The Palestinian Authority is using stones from an ancient Jewish site to help build a road connecting an Arab village to the city of Nablus, or Shechem, website N12 reports on Wednesday.
In a video obtained by N12, Arab workers can be heard saying they are destroying part of the site of Joshua’s Altar located on Mount Ebal which forms the northern side of the valley in which Shechem is located, and using it for gravel to make the road.
As the site is located in Area B of Judea and Samaria, Israel’s Civil Administration says it can do nothing about it, the website reports.
The danger to the site has been a cause for concern, N12 notes. Two months ago, Knesset Member Michal Shir of the Likud submitted an urgent question about the preservation of the site against PA depredations. Michael Biton, Minister in the Ministry of Defense, reassured her that the PA’s work had been approved and there was no damage to the archeological site.
Guy Derech, director of “Preserving the Eternal,” an NGO dedicated to safeguarding lands for the Jewish people, said “the site of the altar is one of the most important sites in our country and of special importance to the heritage of the Jewish people.
“Crushing thousands of years of cultural assets into gravel is an extremely unacceptable act,” he said.
“The Palestinian Authority is using its powers to damage archeological sites, and Israel is not lifting a finger at preserving its national and world heritage. We call on the prime minister and ministers of the government to stop burying their heads in the sand and start working before there is no more heritage left here,” he added.
Head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, demanded the IDF act to stop the destruction immediately.
“This is a direct and unfortunate continuation of the contempt of all concerned regarding the historical sites of the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” Dagan said. “It is shocking to see how the Palestinian Authority is crudely destroying the archeological sites that are dear to all of humanity.”
The Palestinian Authority has a history of destroying Jewish archaeological sites in an effort to erase Jewish ties to the land. It is continuing a “tradition” begun by Jordan, which destroyed Jewish sites when it controlled Judea and Samaria and part of Jerusalem between 1948 and 1967.
Some archaeologists speculate that the site in question, known as Joshua’s Altar, or the Altar of Mount Ebal, is the one mentioned in the Book of Joshua, which he built after the battle of Ai. It is also conjectured that it is the altar the Hebrews were commanded to build in Deuteronomy 27 before they heard the blessing and the curse.
As it’s written in Deuteronomy 27: “Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God.”
There is little dispute that it is an ancient Jewish altar as an examination of the bones at the site revealed that only kosher animals were sacrificed there. The altar dates from the last quarter of the 13th century B.C.E.
Canada’s national news service reported Tuesday that the Canadian government has obtained new evidence that appears to indicate Iran’s shooting down of a Ukrainian passenger plane last year may have been deliberate.
Security officials are reviewing an audio recording in which a man who may be Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif talks about the possibility that the shooting down of Ukraine Airlines Flight PS752 by the Iranian military was intentional, CBC News reported.
Iranian forces fired two anti-aircraft missiles at the plane on January 8, 2020, blowing it out of the sky near the capital city Tehran and killing all 176 people aboard, including 63 Canadian citizens and another 75 with ties to Canada.
The incident was considered a national disaster and Canada designated Jan. 8 as a new National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Air Disasters.
The recording appears to be the voice of Zarif speaking in Farsi and CBC used three different translators to ensure the accuracy of the English translation. Zarif is heard saying that there are a “thousand possibilities” to explain the downing of the jet, including a deliberate attack involving two or three “infiltrators” — a scenario he said was “not at all unlikely,” the report said.
However, Zarif also says that in order not to reveal military secrets the government and Iran’s powerful military may never reveal what actually happened.
“There are reasons that they will never be revealed,” Zarif says in the recording. “They won’t tell us, nor anyone else, because if they do it will open some doors into the defense systems of the country that will not be in the interest of the nation to publicly say.”
The government’s special adviser on the Flight PS752 disaster, Ralph Goodale, said the recording “contains sensitive information and commenting publicly on its details could put lives at risk,” the report said, adding Canada’s security agencies were trying to authenticate the audio file.
“We understand in a very acute way the thirst among the families for the complete, plain, unvarnished truth and that’s what we will do our very best to get for them,” Goodale told the CBC.
After denying for three days its military was involved, Iran then admitted it shot down the plane and claimed it was due to human error.
Canada’s former foreign affairs minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, has said he does not believe the destruction of the plane can be blamed on human error.
Zarif is heard on the recording first saying the incident was an accident, but then suggested it was possible that unspecified “infiltrators” intentionally shot down the plane.
“Even if you assume that it was an organized intentional act, they would never tell us or anyone else,” the person identified as Zarif said. “There would have been two three people who did this. And it’s not at all unlikely. They could have been infiltrators. There are a thousand possibilities. Maybe it was really because of the war and it was the radar.”
The voice, still thought to be Zarif, then says that “these things are not going to be revealed easily” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or those higher up in the government and mentioned that Russia never admitted to shooting down a Malaysian airliner over Eastern Ukraine that killed all 298 on board.
The person talking refers several times to Iran paying compensation to the victims’ families to close “the issue” and to prevent other countries from turning the disaster into “an international crime.”
Goodale’s official report on the incident that was released in December said Canada still hadn’t seen “full disclosure… on all relevant evidence” from Iran, which proposed paying $150,000 for each of the victims’ families, but Canada rejected that offer.
A former UN prosecutor at the court of arbitration in The Hague, Payam Akhavan, told the CBC the recording is a “highly significant” piece of new evidence, but that it is not a “smoking gun” offering conclusive proof that the aircraft’s destruction was intentional.
“The fact that he would say in a conversation that it is not at all unlikely that the destruction of 752 could have been organized and intentional is highly significant,” said Akhavan. “The fact that he sees that as a real possibility, I think, should make us pause and really consider whether there’s not something far more diabolical at play.”
Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko said it was the first time Ukraine has heard about the recording, telling the CBC: “We do not want to see the truth being hidden behind state secrecy. We want to get to the bottom of this.”
“I think we are still so far away from having a clear picture on what happened… We obviously lack trust in our conversation with Iran. I think we have a feeling that Iran shares as little information as possible,” Shevchenko said.
