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Lawmakers Want NYC Nursing Homes to Serve as Vaccine Hubs

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FILE - In this April 17, 2020, file photo, emergency medical workers arrive at Cobble Hill Health Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York. New York state is now reporting more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities as the state faces scrutiny over how it’s protected vulnerable residents during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

By: Ilana Siyance

 

Elderly citizens are having trouble finding an appointment for the potentially life-saving Covid-19 immunization.

 

As reported by the NY Post, a  group of 27 City Council members are pushing the city to utilize senior centers as vaccination hubs for the elderly.  On Friday, the bi-partisan group of lawmakers penned a letter to Mayor de Blasio,  urging the use of the hundreds of NYC senior centers as hubs for COVID-19 inoculation.  “Senior centers are already a trusted lifeline for many elderly New Yorkers, providing them with social interaction and information,” says the letter, written by Queens Democrat Robert Holden.

 

Scores of NYC seniors, who are eligible for the shot, say they can’t find an appointment for the COVID-19 vaccine, and complained about the online sign up process.  “I am computer savvy, but there’s people my age that have no clue about getting online and making an appointment. All these people are being left out,” said Frank Rodgers, 71, of Staten Island.

 

Lawmakers say the nursing homes should be able to take their own appointments and administer the vaccines to local elders, rather than directing seniors to jump over multiple obstacles online or by phone.  “While many seniors do not necessarily have access to the Internet, they are in frequent contact with their local center,” the councilmembers’ letter says.  “This would allow the centers to communicate with seniors very effectively and arrange appointments for them to receive the lifesaving vaccine in a familiar, comfortable environment.”

 

Seniors seeking assistance getting an appointment for the Covid-19 vaccine can reach a group of volunteers who can help by calling 501-510-0251 or emailing  [email protected].  Tech savvy Good Samaritans can also call the number to join as a volunteer in the effort to get eldery residents appointments.

 

In the meantime, a Queens nursing home withheld the vaccine from its own rehab patients.  Councilman Holden says his 96-year-old mother was sent to Dry Harbor Nursing Home in Middle Village, some four months ago to recover from a fall. He says his mom has since tested positive there for the Coronavirus.  Some 43 other residents there also tested positive for COVID-19 since Dec. 22.  Before Christmas, the nursing facility chose to only vaccinate its long-term residents, but not patients admitted for short-term care following discharge from hospitals.

 

“It doesn’t make any sense to leave patients out. They’re just as vulnerable as permanent residents,” Holden told The Post. “It’s in the best interest of the nursing home to vaccinate everyone so there’s not a spread.”  Holden said there was no evidence that the nursing-home lacked enough doses to  vaccinate everyone at the 360-bed facility.

 

UAE approves new embassy in Tel Aviv

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UAE cabinet meeting, Jan. 24, 2012. (WAM Emirates News Agency)
By Paul Shindman, World Israel News

The government of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday approved a decision to establish an embassy in Tel Aviv.

The move comes after the two countries signed the historic Abraham Accords at the White House in September followed by ratifying full diplomatic ties in October.

“The Council of Ministers approves … the establishment of the UAE embassy in Tel Aviv in the State of Israel,” the UAE tweeted on its official government account.

During an official visit to Israel in November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani announced the opening of embassies in each other’s countries.

The two Gulf Arab nations will join Egypt and Jordan, two of Israel’s immediate neighbors that established embassies in Tel Aviv following their own peace treaties with the Jewish State.

After the signing of the the Abraham Accords, Sudan announced the establishment of ties with Israel, and last month Morocco decided to established formal relations. Informal ties that existed for decades between Morocco and Israel were broken off by Rabat in 2000. An estimated quarter of Israel’s 9.3 million population are Moroccan Jews or their descendants, and many senior Israeli government members hail from the northwestern African nation.

Since inking the Abraham Accords, Israel and the UAE have been involved in a whirlwind of economic and diplomatic moves to cement the relations and fire up trade. Those deals include a $3 billion regional development fund, an agreement worth up to $150 for Israeli trade fairs being held in Dubai, and Israeli acquiescence to an American deal to sell $35 billion in advanced weaponry to the Gulf nation.

On Sunday, in another move to cement ties, Israel’s postal service began service to the UAE, making it possible to send and receive letters and parcels. Other Arab states in the region still do not accept mail to or from Israel.

“The relationship that is being forged between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and the connection between the postal administrations, will make it possible to strengthen trade ties between the two countries,” said Danny Goldstein, CEO of Israel Post.

NYC Neighborhood Fighting to Save Site Connected with Underground Railroad

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- A two story house at Riverside Drive and 159th Street has become a matter of controversy. The site has preliminary city approval for demolition of the structure, and to build a 13-story, 46-unit condo building. Photo Credit: Berenice Abbott/ NYPL

By Hellen Zaboulani

A two story house at Riverside Drive and 159th Street has become a matter of controversy.  The site has preliminary city approval for demolition of the structure, and to build a 13-story, 46-unit condo building.

