been controversial.

Red flag laws basically let someone like police, family members, or medical professionals bring a claim to an emergency court alleging that a person is mentally unwell and is a danger to themselves or others. If the court accepts the claim, that individual can then be “flagged” and prevented from buying firearms and allows the police to seize any guns in their possession. Critics argue that these laws deny gun owners their Second Amendment rights without due process.


COVID RELATED NEWS

FDA agrees to stop blackballing ivermectin on social media! 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has agreed to remove social media posts and webpages that urged people to stop taking ivermectin to treat COVID-19, according to a settlement dated March 21.  The FDA has already removed a page that said: “Should I take ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19? No.”

Within 21 days, the FDA will remove another page titled, “why you should not use ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID- 19,” according to the settlement announcement, which was filed with federal court in southern Texas.

“The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals,” the page currently states. It also says that data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19, despite how some studies it cites show ivermectin is effective against the illness.

The FDA in the settlement is also agreeing to delete multiple social media posts that came out strongly against ivermectin, including one that stated: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”

In exchange, doctors who sued the agency are dismissing their claims, the filing states.

“FDA loses its war on ivermectin and agrees to remove all social media posts and consumer directives regarding ivermectin and COVID, including its most popular tweet in FDA history,” Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, one of the doctors, said in a statement. “This landmark case sets an important precedent in limiting FDA overreach into the doctor-patient relationship.”

COVID infections alone may alter your DNA; the jabs make it worse! 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in mortality from cancer in the United States, England, and Wales. China has also reported clusters of blood cancer cases.

Multiple factors lie behind this trend in cancer, and DNA impairment appears to be one of them.

The World Health Organization and many other authorities have repeatedly stated that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe and cannot alter human DNA. But is this true?

Many scientists believe that the mRNA vaccine cannot alter human genes because of a theory called the central dogma of molecular biology, which was introduced by Francis Crick in 1958. In short, genetic information flows from DNA to RNA to protein. An exception would be a retrovirus harboring “reverse transcriptase” which can transform the mRNA into DNA, or the genome of human cells.

Intriguingly, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is preferentially integrated into the translatable areas of genes. The integration does not appear to be random and could lead to serious consequences.

A few studies indicate a link between COVID-19 and an increased incidence of cancer—especially blood cancer, which is highly related to gene alteration.

In July 2021, a clinical case report from Iran showed that a 61-year-old man who had recovered from COVID-19 infection 40 days previous was newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. The researchers suggested a “concerning probable association” between the COVID-19 infection and the onset of the patient’s acute blood cancer.

In 2023, an Eastern European patient suffered from chronic myeloid leukemia three months after recovering from COVID-19, followed by a diagnosis of two melanomas and one skin cancer within two years. The authors deemed it essential to consider the impact of COVID-19 and the increased incidence of malignancies.


CANCEL CULTURE

Stockholders approve acquisition of Truth Social media platform!

Digital World Acquisition Corp. announced that the Company’s stockholders voted to approve, among other things, the proposed merger of DWAC Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of the Company with and into Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., a Delaware corporation, pursuant to an October 20, 2021 Agreement and Plan of Merger. The vast majority of the votes cast at the meeting voted to approve the Business Combination. Following the Business Combination, TMTG will continue as the surviving corporation and as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (after giving effect to the consummation of the Business Combination, “Trump Media & Technology Group Corp.”). The common stock of Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., following the consummation of the Business Combination, is anticipated to begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the ticker symbols “DJT” and “DJTWW.” The formal results of the vote were included in a Current Report on Form 8-K filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday.

Candace Owens is out at the Daily Wire!  (In case you hadn’t heard …)

Conservative commentator Candace Owens parted with the Daily Wire, the outlet’s CEO announced last Friday.

“Daily Wire and Candace Owens have ended their relationship,” Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing wrote in a post on X on Friday. He did not provide more details about why she is leaving, whether she left on her own accord, or whether she was fired by the Daily Wire.

On Friday, Ms. Owens responded to tabloid reports that she was leaving the Daily Wire by saying that “the rumors are true—I am finally free.”

“There will be many announcements in the weeks to come,“ she wrote on X, adding that fans should visit her website to ”support my work“ or donate. The commentator said she would return to YouTube ”after a brief hiatus,” without any more details. The Daily Wire still includes a section dedicated to Ms. Owens’ episodes, with the last one being posted on March 19.