“I think we should all realize that this report can confirm that the plane was hit by a missile, but it’s not going to tell us who pushed the button,” Shevchenko concluded.
Shockwaves were profoundly felt throughout the Arab world on Wednesday when acclaimed Kuwaiti singer and actress Ibtisam Hamid made a public pronouncement of her intention to renounce her Islamic faith and to embrace Judaism through conversion.
Also known by her stage name Basma al-Kuwaiti, the singer and actress posted a video on Twitter in which she said her decision stemmed from the fact that Islam violates women’s rights and does not treat them with dignity, as was reported by Israel HaYom.
She stated:“I, Ibtisam Hamid, nicknamed singer Basma al-Kuwaitiya, announce that I am leaving Islam and proudly announce embracing Judaism.” The video was so widely circulated to the point that she topped Arab Google trending searches lists as well as social media.
According to the albawaba.com web site, fans and followers of al-Kuwaitiya demanded that the singer be arrested and held accountable for her decision to convert to Judaism.
The web site reported that one follower said: ‘So this is a trendy approach for fame nowadays, every now and then someone announces apostasy.’ Another one wrote: ‘We are at the end of time, and this is called apostasy, and she must be stopped’.
Israel HaYom reported that the singer also spoke out against the ruling family of Kuwait, saying “I want to declare my opposition to the Al Sabah family, who reject normalization with Israel, stands against religious freedom in the country and against freedom of speech.”
Ms. Al-Kuwaitiya’s announcement of faith change comes on the heels of yet another high-profile personality in the country who also renounced his Islamic faith. Recently, Kuwaiti host Mohamed al-Munim said that he had converted to Christianity on social media video post that went viral. His decision to change faiths was met with sharp criticism and even death threats from the public.
The albawaba.com web site also reported that subsequent to her announcement, the audience recalled an old interview of her where she stated that art is certainly forbidden, and she wishes for guidance from God, but at the same time she loves singing.
The Kuwaiti singer also had revealed that she had previously been nominated among the top ten in a competition for memorizing the Holy Qur’an, during her high school studies in Kuwait, as was reported by the web site.
Having excoriated her al-Kuwaitiya as a heretic for even contemplating leaving Islam for Judaism, the media in Kuwait continued to broadcast highly critical messages about her decision.
“This is a sad day for Islam, and it is not her fault,” one person commented, according to the Israel HaYom report.
“When one does know true Islam, but judges it based on the behavior of some Muslims, it is easy to reject it and leave it. May Allah help people see the true Islam,” another follower wrote.
Two small clusters of deaths after COVID-19 vaccination have been reported among nursing homes in Kentucky and Arkansas.
In Kentucky, four seniors died the same day of their vaccination on Dec. 30, 2020. Three of the four who passed away reportedly already had had coronavirus prior to getting vaccinated.
In Arkansas, four seniors died at a long term care facility about a week after their vaccination. All tested positive for COVID-19 after vaccination.
The deaths are reported in a federal database called VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System.
Deaths after vaccination don’t necessarily mean the vaccine is to blame. Of those receiving coronavirus vaccines, many are elderly and frail, or already suffering from serious illnesses. That makes it difficult to know whether there’s a connection.
Kentucky Nursing Home Deaths
According to VAERS reports, the Kentucky deaths occurred on Dec. 30 after vaccinations with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. An ill 88-year-old woman who was “14 + days post covid” was given the Pfizer-BioNTech shot while she was “unresponsive in [her] room.” She died within an hour and a half (914961-1). An 88-year-old who was “15 days post covid” got the shot, was monitored for 15 minutes afterward, and passed away within 90 minutes (914994-1). A third report says an 88-year-old woman who was “14 + days post covid” vomited four minutes after receiving her shot, became short of breath, and passed away that night (915562-1). And an 85-year-old woman vaccinated at 5 p.m. was “found unresponsive” less than two hours later and died shortly after (915682-1).
In response to questions about the Kentucky cluster, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said its experts noted “no pattern … among the [Kentucky] cases that would indicate a concern for the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Scientists differ on whether people who have had coronavirus, like the Kentucky patients, should receive the COVID-19 vaccination at all. The CDC insists it’s safe for people who have recovered from COVID-19 to get vaccinated and that there’s no minimum interval recommended between infection and vaccination.
“Vaccination should be offered to persons regardless of history of prior symptomatic or asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19] infection,” it states.
But other scientists say vaccinating people who are already considered immune after a natural COVID-19 infection wastes valuable doses of vaccines when there are shortages. And neither Pfizer’s nor Moderna’s studies showed any benefit to vaccinating previously infected patients.
The Kentucky patients were vaccinated shortly after the CDC disseminated false information on this point. The CDC claimed studies showed that vaccines are effective for people who have had COVID-19. The disinformation was given on the agency’s website, in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in a webinar instruction to medical professionals.
In the webinar, the CDC’s Dr. Sarah Oliver falsely stated, “Data from both clinical trials suggests that people with prior infection are still likely to benefit from vaccination.”
Under pressure from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who first flagged the CDC’s incorrect information in December, the agency recently issued a correction but used wording that still falsely implies studies showed that the vaccines helped people previously infected with COVID-19.
Meantime, preliminary results from a study co-authored by a team of more than two dozen researchers noted that people infected with COVID-19 in the past “experience systemic side effects with a significantly higher frequency” after vaccination than others.
The CDC confirms that it’s monitoring reports that people who’ve already had COVID-19 seem to be suffering significantly more frequent or more severe reactions after vaccination, or “reactogenicity,” than those who didn’t have COVID-19.
“CDC is aware of reports of increased reactogenicity (such as fever, chills, and muscle aches) in persons who have had COVID-19,” said a spokesman.
Arkansas Nursing Home Deaths
Four nursing home deaths in Arkansas occurred after vaccination with the Moderna-manufactured vaccine. All four patients tested positive for COVID-19 after vaccination, according to the VAERS reports. But there’s no indication as to whether they had coronavirus at the time of their vaccination or acquired it after their shot.