As reported by the NY Post, preservationists, historians, local politicians and neighbors are opposed, saying that the site may have once been a stop on New York’s Underground Railroad.  The now run-down building was once home to abolitionist and sugar refinery magnate, Dennis Harris, and he may have utilized the site to help bounty-hunted southern slaves to steamboat their way to freedom.    The groups are fighting to save the site from the wrecking ball, and then hope to have it restored  to its original, Italianate elegance from the mid-1850s.

“It’s beyond frustrating because you feel the history when you stand there,” Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer told The Post. “You can feel these abolitionists who really did try to get slaves freed. You can feel it. And the idea of tearing it down for a 13-story building that means nothing is heart-wrenching,” she said.

The local community board and the Upper Riverside Residents Alliance have lobbied City Hall and enlisted historians to document the building’s significance.

Brewer, along with State Sen. Robert Jackson, Assemblyman Al Taylor and Council Member Mark Levine, say they will keep lobbying the city and Landmarks Commission to preserve the property.  The problem is that most of the time, in order for a place to be landmarked, it needs to look like that which is being preserved.  Last month, the commission rejected the pleas, saying that the building now looks nothing like it did 170 years ago, when Harris lived there.   “Staff review of 857 Riverside Drive determined that it does not appear to retain the integrity necessary for consideration as an individual landmark due to the extensive modifications that have been made to the house and its architectural details,” commission chair Sarah Carroll wrote on Dec. 28.

“Dennis Harris, who built the house, was an abolitionist of the caliber of John Brown. It’s unlikely that if he used his other properties that he didn’t use this one,” said Harlem historian and preservationist Michael Henry Adams.  “Well, creating luxury housing for rich white people and almost no affordable housing doesn’t cut it,” he added.

New building owner Sigmund Freund and developer Michael Petrokansky did not immediately return requests for comment from The Post.

 

Bklyn’s Hipster Crowd Gets Pushed Out by Increase in Luxury Developments

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Photo Credit: Wikipedia.com

By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

 

Brooklyn’s Williamsburg once had hamlets that allowed a hip younger generation to enjoy their own lot of paradise.  In 2019, Maria Rivera-Diaz, a 31-year old lawyer and student moved from Atlanta to NY, searching for someplace “cool and artsy” to call home, she told the NY Post.   East Williamsburg, a neighborhood that was for decades known for its creative class culture, seemed to answer the calling for her and other millennials.  “[I wanted] a less densely populated area with a younger crowd, a more hipster vibe and more divey bars,” Rivera-Diaz said.   She found a new home on the western corner of Metropolitan Avenue near the Grand Avenue L train stop, in a neighborhood far from the East River.

 

Her side of Brooklyn was once larger with many edgy Bohemian perks, thrift shops and dive bars.  Now, it seems to some, as though the Big Apple is spreading out and swallowing her neighborhood too.  The affordable hip homes are being replaced by billion-dollar developments and luxury apartment towers with posh amenities. To accommodate the new upscale residents, the waterfront streets and being filled by banks and big-name franchises.

 

With the onset of the pandemic, many have been leaving Manhattan in search for a less crowded place to live with more outdoor space.  This has led to more Williamsburg developments, and milennials now feel like they are being crowded out.  “The mall-ification of Williamsburg with massive towers and huge buildings, a lot of people didn’t come to Brooklyn for that,” said Molly Franklin, a Corcoran realtor with experience in the neighborhood. “The creative class started moving south and east.”

 

As reported by the NY Post, new and pre-development boutique condo buildings are popping up left and right — including at 175 Jackson, 52 Maspeth and 83 Humboldt.  The asking prices range from $650,000 to $1.9 million, no longer budget-friendly for hip youngsters.  The median ask in East Williamsburg is now $1.12 million, getting close to the $1.3 ask in Williamsburg.  New rental buildings have recently risen up in the area too, including the 116-unit building at 222 Johnson by Bushwick Avenue, and the 35-unit Milo at 885 Grand in East Williamsburg.  The median asking rent in East Williamsburg is now about $2,800, edging closer to the $3,000 ask in traditional Williamsburg, as per StreetEasy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kim Kardashian spotted with hasidic-inspired jewelry

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By World Israel News staff

American celebrity Kim Kardashian has discovered the power of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, or at least she’s been captivated by a jewelry line inspired by the great hasidic rabbi who for the past 250 years has been motivating Jews around the world, The Forward reported this week.

Breslov, who encouraged his followers to sing and dance, is revered for his spirituality. Tens of thousands of Jews make pilgrimage to his grave in the Ukrainian city of Uman each year to gain inspiration during Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year that starts the 10 days of repentance, culminating with Yom Kipur.

Several Jews scrolling through Kardashian’s Instagram account noticed she had a piece of jewelry story in the form of a pouch with the Hebrew phrase “na nach nachma nachman meouman” – which translates to Na Na Nachman from Uman, The Forward reported.

The amulet is the work of Los Angeles jewelry designer Jacquie Aiche, whose “Blesslev” line of jewelry appears to be inspired by the Breslov hasidim. Aiche uses Hebrew characters, some of them inverted, that match the shape of the English letters that spell out the word Blesslev.