Her departure from the news outlet comes months after she publicly feuded with Daily Wire co- founder Ben Shapiro on social media weeks after the start of the Israel–Hamas war, disagreeing on several points. At one point last year, Mr. Shapiro told Ms. Owens on X: “By all means, quit.”

Tampa man calls passengers “blue-eyed white devils” and threatens to crash the plane! 

A Florida man went on a racist tirade on a recent American Airlines flight, where he threatened to “take down this plane.” Video shows that the unruly passenger was physically removed from the airliner after ranting about “blue-eyed white devils” on the plane. 

Shail Patel, 29, was onboard an American Airlines flight traveling on Tuesday from Tampa to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Court documents said Patel was intoxicated when he boarded the plane. 

While the plane was still on the ground at the Tampa International Airport, Patel allegedly began “antagonizing passengers, calling flight attendants names, threatening passengers and aggressively moving through the aircraft.”

“I’m trying to get to my home country and you people made it harder for me to get to my home country,” Patel is seen yelling in the footage. 

Court documents say Patel called American Airlines passengers “blue-eyed white devils” and threatened to “take this plane down with all you motherf***ers on it.”

WFLA reported, “Police said Patel slapped one passenger on the hand and face and spit on them.”

Video of the incident shows a fellow passenger attempting to escort Patel to the front of the plane, but then a physical altercation ensued. Patel got in the face of the passenger, and then he is shoved. 

The passenger then put Patel in a headlock and forces him to the ground. 

The passenger screams, “Put your hands down and don’t touch anybody!” 

A flight attendant used the public announcement system to ask if there were any off-duty police officers who could assist in removing Patel from the plane. Police said there were six off-duty police officers on the flight. 

Video shows other male passengers restraining Patel and escorting him off the plane. 

American Airlines said in a statement: “Prior to departure of American Airlines flight 2506 with service from Tampa (TPA) to Philadelphia (PHL), law enforcement was requested to the aircraft due to a disturbance in the cabin involving a disruptive customer. We thank our team for their professionalism and apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

The flight was delayed by 30 minutes because of the unruly passenger. 

Patel, from Tampa, was arrested and charged with two counts of battery and one count of disorderly intoxication. 

Patel is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail on a $2,150 bond.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have been 411 reports of unruly passengers in 2024. There were 2,075 unruly passengers last year. The FAA, which began keeping track of unruly passengers in 2017, said the most incidents happened in 2021, with 5,973 reports of unruly passengers.

The irony of it all … the black high school student who put the white girl in the hospital says she’s the victim here!

The family of the black girl who beat a schoolmate to near death in Missouri say she’s the real victim, was “merely defending herself” against bullying and is raising money for her legal defense. Yes, really. 

Video footage showed the savage beating of a student from Hazelwood East High School, which left Kaylee Gain still fighting for her life with a skull fracture, brain bleeding, and damage to her frontal lobe.

But according to Maurnice Declue’s family, who started a Change.org petition, the clip, where the assailant repeatedly slams the victim’s head against the concrete ground, actually shows Declue “defending herself from harassment and bullying”.

The petition claims the 15-year-old “had never been in trouble” and that “her work as a scholar was tainted by the bullying she had to endure at school”.

The family is urging Chief Juvenile Officer Rick Gaines of the 21st Circuit Court “not to charge Maurnice as an adult” because she was “merely defending herself under intense and flight vs fight circumstances”.

They also started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money asking the public for $150,000, but it was rightly shut down within hours.  Hazelwood East High School is made up of 96.7% black, and 1.4% white students, but apparently Gain was the real bully.

As was previously highlighted, the school in question has a history of anti-white racism cases and violent confrontations and was awarded the North County Incorporated (NCI) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leadership Award in 2022.

Meanwhile, the GoFundMe campaign for the real victim has now surpassed $380,000 dollars in donations.

Another belly-aching, plus-sized, woke person gets blasted on social media … 

A self-described plus size fashion influencer went viral after posting a TikTok video explaining the difficulties that plus size people have on air flights.