A 65-year-old man (921547-1) who received the Moderna vaccine on Jan. 2, 2021, died two days later, with the VAERS report noting that he had COVID-19. Three other Arkansas seniors died about a week after receiving the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 22, 2020. The person reporting the death of an 82-year-old man (917117-1) six days after his shot said he was vaccinated in an attempt to “mitigate his risk” and that “this was unsuccessful and [the] patient died.” The VAERS report notes, “After vaccination, patient tested positive for COVID-19.”
Two elderly women, ages 90 (917790-1) and 78 (917793-1), were vaccinated the same day as the 65-year-old man and also tested positive for COVID-19 about a week after their shots and died. According to the unnamed person who reported the 90-year-old’s death, “the vaccine did not have enough time to prevent COVID 19” and “There is no evidence that the vaccination caused patient’s death. It simply didn’t have time to save her life.” The person who reported the 78-year-old’s death claimed she died “as a result of COVID-19 and her underlying health conditions and not as a result of the vaccine.”
In response to questions about the Arkansas cluster, the CDC said, “Surveillance data to date do not indicate excess deaths among elderly patients receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.” Overall, easy the agency, the number of deaths at long term care facilities after COVID-19 vaccinations is no higher than what would be expected to occur naturally.
Frail Patients
Separately, the CDC is monitoring the impact of the vaccines on already-frail patients such as the chronically ill in nursing homes.
In Norway, alarm bells sounded when 23 people died shortly after vaccination. After investigating 13 of the deaths, Norway’s medical agency has concluded side effects that are common with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Modern vaccines, such as fever, nausea, and diarrhea, “may have contributed to fatal outcomes in some of the frail patients.”
“There is a possibility that these common adverse reactions, that are not dangerous in fitter, younger patients and are not unusual with vaccines, may aggravate underlying disease in the elderly,” said Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency.
A World Health Organization (WHO) expert panel disagrees. It says the deaths “are in line with the expected, all-cause mortality rates and causes of death in the sub-population of frail, elderly individuals, and the available information does not confirm a contributory role for the vaccine in the reported fatal events.”
But one unanswered question is whether patients who are both frail and have already had COVID-19 might suffer a double-whammy that puts them at greater risk when vaccinated. First, those with a previous COVID-19 infection might be more likely to suffer adverse events upon vaccination, according to scientific reports. Second, their frailty may make them less able to handle the adverse events, as Norway’s medical agency found with some patients.
In the United States, VAERS reports contain numerous other cases of elderly, frail people who’d had COVID-19, got vaccinated, and died.
A 96-year-old Ohio woman tested positive for COVID-19 in November, got the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 28, 2020, in a rehab facility after a fall, and died that afternoon (915920-1).
A 94-year-old Michigan man at a senior living facility who had COVID-19 and other illnesses received the Moderna vaccine on Jan. 2, 2021, and died of cardiac arrest two days later (918487-1).
A 91-year-old Michigan woman with Alzheimer’s and other illnesses at a senior living facility who had tested positive for COVID-19 received the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 30, 2020. She died four days later (924186-1).
And an 85-year-old California woman with Alzheimer’s and other disorders at a senior living facility received the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine on Jan. 5, 2021, and was found dead the same day. After her vaccination, an earlier COVID-19 test from Jan. 3 returned positive, though she’d had no symptoms (924456-1).
In other cases, elderly, frail patients tested positive for COVID-19 shortly after vaccination.
A 104-year-old woman in New York received the Pfizer vaccine on Dec. 30, 2020. The next day, a COVID-19 test was done and came back positive. She became ill the following day and died on Jan. 4, 2021 (920832-1).
And a 71-year-old New York man received the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 21, 2020, developed a fever and respiratory distress, and tested positive for COVID-19. He was given Remdesivir. He died after 6 days (922977-1).
A WHO vaccine safety subcommittee reviewed reports of deaths among the frail, elderly after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The members determined, two weeks ago, there’s no cause for concern. “The benefit-risk balance of [Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine] BNT162b2 remains favorable in the elderly, and does not suggest any revision, at present, to the recommendations around the safety of this vaccine,” said the WHO officials.
Pfizer, Moderna, and CDC Responses
In response to questions for this report, Pfizer issued a statement saying: “We take adverse events that are potentially associated with our COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, very seriously. We closely monitor all such events and collect relevant information to share with global regulatory authorities. Based on ongoing safety reviews performed by Pfizer, BioNTech and health authorities, BNT162b2 retains a positive benefit-risk profile for the prevention of COVID-19 infections.”
Pfizer said that millions of people have been vaccinated and “serious adverse events, including deaths that are unrelated to the vaccine, are unfortunately likely to occur at a similar rate as they would in the general population.”
Pfizer didn’t answer whether it has concluded that any deaths might be linked to vaccination. It also wouldn’t answer whether it has looked at any clusters of deaths, or noted any patterns or areas of concern. And the company wouldn’t say whether it recommends that those recently or currently infected with COVID-19 get vaccinated.
Moderna didn’t answer our questions or request for information and comment.
Currently, the CDC recommends vaccination for people who’ve already had coronavirus.
The agency didn’t directly answer the question of whether it’s safe for people to get vaccinated while they have an active COVID-19 infection. A CDC spokesman said that deferring vaccination is recommended in those instances, but didn’t say whether it was due to a safety issue.
“Vaccination of persons with known current SARS-CoV-2 infection should be deferred until the person has recovered from the acute illness (if the person had symptoms) and criteria have been met for them to discontinue isolation,” says the CDC. “This recommendation applies to persons who develop SARS-CoV-2 infection before receiving any vaccine doses as well as those who develop SARS-CoV-2 infection after the first dose but before receipt of the second dose.”
Sharyl Attkisson is the New York Times bestselling author of “Stonewalled,” a five-time Emmy Award winner, and the host of Sinclair’s national investigative television program “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.”
Attorney Alan Dershowitz, who defended Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial, blasted the former president’s current lawyer Bruce Castor for his opening argument in the second, which began on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.
Dershowitz told Newsmax TV on Tuesday, “I’ve no idea what he’s doing,” referring to Castor, former Pennsylvania acting attorney general. “I have no idea why he’s saying what he’s saying.