“Branded as ‘a daily source of gratitude’ and ‘an amulet of protection,’ items from the collection retail for as much as $615 and look like something a village crone sewed to ward off the bubonic plague,” Forward correspondent Irene Katz Connelly noted. “With each purchase comes a printed version of the mantra with instructions to spend 15 minutes each day chanting it in ‘a quiet and comfortable place’.”

 

Kardashian herself is well-known to be inspired by the holiness of Israel. In 2015 she and husband, rapper Kanye West, brought their newborn daughter to Jerusalem to be baptized. The couple is reportedly getting a divorce.

Aiche, who is Jewish, collaborated with French mystic Sylvain Sellam, who follows Breslov teachings and offers spiritual consultations at Aiche’s Los Angeles workshop, according to the Forward. Each piece of Blesslev jewelry comes with “a gratitude list and mantra” with an explanation page that says the “na na nachman” mantra is “kabbalistic.”

While most customers might not know of Rabbi Nachman or associate the jewelry with Judaism, pop-star Madonna is a big believer in kabbalah – Jewish mysticism – and is known to have worn a red thread on her wrist, a kabbalistic talisman to ward off the evil eye.

The Forward wrote that while many Jews are familiar with the “na na nachman” chant, it was hard to understand what the mantra was doing on Kardashian’s social media feed.

Although Kardashian would not blink at the pricey Blesslev line, Katz Connelly suggested that those seeking Divine intervention to ward off evil spirits might opt for the Madonna route.

“To anyone tempted to spend their entire stimulus check on a Kardashian-certified talisman that vaguely piggybacks off Jewish tradition, we have one thing to say: save yourself $614 and buy one of the red string kabbalah bracelets, which carry the ringing endorsements of Madonna and Michael Cohen,” Katz Connelly wrote, noting that President Trump’s former lawyer wore a red string when he testified before Congress.

“If it protected them, it’ll protect you,” she added.

Super Bowl LV Matchup is Set: Buccaneers vs Chiefs

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady reacts after winning the NFC championship NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021. The Buccaneers defeated the Packers 31-26 to advance to the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

(AP) For Tom Brady, another trip to the Super Bowl — but this time, in a Tampa Bay uniform.

And for his new team, the Buccaneers, a first-of-its-kind home game, but without the usual home-field advantage.

To put a bow on this make-it-up-as-we-go NFL season — a campaign upended but never fully undone by the coronavirus pandemic — it comes as no surprise that there is no such thing as a straightforward storyline.

Because of restrictions in place due to COVID-19, Tampa Bay’s home stadium will only be about a quarter full when the Buccaneers host the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7 in the Super Bowl. The Chiefs opened as a 3.5-point favorite.

And 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes of the Chiefs will be trying for back-to-back titles, something no quarterback has done since — who else? — Brady, back in his 2003-04 heyday with the New England Patriots.

The showdown will take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, where Brady’s Bucs will be the first team in the 55-year history of the Super Bowl to play on home turf.

“Whoever would’ve thought a home Super Bowl for us? But we did it,” said Brady, who led the wild-card Buccaneers to a 31-26 win over Green Bay on Sunday to make it three straight road playoff wins on the way back home for the Super Bowl.

But home-field advantage won’t mean as much as it normally might. This will be the first Super Bowl not played in front of a capacity crowd since the first one — Kansas City vs. Green Bay at the LA Coliseum — in 1967.

In a nod to how the pandemic has changed everything, the crowd for America’s No. 1 sports spectacle will be limited to 22,000 in the 75,000-seat stadium, with vaccinated health-care workers getting 7,500 of those precious tickets.

And even the visiting team — the Chiefs — won’t be staying in a hotel all week, the way both conference champions usually do for the Super Bowl. ESPN reported that Kansas City doesn’t plan to arrive in Tampa until the day before the game.

Most interview availabilities, as they have all season, will take place on Zoom from the teams’ hometown practice facilities. The farce that has become the Super Bowl’s “Opening Night” media session will be a virtual affair, as well. In short, teams will basically treat this like a regular road game (or, in the case of the Bucs, a regular home game), and the Super Bowl city will not much resemble the overflowing party hub it usually does as the big game approaches.

Despite all that, this has the makings of a good matchup, featuring the league’s top (Chiefs) and seventh-rated (Bucs) offenses, each with multiple ways to strike: Receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce are standouts for KC and former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is on Brady’s long list of options for Tampa.

It is a rematch of Kansas City’s 27-24 win on Thanksgiving weekend in Tampa. In that one, Mahomes threw for 462 yards — 269 of them to Hill — to help the Chiefs build an early 17-point lead.

This will be the second high-stakes postseason matchup between Brady and Mahomes. Brady was surgeon-like, leading New England to 524 yards in offense in a 37-31 overtime win over the Chiefs in the AFC title game in January 2019.

It gave New England its third straight trip to the Super Bowl, and Brady’s last of nine as a member of the Patriots.

In the two seasons since, Kansas City has represented the AFC.

The Chiefs have done it largely on the arm of Mahomes, though it’s his head and his foot that have been making more news of late. He threw for 325 yards and led the Chiefs to a 38-24 victory over Buffalo on Sunday. He did it despite a bout with turf toe that flared up at the end of a week he spent in the NFL’s concussion protocol following a hard hit in KC’s previous playoff win over Cleveland. (Also a concern now: Pro Bowl left tackle Eric Fisher left Sunday’s game with an Achilles injury.)