Alicia Gilby said that the small spaces on a plane flight prevented her from lowering her food tray and forced her to squeeze sideways through the seats to get through the aisle. The Canadian also had to use a seatbelt extender in her seat.

The video went viral after being posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, where it garnered more than 15 million views. Much of the response was negative as many people resented Gilby’s attempt to blame the airline for her situation.

“I wish these TikTok video people were on X too. They need to read the comments and realize not everyone follows them and cheers in agreement. It’s not the airlines responsibility to widen their planes for them,” read one response.

“I bet if she lost some weight she wouldn’t have to deal with these things. But I have a feeling that instead, she’ll demand every plane be renovated so she can fit,” replied another detractor.

“You’re FAT…the word is FAT…and it’s YOUR issue, not the airline’s. Eat less, move more, lose weight, improve your health,” read another response.

“I’m not plus-sized and I think it’s bulls**t I have to pay the same price as people who are. Me and my luggage don’t weigh as much as she does, yet I have to pay the same amount? Skinny folks should get a discount,” said another critic.

“Imagine you’re on a s****y work trip and trying to get home from bum f*** Toledo, and you’re subjected to this content creation before your edible kicks in. This is a level of hell even Dante couldn’t imagine,” replied one detractor.

The video is no longer available on TikTok on Gilby’s “curvy_chronicles” account.

Fat positivity has become a controversial movement in the U.S. after obesity rates have skyrocketed in recent decades. Obesity over the last 30 years has increased in adults by 70% and in children by 85%.

In 2020, many fat activists were outraged when celebrity fitness trainer Jillian Michaels criticized those praising pop star Lizzo for her fat positivity. Michaels pointed out that she could enjoy Lizzo’s music without endorsing the harmful and dangerous messaging around acceptance of obesity.


ICYMI

New York City Mayor Eric Adams caught hanging out with drug dealers near City Hall!

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was discovered hanging out with a group of loiterers and alleged drug dealers who have been using a Burger King as their headquarters, according to an exclusive report by the New York Post. The fast food restaurant is located just blocks away from City Hall.

The report mentioned that witnesses said the mayor was even offered marijuana during his visit. The development comes shortly after the Burger King location was slapped with a $15 million lawsuit for acting as an “open air drug bazaar.”

The lawsuit was apparently brought by an angry neighbor who said that the fast-food operator has helped turn “Fulton Street into an open air drug bazaar.”

The Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed by Kevin Kaufman said that a group of “professional drug dealers” have been able to do whatever they want at the Burger King location, which they have used as a “base of operation, selling illegal drugs either at the entrance … or during inclement weather, selling illegal drugs within the Burger King restaurant itself.”

Kaufman has lived on the block for 20 years, and he has finally had enough.

However, that did not stop the mayor from allegedly hanging out in the Burger King for over an hour, according to one witness. The report noted that around six police officers were also present at the gathering.

Adams was recorded while inside the Burger King, with his assistant capturing the whole situation on a cell phone. The mayor and the loiterers reportedly walked outside after the meeting, where Adams could be heard telling his assistant to find the group “something within the service that can help them.” However, it is unclear what he meant by this.

Some residents in the area were not impressed with how the incident played out.

“It’s ridiculous. We’re complaining about the craziness out there, and [Adams] went and hung out with them for an hour. Crazy,” one resident said.

The Post reported that a City Hall spokesperson said overall crime in the First Precinct, which includes the Burger King, was down 8.2 percent from a year ago. However, they went on to say that “[t]he behavior described in the complaints at the Burger King on Fulton Street will not be tolerated.”

Fani Willis issues warning to Trump after surviving disqualification!

Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said that her election interference case against former President Donald Trump will continue and that her office hasn’t been delayed by proceedings regarding her relationship with her former top prosecutor.

“I don’t feel like we have been slowed down at all,” Ms. Willis told CNN in an interview on March 23, her first comments since a judge ruled earlier this month that she doesn’t need to be removed from the case. “I think there are efforts to slow down the train, but the train is coming.”

In the case, President Trump and more than a dozen other co-defendants face charges in relation to alleged attempts to illegally overturn the 2020 election in Fulton County. The 45th president has pleaded not guilty, saying that he is being wrongfully prosecuted in an attempt to harm his 2024 presidential chances.

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