Dershowitz said it was a “folksy” opening. “He’s introducing himself: ‘I’m a nice guy; I like my senators; I know my senators; senators are great people.’ C’mon, the American people are entitled to an argument, a constitutional argument,” Dershowitz said.
Dershowitz’s assessment was shared by Republican politicians who criticized him for his meandering remarks, which went on for 45-minutes.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Castor “rambled on and on and on and didn’t really address the constitutional argument.”
“I’ve seen a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments and that was… not one of the finest I’ve seen,” he said.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who moved to side with Democrats after Castor’s opening remarks, said “Anyone who listened to President Trump’s legal team saw they were unfocused, they attempted to avoid the issue. And they talked about everything but the issue at hand.”
President Donald Trump is reportedly irate about the performance of his lawyers, particularly Castor. Two sources told Fox News that he was “furious” and “beyond angry.”
Castor defended himself after the criticism. He said he hadn’t intended to speak and had expected the Senate to focus on the constitutionality of trying a former president, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The House inserted a whole lot of argument on issues that did not relate to jurisdiction that I sensed in the room was very effective,” Castor said. “I wanted to pull the senators back from that.”
Dershowitz told Newsmax TV, “He is talking to 10 people, basically.”
“We know that every Democrat will vote to remove; we know that maybe as many as 7, 8 Republicans will vote to remove. You need 17, so he’s talking to 10 people – that’s his jury. I just think he has to respond, and he has to get to the constitutional issues,” he said.
Schoen, who spoke after Castor, was generally considered more effective.
The second day of the trial begins on Wednesday at noon.
MSNBC published an op-ed Tuesday comparing Adolf Hitler’s ability to speak and sway others at his 1924 trial (for an attempted coup) with former President Donald Trump speaking at his impeachment trial, claiming that “there are inherent risks in giving Trump a megaphone to spread his inanities now that he’s out of office and has been deplatformed from Twitter.”
The essay, which MSNBC opinion columnist Hayes Brown published, titled “Trump probably won’t speak at his impeachment trial. That may be a good thing,” refers to an earlier op-ed published by the Washington Post last month in which Post foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor compared the January 6 Capitol riot with the infamous 1923 “Beer Hall Putsch” — a failed government takeover on the part of Hitler and the Nazis.
“Part of the reason that comparison rings true is what happened after the putsch’s failure — and the history here is what has me most concerned about the idea of putting Trump on the witness stand,” the author writes.
Describing Hitler’s “stunning performance throughout the trial,” the author claims that “the listening public had thought the ideas he’d rattled off in his diatribes sounded pretty good” and that the international media was also impressed, effectively “boosting Hitler’s standing” from a “nobody” to an admirable figure able to reach the masses.
Though the author notes he has low expectations from Trump and doesn’t expect “anything remotely as eloquent” as Hitler’s speech, he warns of “inherent risks” in giving Trump a voice, should the former president take the stand.
Reiterating his fears, the author calls for a greater effort to “neutralize” Trump’s message than that which should have stifled Hitler nearly a century ago.
“So, yes, subpoena Trump — but make sure you can neutralize his message more effectively than German prosecutors did in 1924,” he concludes.
This is not the first time a the media has promoted comparisons between Trump and his presidency to Hitler and the Holocaust.
Last month, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an op-ed by the paper’s former editor David Lee Preston in which he made several comparisons between Trump and Hitler while presenting Trump’s presidency as a means to “better understand Hitler’s sway over Germans.”
In December, a Washington Postcartoon depicted Republicans who “collaborated” with the president in contesting the 2020 election results as gruesome rats.
In November, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour recalled Kristallnacht, noting that Trump’s presidency has similarly been a “modern day assault” attacking “those same values” the Nazis did.
People of the future will look back at these 11 months and be very confused. How could virtually the entire world have thrown out settled practices of civil, economic, and cultural liberties for a virus that resisted every attempt to control it?
This virus is not Ebola and it has come nowhere near approaching the death rates associated with H1N1 of 1918. By some measures, it’s not been as deadly as 1957-58, a virus that came and went without much public attention at all. New pathogens are part of life, and there was and is nothing particularly unusual about this one.
The enduring question now and for many years to come will be: why? We all asked the question a thousand times, and it has been asked of us the same number of times. It is too early to say, and the answer will likely be similar to other epic events in history such as the Great War or the Fall of Rome.
The answer to the question why is: multiple causes. I’m not prepared to weigh them yet.
And yet, it seems reasonable to observe that many groups and sectors had a kind of hankering for a pandemic. They turned a widespread and mostly manageable pathogen – doctor/patient relationships and reasonable cautions on the part of the vulnerable – and converted it into the basis for a global panic that overthrew centuries of progress in law and liberty.
Among which:
The tech companies who became so enraptured with the digital world – and we can include online retailers in this – that they forgot all the people who cannot and do not want to live entirely outside the physical world.
The pharmaceutical companies with hundreds of billions of investment in labs and distribution circles who wanted to ply their wares in the midst of emergencies, in addition to the PCR testing industry.
Public health intellectuals who for at least a decade and a half had fallen for the romance of computer modelling and were itching to try out a new method for disease mitigation.
The mega-billionaire Bill Gates who found himself vexed by computer viruses that were wrecking his Windows operating system and thereby developed a passion for blocking viruses in general, while failing to understand the difference between biology and computer hardware.
Government officials who like to try out new uses of power.
Media companies who live on clicks and know with certainty that public panic is the best way to guarantee consumer attention, especially if they are locked at home with nothing else to do.
The Chinese government which was supremely annoyed at the Trump administration’s trade policies and successfully trolled the West into believing that China nixed the virus through totalitarian controls.
Rabid opponents of the Trump administration, who had failed to wreck it through accusations of Russian collusion and then impeachment over a phone call to Ukraine, finally turned to creating tremendous social, economic, and political chaos by massively overblowing the severity of a widespread viral pathogen, which itself became a metaphor for the political infection they believed afflicted the country.
School teachers unions who have been wanting to strike for years in order to extract pay and benefits from the taxpayer but worried that doing so would turn their public against them; for them, lockdowns were the perfect excuse to find another way.