Mahomes could join Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Troy Aikman, John Elway and, of course, Brady on the list of QBs to win two in a row.

As for Brady? He’s leading the Buccaneers to only their second Super Bowl; the Bucs won on their first trip, back in 2002. Brad Johnson was the quarterback then. But nobody would mistake Johnson for Brady, who could join Peyton Manning as the only other quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two franchises.

It could happen the day after Manning gets the call from the Hall of Fame; Manning is newly eligible this year and is a shoo-in to get in the night before the game.

Soon enough, Brady will be there, as well.

Clearly, though, he still feels his home is on the football field.

“The belief he gave everybody in this organization, that this could be done,” said Bucs coach Bruce Arians, when asked to explain what Brady’s arrival meant to the franchise. “It only took one man.”

White House begins talks with lawmakers on COVID-19 relief

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People stroll past a section of the National Mall by the Capitol where workers were still dismantling inauguration installations, after most downtown streets and public spaces had reopened to the public, on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021 in Washington. Biden is looking to jump-start his first 100 days in office with action and symbolism to reassure a divided and weary public that help is in the offing. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

(AP) — Top aides to President Joe Biden on Sunday began talks with a group of moderate Senate Republicans and Democrats on a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package as Biden faces increasing headwinds in his effort to win bipartisan backing for the initial legislative effort of his presidency.

Lawmakers on the right question the wisdom of racking up bigger deficits while those on the left are urging Biden not to spend too much time on bipartisanship when the pandemic is killing thousands of Americans each day and costing more jobs amid tightening restrictions in many communities.

At least a dozen senators met for an hour and 15 minutes in a virtual call with White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese and other senior White House officials. Many hope to approve a relief package before former President Donald Trump’s trial, which is set to begin in two weeks, overtakes Washington’s attention.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, called the opening talks a “serious effort.”

“There was not a hint of cynicism or lack of commitment to at least trying to work something out,” King said. “If they were just trying to jam this through, I don’t think it would have interrupted the Packers game.”

King told reporters that there was “absolute consensus” among the group that the No. 1 priority was to speed up the distribution of vaccinations and expanding COVID-19 testing and tracing.

The White House did not seem to budge on breaking up the package or reducing the overall price tag, even as it pushes for bipartisan support. There was also no discussion of pushing it through on a procedural move that could be done without Republicans, King said.

One key Republican, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said afterward, “It seems premature to be considering a package of this size and scope.”

Collins said instead she would pull the bipartisan group together “and see if we could come up with a more targeted package.” She said in a statement that a bill with additional funding for vaccine distribution “would be useful.”

Senators from both parties raised questions about the economic aid provisions, particularly making direct $1,400 payments to Americans more tailored to recipients based on need.

Senators also wanted more data on how the White House reached the $1.9 trillion figure.

Many of the senators are from a bipartisan group that struck the contours of the last COVID-19 deal approved late last year. They were joined on the call by the two leaders of the House’s Problem Solvers Caucus, Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Tom Reed, R-N.Y., who were also part of earlier discussions.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told The Associated Press that no red lines were drawn. But she added there was consensus among the call’s participants “that the more targeted the aid is the more effective it can be.”

Overall, “it was a conversation and it was not about drawing lines in the sand,” Shaheen said. “It was about how can we work together to help the people of this country.”

White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients and White House legislative affairs director Louisa Terrell also joined the call.

Out of the gate, Biden has made clear that quickly passing another round of coronavirus relief is a top priority as he seeks to get the surging pandemic and the related economic crisis under control, while demonstrating he can break the gridlock that has ailed Congress for much of the last two presidencies.

Biden and his aides in their public comments have stressed that his plan is a starting point and that finding common ground on relief should be attainable considering the devastating impact the pandemic is exacting on Democratic and Republican states alike. With more than 412,000 dead and the economy again losing jobs, Biden has argued there is no time to lose.

“We’re going to continue to push because we can’t wait,” said White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “Just because Washington has been gridlocked before doesn’t mean it needs to continue to be gridlocked

Central to Biden’s campaign pitch, beyond healing the wounds created by Trump’s presidency, was that he was a proven bipartisan dealmaker, one who would draw upon his decades in the Senate and deep relationships with Republicans to bridge partisan divides.

Some Biden advisers watched with worry as the Senate, just days into the president’s term, was already in gridlock as to a power-sharing agreement, with Republican leader Mitch McConnell refusing to budge on a demand to keep the filibuster intact. If the Senate twists itself in knots over its very basics, some Democrats wondered, how could it reach a big deal?

Additionally, some of Biden’s preferred methods to lobby and schmooze have been curtailed by the pandemic. Though his address book remains one of the best in Washington, it stands to be far more difficult for Biden — at least for the foreseeable future — to engage in the face-to-face politicking that he prefers.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, ahead of the meeting, raised concerns again about the wisdom of the government engaging in massive deficit spending.