A ruling class population that has lost touch with people who cannot live on their computers, increasingly detached from the flow of life as it exists in the physical world and thereby failed to empathize with the suffering of others under lockdown.
No one interest group could have achieved this on its own. It required a perfect storm. It doesn’t have to be a conspiracy much less a specific plot. It only requires that the right confluence of events present themselves in a way that prompts action and cooperation.
I might add one more push for pandemic that touches on a general philosophy of life. The world is overflowing these days with people who are consumed by ideology. They have a perception that something is fundamentally wrong with the world and are consumed with a burning passion to fix it. They long for big change, mighty drama, epic shifts in history. For them, the marginally improving world of bourgeois existence seems dull and uneventful. The pandemic was for them something exciting and momentous: it presented a chance for big change.
That we will look back with astonishment at what has happened to the world is a near certainty. The folly! And people of the future will never stop asking that great question of why. The answer is finally unsatisfying. It was a massive screw up by people and groups who wanted to try something completely new, none of whom were willing to bear responsibility for the results. It will be up to the rest of us to pick up the pieces and get life on the right track again.
Google-owned YouTube has banned LifeSite News, one of the leading sources of pro-life news and commentary on the web.
Gualberto Garcia Jones, VP of LifeSite News, told Breitbart News that the site had anticipated censorship from Big Tech companies, and has already established a presence on alternative platforms including Gab, Rumble, MeWe, and Telegram, and encouraged readers to follow them there.
“The truth is, we’ve been anticipating this for some time,” said Garcia Jones. “YouTube, along with other Big Tech corporations, are simply not interested in allowing anyone to dissent from their state-approved, liberal ideology.”
“Fortunately, we’ve already taken preemptive measures to ensure the truth will continue to reach the ears of those most in need of it in these dictatorial times.”
In a comment to Breitbart News, a YouTube spokeswoman, said that LifeSite was banned from the platform due to violations of its “COVID-19 misinformation” policy.
“In accordance with our long standing strikes system, we terminated the channel LifeSite News Media for repeatedly violating our COVID-19 misinformation policy, which prohibits content that promotes prevention methods that contradict local health authorities or WHO,” said the spokeswoman.
“Any channel that violates our COVID-19 misinformation policy will receive a strike, which temporarily restricts uploading or live-streaming. Channels that receive three strikes in the same 90-day period will be permanently removed from YouTube.”
Google is becoming increasingly aggressive in its censorship policies. As Breitbart News recently reported, the market-dominating tech giant recently rolled out a new censorship regime for its main search engine, along with a list of new policy violations that could see websites suppressed in search results:
The list, published in full on Google’s support website, includes the following:
Discover policy violation: Adult-themed content
News and Discover policy violation: Dangerous content
News and Discover policy violation: Harassing content
News and Discover policy violation: Hateful content
News and Discover policy violation: Manipulated media
News and Discover policy violation: Medical content
Discover policy violation: Misleading content
News and Discover policy violation: Sexually explicit content
News and Discover policy violation: Terrorist content
News policy violation: Transparency
News and Discover policy violation: Violence and gore content
News and Discover policy violation: Vulgar language and profanity
Publishers who have been hit with a manual action by Google will be able to appeal the decision by “fixing” whatever issue violated the policy and then submitting their website to Google for a review. Google states that it could take “several days or a week” for the tech giant to reach a final decision.
Garcia Jones said that LifeSite will not be demoralized by Big Tech’s crackdown, and will rise to the occasion.
“Like Christ, we will never tire nor waver in bringing His teachings to a world in need,” said Garcia Jones. “If that means getting banned completely from social media, so be it. We rejoice at being persecuted for His sake.”
A former CIA officer wrote that he left the Democratic Party due to the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump, saying that it only serves to exacerbate the political divide.
“For years, Democrats like me have watched with increasing alarm as our own political leaders and activists … have used an endless stream of hateful, violent and ultimately un-American rhetoric that has resulted in billions of dollars in economic damage and given birth to a violent national movement,” wrote Bryan Dean Wright, the former intelligence officer, for the Daily Caller.
Wright said the “modern Left” is infused with “systemic hatred” that has “inflamed profound political divisions and the predictable outcomes that come with them, most especially violence and destruction.”
“The most egregious example came in the summer of 2020, with Leftist race riots that cost upwards of $2 billion in damages,” he said, adding that Democratic leaders didn’t offer condemnations when “fires raged,” property was vandalized, and lives were destroyed.
Wright pointed out that democratically elected officials incited violence in 2020.
“A woman in New York City threw a Molotov cocktail at four police officers sitting in their vehicle during a riot” and “were unharmed only because the gas bomb failed to ignite,” he said.
“Next, a group of rioters in Seattle tried to seal up the doors of a police precinct and ignite the building on fire, burning cops alive.
“In all, over 700 federal, state, and local law enforcement officers sustained injuries in violence perpetrated by Leftist rioters. That includes retired St. Louis police Captain David Dorn, who died defending the city he loved from those encouraged by the Democrat Party’s incitement.”
Wright went on to cite rhetoric from mainstream media pundits such as CNN’s Chris Cuomo, who told viewers last year, “Show me where it says protesters are supposed to be polite and peaceful,” and NPR’s statement that “looting is a powerful tool to bring about real, lasting change in society.”
Such statements, he argued, served to gaslight people into committing acts of violence. At the same time, he suggested that it’s hypocritical to impeach Trump for allegedly inciting an insurrection when Democratic leaders and left-leaning media outlets emboldened rioters and anarchists last year.
House Democrats have argued that Trump’s speech incited supporters on Jan. 6 to carry out the Capitol breach, which left several people—including an officer—dead.
“For Democrats like me, we have no choice: we have to leave. But where do we go, politically, now that our party can no longer be salvaged? The answer is to be found in the exit data from the 2020 election: We’re already leaving, it turns out, and joining the new, populist Republican Party,” he said.
(TJVNEWS)The Dallas Mavericks have not played the national anthem all season long, but they’ll start playing it again right away.
Despite an order from Mavs Owner Mark Cuban to not play the anthem reportedly because “many feel it does not represent them,” the league has stepped-in and mandated that “all teams” will play the anthem before games, Breitbart reported.
“With NBA teams now in the process of welcoming fans back into their arenas, all teams will play the national anthem in keeping with longstanding league policy,” the league’s Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass said in a statement.
The Mavericks have not played the anthem in any of their 13 home preseason and regular-season games. Cuban had not publicly given a reason why the anthem was being nixed until Tuesday night when he confirmed to ESPN that the team was not playing the Star-Spangled Banner and had no plans to resume playing it.
A report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania cited a source claiming that Cuban’s decision to not play the song stemmed from a belief that “many feel the anthem doesn’t represent them.
The decision went unnoticed for 13 games, according to The Athletic, as it was not publicized or explained internally and fans had not been allowed to attend games due to coronavirus restrictions.Monday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves was the first time a limited number of fans had been allowed into the American Airlines Center.
Cuban was faced with fierce criticism on social media for temporarily eliminating the anthem.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said Tuesday that sales of the company’s signature product remain strong after several retailers recently stopped stocking the pillows.
“We’ve actually increased in sales. We’re actually up in sales. Our shipping’s behind,” he told The Epoch Times.
Wayfair and Bed Bath & Beyond, among other retailers, stopped selling MyPillow last month. The companies faced pressure from activists who dislike Lindell’s involvement in pursuing election fraud claims.
“Those were bots and trolls they were afraid of,” Lindell said, asserting what transpired was an example of so-called cancel culture.
But he also said that the companies are facing negative impacts.
“They’re just as bad as the people that are doing it because they did it out of fear. I’ve been with them for years, and they’re the ones that suffer because now those customers are buying directly from Mike Lindell, from MyPillow. So our business is up,” he said.
“The box stores that stayed with us are way busier because they’re not going to those other places because they don’t have MyPillow products now,” he added.
Walmart-owned Sam’s Club and other stores have continued stocking MyPillow items.
Lindell told NTD last month that Americans need to step up against cancel culture, or the growing trend of trying to shut down people and companies that are out of step with certain groups, primarily the modern leftist orthodoxy.
“This is the time we all have to stand up against this,” he said.
Lindell has become known for talking about election fraud claims and recently debuted a documentary, “Absolute Proof,” that he alleges shows the November 2020 election involved high levels of fraud. It aired on One America News last week and is set to air again this week.
Lindell has faced personal repercussions for his remarks about the election. Twitter recently suspended him, citing alleged violations of the company’s civic integrity policy, before permanently banning the account. YouTube and Vimeo, meanwhile, took down “Absolute Proof.”
Lindell told The Epoch Times that “they’re trying to cancel me everywhere.” In another example, he said, Google has prevented him from buying ads for the film.
“We’re gonna get it out in spite of all them and then our whole country… everybody needs to see this. This isn’t a political thing,” he said. “Everybody should be concerned, that’s just terrible.”
Lindell was a mainstay at rallies for former President Donald Trump but clarified that he rarely spoke to him. Lindell said he has not seen Trump since he visited the White House just before Trump left office.
Former presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang (D) is leading the field of Democrat primary candidates in the 2021 New York City mayor’s race, a Fontas/CODA Pulse of the Primary Poll released this week found.
The survey, taken January 20-25 among 842 likely voters, showed Yang appearing to have the most recognizable name in the field of candidates. He led the race with 28 percent support. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams followed with 17 percent. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer earned 13 percent support.
Former Obama administration official Shaun Donovan and lawyer and civil rights activist Maya Wiley tied with eight percent each. The remaining candidates garnered two percent or less. Nearly one-fifth of respondents, or 19 percent, were undecided.
The Chinese coronavirus appears to be a major factor for New York City voters. The survey found:
57% of likely voters said “the pandemic caused a significant negative impact on my household finances.” (26% strongly agree + 31% somewhat agree)
47% indicated that “If I had the ability, I would consider moving out of NYC permanently.” (19% strongly agree + 28% somewhat agree)
When presented with a list of nine major topics frequently discussed on the campaign trail, nearly half of voters (49%) said the “most important” issue to them when considering the candidates relates to COVID [coronavirus]: health aspects (30% “preventing the spread of COVID / vaccine distribution”), as well as economic aspects (19% “reopening the economy / job creation”).
The survey’s margin of error is +/-3.38 percent.
Yang, who rose to the national spotlight during the presidential Democrat primary race with his distinct happy-go-lucky attitude and pitch for Universal Basic Income (UBI), filed paperwork to run for mayor in December but took a brief break from the campaign trail after testing positive for the Wuhan virus earlier this month.
“Wow — let’s keep the momentum going and growing and get New York back on its feet!” Yang said Wednesday in reaction to the poll:
Wow – let’s keep the momentum going and growing and get New York back on its feet! ?? https://t.co/IPSd5uIfAN
“The city could help restaurants buy heat lamps, dividers and air filtration systems in bulk — bring the costs down for the small businesses trying to stay open,” he pitched on Wednesday. “We need to be a partner to firms trying to make it work”
The New York City mayoral primaries will be held June 22, 2021. Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) is ineligible to run due to term limits.
(TJVNEWS) Western diplomats are deeply alarmed after a classified briefing given at the UN by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reports, after some of the contents of IAEA findings which said the Iranians were intent on pursuing a major step toward nuclear weapons production had been leaked earlier last month. The new IAEA findings say Iran has now acted on its prior “threat” to produce uranium metal.
“In contravention of the 2015 nuclear accords, Iran has started producing uranium metal, a material that can be used to form the core of nuclear weapons, the United Nations atomic agency told members in a confidential report Wednesday evening,” WSJ reports.
The IAEA is alleging the small amount of uranium metal was produced by the first time on February 8 at the Isfahan nuclear facility.
Former President Donald Trump is not pleased with the initial performance of his impeachment lawyers on Tuesday, according to reports.
The New York Timesreports Trump was “furious” as he watched his lawyer Bruce Castor Jr. deliver his opening argument after the gripping visual and emotional performance put on by Democrats, citing “people briefed on his reaction” and on a scale of one to 10, Trump was an eight.