“If we get beyond COVID, I believe that the economy is going to come roaring back,” Romney told “Fox News Sunday.” “And spending and borrowing trillions of dollars from the Chinese, among others, is not necessarily the best thing we can do to get our economy to be strong long-term.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, said he didn’t have high hopes for negotiations leading to Republican support and suggested Democrats may need to use budget reconciliation to pass it with a simple majority. The procedural tool would allow Democrats to push the package to approval without the 60-vote threshold typically needed to advance legislation past a filibuster. Republicans used the same tool to pass tax cuts during the Trump administration.

“What we cannot do is wait weeks and weeks and months and months to go forward,” Sanders said. “We have got to act now. That is what the American people want. “

Anti-Lock Down “CHAREIDI ANTIFA”: Bus Driver Nearly Lynched In Bnei Brak, Bus Set Ablaze, Mayor And Knesset Member Attacked

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AP

(YWN) Violence in Bnei Brak reached a new level late Sunday night, as violent Hafganos took place around the city, and a group that locals have decided to label “CHARIEID ANTIFA” are causing destruction around the city.

At one location, protesters stopped a bus on Kahneman Street, attacked the driver, forced him off, and literally set the bus on fire.

Local residents began to scream to the residents in the nearby buildings to evacuate, as the heat of the fire began melting the windows.

People began calling the fire department, but they refused to respond until they received a police escort – due to the fact that they are repeatedly attacked by Chareidi extremists when responding to Chareidi neighborhoods. They eventually responded – after more than 30 minutes – and extinguished the blaze.

A group of locals went to the local Fire Department Headquarters and literally banged on the doors.

Local residents told YWN that there are hundreds of boys roaming the streets since all Yeshivas are closed, and are literally terrorizing the entire city – which is prompting a forceful response from police.

The bus fire was just one items of violence by this marauding gang of “Chareidi ANTIFA”.

Earlier on Sunday, the Mayor of Bnei Brak, R’ Avrohom Rubenstein the former Mayor of Bnei Brak, R’ Chanoch Zeibart, and MK R’ Yitzchok Pindrus came under attack from an angry mob while walking in Bnei Brak.

Rubenstein managed to get into his car, which was then attacked by the mob, as they smashed his mirrors and caused other damage.

Expert: Biden Actions Against American Oil, Gas Energy Production Could Kill as Many as 1 Million Jobs

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AP

PENNY STARR

Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs at the American Petroleum Institute (API), said in an interview on SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Saturday with host Matt Boyle that if President Joe Biden puts a permanent ban on oil and gas development on federal waters and land, it could cost 1 million American jobs.

Boyle asked Macchiarola about the significance of Biden revoking the permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline and putting a 60-day pause on federal land leasing in his first days in office. 

“I think the first four days of the Biden Administration have given a clear picture of what the next four years could look like,” he said. “President Biden comes into office with a real economic headwind and a difficult labor market but at the same time he inherited an energy [landscape] that’s stronger because of America’s shale revolution.”

“We’ve produced lower household energy costs as a result of U.S. energy and less reliance on foreign energy sources,” Macchiarola added.

“The president has a choice to make: He can maintain U.S. leadership and maintain and support our economic recovery with American energy or he can pursue policies that destroy jobs and at the same time increase energy imports,” he further asserted.

“The first few days should concern all Americans because the administration is clearly taking actions that are going to harm the economy and cost Americans jobs,” Macchiarola said.

As Breitbart News reported, shutting down the Keystone XL pipeline will cost 11,000 jobs directly and as many as 60,000 indirect jobs.

The federal ban presents an even more staggering number, Macchiarola asserted.

“The full scale ban of development on federal lands you can bet the impact could be up to a million jobs in the United States,” he said.

The Keystone decision also affects our relationship with Canada and the U.S. economy.

“Two of the major components of the inauguration address and of the priorities of the new administration, No. 1 is rebuilding alliances and No. 2 strengthening our economy,” Macchiarola said. “With this decision that heads in the opposite direction on both of those priorities.”

It could also cost the U.S. $2 billion in wages, he said.

Macchiarola also spoke to the potential for Biden’s policies to endanger U.S. energy independence.

“This shale revolution has unlocked resources that we never thought we’d be able to get to and that’s meant more jobs in the United States, lower energy costs and greater energy security,” Macchiarola said.

“For the first time in 2019 in 67 years [the U.S.] became a net exporter of energy rather than a net importer,” he noted. “That’s a huge deal. And abandoning federal leasing heads in a different direction.”

For example, federal land and waters accounted for 22 percent of oil production and 12 percent of natural gas production in 2019.

“That’s the difference between energy independence and energy security and reliance on foreign sources,” Macchiarola said.

He cited the irony of Biden’s nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) to serve as secretary of the Department of the Interior. 

Half of the energy produced in New Mexico comes from federal land and two thirds of the natural gas in the state comes from federal land.

API produced a study last year that showed a federal land ban could cost up to 5 percent of all jobs in the state.

“These decisions are sweeping,” Macchiarola said. “They’re broad and they will really have negative impacts on our economy and our labor market at really the worst possible time.”

“If [Biden’s] priority is to bring back jobs in the United States and to grow our economy then they really need to rethink these policies, particularly the policy with respect to a leasing ban on federal lands for oil and gas development.”

Breitbart

Violent NYC: Vicious Biting Attack In Harlem, Dozens Beat Man in China Town

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AP

(TJVNEWS.COM) A New York woman said she felt like she was being attacked by animals after a group of men accosted her in Harlem, biting her face and breaking the skin, according to NBC New York.

The woman, 31, who has not been publicly identified, was also beaten, spit on and robbed during the attack, which happened near a liquor store in the Manhattan neighborhood, NBC New York reported.

Video shared by the New York Police Department shows the men surrounding her outside the store, which is where she said they attacked her.

“I couldn’t believe it, it was like an animal. That’s the only way I can put it, it was like an animal,” the woman told NBC New York.

During the attack, as she was being bitten and spit on, someone stole her $750 phone, NBC NY reported.

“I just remember screaming to the top of my lungs, I just kept saying ‘He’s biting me! He’s biting me!” she said. “He bit through my eyebrow and then he continued to just, he kept opening his mouth to try to like re-grasp” , the victim told NBC 4

Meanwhile, Breitbart reported

video the New York Police Department (NYPD) showed that a group of males and females attacked the victim around 11:30 a.m. Friday near Canal and Allen streets in downtown Manhattan.

Dozens of suspects linked to a violent attack on a 26-year-old who was beaten, had his clothes removed, and was cut with a sharp object.

The suspects fled the scene in several different vehicles, police said.

NBC 4 New York reported that the victim suffered lacerations to his torso, head, and hands. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was reported as being in stable condition.

Rand Paul Makes Voter Fraud Claims on ABC “This Week”; Battles Stephanopoulos in Heated Debate

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AP

Jared Evan

Senator Rand Paul(R-Ky), son of extremely popular retired Congressman Ron Paul, over the last several years was not always a solid ally of President Trump but is someone who has always spoken his honest opinion regardless of which side of the aisle his views aligned with.

He has always been controversial, and strangely enough, even though he sympathized with several anti-police activists points of contention and introduced a bill named after  Breonna Taylor,  designed to end no-knock warrant arrests, found himself harassed and almost beaten brutally on the streets of D.C after the GOP National convention over the summer, by BLM  terrorists.

After the January 6th storming of the capitol it is practically taboo to mention the term “voter fraud” or question the election of Joe Biden. Even discussing these topics, will find one banned from Twitter, suspended from Facebook, and removed from YouTube.

Senator Paul was not afraid to speak of that which is now taboo. Appearing on ABC’s “This Week”, he unleashed on George Stephanopoulos, several powerful points regarding the November election.

Highlights:

The debate over whether or not there was fraud should occur. We never had any presentation in court where we ever looked at the evidence. There were several states in which the law was changed by the Secretary of State and not the state legislature. To me those are clearly unconstitutional and I think there’s still a chance those do finally work their way up to the Supreme Court.”

 

“In my state, where we had a Democrat Secretary of State, she refused, even under federal order, to purge the rolls of illegal voters. We got a Republican SoS and he purged the rolls. In Wisconsin, tens of thousands of absentee votes had only the name on them and no address. Historically, those were thrown out. This time they weren’t.”

 

“You immediately say everything’s a lie instead of saying there’s two sides to everything. Historically what would happen is if I said I thought there was fraud, you’d interview someone else who said there wasn’t. But now you insert yourself in the middle and say that the absolute fact is that everything I’m saying is a lie.”

 

“You’re saying there’s no fraud and it’s all been investigated and that’s just not true. I plan on spending the next two years going around, state to state, fixing these problems. There has been no thorough examination of all states to see what problems we had and see if we could fix them.”

 

“There’s two sides to every story. Interview someone on the other side, but don’t insert yourself into the story to say we’re all liars. You’re forgetting who you are as a journalist if you think there’s only one side. A journalist would hear both sides and there are two sides to this story.”

 

Dutch police clash with anti-lockdown protesters: Dramatic Footage Emerges

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In this image made from video, a COVID-19 testing center is seen after being set on fire in Urk, 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Amsterdam, Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021. Dutch police have clashed with protesters demonstrating against the country’s lockdown in the capital, Amsterdam and the southern city of Eindhoven. The unrest comes a day after rioting youths protesting on the first night of the country’s curfew torched a coronavirus testing facility in Dutch fishing village Urk. (Pro News via AP)

 

 

Dutch Media:

 

(AP) Rioters set fires in the center of the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven and pelted police with rocks Sunday at a banned demonstration against coronavirus lockdown measures, while officers responded with tear gas and water cannons, arresting at least 55 people.

Police in the capital of Amsterdam also used a water cannon to disperse an outlawed anti-lockdown demonstration on a major square ringed by museums. Video showed police spraying people grouped against a wall of the Van Gogh Museum.

It was the worst violence to hit the Netherlands since the pandemic began and the second straight Sunday that police clashed with protesters in Amsterdam. The country has been in a tough lockdown since mid-December that is due to continue at least until Feb. 9. The government beefed up the lockdown with a 9 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. curfew that went into force on Saturday.

Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus condemned the violence.