Politico reports Trump “grew increasingly frustrated” as the trial continued, citing “people familiar with his thinking.”
At one point during the trial, Castor praised the presentation of the Democrats and admitted the team changed his own argument to respond. At another point, he argued voters were “smart” enough to vote Trump out of office and did not need Congress to impeach the former president.
Senate Republicans were not impressed with the performance either.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana joined five other Senate Republicans in voting that the trial itself was Constitutional, even though he voted against the trial in a vote triggered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in January.
“If you listen to it, it speaks for itself,” Cassidy told reporters. “It was disorganized, random … they talked about many things but did not talk about the issue at hand.”
Cassidy said if he was an “impartial juror” he had to admit the Democrat House impeachment managers did a “much better job.”
“I don’t think the lawyers did the most effective job,” he said while praising the Democrat argument as “impressive.”
Perhaps more alarming was a Bloomberg report that McConnell would not press his colleagues to back the president, again floating the notion of supporting the articles of impeachment even though he voted Tuesday that the trial itself was unconstitutional.
Trump’s legal team experienced a tumultuous preparation for the trial after Trump’s initial lead lawyer Butch Bowers and lawyer Deborah Barbier left the team due to disputes over legal fees and strategy, according to reports.
President Trump announced Castor as his lead impeachment lawyer just ten days before the trial.
Two professional football teams left New York for another state – but the New York Stock Exchange? That is a possibility if the Empire State imposes a transfer tax on stock sales, according to the exchange’s president.
In a Tuesday op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, NYSE President Stacey Cunningham said she and 25 other representatives of New York’s securities industry sent a letter to state legislative leaders warning against the unintended consequences of imposing such a tax.
“The New York Stock Exchange belongs in New York,” Cunningham said. “If Albany lawmakers get their way, however, the center of the global financial industry may need to find a new home.”
New York state lawmakers introduced a bill that would tax certain financial transactions. Although state revenue has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the proposed new transaction tax seemed to have little support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo or his officials.
In January, state budget director Robert Mujica said a lot of ideas around such financial taxes “haven’t been fleshed out,” according to a transcript provided to Reuters by an official in the New York State Division of the Budget, per the New York Post.
A financial tax was proposed last year in New Jersey, where many exchanges host their servers. Mujica said exchanges quickly mobilized to temporarily move their employees and activity outside of the state.
“If we increase the tax like that, you mobilize people, potentially just move your transactions and your servers to another part of the country where those taxes don’t exist,” said Mujica, who noted the pandemic had shown people can do business anywhere.
A NYSE representative declined to comment further on Cunningham’s article.
The New York Jets and Giants of the NFL left the state years ago and now play their home games at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
House Democrats opened Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment trial Tuesday showing the former president whipping up a rally crowd to march to the Capitol and “fight like hell” against his reelection defeat, followed by graphic video of the deadly attack on Congress that came soon after, according to an AP report.
In an early test of the former president’s defense, Trump’s team lost a crucial bid to halt the trial on constitutional grounds. Senators confirmed, 56-44, their jurisdiction over the trial, the first of a president no longer in office. While six Republican senators joined the Democrats in proceeding, the tally showed how far prosecutors have to go to win conviction, which requires a two-thirds threshold of 67 senators, according to the AP report.
Tuesday’s vote was on whether a former president could be tried after leaving office.
The lead prosecutor told senators the case would present “cold, hard facts” against Trump, who is charged with inciting the mob siege of the Capitol to overturn the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Senators sitting as jurors, many who themselves fled for safety that day, watched the jarring video of Trump supporters battling past police to storm the halls, Trump flags waving, as was reported by AP.
“That’s a high crime and misdemeanor,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., in opening remarks. “If that’s not an impeachable offense, then there’s no such thing.”
AP reported that Trump is the first president to face impeachment charges after leaving office and the first to be twice impeached. The Capitol siege stunned the world as hundreds of rioters ransacked the building to try to stop the certification of Biden’s victory, a domestic attack on the nation’s seat of government unlike any in its history. Five people died.
Acquittal is likely, but the trial will test the nation’s attitude toward his brand of presidential power, the Democrats’ resolve in pursuing him, and the loyalty of Trump’s Republican allies defending him.
According to the AP report, Trump’s lawyers are insisting that he is not guilty of the sole charge of “incitement of insurrection,” his fiery words just a figure of speech as he encouraged a rally crowd to “fight like hell” for his presidency. But prosecutors say he “has no good defense” and they promise new evidence.
Security remained extremely tight at the Capitol on Tuesday, a changed place after the attack, fenced off with razor wire with armed National Guard troops on patrol, as was reported by the AP. The nine House managers walked across the shuttered building to prosecute the case before the Senate.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden would not be watching the trial of his predecessor.
“Joe Biden is the president, he’s not a pundit, he’s not going to opine on back and forth arguments,” she said, according to the AP report.
With senators gathered as the court of impeachment, sworn to deliver “impartial justice,” the trial was starting with debate and a vote over whether it’s constitutionally permissible to prosecute Trump after he is no longer in the White House.
Trump’s defense team has focused on the question of constitutionality, which could resonate with Republicans eager to acquit Trump without being seen as condoning his behavior, as was reported by AP.
AP reported that lead lawyer Bruce Castor said that no member of the former president’s defense team would do anything but condemn the violence of the “repugnant” attack, and “in the strongest possible way denounce the rioters.”
Yet Trump’s attorney appealed to the senators as “patriots first,” and encouraged them to be “cool headed” as they assess the arguments.
At one pivotal point, AP reported that Raskin told the personal story of bringing his family to the Capitol the day of the riot, to witness the certification of the Electoral College vote, only to have his daughter and son-in-law hiding in an office, fearing for their lives.
“Senators, this cannot be our future,” Raskin said through tears. “This cannot be the future of America.”
Trump attorney David Schoen turned the trial toward starkly partisan tones, the defense showing its own video of Democrats calling for the former president’s impeachment.