“This has nothing to do with demonstrating against corona measures,” Grapperhaus said in a statement. “This is simply criminal behavior; people who deliberately target police, riot police, journalists and other aid workers.”

In Eindhoven, 125 kilometers (78 miles) south of Amsterdam, a central square near the main railway station was littered with rocks, bicycles and shattered glass. The crowd of hundreds of demonstrators also was believed to include supporters of the anti-immigrant group PEGIDA, which had sought to demonstrate in the city.

Eindhoven police said they made at least 55 arrests and warned people to stay away from the city center amid the clashes. Trains to and from the station were halted and local media reported plundering at the station.

A woman not involved in the protests was hospitalized after being injured by a police horse, police said.

Police said more than 100 people were arrested in Amsterdam.

Amazon Fights Against Mail-In Voting in Union Decision to Preserve ‘Vote Fidelity’

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LUCAS NOLAN

E-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly seeking to postpone a unionization vote at a warehouse in Alabama and is fighting back against federal labor authorities’  decision to allow mail-in voting. Amazon claims it has created a “safe, confidential and convenient proposal for associates to vote on-site, which is in the best interest of all parties—associate convenience, vote fidelity and timeliness of vote count.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that the e-commerce giant Amazon is aiming to postpone a unionization vote at one of its warehouses in Alabama. The company is also reportedly requesting that federal labor authorities reconsider a decision to allow mail-in voting due to the pandemic.

On Thursday, Amazon filed an appeal to a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is allowing employees to vote by mail due to coronavirus risks instead of holding in-person elections. The ballots are set to be mail to around 6,000 workers associated with Amazon’s facility in Bessemer, Alabama, on February 8.

In the petition, Amazon said the NLRB’s decision was flawed as it had not adequately defined an outbreak, along with a number of other objections. Workers at Amazon’s facility are seeking representation from the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union.

If a majority of ballots vote in favor of unionization, it would be the first time that hourly Amazon workers have formed or joined a union in the United States.

Amazon declined to comment on the appeal but stated that it believes the best approach to an election would be having it conducted in person, stating that it “provided the NLRB with a safe, confidential and convenient proposal for associates to vote on-site, which is in the best interest of all parties—associate convenience, vote fidelity and timeliness of vote count.”

Breitbart

Texas Man Charged with Directing Others to ‘Assassinate AOC’

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BOB PRICE

Federal prosecutors charged a Texas man with tweeting a call to assassinate U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The man allegedly tweeted multiple times from inside the Capitol including one where he wrote, “Assassinate AOC.”

A criminal complaint released by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia alleges that Dallas, Texas, resident Garret Miller illegally entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6. The complaint further alleges that Miller tweeted a threat to assassinate Rep. Ocasio-Cortez in a Twitter response to a tweet from the representative.

The attack on the Capitol occurred as both chambers of Congress met separately to debate a challenge to the Electoral College vote that would eventually declare Joe Biden to be the president-elect. As the two bodies met in their respective chambers, a large crowd gathered outside the Capitol and forced their way into the building.

The FBI obtained a tweeted video from an account allegedly belonging to Miller. The video reports to show Miller inside the Capitol Rotunda. He reportedly tweeted “From inside congress.”

“From inside congress” — Source: U.S. Department of JusticeThe complaint alleges that Miller tweeted some of his planning for the January 6 attack on the Capitol. The complaint states:

In examining MILLER’s Facebook account, there are many posts relating to his involvement in criminal activities at the Capitol. For example, on January 2, 2021, MILLER posted to Facebook, “I am about to drive across the country for this trump shit. On Monday . . .
Some crazy shit going to happen this week. Dollar might collapse. . . . civil war could start . . . not sure what to do in DC.” He also stated on January 3, 2021, that he was bring with him “a grappling hook and rope and a level 3 vest. Helmets mouth guard and bump cap,” but last time he came to D.C. for a pro-Trump rally he “had a lot of guns” with him.

Miller reportedly posted photos on Facebook from inside the Capitol. Security cameras also show a man carrying a U.S. and Trump flags inside the building.

On January 6, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez tweeted “Impeach” in response to the attack on the Capitol. A Twitter screenshot of the post allegedly shows a response from Miller where he wrote:

We acted with honor and we where [sic] not armed. We where [sic] gentle with the police. They murdered a child.

Assassinate AOC

The criminal complaint references the last line as a “directive” to assassinate a House member.

The complaint continues with multiple incriminating posted allegedly made by Miller in the days following the Capitol attack.

The complaint alleges Miller violated 40 counts of 40 USC 5104(e)(2)(G) which makes it a crime to “willfully and knowingly” parade, demonstrate or picket in any of the Capitol Buildings.

The complaint alleges multiple other charges including a “threat to injure the person of another” and for attempting to impede the Electoral College vote count.

In one of Miller’s alleged Facebook posts he reportedly posted a selfie and wrote, “just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol.”

In response to the news of Miller’s charges, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Miller’s self-incrimination quote and added, “Well, you did!”

Miller’s attorney, Clint Broden, responded that his client regrets what he did, according to a CNN report.

“He did it in support of former President (Donald) Trump, but regrets his actions. He has the support of his family, and a lot of the comments, as viewed in context, are really sort of misguided political hyperbole. Given the political divide these days, there is a lot of hyperbole,” the attorney stated.

Federal law enforcement agents reportedly arrested Miller on Wednesday. He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

Breitbart

Abortion Rights Activists Storm ‘Respect Life’ Mass, Demand Free Abortions

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(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

 

DR. SUSAN BERRY

Abortion rights activists stormed St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio, Friday morning during a pro-life Mass, parading through the aisles with signs that read, “Abortion on demand,” and chanting, “This church teaches hate.”

Bishop Robert J. Brennan of the Columbus Diocese was celebrating the “Respect Life” Mass, part of a pro-life program created by the U.S. bishops, on the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that invented a right to abortion, though none ever existed in the Constitution.

According to a report at the Columbus Dispatch, about eight abortion rights activists stormed into the cathedral and marched up into the sanctuary shouting, “Two, four, six, eight, this church teaches hate!”

The protesters held signs that read, “Fund abortion, not cops,” and “Abortion on demand, end Hyde now,” a reference to the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding federal provision that prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion.

Police were called to the scene and diocesan staff assisted them in escorting the protesters out of the cathedral.

Pro-life media outlet LifeSiteNews reported further about the incident:

Some of the approximately 200 Mass-goers were visibly shaken and disturbed by the actions of the protesters. A number of children were in attendance and some were seen crying. Hundreds of Catholic school students throughout the diocese were watching a livestream of the Mass when the protesters interrupted Bishop Brennan’s homily.

[…]

On their way out, the pro-abortion group can be heard verbally abusing the security team by screaming obscenities. After they were successfully escorted out, the group remained outside the cathedral, shouting insults back to the congregation inside, including “Jesus hates you,” and “If hell is real, you can burn in it.”

“Today during our Respect Life Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral, a group of protesters entered this sacred space in an attempt to disrupt our worship,” Brennan said later in a statement, adding his thanks to the Columbus police and staff of the diocese for responding promptly and avoiding injury.

He continued:

I want to express my great admiration and thanks to all those attending the Mass whose respectful and prayerful response reflects the joy, hope, and mercy that marks our pro-life witness. I also apologize to the families present whose children were exposed to this.

Brennan asked all who attended the Mass “to continue to pray for the unborn who died, for all those who have experienced the pain of abortion, and for those who cannot understand our divine and steadfast calling to champion this cause.”

According to LifeSiteNews, following the Mass, the abortion rights activists continued to harass the attendees who walked two blocks to the Ohio Statehouse for a “Roe Remembrance” gathering with Bishops Brennan and Cleveland Bishop Edward Malesic.

The pro-abortion protesters continued to try to disrupt the speakers by shouting using a bullhorn and siren.

Malesic said:

The Lord sets before us many choices. He asks us to take sides. May we side with life. May we side with beauty and peace and love and non-violence, including non-verbal violence. May we listen to each other and accompany each other, so that in the end, we will find ourselves where the Lord came to bring us, and that’s to a kingdom of peace and justice.

On the same day as the abortion activists’ storming of the cathedral, Democrat President Joe Biden, referred to as a “devout Catholic,” and Vice President Kamala Harris issued a joint statement in which they said they are “committed to codifying” Roe v. Wade into law and to “appointing judges that respect foundational precedents like Roe.”

Using the language of the abortion industry, specifically that abortion is the equivalent of “health care,” the Democrat leaders added, “We are deeply committed to making sure everyone has access to care – including reproductive health care – regardless of income, race, zip code, health insurance status, or immigration status.

Breitbart

Britain’s Boris Johnson presses Biden for new trade deal

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AP

(AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear to President Joe Biden on Saturday that he’s eager to forge a new U.S.-U.K. trade deal.

The push for a new deal came in a broad-ranging call between the two leaders that touched on the global response to the coronavirus pandemic as well as the Biden administration announcing this week that the U.S. would rejoin the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization, according to a statement from Downing Street.

A new trade agreement between the allies is a higher priority for Johnson than it is for Biden. The U.K. regained control over its national trade policy at the start of the month following the end of a post-Brexit transition period.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that the administration had no timeline for forging a new trade deal as Biden’s attention is largely focused on getting the coronavirus pandemic under control and pressing Congress to pass the president’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.

Janet Yellen, Biden’s Treasury secretary nominee, also signaled during her confirmation hearing earlier this week that Biden wasn’t eager to negotiate new trade deals.

“President Biden has been clear that he will not sign any new free trade agreements before the U.S. makes major investments in American workers and our infrastructure,” Yellen said.

Downing Street said Saturday that Biden and Johnson discussed “the benefits of a potential free trade deal between our two countries,” and Johnson “reiterated his intention to resolve existing trade issues as soon as possible.”

The White House in its own statement said that the two leaders spoke about combating climate change, containing COVID-19, and ensuring global health security as well as shared foreign policy priorities in China, Iran and Russia. But the statement notably made no mention of discussion on trade.

The call with Johnson was at least Biden’s third call with a foreign counterpart since Friday. The president spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday evening.