Schoen said Democrats are fueled by a “base hatred” of the former president and “seeking to eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene.”
It appears unlikely that the House prosecutors will call witnesses, in part because the senators were witnesses themselves. At his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump has declined a request to testify.
AP reported that presidential impeachment trials have been conducted only three times before, leading to acquittals for Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and then Trump last year.
Timothy Naftali, a clinical associate professor at New York University and an expert on impeachment, said in an interview, “This trial is one way of having that difficult national conversation about the difference between dissent and insurrection,” as was reported by AP.
AP reported that a similar question was posed late last month, when Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky forced a vote to set aside the trial because Trump was no longer in office. At that time, 45 Republicans voted in favor of Paul’s measure. Just five Republicans joined with Democrats to pursue the trial: Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.
The House prosecutors argued there is no “January exception” for a president on his way out the door. Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., referred to the corruption case of William Belknap, a war secretary in the Grant administration, who was impeached, tried and ultimately acquitted by the Senate after leaving office, as was reported by AP.
Trump’s case is hardly a run of the mill corruption charge, he said, but incitement of insurrection. If Congress stands by, “it would invite future presidents to use their power without any fear of accountability.”
AP reported that in filings, lawyers for the former president lobbed a wide-ranging attack against the House case, suggesting Trump was simply exercising his First Amendment rights and dismissing the trial as “political theater” on the same Senate floor invaded by the mob.
Because of the COVID-19 crisis, senators were allowed to spread out, including in the “marble room” just off the Senate floor, where proceedings are shown on TV, or even in the public galleries above the chamber. Most were at their desks on the opening day, however.
Presiding was not the chief justice of the United States, as in previous presidential impeachment trials, but the chamber’s senior-most member of the majority party, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, according to the AP report.
Under an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican leader Mitch McConnell, the substantive opening arguments will begin at noon Wednesday, with up to 16 hours per side for presentations. The trial is expected to continue into the weekend.
Trump’s second impeachment trial is expected to diverge from the lengthy, complicated affair of a year ago. In that case, Trump was charged with having privately pressured Ukraine to dig up dirt on Biden, then a Democratic rival for the presidency.
This time, Trump’s “stop the steal” rally rhetoric and the storming of the Capitol played out for the world to see.
The Democratic-led House impeached the president swiftly, one week after the attack. Five people died, including a woman shot by police inside the building and a police officer who died the next day of his injuries.
David Schoen, a lawyer representing Donald Trump said Tuesday that Democrats are fueled by a “hatred” of Trump and fear that they will lose power. He says if the trial moves forward, it will make “everyone” look bad and other countries that wish the U.S. harm will watch with “glee.”
The NY Post reported that Schoen also argued that Democrats will “tear this country apart” and “open up new and bigger wounds” with the impeachment trial of the former president.
Schoen urged the Senate to dismiss as unconstitutional an article of impeachment against Trump for allegedly provoking the rampage the US Capitol rampage.
“This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we have only seen once before in our history,” Schoen said on the Senate floor, according to the NY Post report.
Trump’s team is arguing that the trial is not constitutional because Trump is out of office. Democrats, citing legal scholars and precedent from a secretary of war’s 1876 impeachment, have detailed both the historical precedent and the violence of the rioting to argue that it is constitutional.
The Post reported that Schoen additionally argued that a thorough investigation — such as one underway by retired Lt. Gen. Russell Honore — could exonerate Trump and show that the violence resulted from “preplanning” by people with an “agenda bearing no relationship to the claims made here.”
Schoen said that the trial was being waged by Democrats who don’t want a redux of Trump’s 2016 upset victory, according to the Post report.
“The House surely seeks to strip Donald Trump of his most highly cherished constitutional rights, including the right to be eligible to hold public office again should you so choose,” Schoen said, as was reported by the New York Post.
“A great many Americans see this process for exactly what it is: A chance by a group of partisan politicians seeking to eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene and seeking to disenfranchise 74 million plus American voters and those who dare to share their political beliefs and vision of America. They hated the results of the 2016 election and want to use this impeachment process to further their political agenda,” he argued, according to the NY Post report.
“These elitists have mock them for four years. They’ve called their fellow Americans who believe in their country and their Constitution ‘deplorables’ and the latest talk is that they need to ‘deprogram’ those who supported Donald Trump and the Grand Old Party.”
Schoen, an Orthodox Jew last week had petitioned the Senate for a break in the trial on Friday afternoon in order to keep his weekly observance of the Jewish Sabbath which begins at sundown and lasts 25 hours. During that period, observant Jews are commanded to do no manner of work as the day is set apart for worship, rest and Torah study. At the trial on Tuesday, Schoen could be seen taking several sips of water throughout his opening arguments and each time he did so, he lifted his hand and placed it on his head while drinking. This was done in lieu of the fact that he chose not to wear a yarmulke (traditional head covering that Orthodox Jewish men wear).
Tuesday afternoon on Twitter, JTA’s Ron Kampeas posted in reference to Schoen putting his hand on his head, “People, don’t mock David Schoen for covering his head while he drank water. He was likely saying a blessing.”
CNN reported that Schoen subsequently withdrew his request to not hold the impeachment trial on the Jewish Sabbath, according to a person familiar with trial planning, which had altered the likely schedule for the proceedings.
CNN reported that in a letter written to Sens. Pat Leahy, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, Schoen wrote, “Based on adjustments that have been made on the President’s defense team, I am writing today to withdraw my request so that the proceedings can go forward as originally contemplated before I made my request. I will not participate during the Sabbath; but the role I would have played will be fully covered to the satisfaction of the defense team.”
He also wrote, “I am advised that your response to my letter was to graciously accommodate my Sabbath observance and to set a schedule for the upcoming impeachment trial that meant suspending the trial for the Jewish Sabbath. This meant causing you to lose Friday evening and all day Saturday that you previously intended to have for the trial. I very much appreciated your decision; but I remained concerned about the delay in the proceedings.”
Schumer’s office had said over the weekend the Senate would accommodate the request from Schoen.
(AP, New York Post & CNN)
(Additional reporting by JV staff writer, Fern Sidman)